COAL,  LIGNITE,  AND  PEAT. 
THE  DEER  CREEK  COAL  FIELD,  ARIZONA. 
By  Maeius  Ii.  Campbell. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Location. —  The  Deer  Creek  coal  field  of  Arizona  is  an  isolated  basin 
of  coal-bearing  rocks  situated  in  the  extreme  eastern  end  of  Pinal 
County.  It  lies  on  the  south  side  of  Gila  River  just  east  of  Dudle}^- 
ville,  which  is  located  at  the  junction  of  San  Pedro  and  Gila  rivers. 
The  field  is  about  85  miles  northeast  of  Tucson,  and  at  present  its 
nearest  railroad  point  is  San  Carlos,  on  the  branch  road  which  extends 
from  Bowie,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway,  to  Globe,  in  Gila 
Comity.  The  western  end  of  the  field  is  connected  by  wagon  road 
with  Florence  and  Tucson  and  points  in  the  San  Pedro  Valley.  The 
eastern  end  is  likewise  accessible  from  San  Carlos  by  way  of  Hawk 
Canyon,  but  there  are  no  roads  through  the  field.  The  coal  field  is 
located  near  the  middle  of  the  great  copper-producing  region  of 
Arizona,  which  extends  from  Jerome,  on  the  northwest,  to  Cananea, 
Mexico,  on  the  southeast,  and  includes  the  great  mining  centers  of 
Bisbee,  Globe,  Clifton,  and  Morenci. 
Description. — The  region  in  question  lies  south  of  the  great  Colo- 
rado Plateau,  and  the  surface  features  consist  in  general  of  ranges  of 
mountains  trending  northwest-southeast  and  separated  by  undulating 
valleys,  covered  for  the  most  part  by  debris  from  the  adjacent  moun- 
tain slopes.  Along  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  these 
mountain  ranges  are  comparatively  narrow,  linear  ridges,  but  north  of 
Gila  River  they  show  a  tendency  to  coalesce,  and  the  result  is  a  rugged 
country,  of  which  the  Pinal  and  Superstition  mountains  are  two  of 
the  best-known  features.  The  Pinal  Mountains  proper  are  limited  to 
the  territcry  north  of  Gila  River,  but  their  southeastern  extension  is 
a  prominent  range  which  borders  the  San  Simeon  plains  on  the  west, 
and  is  known  by  the  general  name  of  the  Pinaleno  Range.  Parts 
of  this  range,  like  Santa  Teresa  Mountains  and  Mount  Turnbull,  are 
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