300         CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC   GEOLOGY,    1907,    PART   II. 
thickness  of  available  coal  here  will  prove  to  be  but  a  fraction  of  that 
contained  in  the  Mesaverde  section  near  Meeker. 
In  the  strata  surrounding  the  Raven  Park  anticline  the  total 
amount  of  coal  evidently  increases  again,  as  is  shown  by  the  pros- 
pects and  a  few  local  mines  and  by  the  abundance  of  large  beds  of  slag 
and  burned  rock.  An  estimate  based  on  the  observed  indications 
would,  however,  place  the  total  thickness  in  the  maximum  sections  as 
not  more  than  one-half  to  two-thirds  that  of  the  Danforth  Hills  field, 
and  probably  much  less  in  many  parts  of  that  area. 
Local  descriptions. — The  general  character  of  this  coal  field  may  be 
judged  from  a  brief  review  of  some  of  the  observed  outcrops  and  a 
general  description  of  the  field. 
South  of  Juniper  Mountain,  in  Axial  Basin,  near  Cedar  Springs, 
Twelvemile  Springs,  and  Wapiti  Peak,  the  Mesaverde  rocks  occupy 
the  main  divide  between  Yampa  and  White  rivers.  A  small  amount 
of  prospecting  recently  done  in  this  general  region  has  served  to  show 
some  thick  beds  of  excellent  bituminous  coal.  Some  exposures  near 
Wapiti  Peak  indicate  beds  10  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  Most  of  the 
dips  in  this  district  are  steep,  20°  to  60°,  and  are  toward  the  south, 
or  inward  toward  the  center  or  axis  of  the  Coyote  Basin  syncline. 
Along  Pinon  Ridge,  on  the  west  side  of  Coyote  Basin,  the  rocks  are 
tilted  at  lighter  angles.  The  coal  beds  constitute  two  groups,  sepa- 
rated by  a  relatively  barren  zone,  so  that  the  area  of  coal  land  is  also 
split  into  two  strips  or  zones  corresponding  to  these  outcrops.  A  coal 
bank  or  prospect  drift  has  been  dug  in  or  near  the  NW.  \  sec.  15, 
T.  4  N.,  R.  98  W.,  where  coal  5  feet  3  inches  thick  is  developed  under 
a  good  sandstone  roof  with  an  easterly  dip  of  17°.  The  upper  zone 
is  prospected  in  the  eastern  side  of  sec.  25,  T.  3  N.,  R.  98  W.,  by  a 
drift  30  feet  iu  depth  exposing  6  feet  of  coal  with  a  dip  of  3°  SE.  To 
judge  from  the  number  and  size  of  the  surface  indications,  many  other 
and  doubtless  some  thicker  beds  occur  in  this  region. 
Along  the  valley  of  White  River  below  this  place  the  local  settle- 
ment has  created  a  greater  demand  for  coal,  but,  as  stated  above, 
observed  exposures  seem  to  indicate  a  notable  decrease  in  the  amount 
of  available  coal  in  the  Mesaverde  formation.  A  few  mines  have  been 
opened  near  the  river  banks.  The  Bassett  mine,  in  or  near  sec.  31, 
T.  3  N.j  R.  98  W.,  shows  a  bed  3  feet  7  inches  thick,  which  appears  to 
contain  very  good  coal,  probably  similar  to  the  average  Mesaverde 
coal  in  the  Meeker  district.  An  old  entry  south  of  the  river,  near 
the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek,  exposes  at  least  8  feet  of  good  coal,  which 
appears  to  be  only  part  of  a  thicker  bed,  although  there  is  much  bony 
material  in  the  section.  West  of  the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek  an  old  mine 
known  as  the  Stadtman  bank  shows  at  about  the  same  horizon  a 
thinner  bed  consisting  of  two  benches  which  together  contain  4  feet 
2  inches  of  good  coal.     At  Angora  post-office,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
