256  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1905. 
FRUITLAND   DISTRICT. 
The  Fruitland  district  lies  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  field  and  extends  from  near 
Bennetts  Peak  on  the  south  to  the  State  line  above  Pendleton,  on  La  Plata  River,  a  dis- 
tance of  50  miles.  The  limits  thus  defined  are  not  marked  by  natural  boundaries,  but 
simply  show  the  extent  of  the  work  of  this  party.  To  the  northeast  the  coal-bearing  beds 
arc  doubtless  continuous  with  those  of  the  Durango  district,  but  they  were  not  followed 
through.  To  the  south  little  is  known  regarding  the  extent  of  the  outcrop.  It  seems^ 
probable  that  the  beds  in  the  Fruitland  district  extend  to  Gallup,  but  if  so  they  are  prob- 
ably largely  concealed  under  the  Choiskai  Mesa. 
The  coal  of  this  district  is  best  known  in  the  vicinity  of  Fruitland,  where  it  is  crossed  by 
San  Juan  River,  and  at  Pendleton,  on  La  Plata  River.     Both  the  Mesaverde  and  the? 
Laramief  '.)  coal  groups  are  present,  but  the  former  has  not  produced  coal,  though  it  prob-* 
ably  carries  beds  of  workable  thickness.     The  rocks  of  this  group  arc  exposed  in  the  hog- 
back which  crosses  San  Juan  River  at  Jewett  and  Chaco  River  4  miles  to  the  south.     At 
the  latter  point  they  dip  about   10°  E.  and  contain  two  coal  beds  which  measure  3  feet  and 
1   foot,  respectively,  in  thickness  and  which  are  separated  by  a  shale  interval  of  about  251 
feet.     In  the  northern  part  of  the  district,  a  few  miles  west  of  Rio  La  Plata,  the  coal  is 
reported  to  occur  in  three  beds,  (i  feet,  1  \  feet,  and  5  feet  thick.     Some  of  it  appears  to  be 
of  excellent  quality  and  resembles  the  peacock  coal  of  Durango. 
The  Laram:e(?)  rocks,  which  occur  about  2,000  feet  above  the  Mesaverde  formation, 
flank  the  Jewetl  hogback  on  the  east.  From  this  line  of  outcrop  they  extend  to  the  east 
beneath  the  mesa  in  a  nearly  horizontal  attitude.  They  consist  of  sandstone,  shale,  and! 
coal,  as  described  in  the  Durango  district.  Some  of  the  coal  beds  are  remarkably  thick, 
bm  for  lack  of  railroad  facilities  the  production  is  small,  not  exceeding  the  local  demand. 
At  Cottonwood  Arroyo  and  along  the  Chaco  east  of  the  hogback  the  coal  crops  out  in! 
the  escarpment  near  the  surface  of  the  mesa,  but  at  Fruitland  the  northeasterly  dip  carries] 
it  down  nearly  to  San  Juan  River,  in  whose  bluffs  it  is  exposed  on  both  sides  of  the  valley. 
The  most  important  mines  at  Fruitland  are  the  Hcbrum  and  the  Young,  favorably 
located  on  the  public  highway  1',  miles  northwest  of  the  village.  The  Young  mine  is  the 
only  one  now  in  operation.  It  has  furnished  practically  all  of  the  coal  used  by  Fruitland, 
Jewett,  Shiprock,  Farmington,  and  the  surrounding  country  for  a  number  of  years.  It 
has  two  gangways  about  100  feet  apart,  trending  N.  30°  W.,  while  the  strata  dip  to  thai 
northeast.  The  total  thickness  of  the  coal  beds  is  about  16  feet,  the  section  being  as 
follow- : 
Section  of  coal  bed  at  Young  mine,  1\  miles  northwest  of  Fruitland ,  N.  Mex. 
Ft.    in. 
Shale 2-3 
Coal 4 
Coal,  bony 6 
Coal 5 
Draw  slate i 
Coal 2 
Draw  slate 2\ 
Coal  (mined) 5 
Fire  clay. 
Only  the  lower  5-foot  bed  is  now  worked.  A  sample  of  this  bed  was  taken  for  chemical 
analysis.  It  was  obtained  by  making  a  cut  from  roof  to  floor,  including  all  of  the  con 
worked.  This  was  crushed  and  quartered  down  to  convenient  size  and  sent  in  a  sealed  can 
to  the  chemical  laboratory.  The  result,  as  shown  in  analysis  No.  3  on  page  258,  is  approxi- 
mately the  same  as  the  analyses  of  the  Gallup  coal. 
At  the  Bruce  mine,  3^  miles  northwest  of  Fruitland  on  the  Jewett-Durango  road,  the  coal 
bed  is  23  feet  in  thickness,  and  is  practically  all  good  coal.     Recently  this  mine  has  been 
