YAMPA    COAL    FIELD,    COLORADO.  2^1 
Another  seam,  25  feet  below  the  Hutchinson  seam,  has  been  opened  a  little  farther  down 
the  creek,  and  to  judge  from  the  appearance  of  the  dump  heap,  considerable  coal  has  been 
taken  from  it.  This  bed  shows  a  thickness  of  6  feet  2  inches  of  clear  coal.  There  are  many 
other  openings  and  prospects  in  this  vicinity,  but  those  given  are  representative  of  the 
larger  seams. 
Pool  district. — At  the  mouth  of  Trout  Creek  Twenty- mile  Basin  extends  to  the  north  in 
the  form  of  a  narrow  syncline  and  the  coals  of  the  middle  and  lower  groups  cross  Yampa 
River.  The  situation  will  probably  be  best  understood  by  reference  to  the  map.  Seams 
of  both  groups  have  been  opened  in  this  district.  A  lower  seam  of  the  middle  group  is 
opened  at  the  McCroskey  mine  (D),  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  a  little  less  than  2  miles 
west  of  Pool  post-office.  At  the  time  of  visit  this  was  the  only  mine  being  worked  in  the 
district.  The  coal  is  used  for  domestic  purposes  and  is  hauled  as  far  as  Steamboat  Springs. 
The  mine  is  driven  in  400  feet  and  the  following  measurements  were  made: 
Section  of  coal  bed  at  McCroskey  mine,  on  Yampa.  River. 
Ft.  In. 
Sandstone  roof. 
Bony  coal J      2      6 
lto3 
Coal,  good 4      8 
Coal,  bony 6 
Clay 3| 
Coal ,  good 3    11 
Coal,  bony 1 
Sandstone  floor. 
10      6t 
The  following  analysis  was  made  from  a  sample  representing  all  the  good  coal  of  this  seam : 
Analysis  of  coal  (sample  D)from  the  McCroskey  mine. 
[F.  M.  Stanton,  analyst.] 
Moisture 12. 03 
Volatile  matter 34. 51 
Fixed  carbon 42. 79 
Ash 10. 67 
100.00 
Sulphur 47 
Loss  of  moisture  on  air  drying 4. 40 
This  coal  is  one  of  several  seams  of  this  group  showing  in  the  face  of  the  hill  just  north 
of  the  road.  The  amount  of  available  coal  at  this  point  is,  however,  limited  by  the  sharp 
tilting  up  of  the  point  of  the  syncline  a  short  distance  north  of  this  mine. 
The  lower  coal  group  is  well  shown  in  the  tilted  sandstones  along  the  stage  road  just  east 
of  Tow  Canyon.     Several  of  the  seams  have  been  burned  in  outcrop. 
Coals  of  both  the  middle  and  lower  groups  have  been  opened  south  of  the  river.  A  seam 
of  the  lower  group  is  opened  at  the  old  Brooks  mine,  situated  in  a  gulch  that  opens 
into  Trout  Creek  from  the  southwest  near  its  junction  with  Yampa  River.  This  seam  is 
slightly  over  5  feet  thick  and  shows  a  face  of  solid,  bright  coal  lying  between  massive  beds 
of  white  sandstone.  The  middle  group  is  developed  in  an  old  opening  known  as  the 
Ilitchins  mine  (Y),  one-half  mile  southwest  of  the  Brooks  mine,  in  the  same  gulch  and  about 
250  feet  above  the  creek  valley.  This  is  a  seam  10  or  11  feet  thick.  When  visited  the 
entrance  was  locked  and  the  roof  in  bad  condition. 
A  small  structural  basin  of  coals  of  the  lower  group  lies  on  the  summits  of  the  ridges  a 
few  miles  northwest  of  Pool  post-office.  These  coals  have  been  prospected  by  drifts  in  a 
number  of  places  and  are  reported  to  be  of  workable  thickness,  but  the  prospects  wTere  not 
visited.     The  basin  is  a  comparatively  small  one. 
