The Mineral Resources of Greenland. 53 
‚ borders and the chance of finding in juxtaposition а thick lense of coal 
and a thick sheet of peridotite, particularly in view of the heavy glacial 
drift, appears to be slight. 
Coal.) 
The more important coal deposits of Greenland occur on the west coast 
on Disco Island, Nugsuak Peninsula, and vicinage. This coalbearing area, 
stretching from 69° 20’ to 72° 7’ М. latitude, is some 320 km (200 miles) long 
and about 128 km (80 miles) wide. Much of this area, however, consists 
of deep waterways, and most of the land is covered by basalt flows. 
Within the area, coal is known at least at seventy-one places, and at 
sixteen of these the coal outcrops are easily accessible. The coal-bearing 
formations as a rule are exposed only along the cliffs which bound the 
islands, and, while some of the seams are located 675 т (2250 feet) or more 
above sea-level, the great majority occur near sea-level. The coal- 
bearing formations undoubtedly extend inland, beneath the basalt 
flows, and, in the aggregate, the coal reserves of the country are con- 
siderable. 
The sedimentary rocks of this portion of Greenland consist of 
lenticular beds of sandstone and shale, and a few seams of coal and 
clay iron-stone. According to STEENSTRUP, shale predominates in lower 
portion of the series and sandstone in the upper part. The thickness 
of the series is stated by WHITE and ScHUCHERT?) to be some 3 500 feet. 
In age the beds range without stratigraphic break from Lower Cretaceous 
to Miocene, and coal is found at all horizons. Probably the best coal 
beds, however, occur in the Atane (Upper Cretaceous) rocks. The coal 
beds, as a rule, are notably lenticular, and thin, presumably on the 
average considerably under 0.5m (11/, feet). Exceptionally, however, 
the thickness reaches 3.3 m (eleven feet). At certain localities but one 
seam is known, but at others, several occur as at Kanguisak, where 
STEENSTRUP reports five seams from 15—7.5 cm (one-half to one-quarter 
foot) thick in a vertical range of 115.5 m (385 feet) and at Patoot where 
_10 seams are reported. The beds which enclose the coal are, for the 
most part of fresh water origin, and from the fact that carbonized 
tree-trunks still stand in the ancient soil, it is believed by most geologists 
that the coal is now practically where the vegetation from which it 
was derived grew. 
The coal formations are usually horizontal or only slightly inclined, 
1) See particularly К. J. У. БтЕЕМЗТВОР: Meddelelser om Grønland, Vol. 5, 
1883, pp. 45—77. 
Grönland, Anton von ETZEL, Stuttgart, p.294 etc. presumably a resumé of 
SCHYTHE’S report. 
The Coal Resources of the World, Toronto, Canada, 1913, Vol. I, pp. 66—67. 
2) Bull. Geol. Soc. of Am. Vol. 9 1897, pp. 343—68. 
