fisher.J  COAL    IN    NORTHWESTERN    WYOMING.  357 
Garland  district. — About  3  miles  northwest  of  Garland  a  small  coal 
district  has  recently  been  explored.  The  coal  is  in  the  basal  sandy 
division,  which  is  here  represented  by  a  series  of  low  sandstone  ridges 
dipping  gently  southwestward,  and  soon  passing  under  the  Wasatch 
toward  the  center  of  the  basin.  There  are  two  mines  doing  development 
work  at  present — the  Wyoming  Coal  and  Fuel  Company  and  the  Gar- 
land Coal  Company.  The  mines  are  located  within  a  few  yards  of  each 
other,  and  both  are  working  the  same  coal  deposit,  although  a  compari- 
son of  the  beds  at  the  two  openings  shows  considerable  local  variation. 
At  the  former  the  deposit  is  composed  of  an  upper  and  lower  bench, 
containing  two  distinct  varieties  of  coal.  In  the  upper  bench,  which  is 
2  feet  2  inches  thick,  the  coal  is  a  black  variety  of  lignite,  with  a  bright, 
shiny  luster.  It  occurs  in  layers  and  breaks  in  blocks.  The  lower 
bench,  having  a  thickness  of  1  foot  4  inches,  consists  chiefly  of  a  brown 
carbonaceous  shale  with  numerous  thin  layers  of  coal.  The  proportion 
of  shale  to  coal  varies,  the  former  sometimes  disappearing  entirely. 
The  two  benches  are  not  separated  by  a  layer  of  shale,  as  is  usually 
the  case  at  this  horizon,  but  the  sudden  change  in  the  character  of  the 
material  indicates  the  dividing  line. 
At  the  Garland  Coal  Company's  mine  a  slightly  different  section  is 
observed.  Here  there  is  an  increase  in  the  thickness  of  the  upper 
bench,  but  in  quality  no  essential  points  of  difference  can  be  noted. 
In  the  lower  bench  of  this  mine  the  coal  predominates  over  the  car- 
bonaceous shale,  the  change  having  been  affected  by  the  rapid  thicken- 
ing and  uniting  of  the  thin  coal  layers.  The  product  of  both  benches 
resists  weathering  fairly  well  for  a  lignite  variety,  and  that  of  the 
upper  bench  is  said  to  be  suitable  for  metallurgical  purposes.  Mid- 
way between  the  two  mines  the  Wyoming  Coal  and  Fuel  Company 
has  opened  at  this  horizon  a  trial  pit  which  exhibits  4  feet  3  inches  of 
coal  without  parting.  The  coal  of  the  lower  bench  is  entirely  free 
from  carbonaceous  shale,  and  in  its  physical  properties  has  the  appear- 
ance of  being  superior  to  that  of  the  upper  bench.  The  region  is  one 
of  low,  uniform  dips,  and  the  contained  coal  could  easily  be  mined. 
No  other  coal  beds  were  observed  above  or  below  this  horizon.  The 
mines  are  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  Toluca-Cody  branch  of 
the  Burlington  and  Missouri  River  Railroad,  so  that  a  sidetrack  might 
be  constructed  at  a  nominal  cost,  which  would  enable  the  companies  to 
ship  this  product.  The  following  measurements  were  taken  at  the 
three  different  openings  along  the  strike: 
Section  at  Wyoming  Coal  and  Fuel  Company' s  mine,  Garland,  Wyo. 
Ft.    In. 
Coal 2    2 
Brown  carbonaceous  shale  with  streaks  of  coal 1    4 
