LITTLE    SNAKE   RIVER   COAL  FIELD,    WYOMING.  245 
hogback  region.  Westward  from  the  Laney  Rim  and  the  bluffs 
which  constitute  its  southerly  extension  lies  a  great  area  of  badlands, 
broken  dip  slopes,  and  isolated  buttes. 
A  prominent  terrace  extends  southward  from  Creston  to  a  point 
north  of  Coal  Bank  Spring,  whence  it  runs  southeastward,  terminating 
just  west  of  the  Rawlins-Baggs  stage  road  about  midway  between 
Sulphur  and  the  headwaters  of  Fillmore  Creek.  Formerly  the  crest 
of  this  terrace  was  considered  and  described  as  a  part  of  the  Conti- 
nental Divide,  but  the  investigations  of  1906  and  1907  show  that 
although  for  a  short  distance  it  constitutes  the  divide  between  Little 
Snake  River  and  the  Great  Divide  Basin,  the  greater  part  of  the  ter- 
race lies  within  the  Great  Divide  Basin. 
The  relatively  low  relief  of  the  greater  part  of  the  area  makes  the 
coals  readily  accessible.  Wagon  roads  of  easy  grade  reach  all  present 
openings  and  pass  near  almost  all  prominent  outcrops.  Railroad 
connection  to  some  of  the  coals  lying  high  up  on  the  Mesaverde  pla- 
teaus would  involve  some  moderately  difficult  engineering,  but  most 
of  the  Mesaverde  and  all  of  the  higher  coals  could  be  reached  by  easy 
and  inexpensive  railroad  construction. 
Lack  of  timber  and  scarcity  of  water  present  serious  difficulties  in 
the  development  of  the  coals.  The  area  is  devoid  of  timber  except 
for  a  few  small  cedars  on  the  ridges  east  of  Sixteenmile  and  Twenty- 
mile  ranches.  There  is,  however,  an  abundance  of  timber  in  the 
Elkhead  Mountains  to  the  south,  and  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
Sierra  Madre,  southeast  of  the  area. 
The  surface  water  supply  of  the  region  is  scanty,  consisting,  besides 
half  a  dozen  alkaline  springs,  of  a  few  streams  which  head  in  the 
plateaus  and  high  ridges  forming  the  eastern  part  of  the  area,  and 
continue  permanent  for  short  distances  after  leaving  the  higher 
country.  The  amount  of  water  obtainable  by  wells  is  best  indicated 
by  the  borings  made  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  along 
the  north  edge  of  the  field.  These  results  indicate  that  a  supply  of 
water  could  be  obtained  in  most  parts  of  the  field  within  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  of  the  surface.  This  water,  however,  west  of  the  center  of 
the  valley  which  lies  just  west  of  the  plateau  region,  will  be  highly 
alkaline.  Deeper  wells,  1,500  feet  or  more,  would  probably  give  an 
abundance  of  water  which,  though  very  hard,  would  be  much  better 
than  that  obtained  nearer  the  surface. 
GEOLOGY. 
STRATIGRAPHY. 
GENERAL    SECTION. 
The  stratigraphic  relations  of  the  coal-bearing  and  associated  for- 
mations, with  their  general  character  and  approximate  thicknesses, 
are  shown  in  the  following  table: 
