56 PETROLEUM OF PACIFIC COAST OF ALASKA. [bull. 250. 
Record of well at Cold Bay. 
Feet. 
Sandstone 76 
Hard sand with crevices 39 
Sand with hard streaks 85 
Oil sand, not hard 40 
Sandstone with hard streaks GO 
Oil sand, soft 8 
Sandstone with hard streaks 82 
Oil sand 25 
Soft argillaceous sandstone 15 
Soft hlne sandstone with oil 5 
435 
If petroleum is stored within the series of rocks about Cold Bay, 
other things being equal, the very gentle folding which the strata 
have undergone should be favorable to the formation of large pools. 
It is impossible, however, to tell at present how far the influence of 
the volcanic belt and faults may extend. 
The petroleum from this field has a paraffin base and is probabty 
similar to the Controller Bay petroleum. (See p. 58.) If petroleum 
should be discovered in commercial quantities in this region it can 
be piped from the wells to Cold Bay by gravity and shipped thence 
to San Francisco or to Puget Sound ports. 
PETROLEUM RESIDUE. 
On some of the hillsides near the oil derricks 5 miles inland from 
Cold Bay are seepages of petroleum that are in some cases continu- 
ous, in others intermittent. The petroleum runs down the hillsides 
in the watercourses, collecting at the bottom in* peat bogs. Losing 
enough of its volatile constituents by evaporation to render it immo- 
bile, it remains there, impregnating the peat and forming over its 
surface a thick coating of black paraffin wax. 
These deposits have already been of considerable importance in 
the development of the region, for the peat, impregnated with the 
paraffin wax, has proved a fuel of the greatest value, replacing even 
the coal from the mines of Puget Sound, which is imported in large 
amount for use under the boilers in drilling operations. The deposit 
which has furnished this fuel for the past season has an area of about 
1J acres. The material has been dug to a depth of about 3 feet with- 
out, in some cases, reaching bottom. This deposit alone contains 
enough of the residue to supply all local needs for fuel for some time 
to come. Another deposit has, however,, been discovered in the 
vicinity, which has an area of 3 acres and a thickness of at least 10 
feet. Many more also will doubtless be brought to light. 
Chemical and calorimetric tests of petroleum residue have been 
made by Penniman & Browne, of Baltimore. The result of their tests 
is as follows : 
