NORTH    DAKOTA-MONTANA    LIGNITE    AREA.  329 
the  west  end  of  the  outcrop  the  lignite  contains  several  clay  bands  3  to  8  inches  thick,  but 
farther  east  there  is  only  one,  near  the  top  of  the  bed.  Two  miles  above  the  Fallon  ferry, 
at  the  mouth  of  Cottonwood  Creek,  a  lower  seam  outcrops  with  a  thickness  of  6£  feet.  At 
this  point  the  lignite  lies  5  or  6  feet  above  the  river;  but  one-half  mile  below,  it  is  at  water 
level.  Near  the  mouth  of  O'Fallon  Creek,  on  the  land  of  Mr.  Gifford,  the  following  section 
is  exposed  in  the  river  bank : 
Section  near  mouth  of  O'Fallon  Creek. 
Ft.   in. 
Clay 4-5 
Lignite 1    10 
Clay 5-8 
Lignite 3      4 
Clay 6-8 
Lignite 2 
Clay 0-4 
These  seams  probably  underlie  a  large  part  of  the  extensive  flat  on  which  Fallon  is 
located.  About  midway  between  Fallon  and  Terry,  on  the  same  side  of  the  river,  a  seam 
of  lignite  5  to  6^  feet  thick  occurs  12  feet  above  water  level.  In  the  river  bluffs  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Blatchford  station  two  seams  of  lignite  are  present.  They  are  separated 
by  8  to  10  feet  of  clay,  and  are  5  to  6  and  6  to  7  feet  thick,  respectively.  They  are  well 
exposed  in  the  side  valley  extending  back  from  Townsend'  ranch.  At  least  one  of  these 
seams  is  found  outcropping  at  intervals  in  the  lateral  ravines  for  a  distance  of  10  miles. 
Lignite  has  been  mined  about  Miles  City  for  many  years,  the  seams  which  have  been 
worked  varying  from  18  inches  to  4J  feet  in  thickness.  The  mines  at  present  in  operation 
are  5  miles  from  the  city,  the  lignite  being  hauled  by  teams.  The  Kircher  Brothers'  mine, 
located  5  miles  to  the  northeast,  has  been  opened  for  seven  years.  The  seam  varies  in 
thickness  from  4  feet  2  inches  to  4  feet  6  inches.  The  lignite  is  of  excellent  quality,  black, 
lustrous,  and  brittle.  At  the  Weaver  mine,  about  the  same  distance  from  town,  a  4-foot 
seam  is  being  worked.  Lignite  is  also  mined  on  the  west  side  of  the  Yellowstone,  on  Sun- 
day Creek. 
West  of  Miles  City  lignite  is  found  along  Cottonwood  and  Sarpy  creeks,  on  the  Crow 
Indian  Reservation,  near  Forsyth,  and  at  various  points  between  Forsyth  and  Miles  City. 
On  Beaver  Creek,  about  2  miles  north  of  Wibaux,  near  the  eastern  boundary  of  Mon- 
tana, a  seam  of  lignite  11  to  12  feet  thick  outcrops  at  several  points  for  a  distance  of  a 
mile  or  so.  It  lies  near  creek  level,  and  is  overlain  by  30  feet  of  soft  sandstone  and  gravel. 
The  seam  doubtless  has  a  considerable  extent  beneath  the  rolling  plain  east  of  the  valley 
of  Beaver  Creek.  Fifteen  miles  east  of  Wibaux,  in  North  Dakota,  a  thick  seam  of  coal 
occurs  near  the  base  of  Sentinel  Butte,  3  miles  from  the  railroad  station  of  the  same  name. 
The  bed  is  over  21  feet  thick  and  is  mined  for  use  in  the  town. 
DEVELOPMENT. 
Lignite  is  mined  quite  extensively  at  a  number  of  localities,  the  larger  mines  being,  of 
course,  near  the  railroads.  The  lignite  field  is  traversed  east  and  west  by  the  Great  North- 
ern and  Northern  Pacific  railways;  the  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and  Sault  Ste.  Marie  Rail- 
way, commonly  known  as  the  Soo,  enters  it  near  the  northeastern  border,  and  the  Bur- 
lington and  Missouri  River  Railroad  near  the  southern  and  western  borders. 
In  North  Dakota  there  are  large  mines,  many  of  them  well  equipped,  on  the  Soo  road 
near  Burlington  and  Kenmare,  Ward  County,  and  at  Wilton,  north  of  Bismarck,  also 
at  Lehigh,  Sims,  and  New  Salem,  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway.  In  Montana  the 
most  important  mines  are  located  near  Glendive  and  Miles  City,  and  in  Wyoming  much 
lignite  is  mined  near  Sheridan. 
