370 
CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,   1903.  [bull.  225. 
tion  of  oil,  and  the  successful  well  shows  that  the  conditions  are  favor- 
able for  at  least  one  productive  field.  It  is,  however,  frequently  very 
difficult  to  ascertain  conditions  below  the  surface,  and  the  aid  ordi- 
narily derived  from  well  records  is  not  yet  sufficient  in  this  field  to 
show  conclusively  the  relation  in  depth  between  the  occurrence  of  the 
oil  and  the  structure  and  stratigraphy  of  the  containing  series.  The 
si  ructure  of  the  field  is  complex,  but  if  drillings  are  made  after  a  care- 
ful consideration  of  all  geologic  details,  the  existence  of  valuable  oil 
areas  may  perhaps  soon  be  proved  and  their  definition  safely  suggested. 
Properties  of  the  petroleum. — A  sample  of  the  petroleum  from  the 
well  near  Katalla  has  been  tested  by  Penniman  and  Browne,  of  Balti- 
more, with  the  following  results: 
Test  of  petroleum  from  Katalla,  Alaska. 
Specific  gravity ---- 39.1°  B.  (0.828  at  15.5°  C). 
Distillation  ]>y  Engler's  method: 
Benzine  (80°-150°  C. ) - 21  per  cent,  54.9°  B.  (0.7573) 
Burning  oil  (150°-300°  C.) 51  per  cent,  40.6°  B.  (0.8204) 
Kesiduum  (paraffin  base) 28  per  cent,  23.9°  B.  (0.9096) 
Sulphur Trace. 
The  burning  oil  was  purified  by  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  and  soda,  the  volume 
of  acid  used  up  being  too  small  to  measure.  The  purified  burning  oil  was  put  into  a 
small  lamp,  where  it  burned  dry  without  incrusting  the  wick  or  corroding  the  burner, 
and  without  any  marked  diminution  of  flame.  The  burning  oil  compares  very  favor- 
ably in  these  respects  with  Pennsylvania  oil  prepared  in  the  same  way. 
The  results  of  the  tests  may  be  compared  with  those  of  other  petro- 
leums in  the  following  table: 
7V.s7.s-  of  petroleum  from  Alaska  and  other  fields. 
l. 
Alaska. 
2. 
Pennsyl- 
vania. 
3. 
Ohio. 
4. 
Colorado. 
5. 
Mexico. 
6. 
Beaumont. 
Benzine  (80°-150°  C. ) 
Burning  oil  (150°-300°  C.) . . . 
Residuum 
21 
51 
28 
Tr. 
39. 1°B. 
16* 
54 
29 
10 
50 
40 
16 
40 
44 
10 
60 
30 
2£ 
40 
57£ 
1.7 
Sulphur 
Specific  gravity 
43°B. 
22°B. 
1.  Penniman  and  Browne  for  this  report. 
'1.  S.  F.  PecMiam,  Report  on  Petroleum,  p.  365. 
:-..  Durand  Woodman,  Jour.  Am.  Chem.  Soc.,  vol.  13,  p.  168. 
I.  F.  H.  Oliphant,  Mineral  Resources  IT.  S.,  1901,  Petroleum,  p.  560. 
5.  T.  15.  Stillman,  Engineering  Chemistry,  p.  364. 
6.  Hayes  and  Kennedy,  Oil  fields  of  Texas-Louisiana  coastal  plain:  Bull.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  No.  212, 
Pl>.  146-151. 
I  he  petroleum  is  clearly  a  refining  oil  of  the  same  general  nature  as 
the  Pennsylvania  petroleum.     It  resembles  the  latter  in  having  a  high 
