aknold.]  COAL    IN    CLALLAM    COUNTY,    WASH.  419 
ments  made  by  Mr.  O'Brien,  who  says  he  has  found  coal  veins  at 
4  miles  and  again  at  7  miles  from  the  beach,  it  seems  likely  that  the 
trough  extends  inland  at  least   for  several  miles. 
The  coal-bearing  formation  proper  consists  of  at  least  500  feet  of 
coarse,  thick-bedded  to  massive  sandstone,  with  some  interst ratified, 
medium-grained  conglomerate  lenses  and  layers.  The  sandstone 
and  sand  matrix  of  the  conglomerate  are  rather  coarse  and  vary  in 
composition  from  arkose  to  very  siliceous.  The  pebbles  in  the  con- 
glomerate are  in  diameter  from  6  inches  down  and  consist  of  angular 
shale  fragments  and  cobbles  and  pebbles  of  quartz,  hard  black 
quartzite,  basalt,  diabase,  jasper,  granite,  and  schist.  Many  of  the 
pebbles  in  the  thicker  beds  of  conglomerate  in  the  Pillar  Point  area 
are  faulted.  Small  lenses  and  stringers  of  hard  black  lignite  and 
occasional  pieces  of  less  altered  wood  occur  throughout  the  forma- 
fossils  and  leaf  impressions,  occur  in  the  sandstone  and  indicate  its 
Miocene  age. 
Local  folding  and  some  faulting  occur  in  the  formation,  and  may 
make  the  exploitation  of  the  coal  seams  difficult.  The  faulting  is 
more  prevalent,  however,  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  syncline  and 
in  the  Pillar  Point  exposure,  where  no  coal  of  economic  importance 
has  been  discovered. 
The  principal  prospect  in  this  field  is  that  at  a  point  on  the 
coast  34  miles  east  of  Slip  Point.  Clallam  Bay.  or  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  east  of  the  old  Thorndike  property.  The  coal  out- 
crops about  30  feet  above  the  base  of  the  high  bluff  which  skirts 
the  strait  from  Pillar  Point  to  Clallam  Pay.  but  is  visible  for  only 
a  short  distance,  owing  to  the  undergrowth  and  broken  surface  of 
the  slope.  At  the  time  of  the  writer's  visit  (June  23,  1904)  the  pit 
fxposing  the  coal  had  been  sunk  only  2  or  3  feet,  so  that  the  sample 
aken  from  it,  of  which  an  analysis  is  given  later,  might  almost  be 
oneidered  a  surface  specimen. 
The  seama  is  36  inches  thick6  and  dips  S.  70°  W.  at  an  angle  of 
ibout  45°.  The  hanging  wall  is  1:2  inches  of  hard  dark-colored 
hale,  above  which  is  coarse  sandstone;  sandstone  also  forms  the 
oot  wall.  The  coal  is  remarkably  uniform  throughout  the  layer, 
nd  makes  a  clear-cut  contact  both  above  and  below.  On  this  account 
;  will  be  easy  to  keep  it  free  from  impurities  during  the  process 
f  mining. 
In  hand  specimens  the  coal  is  seen  to  be  a  clean,  hard,  glossy, 
lack  lignite.  It  breaks  with  a  conchoidal  fracture,  the  fragments 
aving  extremely  sharp  edges.    Small  patches  and  veinlets  of  pyrite 
f.A  li'-inch  seam  75  feet  stratigraphies  ll.v  below  the  main  bed  and  a  22-Inch  seam  100 
bet  above  it  bad  been  exposed  by  landslides  previous  to  the  writer's  visit,  but  were  not 
isible  at  that  time. 
6  Later  exploitation  has  shown  it  to  be  40  inches  thick,  according  to  the  superintendent 
the  property. 
