Campbell.]  MEADOW    BRANCH    COAL    FIELD    OF    WEST    VIRGINIA.        343 
merit  of  the  field  has  been  along  the  eastern  or  overturned  limb  of  the 
syncline.  The  selection  of  this  part  of  the  territory  for  development 
apparently  has  been  determined  by  the  unusual  thickness  of  the  beds  of 
coal  and  also  by  the  fact  that  the}7  are  more  apt  to  be  exposed  where 
the  beds  of  rock  stand  nearly  vertical  than  they  are  on  the  western 
limb  of  the  syncline  or  in  the  bottom  where  the  rocks  are  approxi- 
mately flat.  In  fact  this  condition  has  controlled  the  prospecting 
south  of  the  Meadows  road,  for,  as  previously  noted,  the  mines  are 
located  on  a  small  anticlinal  which  traverses  the  floor  of  the  basin  in  a 
line  parallel  with  the  general  structural  features  of  the  region. 
As  previously  stated,  the  search  for  thick  beds  of  coal  on  the  west- 
ern limb  of  the  s}Tncline  has  not  been  successful  and  the  impression 
seems  to  be  general  that  the  thick  deposits  are  limited  entirely  to  the 
overturned  limb  of  the  fold. 
Even  a  very  casual  examination  of  the  Meadow  Branch  field  will  show 
that  the  rocks  constituting  the  eastern  or  overturned  limb  are  much 
more  disturbed  and  fractured  than  those  in  the  center  of  the  basin. 
The  coal,  being  the  softest  member  involved,  has  suffered  the  greatest 
amount  of  disturbance,  and  consequently  it  is  reduced  to  the  crushed 
condition  shown  in  the  Chappelle  shaft. 
The  commercial  development  of  this  field  should  be  undertaken  as 
near  the  center  of  the  basin  as  it  is  possible  to  locate;  but  before  such 
operations  are  begun  it  should  be  determined  positively  whether  the 
common  idea  that  the  thick  coal  is  limited  entirely  to  the  eastern  side 
of  the  fold  is  correct.  Surface  prospecting  along  Meadow  Branch 
would  probably  determine  this  question,  but  it  is  preferable  to  test  the 
basin  with  a  diamond  drill.  As  stated  on  a  previous  page,  the  coal- 
bearing  rocks  appear  to  have  a  thickness  of  about  300  feet.  Hence,  if  a 
diamond  drill  were  started  at  the  base  of  the  red  shale  which  overlies 
the  coal-bearing  rocks  and  the  drilling  continued  until  the  massive 
sandstone  forming  the  crest  of  Sleep}?  Creek  Mountain  were  reached, 
it  would  reveal  the  presence  of  all  the  coal  beds  in  the  basin,  except 
possibly  the  one  which  is  supposed  to  lie  below  the  mountain-making 
sandstone.  Since,  in  a  basin  of  this  character,  faults  are  liable  to  occur, 
and  movement  may  have  taken  place  between  the  various  beds  of  rock 
composing  the  coal-bearing  series,  it  is  possible  that  the  coal  may  be 
faulted  out  at  certain  places.  In  order  to  guard  against  such  contin- 
gencies, it  is  desirable  to  drill  several  holes  in  the  basin  in  order  to  be 
certain  of  the  sequence  of  the  rocks  and  the  thickness  of  the  coal  beds. 
The  writer  would  suggest  that  a  favorable  place  for  testing  the  coals 
with  a  diamond  drill  is  on  the  north-sloping  hillside  at  the  end  of  Third 
Mountain,  overlooking  Devils  Nose.  A  test  might  be  made  to  advan- 
tage directly  east  of  Whites  Gap,  in  the  vicinity  of  Meadow  Branch, 
and  a  hole  might  also  be  drilled  near  Tom  Myer's  place,  where  the 
Meadows  road  crosses  the  basin. 
