184 ALASKAN MINERAL RESOURCES IN 1904. [bull. 259 
A specimen of cannel coal of good qualit}^ was obtained lastsumme 
by W. Thompson near the headwaters of the Kivalena River, whic 
flows into the ocean south of Cape Thompson. This may have com 
from either of the formations described, though the character of the 
coal would seem to place it with the Mesozoic series. 
Cannel coal and bituminous coal have been found on the headwaters] 
of the Ipikpuk and Colville Rivers, 250 miles east of Cape Lisburne. % 
This is probably in an eastern extension of the Corwin series. 
Character of the Paleozoic coals. — The Paleozoic coals are bituminous 
and of a much better grade than the Mesozoic of the region. The! 
average of the analyses of samples from three localities is as follows: I 
Average analysis of Utree Paleozoic coals from Alaska. 
Fixed carbon 77. 68] 
Volatile combustible matter 16. 81 
Moisture 2. l4 
Ash 2. m 
Fuel ratio 4. 60| 
One assay gives sulphur 0.96 per cent. None of the coals coke.'; 
In a galley stove they have been found to give a more intense fire than 
Nanaimo coal. They are probably of as good quality as the averagej 
semibituminous coals of the Eastern States. Their occurrence is of| 
special interest, since they are the only coals of Paleozoic age known 
west of the Rocky Mountains in America. 
Conditions of development. — The development of these coals will be 
difficult on account of the crumpled condition of the beds, but the 
product will probably command as good a price as the best coals 
shipped to Alaska. 
SUMMARY. 
The coals of the Lisburne region are of two distinct classes: Low- 
grade bituminous coal of Mesozoic age, and high-grade bituminous or 
semibituminous coal of Paleozoic age. 
The Mesozoic coals are known to cover an area of about 300 square 
miles, but reports obtained from prospectors and others indicate that 
their extent may be much greater. The coal-bearing formation is of 
great thickness and contains at least 150 feet of coal distributed in 40 to 
50 seams, no less than 10 of which seem to be of economic importance. 
The geologic structure of the formation is simple and well adapted to 
mining, to which the greatest obstacle will be the absence of timber in the 
region. The coal is low-grade bituminous, slightly better than lignite. 
During the past 25 years vessels of the whaling fleet and revenue 
cutters have occasionally obtained a supply of coal from the croppings 
of the seams in the sea cliff's, and. in 1900 and 1901 over 1,000 tons 
aSchrader, F. C. (with notes by W. .1. Peters), A reconnaissance in northern Alaska in 190B 
Prof. Paper, U. S. Geol. Survey No. 20, p. 109. 
