274  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1905. 
upper  one  from  a  knife  edge  to  13  inches  thick  and  the  lower  up  to  9  inches  thick,  dividing 
the  coal  into  three  nearly  equal  benches.  The  "C  "  and  "  E  "  coals  in  this  part  of  the  basic 
run  from  30  inches  down,  though  in  a  small  area  west  of  McCartney  the  "E"  seam  shows 
a  thickness  of  5  feet  of  coal,  apparently  of  poor  quality,  and  northwest  of  Irvona  the  "C": 
coal  thickens  up  locally  to  4  feet.     The  "A"  and  "C"  coals  are  less  than  2  feet  thick. 
Little  Clearfield  Creek  district. — In  the  second  basin  there  may  be  considered  first  the  coal 
along  the  Little  Clearfield  Creek  drainage,  reached  by  the  Pennsylvania  division  of  the  New 
York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad.  The  "D"  or  Moshannon  seam  is  the  cod 
principally  mined  in  this  drainage  area.  It  ranges  from  18  inches  to  4  feet  in  thickness,  but 
will  average  under  3  feet.  Its  excellent  qualities,  however,  allow  its  profitable  mining  even 
where  it  does  not  average  over  2^  feet,  and  the  commercial  mines  have  taken  coal  as  low  as  17 
inches.  Around  Oshanter  it  will  range  from  30  to  40  inches,  with  one-half  inch  to  2  inches 
of  shale  5  to  10  inches  from  the  bottom,  and  it  usually  carries  a  bone  layer  on  top.  Of  the 
other  coals  the  "E"  reaches  a  thickness  of  30  inches  in  places  near  Oshanter  and  on  the 
headwaters  of  Little  Clearfield  ('reek,  but  will  probably  average  about  2  feet.  The  "C"an<3 
'(""  coals  appear  to  be  less  than  2  feet  in  thickness.  The  "B"  coal  ranges  from  2  feet 
(>  inches  to  4  feet  around  Oschanter  and  3  feet  around  Olanta.  The  "A"  coal  ranges  from 
40  to  55  inches  near  Oshanter,  but  appears  to  be  less  than  2  feet  farther  upstream.  On  the 
whole  it  appears  probable  that  the  "  E,"  "B,"  and  "A"  seams  will  each  yield  some  workable 
coal.  The  "E"  lies  well  up  in  the  hills  and  carries  a  small  body  of  coal.  The  "A"  and 
"B"  are  at  or  below  drainage  level  and  underlie  all  of  this  territory. 
Grampian  district. — The  district  centering  at  Grampian  lies  between  West  branch  of 
Susquehanna  River  and  the  anticlinal  arch,  running  parallel  to  and  5  or  6  miles  north  oi 
the  river.  This  region  appears  to  be  all  underlain  by  the  "D"  coal,  with  an  average  thick- 
ness of  3  feet.  West  of  Grampian  and  on  Cherry  Run  it  locally  reaches  6  feet.  Most  oi 
the  sections  of  this  coal  show  a  parting  of  clay  shale  or  bone  from  2  to  8  inches  from  the 
bottom.  The  "E,J  coal  in  this  district  ranges  from  18  to  30  inches,  averaging  less  thai 
2  feet,  hut  is  a  solid  coal.  On  the  arch  to  the  north  of  McGees  it  is  locally  more  than  c 
feet  in  thickness.  The  "C"  coal  shows  30  inches  without  partings  near  Rowles.  The 
"  B"  coal  yields  from  IN  to  12  inches,  with  an  average  of  a  little  over  2  feet  of  solid  coal 
The  "A"'  or  "A"'  seam  shows  from  18  to  28  inches  of  solid  coal  around  Curwcnsville,  bul 
appears  to  he  thinner  to  the  west.  On  the  whole  the  "D"  coal  is  the  important  coal  o: 
this  district,  and  is  probably  workable  over  most  of  the  area  of  its  outcrop.  The  "B' 
and  the  "  E"  coals  may  prove  to  be  workable  over  considerable  areas,  and  the  "A"  and  "(■ 
coals  may  be  locally  workable. 
Burnxnli  district. — The  southwest  corner  of  the  county  is  included  in  the  upper  Susque- 
hanna or  Burnside  district.  The  coal  mined  at  Burnside,  thought  to  be  the  "D"  seam 
has  a  thickness  of  1  feet  (1  inches,  with  one  parting.  On  lower  Cush  Creek  is  a  coal,  eithe) 
"E"  or  "D,"  showing  from  3  feet  to  3  feet  6  inches  of  coal,  with  a  2  to  5  inch  parting 
10  to  14  inches  from  the  top.  But  little  mining  has  been  done  on  the  coals  of  this  district 
hut  considerable  drilling  has  heen  done  to  determine  the  character  of  the  coal  beds  ii 
advance  of  development.  This  work  has  shown  that  in  certain  localities  no  workabli 
coal  will  be  found,  while  in  other  localities  beds  from  3  feet  to  3  feet  4  inches  lie  at  dis 
tances  of  between  200  and  300  feet  below  drainage.  North  of  Burnside  the  rocks  rise  s< 
that  the  Pottsville  is  above  drainage  for  some  distance  above  and  below  McGees  Mills 
and  up  Be*\r  Run.  This  rise  throws  the  coal  beds  well  up  into  the  hills.  It  is  probafl 
that  a  large  share  of  this  district  will  yield  at  least  one  coal  of  workable  thickness,  ane 
locally  areas  showing  two  workable  coals  may  be  found. 
Summary. — It  will  be  seen  that  according  to  present  information  the  coals  of  southen 
Clearfield  County,  taken  as  a  whole,  are  about  3  feet  thick,  though  locally  running  up  t( 
6  feet.  Apparently  a  large  share  of  this  half  of  the  county  appears  to  be  underlain  by  a 
least  one  coal  bed  from  2\  to  3  feet  in  thickness,  most  of  which,  on  account  of  the  excelled 
quality  of  the  coal,  may  be  counted  as  a  source  of  fuel  for  the  future. 
