<9

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

'BULLETIN

/

OP THE

UNITED STATES

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

No.

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT FEINTING OFFICE 

1891

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY

J. W. roWKLL, 1HKECTOK

STRATIGRAPHY

OF THK

BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD

PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO AND WEST VIRGINIA

BY

ISRAKL, G. WHITE

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PKINTINC! OFFICE 

1891
CONTENTS.

Letter of transrnittal........................................................ 15

CHAP. I. Area, structure, and classification of tlie bituminous coal rocks.... 17

CHAP. II. The Permo-Carboniferojis or Dunkard Crook Measures ............ 20

Thickness, character, and extent........................................ 20

Section on Dunkard Creek, Orcene Co., Pa....................... 22

Section on Colvin's Knii, Greene Co., Pa.......................... 23

Section in Aleppo Township, Grenne Co., Pa..................... 24

Section at Hoard Tree Tunnel, Marshall Co., W. Va .............. 25

Section at BelHon, Marshall Co., W. Va.......................... 20

Section at New Marti nsville, Wetzel Co., W. Va.................. 27

Section at Bares vi lie, Monroe Co., Ohio .......................... 28

Section in Liberty Township, Washington Co., Ohio.............. 29

Section at Washington, Washington Co., Pa ..................... 29

Section near Taylorstown, Washington Co., Pa................... '.10

Characteristic horizons.................................................. 30

The Windy Gap Limestone.......................................... :iO

The Windy Gap Coal................................................ :il

The Gil more Sandstone ............................................. 31

The Nineveh Sandstone ............................................. IK

The Ifellton Coal Group...... ........................................ 32

The Nineveh Coal....... ............................................ 32

The Nineveh Limestone ............................................. 3-J

The Hosteller Coal...... ............................................ us

The Fish Creek Sandstone........................................... 33

The Dtinkanl Coal .................................................. 33

The Jolly town Limestone ........................................... 34

The Jollytown Coal............................. .................... 34

The Upper Washington Limestone................. .................. 35

The Middle Washington Limestone.................................. -35

The Washington "A" Coal ._ .............................. ........ 35

The Marietta Sandstones ............................................ 35

The lilacksvillc Limestone ......................................'.... 3C

Tlio Lower Washington Limestone............ ...................... 36

The Washington Coal............ .......... .......... .... ....... ..... 37

Section a,t Favmington, Marion Co., W. Va....................... 37

Section on Willey Fork, AVetzel Co., W. Va ...................... 38

Section near Urown's Mill, Monongaliu Co., W. Va .......... ..... 38

The Washington Sandstone ......................................... 38

The Little Washington Coal............................ ............. 39

The Waynesbnrg "B"Coal ......................................... 39

The Colvin's Run Limestone...... ................................... 39

TheWaynosbnrg "A" Coal ....................... ............ ..... 39

The Mount Morris Limestone........................................ 39

The Waynesbnrg Sandstone............... ......................... 40

The Cassville Plant Shale ........................................... 41

Age of the Dunkard Creek Beds......................................... 41

5
CONTENTS.

CHAP. III. The Upper Coal Mensnros, or Monongahela River Series...... ..... 43

Thickness, character, and extent ........................................ -13

Section in Fayette and Westmorland Cos., Pa. .... .... ...... .... 44

Section at Brownsville, Fayetto Co., Pa ...... ...... ...... ...... . 44

Section at Went Brownsville, Washington Co., Pa ................ 45

Section at Rice's Landing, Greene Co., Pa ...... ...... ...... .... . 45

Section on Robinson's linn, Monongalia Co., W. Va .... .... ...... 40

Section on Scott's Him, Monongalia Co., \V. Va .................. 47

Section on Buffalo Crock, Marion Co., W. Va .................... 48

junction at Clarksburg, Harrison Co., W. Va...... ................ 48

Section on Chapline Hill, Wheeling, W. Va ...................... 49

Section near Bellaire, Belmont Co., Ohio. ........................ 50

Section at Moumlsville, Marshall Co , W. Va .... ...... .... ...... . 51

Section on Pipe Creek, Belmont Co., Ohio...... ...... ...... ...... 51

Section in Washington Co., Ohio ................................ 5ii

Section at Burning Springs, Wirt Co., W. Va. ...... ...... .... .... 52

Section on Leading Creek, Gilmer Co., W. Va.. ...... ...... ...... 5:1

Section at Antiquity, Meigs Co., Ohio...... .......... ........... 53

Section at Hartford City, Mason Co., W. Va...... ...... ...... .... 53

Section at Arbiickle, Mason Co., W. Va .......................... 54

Section at month of Big Hurricane Creek, Piitnam Co., \V. Va ... 55

Section opposite Wintield, Pntnam Cu., W. Va ................... 55

Section near Raymond City, Pntnam Co., W. Va . ...... ...... .... 56

Section in vicinity of Westernport, Allegany Co., Md ...... ...... 56

Characteristic horizons...... ............................................ 57

The Waynesbiirg Conl ...... ...... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... .'..... 57

Iron Ore...... ...................................................... 57

Tho Browntoxvn Sandstone..... ...................................... 58

The Little Waynesbiirg Coal ...... ...... ...... ...... ............ .... 5rt

The Wayueshnrg Limestone. .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .. ...... 58

The Union town Sandstone .......................................... 58

The Unioutown Coal ............................................... 5!)

Tho Uniontown Limestone ...... ...... ...... ...... .... ...... .... .... 59

Tho "Great" Limestone ................ ...... ...... .... ........ .... 59

Tho Sewickley Sandstone ........................................... 60

The Sewickley Coal...... ........................................... 60

Tho Sewickley Limc«touo ...................... .................... 61

The Redstone Coal...... ............................................ 62

Tho Redstone Limestone ............................................ 62

The Pittsburgh Sandstone. ....*....... .............................. 6:t

The Pittsburgh Coal ................................................ 63

Section at Newburgh, Preston Co., W. Va. ....... ................ 65

Section in Copeman's Knob, Preston Co., W. Va ................ 65

Section at Fairfax Knob, Tucker Co., W. Va.... ................. 05

Section at llnntington, Cabell Co., W. Va.... .................... (Hi

Section at Pomeroy, Ohio .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ...... .... . 00

Section on Shade Creek, Meigs and Athens Cos., Ohio ............ 06

Section on Federal Creek, Athens and Morgan Cos., Ohio. .... .... 07

Section at Berry's mine, in Homer Township, Morgan Co., Ohio .. 07

Section in Washington Township, Belinout Co., Ohio.... .... . .... 67

Section at Heatheriugton's mine, at Bellaire, Belmont Co., Ohio .. 68

Section in Warren Township, Jefferson Co., Ohio..... ............ 08

Section in German Township, Harrison Co., Ohio.... ...... ...... . 68

Section at Columbia mine, Westmorelaud Co., Pa....... ...... .j*. 68

Fossils of the Upper Coal Measures. ... .... .... .... ............ ...... 69
CONTENTS.

Page.

CHAP. IV. The Barren Measures, or Elk River Series............ J............ 70

Tbickneas, character, and extent ........................................ 70

Section in Pittsburgh region .................................... 72

Section at Sewickley, Pa ........................................ 73

Section on Dnnbar Creek, Fayette Co., Pa ....................... 74

Section at Ligonier, Westmorland Co., Pa....................... 75

Section in vicinity of Berlin, Somerset Co., Pa...... ............. 76

 Section in Broad Top Basin, Bedford Co., Pa. .................... 76

Section opposite Stenbenville, Ohio.............................. 77

Section under Washington, Pa .................................. 77

Section near Cannonsbnrg, Washington Co., Pa .................. 78

Section at Morgantown, \V. Va .................................. 79

Section near Little Falls, Mouougalia Co., W. Va. ................ 80

Section at New burg, Preston Co., W. Va.......................... 81

Section at Fairfax Knob, Tucker Co., W. Va ..................... 82

Section in Guernsey Co , Ohio ................................... 83

Section at Burning .Springs, Wirt Co., W. Va..................... 83

Section in vicinity of Huutiugton, W. Va.... .................... 84

Section near Charleston, W. Va ................................. 85

Characteristic horizons...... ................ ............................ 80

The Pittsburgh Coal Ores............................................ 86

The Little Pittsburgh Coal...... .................................... 86

The Pittsburgh Limestones.......................................... 87

The Connellsvillo Sandstone......................................... 87

The Little Clarksburg Coal......................r.................... 88

The Clarksburg Limestone .......................................... 88

The Morgan town Sandstone......................................... 88

The ElkLick Coal .................................................. 89

The Elk Lick Limestone ............................................ 90

The Crinoiclal, Green FossiliferotiH, or Amen Limestone ..... .......... 'JO

The Crincmlal Coal.................................................. 91

The Red Shale Beds............................................. .... «2

The Bakcrstown Coal.. .I......................... ................... 92

The Cambridge Limestones.............. ............................ 93

The Mason town Coal................................................ 94

The Iroudalo Li niestone and Ore .................................... 95

The Mahoniug Sandstone ........................................... %

The Mahoniug Coal.................................................. 96

The Malicm ing Limestone............................ .......:........ 96

The Upper and Middle Cannelton Coals...;................ ...... .... 97

The Kafiawha Black Flint..._......... ............................ 98

CHAP. V. The Lower Coal Measures, or Alleghany River Scries................ 99

Thickness, character, and extent........................................ 99

Section at Blossburg, Tioga Co., Pa.............................. 102

Section at Fall Brook, Tioga Co., Pa............. .... .... ........ 103

Section at Karthans, Clearfield Co., Pa .......................... 103

Section in Horton Township, Elk Co., Pa ........................ 104

Section at Brockwayville,'Jefferson Co., Pa................ ...... 104

Section in Clarion Co., Pa....................................... 105

Section at Miller's Eddy, Clarion Co., Pa ........................ 105

Section at East Brady, Clarion Co., Pa ........................... 106

Sectiou near New Bethlehem, Clarion Co., Pa.................... 106

Section in Brady Township, Butler Co., Pa ...................... 107

Section at Ore Hill Furnace, Armstrong Co., Pa.................. 107

Section at Centerville, Armstrong Co., Pa........................ 108
8 CONTENTS.

Tage. 

CHAP. V. The Lower Co.il Measures, or Alloghany River Series Continued.

Section at Pntneyville, Armstrong Co., 1'a........................... 108

Section in vicinity of Kittauuiug, Pa.......................... ..... 100

Section 5 miles below Kittanniug, Pa................................ 109

Section at Logansport, Armstrong Co., Pa.................. .......... 110

Section at Freeport, Armstrong Co., Pa ............................. Ill

Section near mouth of Reaver River................................. 118

Section under Sewickley, Allegheny Co., Pa.......................... 118

Section under Washington, Pa ...................................... 113

Section near Carpenter's Station, Westmoreliiiid Co., Pa...... ........ 113

Section under Mnrraysville, Westmorland Co., Pa................... 114

Section on Beaver Run, Westmoreland Co., Pa....................... 114

Section near Richmond, Indiana Co., Pu............................. 11!»

Section near Lockport and Bolivar, Indiana Co., lju.................. 115

Section near Langhlinton, Westmorland Co., Pa .................... 11C

Section on Cucumber Run, Stewart Township, Kayette Co., Pa....... 116

Section under Newbnrg, Prest«>n Co., W. Va ......................... 117

Section near Johnstown, Cambria Co., Pa........................... 118

Section at Conemangh, near Johnstown, Cambria Co., Pa ............ 119

Section in Jackson Township, Cambria Co., Pa ...................... 119

Section on Ben's Creek, Cambria Co., Pa............................. 180

Section at Stoycstown, Somerset Co., Pa............................. "181

Section at Pinkerton Point, Somerset Co., Pa ........................ 181

Section at Cresson, Cambria Co., Pa................................. 128

Section at Beniiinglon, Blair Co., Pa.......................... ...... 128

Section at Clearfield, Clearncld Co., Pa...............I.............. 183

Section near Morrisdale, CleariiolU Co., Pa........................... 123

Section at Sterling mines, near Houtzdalo, Clrarlield Co., 1'a......... 124

Section on Shoup's Run, Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon Co., Pa....... 18">

Section in East Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon Co., 1'a................ 18!>

Section in Broad Top Basin, Bedford Co., Pa......................... 12ti

Section at Piedmont, Mineral Co., W. Va............................. 186

Section at Maple Swamp water tank, W. Va. Central Railroad......... 127

Section near Thomas, Tucker Co., W. Va............................. 127

Section near Moatsville, Barbour Co., W. Va......................... 128

Section at Valley Falls, Taylor Co., W. Va........................... 128

Section near Nnzum's Mills, Marion Co., W. Va....................... 18!>

Section under Clarksburg, Harrison Co., W. Va ...................... 12!)

Section under Parkorsburg, W. Va................................... I'M

Section under Wheeling, W. Va ......................... ............ 130

Section at mouth of Little Beaver, on the Ohio- Pennsylvania line.. .... 130

Section near Sprucevale, Colunibiana Co., Ohio...................... 131

Section between New Lisbon and Leetonin, Ohio..................... 132

Section at Zauesvjlle, Mnskingnm Co., Ohio.......................... 132

Section in vicinity of Shawnee and McCuneville, Perry Co., Ohio .... 133

Section iii Hocking Valley, near Buchtel, Ohio..... .......... .... .... 133

Section on Meeker's Run, near Nelsonville, Athens Co., Ohio.......... 134

Section in Panther Hill, Mt. Vornon Furnace, Scioto Co., Ohio......... 134

Section at Ironton, Lawrence Co., Ohio.................. ...... ...... 135

Section iu southern Ohio, above Ironton............................. 135

Section under Charleston, W. Va .................................... 136

Section at mouth of Lick Run, 8 miles above Charleston, W. Vu...... 137

Section at Dickinsou Salt Works, Kanawhn Co., \V. Va......... ...... 138

Section near Brownstown, 3 miles south from .Maiden, W. Va......... ]31»

Section at mouth of Armstrong Creek, on the liig Kanawlia River.... 140

\ftt--?li
CONTENTS.

Page. 

CHAP. V. The Lower Coal Measures, or Allpghany River Series Continued.

Section at Gnyandotte Moniitnin, Raleigh Co., W. Va............. 142

Section uear^Oceana, Wyoming Co., W. Va....................... 14'J

Section at mouth of Blaine Creek, Lawrence Co., Ky ............ 144

Section near Old Peach Orchard, Ky...............".............. 145

Section at Warfield, Ky., and on Tug Fork of Big Sandy Kiver... 146

Section on Tug Fork of Big Sandy Kiver, Logan Co., W. Va...... 147

Characteristic horizons.................................................. 147

The Upper Freeport Coal....... ................................. 147

Section at McCoy Shaft, near Gallitziu, Camhria Co., Pa.......... 148

Section near old Portage KailroaoLtnnuel, at Gallitzin, Pa........ 149

Section at Mt. Equity mine, Bedford Co., Pa...................... 149

Section at Posten's bank, near Masontown, Preston Co., W. Va... 150

Section at Hartley's bank, near Masoutown, W. Va .............. 150

Section at Wilson's mine, Roaring Creek, Randolph Co.,\V. Va .. 151

Section on Stone Coal Run, Upshur Co., W. Va-................. 151

Section on the Buckhannon River, Upshur Co., W. Va............ 152

Section at Lloyd Wamsley's bank, Upshur Co., W. Va ........... 152

Section at Bryan's bank, Upshur Co., W. Va...... ............... 152

Section at Current's farm, Upshur Co., W. Va .................... 152

Section near Hacker's Valley post-office, Webster Co., W. Va..... 153

Section on the Little Kahawha River, Webster Co., W. Va ....... 153

Section on the Holly River, Webster Co., W. Va............. ..... 153

Section at Powell Mountain, Nicholas Co., W. Va.......'......... 153

Section on Stroud Creek, Nicholas Co., W. Va.... ............... 154

Sections on Mumble-the-Peg Creek, Nicholas Co., W. Va.......... 154

Sections on the Gnyandotte River, Cabell Co., W. Va ............ 155

Sections on Cove Creek, Wayne Co., W. Va.. .................... 155

Section on Twelve-pole Creek, Wayne Co., W. Va................ 150

Section on Little Laurel Creek, Wayne Co., W. Va............... 156

Section on Saw-pit branch of Cove Creek, Wayne Co., W. Va..... 157

Section in Sugar Camp Hollow, Wayne Co., W Va ............... 157

Section ou Trough Creek, Wayne Co., W. Va..................... 157

Section at Greene Porter's, Twelve-pole Creek, Wayne Co., W. Va. 158

Section near Kenova, W. Va.-................................... 158

Section in Ritchie Co., W.Va.................................... 159

The Upper Freeport Limestone.....................................'. j.r,y

The Bolivar Fireclay................................................ 159

The Upper Freeport Sandstone ...................................... |()0

The Middle Freeport Coal............................................ KJO

The Lower Freeport Coal.......................... .................. K;O

Section near Philippi, Harbour Co., W. Va ....................... mi

Sectiou of bed at Coalbiug, K;ina\vha Co., VV. Va...... ...... .... Kfc}

Section at Winifrede, Kanawha Co., W. Va ...................... lea

Section at mouth of Blaine Creek, Lawrence Co., Ky. ............ 1(12

The Lower Freeport Limestone...................................... !(!:!

The Lower Freeport Sandstone...................................... IC.'J

The Upper Kittauniiig Coal.......................................... 1U4

The Johnstown (Cement) Limestone................................. 1C5

The Middle Kittanning Coal....................................._. Ifj6

Sectiou at Newbnrg, Preston Co., W. Va............ ............. 107

Section in Hocking Valley, Ohio................................. 108

Section at New Straitsville, Perry Co., Ohio ..................... 108

The Lower Kittauning Coal......................................... 169

Section at Ncwburg, Preston Co., W. Va......................... 170
10 CONTENTS.

Page. 

CHAP. V. The Lower Coal Measures, or Allegheny River Series Continued.

The Kittanning Fire-clay............................................ 171

The Kittanning Sandstone.......................................... 172

The Buhrstone Iron Ore................. ....?.............. ...... 172

The Ferriferous Limestone .......................................... 17:$

The Clarion Coal........ ............................................ 175

Section near Eagle, Fayotte Co., W. Va.......................... 17(>

The Eagle Limestone ............................................... 177

The BrookvilleCoal................................................. 178

CHAP. VI. Tim Pottsville Conglomerate Scries............................... 17!)

Thickness, character, and extent........................................ 179

Section in Fox Township, Elk Co., Pa........... ................ ISi

Section near Clcarlield, Va. .................. .................... 182

Section at Itrookville, Jefferson Co., Pa............ .............. 183

Section at Fatten Station, Red Bunk Township, Clarion Co., Pa. 183

Section at Kellersbnrg, Armstrong Co., Pa ....................... 184

Section under Pittsburgh, Pa.................................... 184

Section under Murraysvillo, Pa .................................. 184

Section under Washington, Pa................................... 185

Section in the liroad Top Basin, Huntingdon Co., Pa............. 185

Section near Wellersburg, Somerset Co., Pa...................... 186

Section near Piedmont, Mineral Co., W. Va .... ................. 186

Section on Black Fork of Cheat River, Tucker Co., W. Va........ 187

Section near Rowlesburgh, Preston Co., W. Va................... 188

Section near month of Sandy Creek, Preston Co., W. Va.......... 18S

Section on Booth's Creek, Taylor Co., W. Va..................... 189

Section under Clarksburg, W. Va . .......................... 189

Section near Farmiiigton, W. Va ................................ 189

Section under Wellsburg, W. Va......... ........................ 190

Section in Mercer Co., Pa ....................................... 190

Section near Qnakertown, Maboning Co., Ohio .... .............. 191

Section in Holmes Co., Ohio .................................... 191

Section in Washington Co., Ohio................................. 192

Section under Parkershnrg, W. Va............................... 192

Section near Burning Springs, Wirt Co., W. Va .................. 192

Section at Jackson Furnace, Jackson Co., Ohio .................. 193

Section at Hanging Rock, Scioto Co., Ohio ...... .......... ...... 193

Section on Big Sandy River, at month of Blainc Crook........... 194

Section under Charleston, Kanawha Co., W. Va .................. 195

Section at Burning Spring, Kanawha Co., W. Va ................. 196

Section near Nuttallhnrg, Fayette Co., W. Va ................... 167

Section on Crane Creek, Mercer Co., W. Va....................... 198

Characteristic horizons.................................................. 199

The Homewood Sandstone.../....................................... 199

The Mercer Group................................................... 200

The Coimoqnenessiitg Sandstones............ ........................ 201

The New River Coal Group........................ .__............. 202

Section on Crane Creek, near Pocahontas, Va.................... 203

Section at head of South Elk Horn Creek, McDowell Co., W. Va.. 203

Section on East Branch of Simmon's Creek, Mercer Co., W. Va.... 203

Section on Walker tract, Flipping Creek, Mercer Co., W. Va...... 204

Section on Pinnacle Fork of Guyamlotte River, Mercer Co., W. Va 204

The SharouConglomerate ........................................... 204

The Lower Carboniferous Beds ...................................... 205
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

PLATE I. Map showing the general distribution of the Carboniferous in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio ........................ Frontispiece.

II. Sections across the Appalachian Coal Fields. Figs. 1 and 2........ 16

III. Sections across the Appalachian Coal Fields, from Ravenna, Ohio,

to the Alleghany mountains..................................... 18

IV. Permo-Cavbouiferous, C'amcron, W. Va .........-..-----.....-.... 20

V. Upper Coal Measures, capped with Permo-Carboniforous beds, Wheeling, W. Va..... .......... ...................................... 44

VI. Upper Coal Measures and Permo-Carboniferous, Powhatan, Ohio... 50 

VII. Upper Coal Measures at Point Pleasant, W. Va ................ .... 60

VIII. The Pittsburgh coal outcrop near Connellsvillc, Pa .......... ...... C4

IX. Lower Coal Measures, Coalbnrg, Kanawha River, W. Va........... 100

X. The Pottsville conglomerate topography iu Blackwater Canyon.... ISO

XI. The Pottsville conglomerate cliffs and debris, New River, West VirFiG.

gmia .................... .............. ................

1. Section on Dunkard Creek, Greene Co., Pa ...................

2. Section on Colvin's Run, Greoiie Co., Pa .....................

3. Section iu Aleppo Township, (Jreene Co., Pa .................

4. Section at Hoard Tree, Marshall Co., W. Va ..... ...... .... ...

5. Section at Bellton, Marshall Co., W.Va ................. .....

0. Section at New Murtinsvillo, Wetzel Co., W. Va ..... ...... ...

7. Section at Barcsvillc, Monroe Co., Ohio ......................

8. Section iu Liberty Township, Washington Co., Ohio. ...... ...

9. Section at Washington, Washington Co., Pa .... .... .... .... .

10. Section near Taylorstown, Washington Co., Pa. . .... ...... ...

11. Section in Fayotte and Westmorland Cos., Pa .... .... ...... .

12. Section at Brownsville, Fayette Co., Pa. .....................

13. Section at West Brownsville, Washington Co., Pa ............

14. Section at Rice's Landing, Greene Co., Pa. ...... ...... ...... .

15. Section on Robinson's Run, Mouongalia Co., W. Va ...... .....

1C. Section on Scott's Run, Monongalia Co., W. Va...... .... .....

17. Section on Buffalo Creek, Marion Co., W. Va .................

18. Section at Clarksburg, Harrison Co., W. Va ...... ...........

19. Section on Chapline Hill, Wheeling, W. Va.... .... ...........

20. Section near Bellaire, Ohio ..................................

21. Section at Moimdsville, W. Va...... .........................

22. Section on Pipe Creek, Beluiont Co., Ohio. ...................

23. Section in Washington Co., Ohio ....... ...... ...... ...... ...

24. Section at Burning Springs, Wirt Co., W. Va...... ...........

26. Section at Antique, Meigs Co., Ohio ...... .... ...... ...... ...

27. Section at Hartford City, Mason Co., W. V». .................

28. Section at Arbuckle, Mason Co., W. Va ......................

....... 22

....... 23

....... 24

....... 25

....... 2G

....... 27

....... 28

....... 29

....... 2'J

....... 30

....... 44

....... 44

....... 4.".

....... 4:>

....... <i:>

....... 47

....... -H

....... 4'.l

....... 411

....... .r><>.

....... r.l

....... r.i

....... 5-i

. . .... 52

....... 53

....... 53

....... 54

....... 54

i

11
12 LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS.

rage.

FIG. 29. Section at month of Big Hurricane Crook, Pntnam Co., W. Va....... 55

IJO. Section opposite Wintield, Putnam Co., W. Va ...................... 55

31. Section near Kaymuud City, W. Va ........__..................... 56

32. Section in vicinity of Westernport, Md.............................. "56

33. Section in the Pittsburgh region .................................... 72

34. Section at Sewickley, Pa ....................'.......... ............*.. 73

35. Section on Dnnlmr Creek, Fayetto Co., Pa ............ ...... ........ 74

36. Section at Ligonier, Westmorland Co., Pa.......................... 75

37. Section in vicinity of Berlin, Somerset Co., Pa ...................... 76

38. Section at Broad Top, Bedford Co., Pa .............................. 77

39. Section opposite Steiibenville, Ohio ................................. 77

40. Section at Washington, Pa ....................... ...... ............ 78

41. Section near Cannonsbnrg, Washington Co., Pa ............. ........ 78

42. Section at Morgantown, W. Va ..................................... 79

43. Section at Little Falls, Monongnlia Co., W. Va ...................... 80

44. Section at Newhurg, Preston Co., W. Va ............................ 81

45. Section at Fairfax Knob, Tucker Co., W. Va......................... 82

46. Section in Guernsey Co., Ohio ............................ .......... 8IJ

47. Section at Burning Springs, Wirt Co., W. Va ........................ 83

48. Section near Huutingtou, W. Va.................................... 84

49. Section near Charleston, W. Va..................................... 85

50. Section at Blossbnrg, Tioga Co., Pa ................................. 102

51. Section at Fall Brook, Tioga Co., Pa .................. .............. 103

52. Section at Karthans, Clearlield Co., Pa.............................. 103

53. Section in Horton Township, Elk Co., Pa ........................... 104

54. Section at Brock way ville, Jefferson Co., Pa ......................... 104

55. Section in Clarion Co., Pa .......................................... 105

5(J. Section at Miller's Eddy, Clarion Co., l\i............................ 105

57. Section at East Brady, Clarion Co., Pa............................... 100

58. Section near New Bethlehem, Clarion Co., Pa........................ 10(i

59. Section in Brady Township, Butler Co., Pa.......................... 107

60. Section near Ore Hill Furnace, Armstrong Co., Pa................... 107

61. Section at Center ville, Armstrong Co., Pa........................... 108-

62. Section at Pntneyville, Armstrong Co., Pa .......................... 108

63. Section near Kittanuing, Pa........................................ 109

64. Section 5 miles below Kittannin<;, Pa ............................... 109

65. Section at Logansport, Armstrong Co., Pa........................... 110

66. Section at Fret-port, Pa............................................. Ill

67. Section near month of Beaver River, Pa ............................ 112

68. Section at Sewickley, Allegheny Co., Pa ........................ .... 112

69. Section under Washington, Pa...................................... 113

70. Section near Carpenter's Station, WoHtrnoreland Co., Pu ............. 113

71. Section under Murraysville, Westmorland Co., Pa ............ ...... 114

72. Section on Beaver Run, Westmorland Co., 1'a ...... ................ 114

73. Section near Richmond, Indiana Co., Pa ............................ 115

74. Section near Lockport and Bolivar, Indiana Co., Pa .............:... 115

75. Section on Laurel Run, near Laiighliiitown, Wi'Nt.morclnnd Co., Pa .. 110

70. Section on Cucumber Run, Stcwurt Township, Fayette Co., Pu ...... 110

77. Section at Newbnrg, Preston Co., W. Va ............................ 117

78. Section at Johnstown, Cambria Co., Pa ............................. 118

79. Section at Conemaugh, near Johnstown, Pa ......................... 119

80. Section in Jackson Township, Ci.mhria Co., Pa...................... 119

81. Section on Ben's Creek, Cambria Co., Pa............................ 120

82. Section near Stoyostown, Somerset Co., Pa .......................... 121

83. Section at Piukertou Point, Somerset Co., Pa ........................ 121
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 13

Page.

FIG. 84. Section at Cresson, Pa............................................. 122

C5. Section at Bennington, Blair Co., Pa............................... 122

86. Section at CJearfield, Clearfield Co., Pa ............................ 123

87. Section near Morrisdale, Clearfield Co., Pa ......................... 123

88. Section at Sterling mines, near Houtzdale, Clearlield Co., Pa.. ...... 124

89. Section on Slump's Run, Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon Co., Pa..... 125

 90. Section East Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon Co., Pa................. 125

91. Section in Broad Top Basin, Bedford Co., Pa ............. .......... 126

92. Section at Piedmont, Mineral Co., W. Va........................... 126

93. Section on North Potomae, at Maple Swamp Water Tank, West Virginia Central Railroad .......................................... 127

94. Section near Thomas, Tucker Co., W. Va........................... 127

95. Section near Moatsville, Barbour Co., W. Va ....................... 128

96. Section at Valley Falls, Taylor Co., W. Va.. ........................ 128

97. Section near Niizmu's Mills, Marion Co., W. Va..................... 129

98. Section under Clarksburg, W. Va .................................. 129

99. Section under Parkerslmrgh, W. Va.......................... ...... 130

100. Section under Wheeling, W. Va.................................... 130

101. Section at mouth of Little Beaver, on the Ohio-Pennsylvania line..... 130

102. Section near Sprncevale, Columbiana Co., Ohio .................... 131

103. Section between New Lisbon .and Leetonia, Ohio..... .............. 132

104. Section at Zanesville, MiiHldngum Co., Ohio........................ 132

105. Section in vicinity of Shawneo and McCuneville, Perry Co., Ohio... 133

10C. Section in Hooking Valley, near Buchtel, Ohio ..................... 133

107. Section on Meeker's Run, Hear Nelsonvillc, Athens Co., Ohio.... .... 134

108. Section ill Panther Hill, Mt. Vernon Furnace, Scioto Co., Ohio...... 134

109. Section at Ironton, Ohio ........................................... 135

110. Section in southern Ohio, above Ironton............................ 135

111. Section under Charleston, W. Va................................... 136

112. Section at mouth of Lick Run, 2 miles above Charleston, W. Va .... 137

113. Section at Dickinson salt works, Kanawha Co., W. Va.............. 138

114. Section near Brownstown, 3 miles south from Maiden............... 139

115. Section at mouth of Armstrong Creek, on the Big Kanawha River... 140

11C. Section at Guynmlotte Mountain, Raleigh Co., W. Va... ............ 142

117. Section near Oceana, Wyoming Co., W. Va ........................ 143

118. Section at month of "Blaiue Creek, 20 miles above mouth of Big

Sandy River, Lawrence Co., Ky................ ................. 144

119. Section near IVach Orchard, Lawrence Co., Ky..................... 145

120. Section near \Varlield, Ky., on Tug Fork of Big Sandy River ....... 146

121. Section on Tug Fork of Big Sandy River, near mouth of Knox Creek,

southern edge of Logau Co., W. Va .............................. 147

122. Section in Fox Township, Elk Co., Pa.................. ............ 182

123. Section at Clearlield, Pa ................'........................... 183

124. Section at Brookville, Jefferson Co., Pa ........................ .... 163

125. Section at Patton Station, Red Bank Township, Clariou Co., Pa ... 183

126. Section at Kellersbnrgh, Armstrong Co., Pa ........................ 184

127. Section under Pittsburgh, Pa ...................................... 184

128. Section under Murray sville, Pa..................................... 185

129. Section tinder Washington, Pa..................................... 185

130. Section in the Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon Co., Pa ............... 185

131. Section on Gladden's Run, near Wellersburg, Somerset Co., Pa...... 186

132. Section near Piedmont, Mineral Co., W. Va......................... 186

133. Section on Black Fork of Cheat River, Tucker Co., W.Va........... 187

134. Section along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Cheat River grade,

4 miles west from Rowlosburgh, Preston Co., W. Va ......,....... 18Q
14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG. 135. Section near mouth of Sandy Creek, Cheat River, Preston Co., W. Viv... 1X8

136. Section on Booth's Creek, Taylor Co., W. V» ............. .......... Ib9

137. Section under Clarksburg, "VV. V;i ................................... 189

138. Section near Farmington, W. Va................................... 189

139. Section under Wellsburgh, W. Va.................................. 190

140. Section in Mercer Co., Pa.......................................... 190

141. Section at Ohio and Pennsylvania line, on Mahoning River......... 191

142. Section in Holmes Co., Ohio....... ................................ 191

143. Section of Kpler oil boring, Washington Co., Ohio........ ........... 192

144. Section under Parkersburg, W. Va..................... ........... 192

145. Section at Sinipsou Well, Wirt Co., W. Va.......................... 192

140. Section at Jackson Furnace, Jackson Co., Ohio....,................ 193

147. Section at Hanging Rock, Scioto Co., Ohio......................... 193

148. Section under Hig Sandy Kiver, at mouth of Blainu Creek .......... 194

149. Section uuder Charleston, Kunstwlia Co., AV. Va .................... 195

l.r>0. Section at Burning Spring, Kanawha Co.. W. Va ................... 196

liil. Section in vicinity of NuttalVburgh, Fayette Co., W. Vu............ 197

152. Section on Crane Creek, Mercer Co., W. Vu......................... 198
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR;

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 

v APPALACHIAN DIVISION,

Morgantoicn, W. Va., July 15, 1890.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the results of my study 

of the stratigraphy of the bituminous coal rocks in the northern half 

of the Appalachian field.

As stated in the body of this report, it can not be expected that this 

first attempt to correlate the different beds of coal, limestone, and sandstone over such a wide area will be free from error, but it represents 

iny best efforts to harmonize the strata of the several regions. No 

one knows better than I that many of the identifications suggested are 

largely preliminary, and I not only expect but request the friendly 

criticism of my brother geologists, knowing that all will be pleased 

when the correct order of these interesting deposits shall be finally 

determined.

Many questions of great geological interest have not been discussed 

in this report, for the reason that I thought it best to postpone their 

treatment until some one should have done for the southern half of the 

Appalachian coal field what I have attempted for the northern half, 

since the field is a unit from Pennsylvania to Alabama, and in the discussion should be treated as such.

It is hardly necessary to say that the accompanying map is not presented with any claim for accuracy as to details, but only to show in a 

rough way the general distribution of the different members, and with 

the hope that it may prove of some service in the preparation of a correct map of these several series when the Survey shall have extended 

'ts topographic work over the entire region.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

I. C. WHITE. 

Hon. J. W. POWELL,

Director U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.

15

STRATIGRAPHY OF THE BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD 

IN PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, AND WEST VIRGINIA.

BY I. (J. WHITE.

CH A PTEK I.

AREA, STRUCTURE, AND CLASSIFICATION.

The Appalachian Basin contains the largest continuous coal field of 

any Carboniferous area. P>eginniiig near the northern line of Pennsylvania, latitude 4l'°, longitude 77°, it extends south westward through 

West Virginia, southeastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, and central Tennessee, ending in western Alabama, latitude ,'53°, longitude 88°, 900 

miles from its northern terminus.

The shape of the field has been compared to that of a rude canoe, 

tlu1 pointed ends being in Pennsylvania and Alabama, respectively, while 

the broadest portion lies in southern West Virginia and Ohio.

As is well known, the general structure of the field is that of a great 

trough or basin, the line of greatest depth leaving Pennsylvania near 

its southwest corner, and rmssing down through West Virginia rudely 

parallel to the Ohio River, to enter Kentucky 10 miles above the month 

of the Uig Sandy Kiver. This general trough or geo-syncline is itself 

traversed, especially in its northeastern portion, by a series of flexures, 

which, although so gentle along the region west of the center of the 

field as to be recognizable, with difficulty, yet eastward thereof they 

increase in amplitude until the great folds of the Alleghauy Mountains 

become a part of the system.

The map sections shown on Pis. X and XI, crossing the Appalachian 

field nearly normal to the strike, will give the reader a good idea of the 

structttre of the northern half of this field at the localities indicated on 

the map (PI. I), and they also show how the folds which are so prominent at the northeast gradually die out toward the southwest, so that 

in the region of the (treat Kanawha lliver they almost disappear. This 

flattening out of the flexures in southern West Virginia has been 

ascribed by Professors Foutaine and Stevenson to the development of 

the great system of faults along the southeastern margin of the coal field 

in the edge of Virginia., which relieved the tension cm the rocks over 

Bull, (Jo a 17
18 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [Hi'i.i. 65.

the adjoining portion of the Appalachian field and thus prevented their 

folding as in Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. These anticlinal and synclinal folds so well developed at the north are nearly parallel to the Alleghany Mountains, but as they begin to die away in 

central West Virginia a large anticline (the Volcano) runs nearly north 

aud south diagonally across the general strike of the beds.

There are probably other folds in the southwestern part of West Virginia, which, like the Volcano anticline, run contrary to the usual direction, but they have not been traced out with sufficient care to warrant 

description.

The distribution of the different geological groups on the accompanying map will serve to show the general position and direction of the 

principal anticlines, but the topographic base of the map is so inaccurate that it was thought best not to attempt to put in the anticlinal 

lines of the region described till the Survey should have completed the 

regular topographical map.

In this connection it should be stated that this map is not presented 

with any claims for accuracy in detail, but simply to show the general 

distribution of the Carboniferous system.

The portion of the Appalachian region herein described includes only 

the bituminous coal fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.

The Pennsylvania and Virginia geologists, led by the two illustrious 

Rogers brothers, long ago discovered that the main coal-bearing portion 

of the Carboniferous system could be naturally subdivided into live 

series. This generalization was founded upon a careful study of the 

rocks over a wide area, and the subsequent work of other geologists has 

fully established its general truthfulness to nature as well as its great 

usefulness in stratigraphic geology.

The more detailed and minute studies of recent years, rendered 

possible by vast mining developments, have only modified the Rogers 

classification, and hence it has become so thoroughly ingrafted into 

geological nomenclature and so familiar to the minds of practical coal 

operators that it would be very unwise to make any radical changes in it. 

It is true that in minor details the original nomenclature for some of 

these series was misleading, but this does not materially affect the grand 

truths expressed in the general framework of the classification, and 

hence it has been deemed best to modify and supplement this timehonored work, rather than to destroy it and cast it away, as has recently 

been suggested by some geologists.

The classification adopted in this report attempts to preserve whatever of the old nomenclature has been found useful aud helpful to 

geologists, while at the same time such new features are introduced as 

seem necessary from our wider aud more intimate kuowledge of these 

rocks.

The entire Carboniferous system of the Appalachian region subdivides 

naturally into three grand divisions founded upon conditions of accu-
c I 

o

l. INDIANA ANTICLINAL.

TIC'1 IKIAI

; NEGRO MT ANTICLINAL.

MTS.

PALESTINE

Pi
J

d ' 

t

CONG, MEASURES I.C.M. BARB C...N

1

3

^MEASURES

M

3

i

UPPER COAL MEASURES PERMO-CAPB. MEASURES.

s U.C.M. 

' BAH.U.

*?.CON«.M.

FIG. I.

HORIZONTAL SCALE 5 MILES = I INCH. 

VERTICAL " Sooo FT =

KM I " " IrrifirliU. null

FIG. Z

HORIZONTAL SCALE 36oooFT=l INCH. 

VERTICAL " 36oo »=" »

8CCTKH1S ACROSS TH£ APPALACHIAN COAL FIFLDS. 

. Ohio, tn ||H> nvd«<rti «tl»rr* nf thf

vO

in

to

hJ

1.

u

(NJ
U- ft. GSOLOOtCAL 3MIVEV

t.tr.

c

i C ° N S L 0 M ERATE MEASURES. LOWER COAL MEASURES

2

 I 

 1g B A R R E N _

(Eu

25

^^M^Egg AS U R E Ji __ _

PEN Mm E A s u i, E 5 < J

HORIZONTAL SCALE: 5 MILES-I INCH. 

VERTICAL. «»5oooFT » "

SECTION ACROSS THE APPALACHIAN COAL FIELDS, F(OM RAVENNA, OHIO, TO THE ALLCGMANV MOUNTAINS.

1

10

to

UJ

(M

-O
WHITE.' DIVISIONS OF THE CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM. 19

initiation, and these iu turn split up into eight minor series, as exhibited 

in the following scheme:

CAUHOMIFKHOUH

IHvisious.

Upper: frt'.sb;iml 

hrarkiHli water

dt'pomts.

Middle: shonMlovursiuus of the 

sua.

Lower: in ariue 

deposit!*.

Series.

Fenno Carboniferous, No. XVI, Dunkard Creek Series. 

Upper Coal Measures, No. XV, Mouougahela Uivcr Series.

Barren Measures. No. XIV, Klk Kiver Series. |=????.T^-~ 

_._._. __________ _ i Lower null.

Lower Ccml .Measures, No. XIII, Allegheny River Series.

Pottsville Conglomerate Measures, "Great," "Serai, "No. XII. 

Conglomerate, etc.

Maucli Chunk Red Shale, Unibral Rctl Shale. 1 

Mountain Limestone, Uuibral Liuicstuue, Green- > No. XI, 

brier, etc. )

Pocono Sandstone, Vespertlue, No. X, "Big Injun "' oil sand, etc.

As will be seen from the foregoing diagram, the lino between the 

Middle and Upper Carboniferous deposits passes directly through the 

center of the Elk Iliver series. This is due to the fact that marine 

conditions ceased, never to return, with the deposition of the (Jrinoidal 

limestone and its associated beds, midway in the Barren Measu es, 

thus separating them into two divisions which are of almost equal thickness, the lower one abounding in marine life, while the upper has nothing 

but fresh or brackish water forms. The change in this respect is great 

enough to warrant the separation of the Barrens into two series, but as 

the lithologiuul differences at the line of separation are very meager, it 

is deemed best to keep these rocks a unit as in the Rogers nomenclature.

This report deals only with the Middle and Upper Carboniferous of 

the above table, and the live series into which they are subdivided will 

now be described in detail, beginning with the highest.

The discussion of many interesting questions connected with Carboniferous geology is necessarily postponed until the rest or southern half 

of the Appalachian coal field has beeu carefully studied as a whole.

__ -

l
C IT APT K 11 II.

THE PERMO-CARBON1FEROUS OR DUNKARD CREEK SERIES. 

THICKNESS, (JJIAUAC1TEU, AND EXTENT.

The rocks of this series (Upper Barren Measures, No. XVI) begin with 

the roof shales of the Waynesbnrg coal and extend upward to the topmost beds of the Appalachian region.

How many feet of deposits erosion has removed above the highest 

remaining beds we can only conjecture. However, if the soft and easily 

yielding character of the rocks which have escaped disintegration can 

be taken as a criterion for those that have wasted away, the thickness 

of the latter must be reckoned by the thousand aud probably by the 

10,000 feet.

Several independent measurements from the highest accessible summits foot up a little more than 1,150 feet for the thickness of the series 

and it is certain that uo other localities could exceed this by more than 

100 feet.

The uppermost beds are found at the headwaters of Dunkard Creek, 

a large stream which heads near the West Virginia-Pennsylvania Hue, 

on the eastern slope of the watershed separating the Ohio and Monougahela Hirer drainage system, and flowing eastward puts into the 

Monongahela two miles above Greensboro, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and four miles north from the West Virginia line. This stream 

flows over Permo-Carboniferous rocks from its source to the point at 

which it leaves the West Virginia line at Mount Morris, Pennsylvania,- 

a distance of more than thirty miles, furnishing very fine exposures of 

these rocks along its banks and binds; hence the geographical uuuie 

(Dnnkard Creek) which I have given the scries.

These deposits occupy a rather limited area in the Appalachian field, 

being found in only two counties (Greene and Washington) of Pennsylvania, will; the exception of small isolated patches in Fayette, Westmoreland, and Allegheny. In Ohio there is a larger area of them 

bordering the Ohio River through the counties of Belmont, Mouroe, 

Washington, Athens, Meigs, and Gallin. But it is iu West Virginia 

that we find the principal belt of these beds, for there they cover a wide 

80

WHITE.] CHARACTER OF THE DUNKARD CREEK SERIES. 21

region .bordering the Ohio River between the Pennsylvania line at the 

north and the Great Kanawha Kiver oil tue south, as the accompanying 

map shows.

The character of the rocks varies greatly in different portions of this 

area. At the northeastern end of the field, in Washington County, 

Pennsylvania, limestones seem to predominate in thickness over the 

gray shales, sandstones, and thin coal beds with which they are there 

iuterstratitied. But south westward the limestones and coals gradually 

disappear, so that in Jackson County, West Virginia, no regular coal 

beds are found, and only one limestone (the Nineveh) remains. The 

limestones continue in considerable number in Greeno, Ohio, Marshall, 

and Monongalia Counties, and the northern part of Wetzel County, but 

southward from this line they rapidly disappear, with tbe single exception noted. The coal beds all die out with the disappearance of the 

limestones, except one ( the Washington), which seems to extend beyond 

the Little Kanawha Kiver before it passes out of the series.

As the limestones and thin coal beds gradually fade out to the southwest, red shale, a variety of rock almost unknown in Washington County, 

Pennsylvania, gradually comes into the section in thin beds at first, but 

finally extends throughout the whole series, and forms nearly one-half 

its thickness, thus making a broad baud of red soil from the Pennsylvania line southwestward to the Great Kanawha Kiver.

This increase in red shale beds is accompanied by an increase in the 

number and massiveness of the sandstone rocks, so that the topography 

gradually becomes greatly different from that found in Washington 

County, Pennsylvania. There the surface is gently rolling, the valleys 

broad, and the hills rounded, with no deep gorges or precipitous slopes, 

the abundance of limestone rendering the soil so highly fertile that the 

region has loug been famed as one of the finest grazing and agricultural 

districts in the Union. But toward the southwest, while the soil remains 

very fertile, owing to a large quantity of marly material in the red 

shales, yet the thickening up of the sandstone beds makes the valleys 

narrow and the tower portion of the hills often precipitous, the arable 

land being confined largely to the ridges, so that the soil is better 

adapted to grazing than tillage. In many cases the massive sandstones 

crop out along the ridges which they have protected from erosion, 

forming narrow " hogbacks," from which the surface falls away rapidly 

on each side. Another peculiarity of these beds is that the sand rocks 

contain no pebbles except near the base of the series, since above the 

Waynesburg sandstone no pebbles larger than coarse sand grains have 

ever been seen by the writer in all of the 1,000 feet of deposits, except 

at a single locality on the Parkersburg and Staunton turnpike, along 

the dividing ridge between Kitchie and Giliner Counties, West Virginia, 

where locally the Marietta Sandstones^ 140 feet above the Washington 

coal, thicken up into a very coarse conglomerate, filled with quartz 

pebbles.
22 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. IBUU.. 65.

The character of the rocks which compose these measures in the several regions of their area will be seen from the sections 

which follow.

Section on Dunlcard Creek, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Fig. 1 shows the succession found along Dnnkard 

Creek, from the head of its Pennsylvania fork in Gilmore Township, Greene County, eastward to where the 

stream veers northward back into Pennsylvania at 

Mount Morris.

Dunkard Creek, Grrenc County, Pennsylvania. 

[Scniiiup. I> 1 toL k.)

/'/. in. Ft. in.

40'

MB*

Ztff

'==^^--^~M

^*=^=Mi~=t

80'

I. Conceded from top of Shnugh'fi

knob ......................... 1(15

'2. Sandstone, massive, (iilmore..... 40

II. Shales, with lilliPHtone at base ... 15

4. Sandstone and Hhales and runcraleil ......................... 100

5. Shale., rod... .................... 2

fi. Slmles, gray...................... 20

7. Shale, marly .................... 2

8. SaniUtiine and shale.............. 35

!>. Sliale, red .... .................. 3

10. Sandstone and shalo ............. 50

11. Heil shiiln ........................ 3

12. Shales and sandstone, Nineveh.. 25

13. Shales ........................... 20

14. Coal, Ninevoh.................... 1

15. Shales ........................... 2H

10. Limestone (No. X), Nineveh .... 7

17. Shales, , sandstone anil concealed. 1(10

If. S:i"'li»toiir,nm»sivf. ,.Ki.sh O 20

19. SliuliM with IIIHM! iilniilH... ..... 10

i

'Joal.. (I' f>" ) 

Slain . 0' 1"S .. 1 i

'Joal.. (I' f>" ) 

Slain . 0' 1"S .. 

Coal.. 0' 8")

480

223

21. Limestone. ....................... 1

22. Sandstone........................

23. Shales ..........................

'J4. Limestone, .follytown............

*J.r>. Shales and saniistonn ............

20. Coal, .lollytown .................

27. Calcareous nhule, foMsililernurt, 

ti»li le ~

10 

17

1 fi 

25

I 1

0 6

278 8

4 2

2K LimcHlone, Uplier \V;isliil]gti.n .. 4 

211. Shales and saiKlnlotie ............ 115

ill! s'halen ...1...........'.'.........'.'.

32. Sandstone.........................

IB. Slialti............ ................

r,,il w-.i.(fJ'>»l,lminir<i. 1'2") 

34 ' inctoii "A."} 1';'""' 1 "*' -- yr>"[

115. Shales nnd siiiidKtoneB'.V.'.V....... 00

Itli. Liineht<ine, Lower Washington .. 5

37. Shales .... ..................... 5

38. Coal, Washington, slaty . I*....... 0

3'J. Shales and sandstones, including

a coal heil near center ......... 110

40. Coal, WaynesliliiK, "A "......... 2 6 182 0

41. Shales..... ..................... 10

42. Sandstone, Wuyneslmrjr......... 50

43. Shales, with to'ssll plants (CaHHville) ......................... 5 j

44. Wayncslmri; coal.

Total.....................................!, 102 3

Flu. 1. Section on Dunkard Creek. Pa.
WHITE.) SECTION ON COLVIN ,S RUN, PENNSYLVANIA. 23

Section on Colvhi's Run, Oreenc County, Pennsylvania. The lower half 

of this Dunkard Creek scries is very finely exposed in a continuous section on Colvin's linn, a tributary of Dunkard which empties into it near 

Mount Morris, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and in descending this 

stream the following intervals, as shown in Fig. 2, wore carefully measured :

Colrhi'n 1'nn, Urcrne Couiiti/, I'cnnsylvanid.

[ See map, L 1.1

Ft. in. Ft. in.

1. Limestone, Nineveh.................................. 9

2. Shales and sandstono........................_...... 13.1

3. Limestone, .Tollytovvn................................. 10

4. Sandy shales .................................... .... 35

5. Coal, Jollytown....................................... 1 0

C. Shales, sandy........... ........................... 35

7. Sandstone, massive................................... 15

8. Sandy shales and eoucoalcd .......................... 40

9. Red shales................._........................ 10

10. Shales................................................ 25

11. Sandstone ............................................ 10

12. Shales................................................ 15

13. Coaly shales, Washington, "A" ...................... 2

14. Sandy shales and sandstone .......... ............... 45

15. Limestone, gray ......................... .:. .......... 2

1C. Shalos............................................... 5

17. Sandstone, massive................................... IS

18. Shales................................................. 1,1

19. Limestone, Washington Lower ....................... 7

20. Shale, dark........................................... 4

21. Coal, Washington .................................... 2 0

22. Shales and sandstone ........................... ..... 45

23. Coal, Wa.vnesburg, "I!"............................. '1

24. Shales and sandstone ................................. 35

25. Limestone, Colvin's linn ............................. 3

26. Shales................................................ 1

27. Coal, Waynosburg, "A"............................. 2

28. Limestone............................................ 2

29. Shalos ................................................ 5

30. Sandstone, Waynesburg.............................. 75

31. Shales, with fossil plants (Cassvillc) ................. .1

32. Coal, Wiiyncsburg.

Total ................................................ .......... 613

'fi'i

177 «

Fio. 2. Seetion on Col 

viu's Kuu, I'a.
24 THK NOKTHEUN WTUMINOUS COAL FIKLD. | m Ll^ff^^

Section in Aleppo Towiixhip, Oreenc County, J'ennxylvania. Wheeling 

(Jreek rises on the western slope of the Monongahela-Ohio divide, and 

flowing westward enters the Ohio Itiver at Wheeling. 

It furnishes excellent exposures of the Dunkard beds 

from the summit of the series to the base. The following intervals (Fig. 3) were measured along the Dunkard 

Fork of the creek between its source iu Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and the mouth of 

Crab Apple Creek, near the West Virginia line:

,lli'l>fo To liip, (!rrriir I'ounly, I'mnti/lrania.

> map, I- j

1 . Shah's and sandstones .........

2. Limestone, Windy Gap .......

H. Shale..........................

4. Coal and bituminous nhalp,

Windy Gap ..................

5. Shale...........................

6 Sandstone, liiliniiro ............

7. Coneealed (shales, saiidstoueH,

and limestones)... ..........

8. Coal, Nineveb.. ................

9. Shales ..........................

10. Limestone, Nineveh. ..... ......

11. Shales and sandstone...........

12. Coal ...........................

13. Limestone .....................

H. Sandsl one ......................

15. Limestone .....................

1G. Shales and sandstone ..........

17. Limestone .....................

18. Shale...........................

19. Cool, Diuikanl .................

20. Limestone ......... i. ..........

21. Slialy sandstone. ......... ......

22. Limestone, Jollyfaiwn ......

23. SluileS iind sandstone ..........

24. l)ai It, calcareous shale .........

26. Limestone .....................

26. Shales and sandstone ..........

27. Limestone. . ....................

29. Shales..........................

30. Sandstone.......... ............

31. Shales, sandstones, and con*

eealed. .......................

32. Coal, Washington ..............

33. Shales and concealed ...........

34. Coal, Waynoslmrg, "U". .......

35. Shales ..........................

36. Coal, Wayneslmrg, "A"........

37. Shales ..........................

'M. Samlstone, WnvnesburK . ......

39. Coal, Wayueaburg.

Total ........................

ft. in.

CO

4

2

£

2

30

30

300

1 1

25

8

40

1 2

2

30

8

70

2

15

2

1 6

25

2

11.1

2

6

40

2

60

10

25

60 '

4 J

514 !

-4 i

0

10

45

/ '/ in.

451

232 8

320

Flo. 3. Section iu (jfceuo County, 1'a.

138

1.147 8
WHITE. | SECTION AT BOARD TREE, WEST VIRGINIA. 25

Section at Board Tree Tunnel, Manhall County, Went Virginia. At 

Hoard Tree Tunnel, on the Baltimore and Ohio Itailroad, and close to 

tiie line between Wetzel and Marshall Counties, some 

very high land occurs, while an oil well boring in the 

valley of Fish Creek near by carries the rock measurement down to the base of the I tankard Creek beds. 

In descending from llice's Knob past the western portal of Board Tree Tunnel to the Xuce farm oil boring 

on Fish Creek, and connecting with the record of the 

latter, the following succession (Fig. 4) is revealed:

Board Tree. Marshall County, ll'r»t I'irginia.

a

s!

100'

IS'

is1

13'

no'

30'

so1

lit

Mrf

26.

| See map, I. j.J

ft.

Sandstone, gray, and concealed . . 55 

Gray limestone, Windy Gap .... 5

Red shales and concealed ....... 100

Coaly slate ...................... 1

Concealed to baso of a massivo 

sandstone ...................... 35

Concealed, sandstone nnd red 

shale to Hoard Tree Tunnel .... 175

Sandy shales.................... 15

Sandstone, Nineveh. ............ 15

Coal, Nineveh. .................. 1

Gray shales ..................... 15

Sandstone, massive ............. 12

Shaloa .......................... 3

I Limestone ... 1' 1

( Limestone I Black slate 3' ! . 

) Nineveh . 1 Limestone and I ' 

( limy beds . .15' j

Variegated shales........... ... 9

Sandstone ...................... 5

Shales, limy. .................... 7

Sandstone, to level of track at

west portal ............ ....... 5

Concealed shales and sandstone. 100 

Massive sandstone, Fish Crook. 30 

Shales .......................... 3

Coal, Dunkard, to level of boro

hole ........................... 2

Interval, shales, sandstones, and

limestones, with two thin coal

beds ........................... 50

Shales, sandstones, and red beds.

Coal, Washington .............. 5

Shales, limestones, and sandstone. 150 

Coal, Waynesburg.

Ft.

401

261

300

155

Total . 1,1:7

There is some uncertainty about the 

horizon of the Pittsburgh coal in the 

oil boring, since two large beds are reported, one at 700 feet and the other 

at 800. The latter is the thicker bed, 

and as the depth from it to the third oil sand (2,100 feet) agrees with the

i'iu.4. Section at Hoard Tree Tuunel, Mar 

shall County, W. Va.
26 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HULL. 65.

flii

same interval 15 miles to the northeast, I have regarded the lower bed as 

the Pittsburgh in constructing the above section. If, however, the coal 

100 feet higher should prove to be the Pittsburgh, then 

the 5-foot coal 150 feet above the bottom of the section would probably be the Waynesburg bed, and the 

Dunkard Creek series should be cut off just above it, 

and thus shortened by 155 feet at this locality.

In the vicinity of Belltou, Marshall Comity, West 

Virginia, 4 miles west from Hoard Tree Tunnel, the 

exposures are very fine and the surface outcrops can 

there also be combined with the record of an oil boring, which thus gives another measurement of the entire series.

Section at Jicllton, Marshall County, West Virginia. 

In descending from the highest summits near Mellton, 

the following succession (Fig. 5) is obtained when 

combined with an oil-boring record which was published by the writer in the Annals of (he Lyceum of 

Natural History, New York, July, 1874 :

75'

l&Jlton, Marshall Count//, West rirginia.

mm

zmm*

[See map, L j.|

1 . Limestone, Windy Gap . 

 -'. Shale*

 30'

...................

X Coal, Windy Gup, blossom.....

4. Concealed and sandstone and 

shales ............ .........

5. Shales and sandstone. ..........

'i. Sandstone, massive, grav ......

7. Red sh.ilex and concealed .......

8. Samlatoiif, imtHgivo ...........

B. HIM! Hhali's and mmdfltuue. ....

1». Limestone ...i.. ...............

II. Slialcnand roncciileil ....

13. Coal, NiiiKvch .................

Hi. ShaleH and nnndstono ..........

14. Lilni'Mtnno aiiftHli.ili-H, \inovoli .

15. Sliali>H, KimdHtoniiandc-onrralcd 

)6. Saudstunn.... ..................

17. SliaU'H .........................

18. l.injentoim ............. _ ... ..

ID. Coal ............... ............

'JO. Shitlon and ttandatone 

21. KfdHlialos.... ........

22. Concealed.............

23. Coal ..................

24. Shales and conernled

\4tf

26. I.iniy whales ana flro elay .......

27. Shales ................'.. ......

28. LimeHtmifl. pray, Joll.ytowu.....

29. Shales and Raudstonex ..........

30. Coal, Jollytown.. ..............

31. Limestone, j:ia.y, Upper Washington (continued front oilwellrecord). ..................

32. Sandstone.......................

33. Shalo ...........................

34. Sandstone.......................

36. Shalo ...........................

30. Fimcluy.. .....................

37. Sandsloho ...... __ ............

38. Shale, ...........................

39. Sandstone..... ..................

Ft.

5

30

0

30 

00 

20 

75 

40 

no 

3 

SO

10 

100

r, 

jo

06

() 3 

15

5 

20

1 

30

1 3

5

13

3

30

0 8

12

7

11

12

7

25

12

17

2«4 8

FIQ. 5. Section at Bellton, W. Vn.
SECTION AT NKW MARTINSVILLE, W. VA. 27

Ft. in.

40. ('only shales .............. 9

41. Sandstone................. 0

42. Sbale ..................... 5

43. Sandstonn ................ 4

44. Shale ..................... 19

45. Sandstone................. 16

46. Shale ..................... 4

47. Sandstone................. 30

48. Shalu ....... .........'..... -1

48. Sandstone................. 35

50. Shale ..................... 27

51. Sandstone........._..... 45

52. Coal. Washington......... 6

53. Sandstone................. 20

Ft. in.

< 313

148

54.

5.1

51!

57

58

5!l

110

61

6?

Kl

04.

Shale ......

Place for 

coal.

Total ....

Ft. in.

............... 19

...:........... is

............... 4

............... 10

............... 4

............... 16

Waynesburg

/ (.

 148

1.07f

This boring did not reach the Pittsburgh coal, and hence the identification of the G-foot coal bed, 142 feet above the base of the section, is 

made on the same basis as that of the 5-foot bed 150 

feet above the bottom of Section 4, since the two coals 

are evidently identical. The thin coals in the upper 

half of the series have been named the liellton group 

from this locality.

Section at Nor Martinsrillc, Went Vir(/i>iw. In passing sonthwestward from this area of maximum development of the Permo-Carboniferous rocks a considerable 

change takes place in the character of tin' beds. The 

Bellton coal group practically disappears, and also many 

of the limestones, so that in the vicinity of New Martinsville, Wetzel County, West Virginia, the lower half of 

the series presents the structure shown in Fig. (i: 

New MariinitviUv, Wetzd County, Wctt 1'iryinia.

I Sec map, M i.) 

1 Rcdslialo ..............................................

2. Concealed .-........... -- - - - -«--- - 

3. Keil shale ...............................................

4. Lin]r»ton<\ Ninr\ eh, in several layers separated by shale

5. Hed marly shale.........................................

6 ConrealHl a.ml aandatone................................

7. llwl shale........... ...................................

8. Saudslone, sandy xhales, anil conci'iileil..................

!). Kfd shaln ...............................................

10. Sandstone, massive......................................

11. Concealed ..............................................

12. lied shale ...............................................

13. Concealed .........-.........-......-.-..---.-.--.-......

14. Sandstone, brown massive ..............................

15. Sand v shales ............................................

18. Kedshulo ...............................................

17. Sandstone.....................-.-....-...-.- ......--- 

18. Hed shale ..............................................

19. SandHtonu and sandy shales .............................

20. Concealed and sandy shales .............................

21. Kvd marly shales, \vithliniestonotiodiiles ...............

22. Sandy shale, gray ...................- .- -- - 

23. Sandstone, massive ......................-...-.. ---- 

24. Snndy shales .....................,...........--.- - -«

25. Ked shale with limestone nodules. ...................

26. Shale, gray, sandy .,.....................-.......- --

27. Sandstone, massivo ....-.................- - - - - 

28. Samly shales .............................- .----- .- -'

20. Limestone, impure...... ...............-...-.. .- - -

30. Sandy shales ...............................-.-.- - - 

31. Coal, Washington .......................................

32. Sandy shales.............-.......... -- - -- « - - 

33. Sundatonc, massive .....................................

34. Concealed and sandy shales ....-.................- - 

35. Shales, sandstones, and concealed .......................

36. "Wayuesburg coal.

Ft. ft.

15 H^.

452

105

305

30

10

10

355

25

10

232

255

25

205

15

20

1550

3032

20

118

Total .

Flo .«. Section at New 

Martinsville. W. Va.

'&&
28 THE NORTHERN HITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HULL. 06.

VJ

Tn 

B

No. 4 app 

\\ above t

,^==^^=^:-i

 ' Ivivi '.'*.' ' ' !',

^

l^iiiz^v;

-^ T^T^-.-T;.-^-^

~_-_2--v.-i_-!J5is

~jOOpC-qvx

 jSigsg^gj

4tft^W^fc

^V3=ft=

BS3SS=

cr i 

 L'^-^-^'^----

. 7. Si'ctin 

areaville, O

a'

» 

u'

nr

*' 

»'

EO'

*

3'

> 

i' 

» 

t>

?' 

4' 

»'

1 

W

or 

y 

n 

lie

ears to represent the Nineveh limestone, though its interle base of the series is less here than usual. 

Not a single one of the Bellton coals was observed iu 

this section, though some of them may have been present and concealed. 

Section at Jtaresville, Ohio. In the vicinity of Baresville, Monroe County, Ohio, u long section was made 

by the late Prof. E. ]?. Andrews. It is referred to in 

vol. 1 1, Ohio Geology, page 587, and published on Map 

XIII, section No.Il. The locality is only U miles above 

New Martinsvillo, West Virginia, and the succession 

reads as follows (Fig. 7) :

 Jiaresville, Monror County, Ohio.

(See map, M i.| 

Ft. in. n

2. Conccah-d ............... ...............................

5. Liini'utouo, sandy.... ................................. t.. 2

8. Slinlu......... ........................................... 20

16. KcilHkale..... ........................................... 13

1«. Sliiil.'........ ............................................ 4

10. Samktone ...... ..................... ................ :i

20. Shale......... .......................................... 3

22. Shal« .................................................. 3

25. SamlHtono ............................................... 1 

26. Shale ................................................... 12

27. SaiMlxtone.. ............. ................................ 0

29. Sandstone .............................................. 5 

30. Mialo.. .................................................. 8

3 1 . Silll'lHtOUO ........................- .-....--""....... A

32. ShHl«............~....... ............................... 23

33. Saiidntone................................... ............ 12

36. Shale.................................................... 28

38. Shale........................ ........................... 20

(Cua1....0' 9"! 

38. Coal, Washington "A ' . <Cluy... 0' 4"S ........................

((JOH1....21 0"J 

40. Clay........ ..............................................'.......

41. Slialn................................ ............................

4.r>. Shalu. ...........................................................

49. Coal, Waynesburg: 

Total. .........................................................

' i

at ' s , :

.

14S 

201

140

3 1

2 

7 

2 

8 

1 

3

ino

16 

3

092 1
WHITK.] SECTION AT WASHINGTON, I'A. 29

The coal blossom at the summit of Section 7 appears to come at a 

horizon above any of the Bellton beds, and hence is a new and probably extremely local element in the series.

Section in Liberty 7W/(.v/<//>, Wnnhington County, 

Oliio. The following (Fig. 8) succession of the beds 

in the IOWIT portion of this series is reported by Mr. 

V. W. Minshall from a hill near the Kpler oil-boring 

in Liberty Township, Washington County, Ohio:

:YV.-.V.V.Y

..__

^. ^_-i-^

;,v.v.v.v.

ttwws?5

= ^ -~~ ---- '^

^ : -.--^^:

 . -.-.:.-. . . .-. 

Xv.'vXv.'C;

^^^~=^

ioor 

i'a2'6' 

Jl1

H

2'

J"

66'

23'

it

S3'

Fig. £ Section in 

Washington County, 

Ohio.

Liberty Toicnthii*, llttxhingfon County, Ohio.

[Si*? map, M £.) Ft. 

\. Slmloa and sandHloncn ....................................

'2. ('ital, ,r<>llvtnwn ... .......................................

3. Shales and sandstone .....................................

4. Coal, \Vanhiuj;ton "A"....................................

5. SlialvH aud liinestouo...................................... 31 i

G. Sitinlsloiio ................................................. IG >

7. Slialca..................................................... 12 J

8. t'cal, \VaKhir,»ton .........................................

U. Linii'Htoiiu and Hhalen ..................................... GG i

10. Snndstono, pebbly, Waym'sburtf........................... 2H \

11. Slmles.....-....\-... ..................................... fi )

1'J. Wa^'iieaburj; coal.

Ft. in. 

100

1 8 

MO

Total.

59

1 3

100

404 5

These identifications are made on the supposition 

that the Macksburg coal of the Ohio geologists is the 

equivalent of the U'aynesburg bed.

Section at Wanhinijton, Pennxylrnnia. In Washington County, Pennsylvania, the Dunkard series, as alalready stated, contains much more limestone than 

elsewhere, and the intervals between 

the several members are somewhat less 

than in Greene County. The 

section (Fig.!)) from Geological Survey, 

Pennsylvania, Report K, page 248, exhibits the structure of the lower portion

of these beds at Washington, Pennsylvania :

Washington, Pennsylvania. 

| Sue map. J 1.1

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

17.

18.

19.

20.

/V. in. 

T.impstonni Jollytown .....................................

Shal.^ .....................................................

('oal, Jolly town ...........................................

SanilHtoiin................................................. 10

Park Hhalo................................................ «

Linntstono, Upper Washington............................ 30

Conroalt'd .............................................'.... 50

Coal, blossom.............................................. 0

Concealed ................................................. 80

Limestone, Lower Washington............................ 12

Coal, Washington ......................................... 7

Clay....................................................... 4

Sandatone................................................. 9

Concealed ................................................. 10

Li in en tone ................................................. 2

ShaU's, limestone, and concealed ......................... 65

Limoatone................................................. 4

Blue shale................................................. 15

Waynesbnrg coal.

Total...........................................................

it less

owing

1 1 r v*1 v in » t't> f

48, ex 

ortion

Ft. in.

10

5

1 

UtO

117 0

HIM li

i.' : : Li U

. .'... . .-..-. 

s- . . , . .-

tliiiiilj

^^^^^^^*

__ _ .

^i»>.-!,',Fi ,' ,

Q'

;

mt

mi'

Fig. 9. .Section at
30 THE NOKTHEKN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. in'1.1, 45.

Section near Taylorstown, Pennsylvania. Another section, from the 

same volume page '2~>9, exhibits the succession in the lower half of this 

series in Buffalo Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, as 

shown in Fig. 10.

In both these sections (9 and 10) the writer has changed the identifications of some of the beds (notably that of the Jollytowii coal) from 

that made in the original sections by Stevenson, but in every such case i 

the change is clearly warranted, since the coal in question was placed 

too near the Washington coal by Stevenson.

Ft. in.

I

ZOitf

14I1

jfcar Taylomtoirn, t\'anhin<jton ('uunty, rennityleaiiia. 

[See map, 3 k.]

1. Limestone, in fragments .....................

2. Shalen anil aainlstonn ..............................

3.'Coal, blo.sHOiu, Jolly town .......................... 0

4. Shale............................................... 10

5. LiraeBtouu.......................................... li

(i. Coucenle<l ................................_....... 20

7. Limestone.......................................... 11!

H. Samlstone.......................................... l.i

!l. Coal ................................................ 0 8

10. Concealed ......................................... 40

11. Limestone.......................................... 15

I'-'. Cuueraluil.......................................... IT.

i:i. I.imentone............ ..... ...................... ID

14. Concealed .......................................... b

1.'. dial................................................. 0

Hi. Conceali'il, with much llnu<8touu ................... '.'.">

17. Coal, Wasliin^ton ................................. (i

18. Concealed, will, iv lilneatomi ........................ 3.r>

1U. Coal, l>loHHoin, Wiiyneubnij,' "K"................... 0

20. Concealed .......................................... 4u

'Jl. Coal. hloHrtoin, Wuyueslmr^ "A" ................... u

-2. Wa-ynealturK sanilHtoiiw............................. M)

2X Shales.............................................. lu

'Jl. Coal, \Va/ne.Hbur£..................................

TotaJ.....................................................

Ft. in.

u

10

111

Fir.. 10.-Section near 

Taylorstowu, 1'a.

The very highest beds of the Dunkard Creek series known to the 

writer occur in Shoiigh's Knob, at the head of Dunkard Creek, Gilmore 

Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, but these are concealed by a 

thick covering of soil, and hence could not be seen in detail. The highest rock of the series which has been traced over any considerable area 

is the Windy Gap Limestone.

CHARACTERISTIC HORIZONS.

TIIK WIXDY liAP LIMESTONE.

- This has beeu named from its occurrence near Windy Gap, a " divide " 

separating the Laurel Run branch of Fish Creek from the waters of 

Wheeling Creek, in Springhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
WHITE.) CHARACTERISTIC HORIZONS. 31

The stratum is usually of a bluish gray color, quite pure, and has a 

thickness of about five feet. It contains minute fresh water fossils, 

and occasionally small crystals of blende.

The only land geologically and topographically high enough to catch 

this stratum is that which clusters about the southwestern corner of 

Pennsylvania, iu Greene County, and the adjoining regions of Marshall, Wetzel, and Monongalia, iu West Virginia. Only one point 

(Iliinsucker's Knob) iu the last county is high enough to catcli this 

limestone, since its outcrop ranges between 1,500 and l,(iOO feet above 

the sea. The sections (Figs. 3 and 4) at Board Tree and Belltou, iu 

Marshall County, as well as the one (Fig. L') iu Aleppo Township, 

Greene County, show this stratum near their summits, but its horizon 

is concealed iu Shough's Knob of the Duukard Creek section (Fig. ]).

This is the same stratum as that numbered Limestone XIV by Prof. 

John J. Steveusou iu his Keport K, Secoud Geological Survey of Penusylvauia.

THE WINDY GAI- COAL.

At an interval of 25 to 30 feet below the limestone just described 

there occurs a small coal bed just under the summit of the "divide/' at 

Windy Gap, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and it has been designated 

from that locality. No opening into it has ever been made, and hence 

it is known only as a blossom which exposes one to two feet of coal ami 

black slate, the latter filled with the fossil Cypris, or a closely allied 

form.

The same bed was also seen in Aleppo Township, and in the summit 

of the hills at Hellton. It is the highest known coal of the series, and 

comes about 1,050 feet above the Wayuesbiirg bed.

THK GILMOKK SANDSTONE.

Crowning the upper portion of the Permo-Carboniferous beds over a 

considerable area around the heads of Dunkard, Wheeling, and Fish 

Creeks, there occurs a very massive sandstone having a thickness of 155 

to 40 feet. It was named the Gilmore sandstone by Professor Stevenson, from its occurrence iu the township of that name in southwestern 

Greene County. This stratum is usually a coarse and very massive 

sandstone, excellent for building purposes, and often forming long lines 

Of clilT's on the summits of the high ridges. These cliff's are always 

traversed with fissures, and they furnish a convenient retreat for foxes 

when chased by hounds, so that the stratum in question is often locally 

known as the " Fox rocks," and again it is named from the farms where 

the cliffs occur, as " Pethtle" rocks, " Efaw " rocks, etc. This stratum 

has been the main agency in preserving all of the very high beds of 

the Peruio-Carboniferous from erosion.

The interval below the Gilmore sandstone for L'OO to 250 feet consists 

of red shales, occasional thiu limestones, and gray saudstoues, but conllf
32 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (BULL. 96.

tains no beds sufficiently characterized to be identifiable over any considerable area.

THB NINEVEH SANDSTONE.

At 225 to 250 feet below the Gilmore sandstone, we come to another ' 

great sandstone deposit which, from its good development near the vil- j 

lage of Nineveh, Greene County, Pennsylvania, has been designated 

from that locality. Like the Gilinore sandstone above, it is usually 

an excellent building stone, and has long been used for that purpose 

on the Baltimore and Ohio Kailroad, near Littleton, Wet/-el County, 

West Virginia, where it crops out in a great cliff along the hills 150 to 

200 feet above creek level.

This same stratum may also be seen in the hills two miles above Jol- I 

lytown, Greene County, where it has long been quarried on the land I 

of Thomas White for building purposes. It is of a yellowisli gray cast, 

rather coarse-grained, but soft, and splits readily into rectangular 

blocks.

THE BELLTON COAL GROUP.

At 275 to .300 feet under the Gilinore sandstone we find the uppermost of a series of thin coals which, from their tine exposure at the village of Bellton, Marshall County, West Virginia, have been termed the 

Bellton group. These coals, few of which are rarely more than one 

foot thick, occur within a rock interval of 200 to 300 feet, and when all 

are present, as in the Bellton section (Fig. 5), there are five distinct beds, 

though not all of them are persistent over any considerable area. The 

three beds given in the Dunkard Creek section (Fig. 1), viz, the Nineveh, Dunkard, and Jolly town, coals, are the most important members 

of the group. Interstratified with these coals are shales, sandstones, 

and two important limestones.

THE NINEVEH COAL.

V

This is the uppermost member of the Bellton group, and was named 

from the village of Nineveh, Greene County, Pennsylvania, by Professor 

Stevenson.

The coal rarely exceeds one foot in thickness, yet it is generally quite 

pure, and is frequently used for smithing purposes.

In the hills at Bellton it crops out 290 feet above Fish Creek, and the 

same coal is seen in the railroad cut at the western portal of Board 

Tree Tunnel, 75 feet above track level.

On the head waters of Duukard Creek it is known as the John Taylor coal, and although only one foot chick is highly valued as a smithing 

fuel.

THE NINEVEH LIMESTONE.

Below the Nineveh coal at an interval of 25 to 30 feet there comes a 

limestone which has a very extended distribution. It was called Limestone No, X by Professor Stevenson in bis Report K,Qreene and Wasli-
WHITE] CHARACTERISTIC HORIZONS. 33

ington Counties, but itis here designated from the same village in (Ireene 

County which has given name to the coal and sandstone already described.

This limestone usually consists of several layers separated by shales 

the whole of which sometimes foots up nearly 20 feet, as in the section 

at Board Tree Tunnel (Fig. 4), but its usual thickness is seldom more 

than 10 feet. Frequently a stratum of bituminous shale is found interstratitied with the layers of limestone. Some of the latter are quite 

pure, and furnish excellent lime. It has a very wide distribution, as 

may be seen from its presence in each of the first seven sections already 

given. The same stratum extends clear through to Jackson County, 

West Virginia, and nearly to the Big Ivanawha River, where it occurs 

high up on the summits of the hills and is hence termed the "Ridge" 

limestone, by the farmers.

There is a tine exposure of this rock at Limestone Hill Post-oUice, on 

the Parkersburg and Charleston turnpike, near the corners of Wirt, 

Wood, and Jackson Counties,West Virginia. It is there nearly 30 feet 

thick, in several layers, aud contains many minute fossils, all apparently 

of fresh-water types.

THE HOSTETTEK COAL.

Occasionally a bed of coal occurs at 75 to 100 feet below the Niueveh 

limestone. It has been stripped out of the run on the old llostetter 

farm near Burton, Wetzel County, West Virginia, where it is 12 to 15 

inches thick and rather pure. It also appears to be present in some 

localities uear the head of Duukard Creek, and in a local section near 

lielltou. it was seeu 15 inches thick at 130 feet below the Niueveli coal.

THE FISH 'CKEEK SANIJSTONE.

At 135 to J50 feet below the Nineveh coal, there often occurs a very 

massive sandstone. It makes the great clill's along the waters of Fish 

Creek in Springhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and was 

designated from this stream by Stevenson in his Report K.

The rock in question is frequently quite massive, and it makes an excellent building stone. It is very conspicuous in the region of Deep 

Valley, Pennsylvania, where it forms long lines of vertical cliffs 25 to 

30 feet high. It may also be seen in clirt's along the Baltimore and Ohio 

Railroad, above Littleton, in Wetzel County, where it is quarried for 

building purposes.

THE DUNKAKD COAL.

Below the Fish Creek sandstone, at an interval of 1 to 20 feet, another 

coal bed is often found, which, from its occurrence along the bed of 

Duukard Creek for a considerable distance,was named the Duukard coal 

by Professor Stevenson. It is seldom more than 12 to 15 inches thick, 

but is almost invariably double, having a thiu layer of slate uear its 

Bull. Go 3
THK NORTHERN WTUMINOU.S COAL FIELD. | III !.!.. 65.

center. At Deep Valley, Pennsylvania, however, this parting thickens up to live feet or more and thus separates the coal into two well-, 

defined beds, each of which is 8 to 10 inches thick. In the roof shales 

of this coal at Mr. Lee Garrison's, in Gilmore Township, Greene County,; 

Pennsylvania, tincly preserved fossil plants abound, principally of the* 

genera Neuropteris and Odontopteris. j 

This bed is frequently stripped along the streams for local use in 

Greeue, Monougalia, WcUol, and Marshall Counties.

THK JOLLYTOWN' LIMICSTONK.

Below the Dunkard coal, at an interval of "5 to ;$0 feet, there occurs 

a bed of limestone which is rather persistent. It is well exposed in the . 

vicinity of Jollytown, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and has been dug- j 

iguated from that locality. As may be seen from its presence in Sections 1 to 5 and also in !),-this limestone has a wide distribution, though 

at the head of Dunkard (Fig. 1), and on Fish Creek (Fig. .1), the stratum 

is only 1 to 15 feet thick. In Washington County, Pennsylvania, however, it thickens up to 10 feet or more and is usually a rather pure limestone.

Till'. JOLLYTOWN COAL.

This is the lowest member of the Bellton coal group, and underlies 

the Jollytown limestone by an interval of 25 to 'M feet. The coal was 

named by Professor Stevejison from a village in Greene County, Pennsylvania.

This is the only coal of the Uellton group that ever attains dimensions of li to 3 feet, and can therefore be mined by drifting, since in 

the vicinity of Wise, Mouongalia County, West Virginia, and below 

this along the South Fork of Dunkard Creek, it is nearly .'J feet thick, 

and is mined to a considerable extent /'or local use. The coal is not 

very pure, but in the absence of any other bedsit tinds a ready market. 

In the Belltou section (Fig. 5) this coal has been identilied with the 

lowest bed exposed there. This is only a few inches thick and quite 

slaty, so that it is possible the Jollytown bed is the one nextabove, and 

which in that section has been referred to the Dunkard coal.

Along Dunkard Creek the Jollytown coal is nearly always present, 

and seldom less than 1 to 2 feet thick. It becomes a very important 

key rock over a wide region, since there are seldom any other coals 

below it for an interval of lioO feet. It extends almost without a break 

across Greene, Monongalia, Marion, and Harrison Counties, but appears 

to thin away in Doddridge.

Throughout Monongalia, Greene, and Marshall Counties, the interval 

between this bed and the Washington coal below is about 275 feet, 

but westward, in Washington County, Ohio (Section 8), the interval 

thins away to 200 feet, and practicully the same measurement is found 

iu Washington County, Pennsylvania (Sections 'J and 10).
CHARACTERISTIC HORIZONS.

TIIK Uri'Kli WASHINGTON LIMKSToNE.

35

Three limestones were named from Washington, Pennsylvania, by 

I'rol'essor Stevenson an Upper, Middle, and Lower one and two of 

these are shown in the section (Fig. 0) from the typical locality.

The Upper Limestone is a very important bed in Washington County, 

since it has a thickness ot'"0 to JO feet, and is generally very pure. It 

is usually of a dark blue color, and is much used for macadamizing 

roads and burning for agricultural and other purposes. This rock appears to be identical with the limestone seen in the bed of JMinkard 

Creek near the mouth of Negro Unn, above Jollytown, Circeue County, 

Pennsylvania, where it carries a bituminous shale on its top, lilled with 

tish remains and other minute fossils, and underlies the.Iollytown coal.

Ill the bed of Fish Creek at Hellion, Marshall County, West Virginia, 

we tind a limestone with a tish bed on its top, which appears to be identical with the Upper Washington deposit.

Till'; M1DDLK WASHINGTON UMI'.SIONK.

About midway in the interval between the Upper Washington limestone and the Washington coal there is frequently found another limestone bed. It is very persistent in Washington County, Pennsylvania, 

and is often 15 to 20 feet thick and of a bullish color.

On Dunkard Creek it appears to be represented by a stratum seen 

just above the road at Kent's Mills, where it is only three feet thick. 

This limestone, like all of those in tin; Dunkard series, contains minute, 

undetermined fossils, and the bituminous shales accompanying them 

bold iileuty of lisb scales, teeth, etc., us well as fragments of plants.

WASHINGTON "A" COAL.

At 70 to 80 feet above the Washington coal, there occurs a bed of 

impure coal and coaly shale which is often present in the section along 

Dunkard Creek. Sometimes the entire bed is four to five feet thick, 

but little of it is ever merchantable coal, being seldom more than a 

bituminous slate. It is well exposed in the hills about lilauksville, 

and Brownsville, in Monougalia County, and there contains many bivalve crustaceans.

P.ituminous shale is often found at this horizon in Washington and 

(Jreene Counties, Pennsylvania, and in Washington County, Ohio (Fig. 

8), a coal bed 2J feet thick seems to occur at the same place iu the series.

TUB MARIETTA SANDSTONES.

The Washington "A" coal is often absent, and the portion of the 

series for 100 to l-!5 feet above the Washington coal is then frequently 

occupied by two or three beds of massive sandstone. These crop out 

in the hills below Marietta, Ohio, where they have long been extensively quarried for grindstones and building stone, and they have beeu
THE NOKTHE1JN BITUMINOUS COAL HELD. [Ill I.L.<Kl

designated from that locality. There are often three of them, each 25 

to 40 feet in thickness, and separated by thin shales, so that in such 

eases they might be called the Upper, Middle, and Lower Marietta 

sandstones. Sometimes, however, as near Rock Lick, Marshall County, 

West Virginia, the shales thin out and let all of the sandstones coalesce 

into one mass more than 100 feet thick.

These beds form the great cliffs at Raven Kock, Pleasants County, 

West Virginia. The upper one is extensively quarried at the Jackson 

quarry in 1'arkersburg, West Virginia, and it with its associated rocks 

forms long lines of cliffs up the Little KanawhaKiver, where they have 

been extensively quarried in the vicinity of Elizabeth and other points.

It is one of these beds that makes the big cliffs on the hill above the 

famous Mc(!ugan gas well in Washington County, Pennsylvania. 

These rocks are sometimes gray, but more frequently of a yellowish or 

bullish cast, and moderately coarse ingrain. They also occur in Ritchic 

Wirt, Jackson, and Putnani Counties, West Virginia, where they cap 

the narrow ridges in long lines of clill's.

In (irceneand Washington Counties, Pennsylvania, andMonongalia 

County, West Virginia, this interval of 100 feet above the Washington 

coal is generally occupied by shales, limestones, and thin, sandy beds, 

massive sandstones being exceptional.

TIIK IILACKNVII.LK L1MKSTII.NK.

Ill some portions of Washington, (Jreene, and Moiioiignlia Counties, 

a limestone occurs with considerable persistency at .'>0 to 50 feel above 

the Washington coal. This was numbered Limestone 111 by Professor 

Stevenson in his (Jreene and Washington report, but as it comes to the 

surface near the bed of Dunkaid Creek, in the village of IMacksvillc, 

MonongaHa County, West Virginia, it has been given a geographical 

name from that locality. The rock is generally gray, quite pure, and 

only three to five feet thick. It is seen in Section 2 at l»i feet above 

the Washington coal. It soon disappears southward from the Pennsylvania line.

TIIK lAJWKK WASHINGTON I.IMKSKINK.

At Washington, Pennsylvania, a limestone of unusual thickness (20 

feet) forms the roof of the Washington coal, and it, was designated, from 

that locality, the Lower Washington limestone by Stevenson. It has 

a wide distribution in (Jreene, Washington, Ohio, Hclmont, Marshall, 

and MonongaHa Counties, but disappears southward from these. It 

often attains a thick ness of 20 to JiO feet in Washington County, but is 

always interstratilied with much shale, and outside of Washington 

County is seldom more than 5 to 10 feet thick. Frequently some of the 

layers contain so much carbonate of iron as to prove a fair ore. These 

iron-bearing layers arc often interstratilied with bituminous shales, and 

iu such cases tie iron layers are covered with fossil plants. It is on

! 
CHARACTERISTIC HORIZONS. 37

these thin, shaly layers of carbonate of iron in the roof of the Washington coal at Brown's Bridge, Dunkard ('reek, on the West. VirginiaPennsylvania line, that the Permian plant, CnUipteri* conferta, occurs 

as described in Report PP, Second Geological Survey, Pennsylvania, 

: page 54.

TIIK WASHINGTON COAL.

This bed, which is the only one in the Dunkard series that is workable over a wide area, was first described by the writer, and named tin*

Brownsville coal from its occurrence at the village of that name in

Mouongalia County, West Virginia. Subsequently, however, the same

' coal was found in greater development at Washington, Pennsylvania,

' and it was designated from that locality by Professor Stevenson.

i It is always a multiple bed, being separated into two or three layers

by divisions of slate. Occasionally these divisions are numerous and

the entire thickness of the bed is 8 to 10 feet, but in all eases the only

pure or merchantable coal is the bottom portion, which seldom exceeds

two and a half to three feet. The upper part of the bed is nearly

always very impure, since, it contains so much ash and slate as to constitute it a mere bed of richly bituminous shale.

This coal is much more persistent than any other coal of the PermoCarboniferous series, since it occurs everywhere in the northern area of 

these rocks, and does not disappear to the southwest except bpyoud the 

Little Kanawha River, in West Virginia, while in Ohio it seems to he 

persistent even to the southwestern margin of these deposits. In Washington and Meigs Comities, Ohio, it is frequently referred to by Pro 

lessor Andrews as the Iloltson coal.

faction at Fnrwhigton, Hfttri»n County, \\'es1 Virginia. The following 

section of this coal, taken near Parmington, Marion County, West Virginia, well illustrates the structure of the. bed when it is thick:

Ff. in.

1.

ii.

3.

4.

r>

<;.

7,

8.

C|

10. 

11.

12. 

13

14.

( Inal .......................

Shale ......................

Coal ami shale .............

Coal ...... ...... ...... .....

Sh'ile

Coal ...... ...... ...........

Shalo......................

Coal ...... ...... ..... ......

Slialo ......................

Coal .......................

Coal, fair. .................. 

Slate.... ..................

Coal, good ..................

.. .. 0 01

..... o :;

...... 0 H

1 0

. .... 0 4

. o :>

..... t* :' 

..... t it

..... 0 1

l i

..... o :t l

......8 «| 

..... 0 »

..... \t fi

Fl. in. 

10 H

1 Hj

Here the upper or roof portion of the coal, although t> feet thick, is 

entirely worthless, and the only really goad coal iu the bed is the 'JA 

feet at the bottom.
38 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HULL. OS.

Through Washington County, Pennsylvania, this coal has a thickness of 5 to 0 feet, but very little of it is merchantable.

It is frequently exposed along the Ohio River hills between Wheeling and Parkersburg, being at low water in the latter town.

Before disappearing to the southwest it dwindles down in thickness 

very much, since at Harrisville, Kitchie County, it is only 2 feet 

thick, and at the Grahauiite mines, near Hughes Kiver in the same 

county, only U feet.

It is mined for local supply in the vicinity of Smithville, Hitch in 

County, where it is only 15 inches thick and 150 feet above the level 

of Hughes IJiver.

Section on Willey Fork, Wctzel County, West Virginia. At the mouth 

of the Willey Fork of Fishing Creek, Wetzel County, West Virginia, 

this coal is brought a few feet above water level by a low, anticlinal roll, 

and there it exhibits the following structure:

Ft. in.

1. Dark slmlos ...........................

2. Coal ...................................... 0

H. Coaly shale* ............................... 1

4. Shaln, gray, sandy ........................ 2

f>. Coal ...................................... 0

(i. Gray Kliivles ............................... 2

7. Coal.alaty ................................. 2

I'M, in.

rt 2

)

Ft.

H

flection near Brown's Mills, Monongalin County, Went Virginia. Near 

Brown's Mills, Monongalia County, where this coal was tirst described, 

it lias the following structure:

Ft. in.

1. Ilitinninoiis sliale.......................... 20)

'J. Coal, impure .............................. 1 '.I

U. Sh.-ile ..................................... 0 4

4. Coal,slaty ................................ 1 4

5. Shain ..................................... 0 H

)i. Coal,good.................. .............. 2 

At this locality the Lower Washington limestone forms the roof 

above the bituminous shah-. No. 1, and it also contains much iron.

Occasionally a thin coal is found resting immediately on top of tiie 

Lower Washington limestone, and that condition of atlairs exists at. 

Brown's Mills, where a bed of coal and black slate, in all 2 feet thick, 

occurs 10 feet above the top of the Washington coal. The bed is not 

persistent enough to merit a separate name, however.

Till! WASHINGTON SANPSTONK.

Very frequently no fire clay is present under the Washington coal, 

and the latter rests directly upon a flaggy sandstone, often finely 

laminated, brown, micaceous, and containing vegetable fragments in 

great quantity. This stratum,which was called the Washiugtou sand-
WHITE ] CHARACTERISTIC HORIZONS. 39

stone by Professor Stevenson, occurs over a wide area in Monongalia, 

Jreene, and Washington Counties, but is not persistent very far south 

if the Pennsylvania line.

TIIK LITTLK WASHINGTON* COAL.

; Just nnder the Washington sandstone, and 10 to 20 feet below the 

Washington coal, there sometimes occurs a thin bed of coal, seldom attaining afoot in thickness. It is more persistent in Washington County, 

^Pennsylvania, than elsewhere, and hence was designated as above by 

Stevenson. It is seldom seen south from the Pennsylvania line, and in 

jcireene County even is represented only by a thin bed of bituminous 

elate.

i TIIK WAYNKSJIURG "It" COAL.

I

! Below the last little coal bed there usually occur shales, thin sandIstones, and occasionally a limestone, down to about 45 feet below the 

i Washington coal, where another small bed is found quite persistent in 

Monongalia, Greene, and Washington Counties. It, is seldom more than 

>:i loot thick, but, sometimes attains to two. It lias never been seen south 

of Monongalia County, and is of little economic importance.

THE COI.VIN'S UVN LIMESTONE.

P.elow the last coal come 30 to 35 feet of shale and thin sandstones, 

and then we get a limestone that was numbered Limestone l(a) by 

 Professor Stevenson, but I have given it the above geographical designation from its occurrence at the locality of Section 2, where it is 3 

 feet thick and quite pure. It is oft en of a bullish cast, however, and 

contains too much iron to slake well on burning. In Washington 

County, Pennsylvania, this stratum thickens up to S and 10 feet, but it 

m seldom seen south of the Pennsylvania line.

TIIK WAYNEsniMiii "A" COAL.

This occurs just nnder the last mentioned limestone and like it is conlined to the northern end of the Permo Carboniferous area. It some 

times attains a, thickness of 3and 4 feet, but is generally slaty and 

worthless, so that it has seldom been mined. It occurs quite generally 

across Monongalia, Marion, and llarrison Counties, and is possibly 

present in Ritchie County near Ilarrisonville, but beyond that it has not 

l»een identified. Its horizon is usually GO to SO feet above the WayuesHiirfj coal proper.

TIIK MOITNT MOKIUS LIMESTONE. :;_ 

Separated from the coal last described by only 2 to 5 feet of clayey 

xlialcs there sometimes occurs a limestone which, although noted, 

was not named by Stevenson in his Keport K. It is well exposed on 

the north bank of Dunkard Creek at Mount Morris, Oreene. County, 

Pennsylvania, and has been designated from that locality. The stratum
40 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. | HI-1.1,. 65.

is often only 1 to 2 feet thick, and seldom wore than 5 feet except 

in Washington County, Pennsylvania, where it is occasionally thicker. 

This limestone is uot persistent, and is seldom found south of the 

Pennsylvania line, being frequently absent even in Greeue "and Washington Counties.

THE WAVNKSnURO*8AND8TONK.

Just under the horizon of the Mount Morris limestone, and separated 

from it by 2 to 5 feet of shales and .clay, there comes a very important sandstone. This was long ago termed the Wayneslmrg sandstone, from its line development near the town of that name in Greune 

County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most persistent members of the 

Permo-Carboniferons series, since its eastern outcrop can be followed 

in an almost constant line of cliffs from dreene County, Pennsylvania., 

clear across West Virginia to the Rig Kanawha River at Winfield.

This stratum ia the only one in the series that is generally conglomeratic or contains quartz pebbles larger than coarse sand grains. 

On account of this peculiarity the rock in question becomes a very important guide to the geologist in the. interior of West Virginia, where 

HO many of the Dunkard Creek coals and limestones have disappeared, 

for it retains its pebbly character over a very wide area. When at its 

greatest, development the thickness of this stratum approaches 75 and 

even JOO feet. It is usually a grayish white rock, with a yellowish 

cast on freshly broken surfaces, and its weathered bowlders are, usually 

covered with ridges and streaks of harder iron-bearing sand. The rock 

splits readily and frequently furnishes excellent building stone, the 

piers of the Haiti more and Ohio Railroad bridges across the Monongahela 

River near Fairmont having been constructed of it.

Along the western border of the outcrop of this rock it dwindles 

down and changes its character entirely, being frequently represented 

in Washington County, Pennsylvania; Marshall and Ohio Counties, 

West Virginia.; Hclmont and Monroe Comities, of Oh jo, by sandy shales 

and flaggy sandstones, and occasionally even a stratum of limestone 

may be found at this horizon.

In passing down the Ohio River below Marshall County the horizon 

of this sandstone passes below water level, but when it reappears near 

Saint Mary's, in I' leasants Comity, the rock has regained its massiveness, and is a coarse pebbly nanilstonc, 50 feet thick, and from this 

point on down the Ohio River, whenever above the le.vel of the same, 

it is always a massive sandstone. From Hlennerhasset Island, below 

Parkersburg, this rock is almost constantly visible either in the bed 

or binds of the Ohio on down to 25 miles below the mouth of the 

Great Knnawha. It is the emergence of this stratum from the bed of 

the stream which makes Letart Falls in the Ohio River. It is this rock 

which forms the great cliffs in the top of the hills at Red Rock, in Put-
WHITE.] AGE OP THE DUNKA.RI) CREEK SERIES 41

nam County, on the Great Kanawha, and the same may be seen as a 

bed of pebbly sandstone at many points in Jiitchie, one at the famous 

Grahamite mine being especially noteworthy, for it is the great sandrock through which the celebrated fissure extends at the base of the 

hills, and it is there 75 feet thick.

Through Ritchie, Gilmer, and Oallioun Countjes a bed of brecciated 

limestone occurs at the base of this stratum and incorporated with it, 

which is quite persistent and seems to replace the usual underlying 

\Vaynesbnrg coal, which is there absent.

THE CASSVI1.LK I'l.AXT SIIALK.

The Waynesburg sandstone often rests directly on the underlying 

Waynesburg coal, but more, frequently a bed of dark gray shale, f> to 

15 feet thick, intervenes. This shale is always prolific in fossil plants ami 

is especially so in the vicinity of Cassville, Monongalia County, West 

Virginia. It is from this locality and horizon that- so many of the fossil plants were obtained which are described.in the Second Geological 

Survey, Pennsylvania, Report PP, by Fontaine and White, and it is 

from the same shale that so many plants of Permian and even JYiassie 

types' have been procured, Ta-niopteris, Saporta-a, P.aiera, ami Pachypteris being among the number. No systematic search has ever 

Ue'en made at any other locality, and hence it, is entirely probable that 

the list of fossil plants could be largely increased were this bed thoroughly explored in other regions. Other promising localities of the 

Cassville. shale which have been slightly explored are Carmichacl's, 

Greeno County, Pennsylvania,; Georgetown, Monongalia, County; and 

West Union, Doddridge County. In connection with these roof shales, 

and sometimes interstratilied with the top members of the underlying 

coal, there occur at Cassville numerous remains of insects, the principal ones being fossil cockroaches, of which Gerablattina seems to be 

the principal genus.

THE AGK OF THE PTTNKARD CREF.IC 15K.DS.

The fauna of these rocks has never been systematically studied and 

its relationships determined. What desultory work has been done in 

this line goes to show that the animal forms consist principally of minute shells of crustaceans, fish remains, and insects, many of which are 

probably nndcscribed. No Mrachiopods have ever been seen in these 

rocks, and hence one important line of evidence, which might help to 

determine their relative age is wanting. Some geologists have been 

inclined to regard them as belonging in the Carboniferous proper because of the absence of the Permian reptilian fauna, and other typos 

(ioniiiion elsewhere, but as the deposits are. mainly of fresh water origin, 

the absence of such types is to be expected. Hence until the minute 

fauna occurring in these limestones and black slates shall have been 

carefully studied, the geologist must rely on the evidence of fossil plants.

Ik

ini
42 THE NORTHERN 1HTUMINOUS COAL FIELD [nn.L. OS.

These bare been studied by Prof. Win. M. Pontaine and the writer, 

the results being published in Report PP, Second Geological Survey, 

Pennsylvania. The conclusions there given show that the flora is 

closely and unmistakably allied to the Permian of Europe, since it contains so many types that are peculiar to those rocks or even related to 

Mesozoic forms. The tacts and conclusions set forth are sufficient to 

convince Prof. Archibald Geikie that these rocks are of the same age 

as the reptiliferons beds at Antun.

The conclusion that these rocks are of Permian age has not been accepted by all American geologists, though none have given any reasons 

for discrediting the evidence of the fossil plants on which it is based, 

and until it is contradicted by the animal remains or otherwise shown 

to be erroneous, no other hypothesis is tenable in view of the evidence 

at hand. The list of plants' from which the Permian ageof these Dunkard beds is inferred, together with the general discussion of the same, 

is given in Chapter III, pages 105, 120, Report PP, Second Geological 

Survey, Pennsylvania.

The recent discovery of an undoubted Permian invertebrate fauna in 

Texas by Prof. C. A. White and Mr. Cummins (American Naturalist, 

February, 1SSO), confirms the conclusions of Profs. Cope and Marcon 

with reference to the existence of a great Permian series of rocks in 

this country, and hence there is no longer any reason for doubting that 

America contains deposits which are equivalent in part at least to the 

Permian of Europe. The Texas deposits, as described by Prof. White 

in the article referred to, arc so exactly similar litliologieally to these 

uppermost beds of the Appalachian region, that, the description of the 

one might well answer for that of the other, and there can be very little 

doubt that the two series are equivalent. Singularly enough the beds 

have practically the same thickness, 1,000 feet in Texas, and 1,100 in 

West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania.
C A P T K R III.

THE UPPER COAL MEASURES, OR MONONGAHELA RIVER SERIES.

THICKNESS, CHARACTER, AND UXTENT.

This series of rocks begins at base with the Pittsburgh coal and 

extends up to the Cassville shale. The thickness varies between 200 

feet along the north western outcrop in Ohio and 380 feet in (lie Monongabela Kiver region, but in the center of the Appalachian (rough a 

boring at Browutown, Harrison County, West Virginia, carefully measured with steel line, reveals a thickness of 41.'? feet from the top of tlio 

\Vaynesburg coal to the bottom of the Pittsburgh bed.

Within the interval there belong six distinct coal beds, though only 

four of these are workable over any considerable area. These coals 

have their greatest development along the waters of the Monongahela 

Uiver, and hence the series was long ago named after that river by 

Prof. II. D. Rogers.

The character of the rocks intcratrntifiod with the coal beds changes 

greatly in passing from the Monongahela River southward to the (Ireat 

Kanawha. At the northern end of the basin in Marion, Monongalia, 

(Ireene, Washington, Fayette, al|d Westmorland Counties, limestone 

forms about one-half of (he rock material, and the same is true on the 

western side in Hrooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Hclmont Counties. Red 

shale is unknown in the series at the, north, but in passing southward 

from Harrison and Lewis Counties (he limestones practically disappear, and with them all of the coals except the Pittsburgh. With 

their disappearance red shales come in and apparently replace (he 

limestones, so that on the (Ireat Kanawha. nearly one-fourth of the 

rock material in this series is red shale, while the, thickness is reduced 

to 270 feet. Along with this change in the character of the rocks 

(here occurs a great change in the topography made, by these beds, for 

at (he north, where, limestone is abundant, sandstones are few and 

shaly, so that a gentle, rolling topography results, with a very rich soil 

and one of the finest gra/.ing and farming regions in (he country, while 

lo the, southwest, after the, limestones have disappeared the sandstones thicken up and become more massive, thus giving rujrged and 

precipitous slopes with narrow valleys.

43
44 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. Inm.i.fl6.

m

The character of the Upper Coal Measure rocks in the several portions 

of the area they occupy is shown by thiS several sections which follow. 

faction in Fayette and Westmoreland CowiiticK, I'cnnnylranid. Prof. 

Stevenson, who has done so lunch to elaborate the 

detailed structure of this series, gives the following 

(Fig. 11), in Second Geological Survey, Pennsylvania, 

Report KK, page 31, as the general section of these 

beds in Fayette and Westmorland Counties:

i*

F&yrtte ami ll'i'Xlinorcland ('ount'nK,J'mntylrnina. 

| Ser map, K n.]

1. (!onl, VaynoMiiire ....................................

2. Samly Hluili-Hor aamUtoiiP ..................^.........

:i. Coal.'Little Wayiicnliiiru .............................

4. liilnt'Htnni', Wa> ih'wlmi1 ^ ..............................

f>. Shiili- anil slnily Hantlstonn ............................

ft. CiKil, Unimitnwn ........................ ............

7. Linu'stonc, Uniiintnwn ........................ ......

8. SiimUtollu .........'... ......7................... .T....

II. I,iiiLc8li>in', "(5 rout"..................................

Hi. C»:il. Si'wicklcy -..--.......-.-........-----..---..--.

II SanilMtoiMv....'.. .................-.....---..- - 

VI. LinicHtfliir, Srwioklny.................................

Kt. Shnlr or Hlinly HunilHtnne..............................

14. (Null, lii'ilntuiin ..... ..................................

1.1. I.iiiii.Hliiiii-. liedstoii.'..................................

Hi. Siiiiilstonit or Mhiilt>................T...................

17. Co:il, ritlsbur^lK.....................................

t'l. 

20

12 1

110 [ 

80 S

10

40

n.

I! 

92

3

122

3

70

4

GO

Tot ul. HC7

faction nt lirotrnxrillr, J'etntHi/lrnnia. At, Mrownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylviini:i, 

Prof. Stevenson finds the following 

structure, (Fig. 1-'), for this series, :is 

given in KK, page 23.'?:

Fin. II. Srrtion in 

Kavi'ttnftii'! Wi'HtniiiVi'lanil C'o ii ii 

Ilex, I'll.

llriHmwillr, Fnyettf Cnunly,

tSt-eniap, K in.] Ft. hi. 

1. ('nnl, WHyni-Hlmr^, liloxMimi ...............................

'J. Sll!lU'«, HHIIllv ...............-.-....-..- - ----- -. - 4f>

3. Ciial, Littin Wayiii'slmri;, liln»som ....................;.... 0

4. IjiiiM-stono. Wilytii'Mliuf^.... ................... ............ 4

5. Sliulca and Mlialy HiinilHtoni'. ............................... fi6

fi. <'oal, rnii>nl.own, liln*Hniii ..................................

7. Ijini'Hliino, coiii'.Hi', \cllo\v .................................. 1

 8. Clay..............'...................... .................. X

0. Slialt* anil Huntlstono ....................................... lf»

10. I,iin<*Htoni> ........_........................................ 2

11. rniircali-il ................................................. 17

12. Siimlxlniu- ...... .......................................... :i

lit. I ,imcHtoni> willi Hlialrn ...... ...^.. ......................... 4J

14. CollCltlllKll ................................................. Id

15. Linirstnnit ................................................. fi

10. Ciincviil.'.l ................................................. i

17. Clay slinlii ................................................. 8

18. Sowicklny I'niil linri/.oii ....................................

lit. Samlv Hliiili^ inn! llaji^y Hatnlst^>nH...... .................... 30

20. l.iniratimii ...... ........ .................................... :i»

21. Shale...................................................... aft

22. Coul, Hixlstonr...... .......................................

23. Shale, Hiiml.v

24. Cnal, rittsbnr 

ToUl

Ft. in. 

104

f Cnill...,0' 8"> 

eb. ......... <Clav--..0' 10" > ..............

icoal .. T fi"i

0 6

2.1

Fin. VJ. Seel ion at 

Hrowtmvilli', Pa.
UPPER COAL MEASURES CAPPED WITH PFRMO-CARBONIFCROUS BEDS, WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA.
WHITE/] SECTION AT RICE'S LANDING, PA. 45

Section at West Broicnsville, Pennsylvania. On the opposite side of 

tbe Monongahela River, in deseending from Kreb's Knob to West 

Brownsville, in Washington County, the writer measured the several members of this series with the following results (Fig. 13):

Mt"

Went Brownsville, Washington dainty, I'uHiutylraiiia. 

(Sec map, K in. ]

(Coal......«' 10" l

I, dial. Wayncsbu! « ...... 'Clay......O' 3" > ..........

(Coal .....2' 6"J

Ft. in.

3 7

tot

2. Shale* anil .samlstonn ................. .............. '45

3. ItituineiKMiH shale, Liltli- \Va\ IHM|IIII'^, Coal .......... 1

4. Liini'stone, Wit\ni'.sbufii ............................. 10

B. Saiiilsiiiiii', .shalv...................................... 40

li. Coal, Unii.ntowii .....................................

7. I.iniiMtiiiii-, I'niiintowu................................ 12

K. Shalr anil Hanrtsluni' ........... ..................... L'8

1>. liiuirsliin*', with Ihin Hhales ...... ................. Hrt

10. Coal, Sewit'Uh'V. lilossoin .............................

11. SanilHtolli', xliiily...... ............................... 32

12. Linii'Mtoiu- .....'....................................... 30

13. Slia'.fH ................................................ 'JO

14. Coal, liwlstiine ... . ................................

82

1

. 

JCoal..O' 3"

i rljlij ','. 0'.' 

(ciay-.l' 0" 

17 Coal, ritUburKli, main Uuucli ......................... 7

1U. Coal, I-iltsliiiiKh, iiMif .. 2 6

0

TutiU

Section at Yi'ire's Landing, I'l-unnylvania. In the steep hillside, one mile 

below Rice's Landing, (ireenc, County, 

Pennsylvania, the series exhibits the

« i3.-si'ftion at following structure (Fig. 1-1):

Went Urowuttvillv. ° \ o /

Fa.

Hive's Linidiiiij, (Irn'iiet.'oHHty,

|Si o initp, K in. |

fCniil....!' ()"

| <;iii.v....<>' .v '

/'i. tit. 1't. in.

...

1. WaynOMlMirj; i:ual. . -I C'oal . . . .1' It" 

|«:l.iy....' " 

l(J»:il.-..

'.'. KhulfH .......................

. 

-t. Shiih>* anil MatMlMtnin' ............. .......................

5. (!«iil, I 'niiintiiH»..... . ...................................

(). LillU-HtUIIO. I'llilHIluU II ...................................

7. Shulrx »liil HilliiMnlKi .....................................

H. l,inn>Mtiiin-, "lirviit". ......................... ...........

1*. (!oal, Htnvickloy .... .......................................

10. SnnilstniiH ....'.........................................--.

1 1. l.inioHtiiiii« ............ ...... .................. ............

12. Sitmly ."halo .................. ...........................

n. Slat«i liitiiiiiiiiuiiH (Ki-iUiiinu i-oal) .......................

II. SaiiilrtloiH-, I'itt.Hbur;;!!, H:ij;^y ............................

15. Sainlittune, IMtUhur^h, i

4,"»

fi

:W

1C. Coal, I'ittsb'

Total.

( (Ci>alv»lialc..l' 0")

Uoi.f -JO.al........ V 2"

urj-b...^ MJlay.........0' 10" [ .

1 Main bench .........7' 0"J

Ill 

I

l.'O 

I

45

10

378 1

Fin. 14. Section at 

KICC'M Laudiitg, PA.
46 THE NOKTHEKN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. 65.

Section on Robinson's /i'u«, H 'cut Virginia. The Upper Goal Measure 

beds attain a very line development in Monoiigiilia County, West; 

Virginia, just south from the (ireene County line, and there, on Kobinson's Kun, 2 miles west from the Moiiougahela liiver, the following 

suceessiou (Fig. 15) is exposed:

Sp.j '.;'.;

pitlii

gfiH

 

"f

1

1. Coal,

's Hun, Moiioiiijalia County, Went Virginia. 

(Situ iuap, L in.) 

(Oiml...2' ..2' 0" 0" ) ) ft. in.

.. <Kliale..l' »"J ...................

<C«iil -.4' 0")

'J. Sandy chalet* with iron ore below niiddlu................ 35

4, .Shales................................................... 10

0. SandHtuiir, ttajjjjy .............

7. lUark ulate (Unionlown coal).

8. Liiueatunu,Uuioutuwu ........

10. LiuuMtouu..... ...............

11. Shales ........................

II.'. Sandstone, rta^gy .............

III. Linn ntiiiic, temcnl beds.......

14. Sandstone,Suwickley .........

15. Coal, Sowiukley ...............

1II. Slialtw.........................

10

ilO

151

''Hi. 1.1. Sertin.i nn 

IfiihiiiMili'ti Kull, 

W. Va.

........................................... 10

18. Shales................................................... J2

1». JjiufHtono .............................................. 18

i'O. SIlideH.................................... ............... IS

21. Coal, Ued.sU.uo ..........................................

22. limestone, Kedstone...........................I........ 10

L':j. Shale«and slates........................................ 20

!

Ko»rv»al8..3'> 

(!lny........r> .................. 

Coal........8')

i'

Total . 3W

Here, as will be seen from the above section, the Bedstone coal, 

whicli belongs between the rittsburgh and Sewickley beds, has thickened up into merchantable condition. This coal contains alittlc more 

sulphur than either the Pittsburgh below or the Sewickley above, but 

it makes a very fair fuel for domestic and steam-producing purposes. 

It is softer than either of the other two and would coke well.

The Kedstone, Pittsburgh, and Sewickley beds of this section foot 

up a total thickness of 21A feet, including partings, aud about 17 feet 

of this is morchautable coal.
WHITE ] SECTION UN SCOTT S UUN, WEST V1KGIN1A. 47

Section on Svotfa Hun, Went Virginia. A short distance south from 

Robinson's Kun, we get another line exposure of the Upper Coal Measure beds along the waters of Scott's Hun, between Cassville and the 

mouth of the stream, as follows (Fig. 10'):

Scott'* linn, MoiuHKjallu Cuuuly, It'tst I'injinta.

}>. M i

(Coal...

I Shall-, f

. Coal, WayuvHburg............... ^ Coal...

Shale, j

/ '(. in.

...2'0"| 

»..!' 0"! ...I' 4"

Ft. in 

10 10

'J. lilitrk *\.i\t\ _- ..--_ - i

i

:'.-.':."., _^.

 

n;. Hi. Si 

Scott'» Hull

"" 

at

a'

is'

**'

10* 

5'

rf

IS) 

I1

li*

s'

JV 

,w

 t i<>

, W

391 U. Liii)fHtoui!.H, inturutralitiod with thiu shales, cf nielli

12. Shales............................................... 5

22. Slate, black......... ................................. 5

4 1 Coal 0' 3" 

23. Coal, rittslmruli, roof .... ...... ]?.0!j'"'v j{!! ....:. 4 3

".Clay!". I' 0"J

((N.al..3'6" 

j Slain 0- i"

" . I Sla e'o' 1" 

24. Coal, Pittsburgh, main ln-ucli .. Cns 1. .1' 0" ....... « 74 Sla .-.0' J"

('»; 1 .0' 0"

Slai'.O'i"

tf I Coal.. y y )

uW* Total . ..................... ~....... .......................

1 nil

Vu.

145

i 05

4

28

! 13 10$

372 8J

The same lledstone coal makes its appearance in this section ; in fact 

it underlies all of the region intervening between Scott's and Robinson's Kuns, thinning out south ward as well as northward. It underlies 

an area of probably 5,000 acres where it is of workable thickness. In 

the oil-well borings on Doll's Itun, and as far west as Manuington and 

Fairview, this bed is still present, though appareutly not of workable 

thickness.
48 THE NORTHKIIN lUTUMlNOUK COAL FIKLD. Inutr.. 65.

 Section on ttufl'alo CVft1 /,-, West Virginia. Along IJnHulo Creek, in 

the vicinity of Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia, the Upper 

(Joal Measures exhibit the following succession (Fig. 17):

Jiujfalu Creek, Marion I'ounly, It'isl yiryiiiia. 

| See map, M 1.]

fCIKI|...O' 0") 

I Shall-..0' I" I

Ft. in. h't. in.

1. Cual, WiiyntMbur}; ... ............{Coal.. I'll"}. ........................... 5 u

(Shall'..!' 4" 

(Coal. ..3' 0"J

2. Shalfa........................................................................... 20

3. SamlaUmo, imiHHive................................T............................. f 30

4. Shal«............................................................................ 3

ii. Limi-stout', Wayiiesburg......................................................... 1 (i |

0. Shah'*........................................................................... 18 {. , u,

7. Liniratuiif....................................................................... 1 li

X. Shall* .............................................. 12 |

i ji,l> 9. SauilHtone.................... ................... 10

, , 10. Shah-H...... .......................................... 5 \

II. Coal, Uniuiitowii.................................... 2 6

I 1-'. Firo clay............................................ 4

13. SandHti'iio........................................... 1

;% Id' 14. SlittU-HHiiillilai'kHlate .............................. 5

i t tf l*i. Liiiii-utouu .......................................... 3

"... 18. Fireclay............................................. 5

: 12 , 17. Shali-H with limestone .............................. 5

- 18. S.iiHlatouo.......................................... 2 14a

lit. HlllUHlllllu ............ ............................. 8

20. Ijinif.stolle .......................................... 1

21. Shalt'H nml conccali'il ............................... *J5

'-1'. Liiiicntuui' inti-rxtratifii'd with thin nhalcs ..... .. 85

 _M. Shalis .............................................. 5

I dial...... 5' II" I

,._, '(May ...... U' 4'

"* 1!4. Cual, Se« ii-kli'i .... ; Coal....... 0' 4" ............ ..

|Sliil«,diirk .0' S"| " 

lCoal........O'5"l

65 25. SliiilM .............................................. 3 0 .

'.Ml. 1 jllllwlnlli', hull .................................... 4'

27. SamUtmii', yray, luaHuivo............................ 18 j

28. I'iuit'Htnne, JilJiy..................................... 5 I

 J9. Comralcil anil shal«»................................ 15 i

:>0. Inipiiri' clay ........................................ 5 |

i 18' 31. Linii'stoiiitaiiil Hhalra............................... 20

- *, 32. Sandntom', 1'itt^hur^h .............................. 25

Lj* IDO'6" 'JJ' ' Sl»al«il- - - -- -- - 5 

:' , Coal.hony 0' 10" )

20 r.on«......o' ij"

Coal ......«' a"

,s 34. Cual, ritlsliur;;!! | Slati>......0' ',' .......... 7 ,,

a I Cual.......0' 5" 7 JJ

|S!ato......O' .1"

(Coal ......a' 5J"

Km. 17. -Si'Clion on ,., , , Biillalofrt-ek, W. Va. lotal..................................................... 37:, 4J

Tlie portion of this section from the Sewickley coal down to the base 

of the series was measured at the Montana mines, 2.] miles below the 

mouth of litiflalo Creek.

The liedstone coal is entirely absent here, its horizon being occupied

by the 5 feet of impure lire, clay, 50 feet above the Pittsburgh bed.

. Ntvlional Chtiimlmry, Went Viryiniti. In passing from Marion County

southward towards Clarksburg, in llarrison County, a great change

takes place in the character of the sediments of the Upper Coal Meas-
SECTION AT WHEELING, W. VA. 49

ures. The limestones, so prominent in Greene, Monongalia, and 

Marion, dwindle down to insignificant proportions, as shown by the following section (Fig. 18), made at Clarksburg by Mr. Jno. L. Johnston, 

civil engineer :

Clarksburg, /lurriiton Count;/, l\<xt I'iryiinii.

18. Seet.ion at 

'K, W. Va.

	[SuiMiia|t, I) k.

1. \Vayiiealiu r£ coal, absent or not KOCH. ......

'J. Concealed and yellow sa-mly ftlialr..s ..... ............... G.*i

3. Sandstone............................ ................ *2'i

4. Concealed, witli somolimestone......................... Ml

5. Sandutone............................................... 20

(i. Concealed............................................... fi

7. Sandstone ...............*................................ 15

H. Sandy sliak'H............................................ *i

0. Sail d.s to i ic, Suwickley ................................... 'J5

10. Shales.................................... .............. HI

11. Coal, St'Wickley

/ V. in.

Shuly... 1' 

Good

... 1' li" I

12. Limestone........ \ ....-,' U" <, - t

13. CoucealtMl ............................................... :t

14. ShaleH, Handy............................................ 14

lf>. Shale, with iron nodules................................. 1

Iff. Shales, sandy ........................... ............... 4

17. Sandstone............................................... 1

18. Concealed............................................... 8

19. Coal, Itedstoue, slaty ....................................

^U. Sliuitsdark, IntiiMiinotla .................................. '*

*J1. Iann<stolie, Uedstout^ .................................... ti

'I'l. Shale, ^feeliish....................... .................. lli

'J'.t. Slate, bituminollu ....................................... i

S

Coal....:! &")

Hone ...0' !"[ ....................

Coal....5' 0")

n. in. 

U

40.

Total .

faction tit ClwpliiH' llillj \Vhecliuy, Went Virginia. Between the Monongahela and Ohio lti\ ers a considerable change takes place __ __r 

in the character of the Upper Coal Measure beds, and 

also in the thickness of the several members, as will be 

seen by the following section (Fig. 19) from Chapline 

Hill, Wheeling, West Virginia:

Chttpliitc //*//, H'herliny, ll'tt*! I'lnjiMw.

[See map, Iv.j.J Ft. 

1. dial, Waynosbtirjr .........................................

'_'. Ctinri'iiltM'l . -- --.- ............... ....................... ft

it. Kliiu^y Handtttoin*, tilled willi plaut fragments ............. 4

t. ( uncrtttod .......... ...................................... 4

:.. I, inn^tonc-, iHhalcH and concraled ........................... 60

ii. SaiiiUimu', niansivc, yray................................... .1

7. l,itiH^sloiM' :nid coiicciilrd .................................. 20

s. Urron nlialo...... ......................................... T>

l( . j.iincMtuiic, interstratitii'd with slmlos...................... 5,"»

(</'oal... 

y .... < Sundy 

<Coal ...

in. Coal, Sewickloy .... < Sundy shales with plants. ......... 12

<Coal ............................... 0 8

1 1 Shales .............................................

U. Sandstone, rather massive, micaceous, current-bedded ... 20

]:!. Limestone, impure, lla^^y, tilled with fossil terns .......... 1

14. Ooal, Kedstono ..... ...'...................................

ir>. Limestone, mostly bullish and im 

I Coal, root'

Hi. Pittsburgh coal ...... ! Shale ...

( Coal, tuui

L'9 

0 10

[11111^......................

u bouch. 0' )

jo*

zs>'

Total..... 

_ O..11

Fli:. 111. Section at 

 Cli:lpl i ne II ill, 

J67 0 Wlieeliinf.W.Va.
THK NORTHKKN H1TUMINOUS COAL F1KL1). | HI 1.1.. Ui.

Hero the Waynesburg eoal has dwindled to an unimportant bed, 

and the Sewickley lias split into two portions separated by 1-' feet of 

shales, while the whole column liu.s lost more than 100 feet of thickness compared with the Monongahela Kiver region.

iSection near Hdlaire, Ohio. At Bellaire, Ohio, 4 miles below Wheel 

ing, the following carefully leveled section (Fig. -< ) was made; by Prof. 

0. N. lirown, of the present Ohio (Jeologieal Survey. It exhibits some 

interesting changes as compared with the Wheeling section :

UMuirv, lichnoiil County, Ohio.

[Sut-uiiip, Ki.|

ft. in. ft. in.

1. (,'oal, Wa.vnpi)l)iii'K ...............................................................

2. Shalo, aandy. ................................................................. 0

3. Shal»................................... : ........................................ 12

4. Limestone....................................................................... .'I

5. Concealed ....................................................................... 5

6. Coal, blossom, Little Wayursbur^ ..............................................

7. Uuuci-HlixI............................................ 14 j

8. Coal, blossom, Uiiiolitowu ............................ |

? tt. 8. Slmlu ................................................ 4

l\ «' 1U. Sainl»toni)............................................ 6

a! 11. Shale, argillaceous ................................... 20

12, Concealed............................................ 32

Bg^g^i, 13. Shalo ................................................ 2 !> 127 6

l£2i8I H. Sandstone............................................ 3

15. Shalo ................................................ 3

10. <Umcraled............................................ 3,'(

17. Calcareous shah-, with Iliin limrstoiii-n ............. 24 0

M'oal ............ .. 4' 0" I

I Shalrs, sandy.... i;c 111" [

in. (,'oal, Sewickley.... ,' ('mil .......'.. «' H" ; .. «>7

I Shnli', iiiKillavuAiiH V 0" 

ICoal............. 3' 0"J

ly. Shalo, ar^ill:lcei>us.................................. 2

20. Limestone, thin i-luy in center ....................... 8

1 z?b' 21. Liiiicrttoin', mapicsiau, cetui'iit rock.................. &

22. Clay ................................................. 1

23. LiiiM'Htone............................................ 11

30' 24. Concealed............................................ II

25. Dual, liwlstoiii", blossom.............................. ~

26. C'miuralril.....................................:...... 17 | |K

j., J* 27. Shalo ................................................ 1 '

I' 28. Coul, Vittsliur^li..................................... 7

Flii. 'JO.- -Slit-lion near 

Ui'llairi', Ohio. Total.............................................. 263

The interval between the two members of the Sewickley coal has 

here increased to L'O feet, and the upper one seems to keep permanently 

above the lower one from here south westward through Ohio, becoming 

the Cumberland and Meigs ('reek bed of the Ohio geologists.

Both the Little Waynesburg and Uniontown coals are represented 

iu this section, but neither one was observed at Wheeling.

It is worthy of note that there is a difference of only 4 feet in the 

total thickness of the Upper Coal Measures as given by Prof. Brown's 

section at Bellaire and mine at Wheeling, four mileH above,

iJ;
U. S f.rrj! '.<-,if Al. MJHVF

UPPER COAL MLAbUHLb ANu ("t-m'vltj CAHbONit- LriuUi, rOWHAIAN, UHtU.
WHITE. 1 SECTION ON PIPE CREEK, OHIO.

faction at MoiiHdsville, Went Viryinin. Near tlic mouth of (Irave 

Crajk, one mile )«elo\v Moiiudsvillc, West Virginia, and 7 miles below 

Hellaire, these measures exhibit the following succession by combining 

the surface exposures with the record of an oil boring (Fig. LM):

r'lu. 21. Section at 

Mouudsvillc, W. Va.

Mumidsi'illc, Marshall County, ll't-nt I'injiuia.

(See map, K i. I

Ft. in. 

( Coal, inipuio. .0' fi" l

1. Coal, Wa.vneBbiilj; ... s Shale ......... 1' (>">,.. .....

f Coal ..........! U")

2. Shale, soft, gray ........................................ 5

3. Sandstone, masHivc, gray, micaceous...... ............. '.'11

4. Concealed, with limestone layers at base 2 feet thick.... LNI

5. Flaggy sandstone ami samly shales..................... 'JO

6. Concealed ............................................... 10

7. Limestone............... ............................... 1

"J. Limestone, gray ........................................ '21

10. Concealed to mouth of oil ami gas well at KO feet above

low-water mark in Ohm Kiver ........................ 2H

1!. Conductor holo of oil w ell record ....................... 18

TJ. Linicaloue, light gray.................................... 40

i:i. Slate .................................................... 15

14. lilack rock, shales....................................... Ill

15. Coal,KcdHtone ..........................................

10. Fire clay................................................ 7

17. llardslate. ............... ............................ 4

Ifc. (iray limeHtone.......................................... -0

19. Itastard limestono....................................... 10

^0. Coal, I'ittsburgb ........................................

Total .................................................

l-'t. in.

Section on Pipe Creek, Ohio. Pipe Creek puts into the Ohio Itiver 

3 miles below the mouth of Grave Creek, and there, on the lielmont 

County side of the river, the Pittsburgh coal is at low-water level. The 

following structure (Fig. ±i) is found in the steep hills which border 

the mouth of Pipe Creek:

Creek, llctmuut County, Ohio. 

[Suo map, K i. I

Fcrt.

I. dull, Wayneshurg, slaty al top .

-. Concealed, limestone and shales .................... ........

It. Hit umi nous slate, nnionUiwn coal ..................... ......

4. Limestone, lT nionto\vn......... .............................. 10

5. Concealed, with much limestone ............................. 100

(Coiil. and coaly shale.. L" 0" 

Sandstone ...'...... ...12' 0"

Coal .................. 0' 4"

Shale .................. 1

Coal .................. 0'

idy .......... 5'

,ty ............ 1'

Fret. 

4

!" 

0. Coal.Scwickley. 1 Shale, Hand 

Coal, slaty

,'co'al ......

4" 

0" 

K" 

0' 4"

I

i^oai .................. 1' 0" i 

IJliick slate............ 0' 4")

7. Limestone, Sewickley, and.shales.....

K. Jiitumimms shale, (Kedstouo coal) ....

9. Limestone, (Uedslonoand concealed..

10. Coal, rittsburgh ......................

'J'J 

1

Total.

n:. JL'.-.Secliiin in 

Itelmoiit (Juuilly, 

Ohiu,
TUB NORTHKKN blTUMlNOUS COAL FIELD.

Belowthislastloeality no measurement of the Upper Coal Measure 

series, is possible tor a long distance, because most of the members are 

below water level. They are all brought to the surface, however, by 

the Volcano anticline, which crosses the Ohio Uiver from Pleasant* 

County, West Virginia, into Washington County, Ohio.

ticetioH in ir((»V( /H'/^6V««/y,0///«. Mr. F.W.Minshall,of Marietta, 

Ohio, has made a very careful study of these measures in Washington 

County, Ohio, and has prepared the following section (Fig. 123) as repiting their usual structure there:

f,>unly,

ft. in.

II 

II

IB

Ft. i 

4

Km. 23.

The thickness here given is .r><) to (tOfeet less tor Iheentiie 

that usually found in any other portion of the Appalachian fluid.

Section at Jiurniny Wrings, Wcxt I'irgiaiH. lii the vicinity of Burning Springs, Will; County, West Virginia, 

these rocks are brought above the surface by the same 

anticline, and there Mr. Minshall reports the following 

structure (Fig. 1M):

liitriiiitij tin-inn*, n'irlfoMiity, H't*!

«. in. 

1. r ...... 1 8

2. (

3.

4. Shales .'.........

5. Coal, ritt»l,ui-Kb 1 H

 is'

Kiii.JI. _SiTiJ.ii, a t 

«« ,, «
SECTION AT ANTIQUITY, OHIO.

Moth here and all along (he Volcano anticline the Pittsburgh eoal 

is very poorly developed, as shown in this and the previous section, 

and it is frequently absent entirely.

Section on bailing Creel; We»t r/>y//nw.-Near Leading Creek post, 

otlice, at the eastern edge of Giliner County, West Virginia, (his series 

shows thus (Fig. 25):

Lending I'rfrk, (iilmer family, HVxf I'irtiiiiiu.

Ftft. 

II

10

,SVr/i<>» at Antiquity, Ohio. Along the Ohio Kiver, lielow where the 

\ Olc,ano arch crosses, the Upper Coal Measures again plunge under 

water level, and do not emerge again till we, come to the 

vicinity of Antiquity, Meigs County, Ohio, 10(1 miles below. A shaft to the Pittsburgh bed (1:50 feet under river 

level), taken in connection with the surface exposures 

there, reveals the following succession (Fig. iW):

, .Vn> faiinlii, Ohia.

(So.MH.lp, TC. |

Total ...

Section at Unrlford City, Wext rh-flinifi. Six miles below the shaft 

at Antiquity, and in the vicinity of Hartford City, the Pittsburgh coal
THK NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL KIKTJ). [lll.l.l.. li.r>.

comes above water level. In the steep blurt's above Hartford the following succession (Fig. 27) was observed :

Fin 

II 

\\

£JT-~: V :

si's!;'. ;

'J7.- Scclii

ill II.. i.l C i .Vn

irf

51 

6?

14' 

10*

20* 

£> 

20'

is'

79'

s'

af

nut 

I.V.

J. WaynPHbi

:i. Shale, jjmj 

4. Sandstone 

!i. Shales, l.n 

C.. Shales, red 

7. Concealed 

H. lied slialfl,

10. Shales, var 

11. Concealed

Kf. Cnncciiled 

14. Shale, red 

l.r>. Sandstone, 

KJ. Shales, grn 

17. Coal, Pitlsl

Hartford City, Maxon County, I1'r«l I'iriiiiiia. 

[Sec map, 1* d.]

/ '/. in.

... in

r

K

... 10

... H

... 10

... 20

... 28

... 20

... 5

... 20

... 70

1 ti

,.." 2f.S t!

Section «t ArlmrWr, \Vrst Virijinm. ln tlie vicinity of ArbneUle, 

Mason bounty, West Virginia, on the (5rent Kanuwha Itiver, and IS 

miles above, its mouth, the Wayiicsburtf (toal makes its appearance in 

the sect ion. Here the following structure (Fig. L'8) was obtained for 

the series, by combining the surface exposures with the record of a

Arbuckle, Maxon County,

| See map, (J c

Coal, siilphiiroiin . ..0'

I Coal, iciNHl. .........(>'

5. Sandstone, blue, hard ........................

9. Shales, red............ ......................

10. Shales, variegated ...........................

11. Fire clav, Impure (IJedstone coal) ...........

12. Sandstone, course. wlnU>, riltshnr^h ...

n'fst rifflinia.

 ]

10")

8"

5"f ...................... 8"

5"J

...........................

13. Fire clav and shale with a little slatv coal at bottom PiUslmri:h

ft.

4

o

14

O

,

n

4

2

10

tmi?^-':

mm

- '"-;/': -.--.

 ~~ -

 ----.-'- -=. ---

=':?;.-

r ." ~ V~ -

:t:.-;.y:.x:-£.ff;

(iiwiiimi.'**

no'

4,

»'

l'

f

 ia'

z

it

ff

ot al. nt Aibiieklc, W 

281 Vn.

Here there is practically no merchantable coal in the whole series, 

since the Waynesburg bed, although 3 feet thick, is poor and slaty.
SUCTION OPPOSITE WINHKLD, W. VA. 55

The locality is near the center of the deepest portion of the Appalachian 

trough, and the horizon of the Pittsburgh coal is <)0 feet under the Kanawha. A hole was drilled as a test for this coal, but the result proved 

only a trace of it present.

faction nt mouth of liig ITurricanc Creel; Piitnam County, \Vcxt \'irf,ini<t. Southward up the Kanawha Itiver from Arbnekle, the locality 

of Section US, the rocks rise and the entire series comes above water 

level at the mouth of P.ig Hurricane Creek, in Putnam County. Here, 

32 miles from the mouth of the P.ig Kanawha, the following succession may be seen (Kig. L'il):

ne. Creak, I'uliinm I'omili/, II', ^ l'h-i/ini,i.

.p. ltd.|

II. ni.

III .,

ir

1.1 8

11-J

tlloutliofUipIIv.... IIniTi. can* Creek, W.Va. Total..... 

The 1'ittsburgh coal is patchy all through this region, 

being workable on some farms and absent on others.

Section opposite WinfieM, Wc»t Virginia. As showing 

the unreliable character of the coals in this series along 

this portion of the Kanawha, the section (Kig. .",(>) of the 

rocks opposite Wintield, Putuam County, 5 miles above 

Big Hurricane, is given :

Winfiehl, I'Htnam Comity. JTest I'iryiiwt. 

[Soo map, S ,.. |

5

j^iiuii^.

=--=£-^_- r V-^ _

*j:.o

X: -V:^

V'i.:.:i(i.-S,.c'l«m siBrft:vr-
n

i

56 THE NOUTHKRN lilTUMINOUS COAL FIKU). | ism., or,.

This section was measured in tho steep hill at Ked House Station, on 

the Kanawha and Ohio Hailroad, and, as may be seen, the series does 

not there contain any coal whatever.

Section near Raymontl City, West Virginia. Further up the Kanawha 

the Pittsburgh coal again conies in, and the following structure (Fig. 31) is found in the vicinity of 

Raymond City, (5 miles above \Vintteld:

JO'

Rear litiytHitHd City, /'ulitinn fount//, MV*/ t'irtfiitia. 

|Sri>liiap, Si' |

1. Wayni'sliuri; i'onl oilisniit)..................................... 0

2. ('oiirfiiIn), with rcil Hhalii ..................................... 60

4. SainlMliHit1 , yra.\. liiirat'poHM .....................I............. 4

r,. l.iini'loni', in ri'il »bal«......................................... f.

6. lii-il Khiil.i...................................................... t&

7. Sandy Mhali», gray.............................................. 30

8. Shall., ri'tl...................................................... 40

II. Sandy shaliw. \fllu« ish (rf»y................................... 4 r>

10. Illai-k xhtili-, lifil.stoni- r»n\ .................................... 2

12. ShulxH ......................................................... 10

-2- . (Coal.........0 4')

n |Sh*l«..... ..«' 4"

. 13. craii,i'iii»inir(!ii,iw.f...;... fsi },,--;;;; J|' ?.'.'! a-

| Coal, sl'n't'.v -.1 0' I

- 0. I Kino flay'. ..! li' )

t Coal, j;i>o<l .. 0 ()' 1 

14. Coal, I'lttnlmrKh, inainlii'iich < Slatn.........()' *' S fi

us. 31. Sirtion ni-nr < Conl.-Mlat.y.. .0 10 } 

Kayinuuil City, AV. \ a. ____L. 

Total....................................................... 291 7J

Section in vicinity of Western Port, MarylninL In the Cumberland »r 

Georges Creek basin, the Upper Coal Measures exhibit; tho following structure (Fig. .'52), as observed 

in the vicinity of Western Port, Maryland :

I'icinily of Wenlern I'orl, .tllriihniii/ County, Miiri/linnl. urf

(Si'0 inaj), N p.|

Ft. in. 

1. \Va.ynosliiirs coal (not si>mi) ...................................... 0

3. Coal, Sowii'kloy .................................................. 5 pSi*S=>'

4. Shalofl anil conoeiiled ............................................. 115

5. Coal, I'ittsliuicli, roof ....... ) Shalu ........... 4' 0" ; fi, ,,

(.Shale'.'.";.";.'!!"! ]' 0") "*

(Coal......... ..10' It") CO .1]

Slatn ........... 0 -J" I

I Coal ............ 0' fl" | I

a Co.il, Pittsburgh, main lioucli ^ Slatt............. ir J" ) I3'71"J

Total.......................................................... 270 3J nearWestorufort,Mil.
THK UPPER COAL MEASURES. 57

From the foregoing sections it will be perceived that the beds in the 

Upper Coal Measures which have, received, distinct names are in descending order as follows:

Waynesburg coal, 

llrowutowu sandstone, 

liittlo WiiyniiHlmrg coal. 

WayiiPHburj* liiiictttono. 

Union) own siMiil»tonc. 

IJniontown noal. 

Union tow n liinostoue. 

(ircat limestone.

Scwirkley sandstone. 

Sewk'.kley mal. 

8e wick ley limestone. 

Redstone (Mini. 

Kedstone, limestone. 

I'ittslmi'i^li N.'indstone 

Pittslinrsih coal.

These several beds we shall now notice more in detail.

CHAUA<!THIMSTH! HORI/ONS.

Tin: WAYNKSIUMM: COAL.

This, the highest member of the, series, is generally quite persistent 

around the northern end of the. coal field, but followed southward 

through West Virginia it soon becomes patchy and interrupted, so that 

beyond the line of Marion County the coal is only occasionally present 

along the eastern and central portions of the Upper Coal Measure belt, 

its horizon being frequently occupied, as at llarrisville, Uitchie County, 

by a breeciated limestone.

On the (Jrcat Kanawha this coal occurs near the center of the Appalachian trough over a small area in the vicinity of Arbuckle, and its 

structure there is given in Section L'8.

Along the western side, of the Held, down the Ohio River and across 

southern Ohio, this coal is fairly persistent. It dips tinder the Ohio 

Uiver !it New Martinsville, but rises to daylight again near St. Mary's, 

where it is only 1 to 3 feet thick, and quite sulphurous.

In the Macksburg oil region it is the principal bed, according to the 

Ohio geologists, and has a thickness of 4 feet.

This coal is almost universally doable, being separated into two layers 

by a. division of shale and slate. This is so common at the northern end 

of the Held that it is known there as the "horse-back" vein. In Monongalia and Greeno Counties the bed is often 8 to 10 feet thick and 

separated into tliree layers, the upper division of slate being very tinssilifcrous, and often, as at Cassville, West Virginia, containing many 

insect remains, together with fossil plants.

The coal from this bed is usually rather hard, and comes ont in large 

blocks; but it frequently contains injurious quantities of sulphur. This 

renders it unfit for smithing, as well as for the manufacture of coke and 

gas, but it is generally a useful fuel for steam and domestic purposes.

UNIX ORE. .

The shales which underlie the Waynesburg coal sometimes contain 

a considerable quantity of iron nodules, and they were once mined in
58 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS C!OAL FIELD.

Morgan Township, (Jreene County, Pennsylvania, and used in manufacturing iron. The, same ore occurs near Bethel Church, Cass District, 

Monongalia County, at 15 to 20 feet below the coal.

TIIK I1UOWNTOWN SANDSTONE.

In many portions of Marion and Ilarrison Counties, West Virginia, 

the interval beginning 5 to 10 feet below the Waynesburg coal is occupied by a hard, gray, massive sandstone, 20 to 35 feet thick. It is 

finely exposed along the bed and bluffs of Ten Mile. Creek, at and below 

liiowntown, llarrisou County, West Virginia, and has been designated 

from that locality. The deep, rocky cuts along the Pialtimore and Ohio 

Kiiilroiit], beginning 1 milo oust of Manningtoii, Marion County, and 

extending to the mouth of Mod's Ifun, are all in this sandstone. It is 

sometimes called the "Gilboy" sandstone, from a rocky cut of that 

name near Mannington. This is nearly always a water bearing st ratuin, 

and the oil wells of Marion County have to be cased below this rock iu 

order to shut oil' the fresh water.

TIIK MTTI.K WAYNKSllttW; COAL.

At many localities around the northern end of the Upper Coal Measure area a thin streak of coal or bituminous slate occurs at 25 to 40 

feet below the Waynesburg coal, and it was termed the Little Waynesburg coal by Prof. Stevenson. It seldom exceeds I foot in thickness, 

and is of no economic importance. It is usually separated from the 

main coal above by shales and sandy beds, and should probably be 

regarded as an offshoot from the Waynosbnrg coal proper. It is seldom 

seen south from the Pennsylvania line, though it, occurs along the Ohio 

River at several places.

TIIK WAYNRSIH7RG UMESTONK.

Directly under the last described stratum there occurs a limestone 

of very wide distribution. Its place is generally about 40 feet below 

the Waynesbnrg coal, though sometimes it is less, and occasionally a 

few feet more. It is usually of a dark gray color, and several of the 

layers make excellent lime for agricultural and building purposes. The 

thickness in Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia is seldom less 

than 8 feet, and frequently double that, but south westward, toward the 

Great Kanawha region, the limestone disappears entirely.

TIIK UNIONTOWN SANDSTONE.

At 00 to 75 feet below the top of the series there frequently occurs 

a massive, gray sandstone whose hori/on comes immediately above the 

Unioutowu coal; and hence, although the stratum in question is not 

prominent at Uniontowu, it has been designated from its relations to 

the underlying coal.

The rock has occasionally been mistaken for the Waynesburg sandstone, which, belongs nearly 100 feet above. It is well exposed at Bob-
WIIITF.) THE UPVEK COM, MEASURES.

town, Greene Comity, Pennsylvania, where it crowns the suininit of the 

liill overlooking Dunkard Creek as a bold cliff.

In tlie Georges Creek coal field a 'massive sandstone occurs 2f>0 feet 

above the Pittsburgh coal, and it was once referred b\ (lie writer to 

the Uniontown hori/on under the name of " Westernport sandstone," 

but .subsequent study seems to place it in the horizon of tin- \Vaynes 

burg sandstone.

THK I'NIONTOXVN COAL.

This bed underlies the Waynesburg coal by an interval of SO to 100 

feet, and is of economic importance only in Fayelte and \Vasliington 

Counties, Pennsylvania. It was named by Kogcrs from Imiontown, 

Fayette Comity, where it is well exposed. The thickness seldom exceeds .3 feet, even in the region of its best development, and the coal 

has never been used except for domestic purposes, since it is usually 

neglected for the great Pittsburgh bed below. It often contains a 

clay or slate parting near the center, 4 to (5 inches thick, and is rather 

too rich in a.sli for a first-class fuel.

Southward from Fayette County, through fJreene, Monongalia, Marion, and Ilarrison, this coal thins away to a bed of black slate, mixed 

with slaty coal that is often rich in fish remains and bivalve crustaceans, which may be found in abundance near Davistown, Greene 

County, Pennsylvania.

Along the Ohio lliver at Wheeling, Bellaire, Clarington, and other 

points, this bed is sometimes represented by a thin streak of black slate 

or coal. In the Salisbury basin of Pennsylvania it is recogni/.cd by 

Messrs. Platt, and is there over 3 feet thick, with slate near center.

TIFF. UNIONTOWN I.IMKSTON'I!. , "'_' ' '

To the division of the "Great" Limestone which immediately underlies the last described coal bed, Dr. Stevenson gave the name Uniontown, since it seems to be fairly well separated from the great mass of 

limy deposits below. Thisdivision is usually 10 to ir> feet thick, though 

occasionally it surpasses these figures. The rock is frequently impure 

and of a bullish color, being niagnesian, and occasionally a good cement 

rock, as at Uniontown, Pennsylvania. This is the only member of the 

"Great" Limestone which appears to be persistent from the Pennsylvania line southward across West Virginia to the Big Kanawha River, 

since an impure limestone only 2 to 5 feet thick occurs at this horizon 

in the vicinity of Raymond City and other points in that region.

In the Salisbury basin this limestone occurs only 100 feet above the 

Pittsburgh coal, and is 10 to 12 feet thick, according'to Platt.

THE "OUEAT" I.IMF.STONK.

This name, given by Rogers, is generally applied to all of the great 

mass of lime deposits which intervene between the Uniontown and 

Sewickley coals, though, as already stated, the name Unioutowii is now 

givcu to the uppermost division of the same.
GO THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAT, FIELD. f 111:1.1.. AS.

At many localities in dreene, Washington, Fayette, and Monongalia 

Counties there .are nearly IfiO feet of limestones and limy shales at this 

horizon, and the same beds hold their place, though with diminished 

thickness, across to the Ohio Kiver at Wheeling. Westward and southward, however, from Ohio and Marion Counties, these limestones disappear very rapidly, so that at Clarksburg on the one hand, and west 

ward through Ohio on the other, they have practically disappeared, 

and in their stead we lind shales, gray at first, but gradually getting 

reddish toward the Little Kanawha River and the western margin of 

their outcrop in Ohio. On the l>ig Kanawha much red shale oeciirs at 

this hori/on. These limestones are of diH'erent *|imlities, some of the 

layers being <|iiite pure and forming good fluxes for iron, while others 

are magncsiaji and make excellent hydraulic cements.

The only fossils ever seen in any of these limestone beds are fish remains and minute ostracoids.

TIIK SEWICKI.KV SANDSTONE.

At many localities where the " (Ireat" Limestone is well .developed 

there are no other beds except, limestones and shales in all of the interval between the Uniontown and Sewickley coals, but in other regions 

a sandstone, frequently makes its appearance just above the Sewickley 

coal. This has been called the Sewickley sandstone, and while it is 

often flaggy, yet again it becomes massive, and even pebbly, varying 

in thickness from 20 to (JO feet. Its massive character is well shown 

along the Monongahela River between Morgantown and Fairmont, in 

the vicinity of the Big Falls.

THE SKWICKr.F.Y COAL.

Directly under the Sewickley sandstone, or in its absence the "Great" 

Limestone, there comes the Sewickley coal, a bed which is widely persistent, though the area where it is valuable is not so large.

The bed attains its maximum thickness and importance along the 

Monongahela River in <5reene, Monongalia, and Marion Counties, being 

there .r> to (J feet thick, with only one slate parting of 2 to 3 inches near 

the center. The coal is generally high in both ash and sulphur, but is 

open-burning and makes a rather fair domestic, fuel.

The following represents the general structure of this bed along the 

Monougahehi lliver in Mari9ii and Monongalia Counties:

Coal.

Slntft 

Coal.

Ft, in. 

. 2

.02 

. 2 8J

"I 

o V

Followed down the Monongahela Kiver, the bed retains about the 

same structure as far as the mouth of Whitely Creek, (Ireene County, 

Pennsylvania, when the slate partings thicken up, and new ones come 

iu and dissipate the coal in several thin layers through 25 feet of rock
UFt F-K GOAL MEASURES AT POINT PLEASANI. WEaT VIRGINIA, SHOWING HUGGED CHARACTER OF THE T GKAPHY.
WHITE.) THE UPPER COAL MEASURES.

material, and from thence on down that river it is of no importance. 

But followed in the other direction, up the Monongahela, this bed holds 

a thickness of<> to ii feet through Marion County until the Harrison 

County line is approached, when it again splits up into three or four divisions separated by several feet of shales and slates, anil when Clarksburg is reached there remains only 1 foot of coal at this horizon (Section 18), which soon disappears entirely toward the southwest.

From the Monongahela region this coal dips down westward under 

the great mantle of Permo-Carboniferons beds, and when it reappears 

on the Ohio Eiver, in the vicinity of Wheeling (Section ID), F.ellaire 

(Section 20), and Pipe Creek (Section 22), we find it split up again into 

three or four layers, and the separating slates several feet thick, thus 

giving the whole bed a thickness of 20 to 30 feet, with the main coal 

layer at the top.

This uppermost division of the Sewickley is separated from the Pittsburgh below by an interval of SO to 100 feet, and attains considerable 

importance iu the counties of Belmont, Harrison, Guernsey, Monroe, 

Morgan, Muskiugum, Noble, etc., and has there been mined under a 

variety of names, among which are " Upper Baruesville," " Upper l>ellaire," "Cumberland," " Meigs Creek," and several others. 1'rof. Orton, 

while intimating its identity with the Sewickley of Pennsylvania (Vol. 

V, page 1059, Ohio Geology), prefers to call it by the name of Meigs 

Creek, from a stream iu Morgau County along which it is well developed.

Throughout much of this Ohio region the coal is 3 to 44 feet thick, 

and nearly always has a clay or bony streak near its center. It also 

frequently 1ms a rider coal in the roof, and the entire bed is rather rich 

in ash and sulphur, according to Orton.

In Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the Sewickley coal has a thickness 

of i to 5 feet through several townships, according to Stevenson, but 

northward through Westmoreland it thins down and is unimportant. 

It is scarcely known iu the Ligonier basin, but in that of Salisbury is 

2 feet thick and !)() feet above the Pittsburgh.

Iu the Georges Creek basin of Maryland and West Virginia the bed 

is 5 to 7 feet thick, 90 to 115 feet above the Pittsburgh, and an excellent 

coal for steam purposes.

The oil-borings across Monongalia and Marion Counties reveal this 

coal present iu good thickness 10 to 15 miles west from the Monongahela River, and 100 to 110 feet above the Pittsburgh coal. The oil 

drillers usually call it the "Mapletowu" coal, from a locality in Grceue 

County where it is mined.

TIIK SEWICKl.KY LIMESTONE.

The interval between the Sewickley coal and the one next below is 

often occupied largely by limestone, especially in Greene, Fayette, 

Washiugton, Moaongalia, and Marion Counties, and to the one which
THK NOKTHKRN BITUMINOUS COAL K1KI,D. ltl'1.1.. 65.

till

comes next below the coal Messrs. Platt have given the name Sewiekley. It has also been termed the Fish pot Limestone by Stevenson, from a small stream in Washington County. I have deemed it 

preferable to apply the name Sewicklcy to the whole limestone group 

which lies between the Sewickley and lledstoue coal beds. This interval is 40 to (JO feet thick and sometimes contains two beds of sandstone 

intercalated with the limestones. Along the Monongahela Itiver in 

Greene, Monongalia, and Marion Counties, these limestones are well 

developed, and many of the layers furnish exeellent lime for mortar and 

agricultural uses, while near the base of the group occur some excellent 

limestone Hags at Laurel Point, Moaongalia County.

The only fossils ever noted in these beds are minute fresh-water types.

These limestones disappear southward from Ilarrisoii County, West 

Virginia, there being only 9 feet of them in the Clarksburg section, and 

none on the Little and Big Kanawha Hivers. The same thing takes 

place in Ohio, westward from Washington County, the interval being 

occupied by shales and sandstones.

In Pennsylvania this Sewickley limestone holds a prominent place 

eastward from Washington and Greene, through Fayette, Westmorelaud, aud Somerset Comities.

THE KKDSTONK COAL.

In Fayette County, Pennsylvania, a small coal was found cropping 

out along Hedstone Creek, at an interval of 40 to 45 feet above the 

Pittsburgh, and this was named from that stream by the geologists 

of the First Pennsylvania Geological Survey.

Monongalia is the only county in West Virginia where this bed is 

workable, it being there, on Scott's and Robinson's Ifuns, 4 to H feet 

thick and of fair quality, though having rather too much sulphur and 

ash for manufacturing purposes, it is also workable in several townships of Fayette and Westmorland, being 3 to 4 feet thick. In the 

Salisbury basin of Somerset County, Messrs. IMatt identify the Itedstoni 1 coal as a slaty bed, 4 feet thick, at -15 feet above the Pittsburgh. 

It lias not been reliably reported from the Georges Creek lield unless 

it be represented by one of the rider layers in the roof of the Pittsburgh bed.

In the vicinity of Wheeling, JJellaire, and other points on the Ohio 

Uiver, this bed is only a few inches thick, never becoming workable 

anywhere in Ohio.

Through central West Virginia, beyond the Little Kanawha, its presence is unknown except by a bed of black slate which is occasionally 

seen at this horizon.

TIIK KKDSTOXH LIMESTONE.

At many localities along the Monongahela Kiver in Harrison, Marion, 

Monongalia. Greene, Washington, Fayette, and Westmorland Conn 

ties, there occurs a bed of limestone often 10 to -0 feet thick, and. iin-
WIIITK I THE. UITEK COAL MEASURES. fo'3

mediately underlying the Itedstone coal. From this latter fact it was 

termed the Itedstone limestone by Messrs. Platt, who find the same 

bed in Somerset County,-10 to 15 feet above the Pittsburgh coal. It 

often contains several layers, which make fairly good lime for many 

purposes, aud is occasionally used for tltix in iron furnaces.

This limestone is also in great force in the vicinity of Wheeling, licl 

laire, and viciuity, where it occupies nearly the cut ire interval between 

the Itedstone and Pittsburgh coals, and is extensively quarried as a 

tiux for the furnaces there.

It, like all the other limestones, disappears south west ward through 

West Virgiuia, aud is not known beyond the Little Kanawha River.

THE riTTSHUHtill 8ANDS10NK.

Very frequently, and especially when the Itedstone limestone is well 

developed, there is nothing but shales intervening between it and the 

Pittsburgh coal, but when the limestone is absent, or but poorly represented, there is often present a coarse, massive sandstone immediately 

above the Pittsburgh coal, and to this Mr. 11. 1). Rogers long ago gave 

the name of Pittsburgh sandstone. It varies in thickness from L'5 up 

to 70 feet, and is usually coarse, friable, and often pebbly. Hood building stone has never been obtained from it, since it yields so readily to 

atmospheric agencies.

This rock is especially massive in the vicinity of Hartford City, 

Pomeroy, aud other contiguous regions, and the same may be said of 

the eastern line of its outcrop from Pennsylvania clear across West 

Virginia to the Kentucky border.

In the Georges ('reek, Salisbury, and Ligonicr basins, however, this 

rock makes but little show iu the topography, its place being occupied 

by soft shales.

TIIK rlTTSUUHiai COAL.

The last and lowest member of the Upper Coal Measures is the celebrated Pittsburgh bed, the most important mineral deposit of the Appalachian field.

It was formerly thought that this coal bed was entirely persistent; 

that wherever its horizon was to be found, there the coal might be 

expected with absolute certainty. This generalization, however, was 

founded on data obtained only from the northern half of its area. In 

Pennsylvania, for instance, no area has yet been discovered where, at 

the proper geological horizon for this bed, it does not exist. Kven in 

central Hreene, at a depth of 1,500 feet below the Pcrino-Carbouiferous 

summits, the drill of the petroleum seeker invariably finds this coal 

bed, while the isolated peak of Itonnd Top, in the Broad Top coal basin 

of Bedford County, 50 miles distant from any other outcrop of the coal, 

likewise contains it. lint when we pass southwest ward across the West 

Virgiuia aud Ohio coal field, Pennsylvania conditions of course continue
64 THE NOKXIIEKN BITUMINOUS COAL KIEI,U. IIIKLI.. 85.

ii

for many miles, lint ultimately there comes tt change, and when we look 

for the Pittsburgh bed it is goii'e, or so reduced in thickness that the 

geologist can only recognise it by its associated rocks. The region of 

country covered by this barren area is quite extensive, and seems to 

be rudely coincident with the line of the Volcano or Burning Springs 

anticlinal of West Virginia.

The following counties in that State have the coal but poorly developed or wanting at the horizon where it belongs: Calhoun, Koane, 

VVirt, Kitchie, I'leasants, and Wood. This belt projected northward 

through Ohio takes in the counties of Washington, Noble, and Morgan, in all of which tho coal is thin or wanting altogether. Thus it 

happens that over a belt of country 30 to 50 miles wide, and running 

nearly north and south across the Appalachian coal Held, the spread 

of this bed, so even and persistent at the north, is here irregular, interrupted, and wanting. West from this belt the coal comes in again and 

is fairly regular in parts of Kanawha, Pntnain, and Mason Counties, 

east from the Big Kauawha; but west from that stream the bed is thin, 

patchy, and of little importance through Cabell and Wayue, till it disappears from the center of the great Appalachian trough iu tho hilltop*) 

overlooking the Big Sandy Kiver.

In Ohio, also, a considerable area of this coal comes in west from 

the barren belt, and extends through Meigs and Athens Counties with 

fairly good thickness, but westward from them, in Gallia, the coal is 

again thin and uncertain.

The foregoing sections, Nos. 11 to 3li inclusive, show in a general 

way the detailed structure of the 1'ittsburgh coal, so that only a few 

others need be given in this connection to exhibit its structure in 

every important region of its widely extended area..

As will be seen from these sections, the coal is nearly always separated into two well defined portions (the roof and the main bench) by 

a layer of clay, and there are often several divisions of the roof, as also 

of the main bench. The layers of coal in the roof are usually not more 

thanl to l.l feet thick, and separated by shales of about the same 

thickness, while the divisions of slate in the main bench are mere knife 

edges, seldom exceeding an inch in thickness and generally.not wore 

than half that amount.

Along the Monongahela liiver, two of these slates are especially constant, since they come about '2.^ to 3 feet above the bottom of the bed 

and are 4 to 0 inches apart. They are usually known as the " bearing 

in" slates, and are seldom more than one-half inch thick. Then 1 to U 

feet below these there is generally another thin parting of slate which 

runs through tho bed with great persistency, dividing the lower portion 

into two layers known by the miners as the "brick" coal, and "bottom " coal. Of course there are other partings which occasionally make 

their appearance in the bed at some localities, but they are irregular 

and not persistent.
THE PMTSBURO COAL OUTCROP NEAR CONNELLSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, SHOWING COLUMNAR STRUCTURE OF TYPICAL CoKING COAL.
WH1TK.) SECTION ON 1'AIKFAX KNOB, \V. VA. 65

Section at Neicburg, Went Virginia. The summits around Xe\vbnrg) 

Preston County, West Virginia, catch small areas of this bed in the 

syncline between the Chestnut Itidge and Laurel Hill auticliuals, and 

the coal has there the following structure :

Ft. in.

I

Kt 

15

Roof. 1

I'ittsburgh sandstone.............

Slaty coal..... ....................... (I

Shale.................. ............... (I

Coal ................................. II

Shale and lire clay ...... .............. '£

Coal...... ............................ <»

Slate ............ ..................... (I

Coal, slaty ............................ 1 i; |

Section at CopcmaiCn Knob, Went Virginia. In the next trough east of 

the Laural Hill anticlinal, a small isolated area of the Pittsburgh coal 

is caught in Copemau's Knob, which overlooks Cheat Itiver at the foot 

of Briery Mountain, near Albrightsville, Prestou County, West Virginia, and there the coal shows this structure:

Ft. in. 

Shales...... ......................

Coal ...................

Slate...... ..............

I

Coal, slaty .............. 

Slate ............ ........

j Coal............ ...... ...

I Clay.....................

Main coal, jiartings not visible ................... in

Section 32 gives the structure of this coal still farther eastward in 

the Georges Creek basin, and it, when compiired with the Albright, 

Newburg, and Fairmont (Sec. 17) structures, shows a gradual eastward 

thickening of the bed from 7 feet on the Monongahehi to '20 at many 

points in the Georges Creek field.

Section at Fairfax Knob, Tucker County, Went Virginia. Xear the 

southern end of the Georges Creek basin, at the head of the Notth I'otomac Itiver, a small area of the Pittsburgh bed is caught in the summit of Fairfax Knob, 3,250 feet above tide, and 20 miles distant from 

any other outcrop of the coal. The main portion of the bed is here 

split into three portions, separated by several feet of shales, from the 

thickening up of the parting slates, as follows:

Ft. 

'J

Kt.

r.t

Ft. in. Ft.

t siiai Shles.

Koof./Coal

( Sliale................................ ti

, Coal.............. H' 2" i

Coal, "bn-attt". ) Slate ............. (>'

I Coal.............. r -2" >

Shales.... .......................... 5' 0 'i

Limestone .......................... 4' <>">lli

Shales .............................. "' 0" J

Coal, "brick" ............................... 4

Fireclay and shales...... .................... H

Coal, " bottom," slaty ....................... ^

Bull. 65 5

 2 ti

i til
66 THK NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (mil, L. 68.

Hi! '

As will be seen from the above, it would appear that the three main 

divisions of the Pittsburgh bed, viz, " breast," " brick," and " bottom," 

are here separated by shales, 1(5 and 18 feet thick respectively, instead 

of mere partings of a fraction of an inch, as on the Monongahela and 

elsewhere, thus spreading the 21 feet of coal through an interval of 55 

feet. It is also worthy of note that although the partings have here 

increased so wonderfully, yet the total thickness of coal remains the 

same as in the central part of the Georges Creek P»asin.

In the vicinity of Glenville, on the Little Kanawha River, this coal 

is bed"4i to 5 feet thick, with a bony streak 1G inches below the top of the 

The structure on the I?ig Kanawlia is given in Section 31.

Section at Huntington, CabcU County, West Virginia. In the summits 

of the hills south of IImii.ington, Cabell Couuty, West Virginia, this 

coal displays the following structure :

Coal......

Clay ......

Coal......

Slaty coal

Ft. 

. 0 

. 0

. :t 

. o

The farthest point to the southwest that this bed has ever been seen 

is in the summit of a hill overlooking the Big Sandy ttiver, 10 miles 

above its mouth, where a small patch is caught in the center of the 

Appalachian trough, which, rising to the southwest, carries the coal 

above the highest hills on the Kentucky side of the l?ig Sandy. The 

coal is hero 3 feet 2 inches thick and single bedded, or with only faint 

partings.

Section at Pomcroy, Meig* County, Ohio. At Pomeroy, Ohio, the 

Pittsburgh coal shows thus, according to Prof. E. Lovejoy, Ohio Geological Survey, Vol. VI, page G'M :

in.

Coal .......................................

Horn coal ................................... !!

Coal ................................ ........42-47

Clay ........................................ 4

Coal ....................................... 7

Ft. in. 

5 10

Section on Shade Creek, Ohio. In the Shade Creek coal field of Meigs 

and Athens Counties, Ohio, Prof. Lovejoy finds a well developed rider 

coal 12 to 20 feet above the main bed, and often mined separately front

it. The two have the following structure:

Ft. 

Coal ....................................... 0

Slate. ......... ............................. 0

Coal.................. ...................... 1

Shales........................ ..............

Coal........................................ 0

Slate, streak.... ............................. 0

Coal........................................ 2

Slate, streak ...... .................. . .... 0

Coal........................................ 1

4 3
WH1T«.1 SECTION IN BELMONT COUNTY, OHIO 67

Section on Federal Creefc, Ohio. In the Federal Creek field of Athens 

aud Morgan Counties, Ohio, the coal shows as follows (Lovejoy), op. 

cit., p. 648, Heyburu Brothers & Co.'s mine, Berne Township, Athens 

County:

« Ft. In.

Coal........................................ I 10i

Slate, streak.... ............................ 0 ((

Coal........................................ a 4

Slate.... .................................. 0 7 Kt.

Coal........................................ 0 3-10

Clay ....................................... 1 0

Coal........................................ 1 0

Slate, streak................................ 0 0

Coal..................... .................. 3 0

/Section at Berry's mine. Ohio. Berry's mine, in Homer Township, 

Morgan County (op. cit. page G50), gives the following:

Ft. in.

Coal ....................................... 0 11 \

Slate, streak................................ 0 0 ( F'' '"'

Coal ....................................... 3 5 j

Clay ....................................... 1 0 j

Coal ....................................... 0 4i'

Slate, streak................................ 0 0

Coal ....................................... 0 7J

Slate, streak................................ 0 0 3 74

Coal........................................ 1 10

Slate, Btreak................................ 0 0

Coal........................................ 0 9i

The clay stratum in these and other mines appears to correspond to 

the main clay parting which always separates the roof coals of the 

Pittsburgh bed from the main bench along the Monongahela, aud the 

12 to 20 feet of shales which separate the two coal beds iu the Shade 

Creek field would appear to belong at the same horizon.

East from the barren area of the Pittsburgh coal of Morgan, Noble, 

and Washington Counties, Ohio, it comes in again with a fine development in Beltnont, Harrison, and Jefferson.

Section in Belmont County, Ohio. The following section from Ohio 

Geology, Vol. VI, page 621, exhibits the structure in the southern portion of Belmont Couuty, Washington Township, as given by Prof. 

Brown:

Ft. 

Coal.................................... 1

Clay ................................... 0

Coal.................................... 2

Slate................................... 0

Coal.................................. 2

Slate................................... 0

Coal. ................................... 1

in. Kt. in.

10-11! 1 11

6 0
68 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL HELD. [HULL. 65.

Section at Hellairc, Belmont County, Ohio. In Hellaire the following 

is shown at IJeatherington's mine:

. Ft, in. 

Coal.... .................................... 1 0 )

lilauk Hluto ................................. o 4 I *? '" 

Coal........................................ 1 0 [ 3 a .

Clay ....................................... 0 10 j

Coal........................................ a ti )

Slut* ....................................... 0 0

Cool...... .................................. U 5

Slate....................................... 0 0

Coal........................................ 1 t) C

Black slate, pyritontt.... .................... 0 OJ

Coal...... .................................. 1 0

llanl, ulaf y coal ............................ 0 4 j

Section in Jcffemm County, Ohio. In Warren Township, Jefferson 

County, Ohio, this coal has the following structure (Browu, Ohio Geology, Vol. VI, page 003):

Koof coal.................................. 2*' '3

Clay ...................................... ( 4

Coal....................................... it 2

Clay parting ............................i. 0 2

Coal ...................................... 0 2

Black hlate ................................ II J 4 11

Coal ...................................... 1 3

Parting------..............................

Coal....................................... 1 2.

Section in Harrixon County, Ohio. In German Township, Harrison 

County, Ohio, Stevenson reports the Pittsburgh coal as follows (Ohio 

Geological Survey, Vol. Ill, p. 212):

Ft. in. 

Roof coal, not ex posed ...................... 0 0

Coal...... .................................. 1 i) \

Parting. .............................. ... 0 0$ I

Coal........................................ 0 (i j Ft. in.

Piirtinj;..................................... 0 H } » l»i

Coal............................... ......... 1 2

Parting...... ............................... 0 DJ

Coal......................... ............... 1 a J

Section at Columbia mine, Westmoreland County, Pewntyloania. As a 

typical section of this coal on theMonongahela Itiver with reference to 

the structure of the main bench and roof, we may take that found at the 

Columbia mine, near Webster and 3GA miles above Pittsburgh, as given 

by Mr. J. Suttoii Wall (K4, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, p. 5U):

Ft. in. Ft. in.

Koof coals, in seven divisions ............... :i 0 ) . .,

Over-clay................................... 0 C )

"Breast"coal .............................. 3 8

Parting .................................... 0 0^

" Hearing in" coal .......................... 0

Pnrtiug...................................... 0 Oi ^ <>

"Brick "coal............................... 1 2

Parting..................................... 0 Oi

"Bottom" coal............................. 1 4
WHITE. ] FOSSILS OF THE UPPER COAL MEASURES.

A carefnl comparison of the structure of this famous bed at a great 

many points very widely separated exhibits such a striking resemblance 

to that just given above that we can scarcely attribute it to chance, 

but must find the explanation in the prevalence of nearly uniform conditions over the immense area covered by the Pittsburgh marsh.

The great excellence of this coal for steam and domestic purposes, 

and also for the manufacture of gas and coke, combine to render it the 

most, valuable bed of coal in the entire Appalachian field.

Page plate (5 gives a view of this bed at Connellsville, the center of 

the coke-making indnstry, and in this the peculiar columnar structure 

of a typical coking coal is fairly shown.

It was formerly believed that this bed would not make first-class 

coke over any large area outside of the Connellsville basin, but recent 

developments along the Monongahela River in Marion and Monongalia 

Counties, West Virginia, have proved this belief erroneous, since it is 

there successfully coked on a large scale.

By crushing and washing, where there is too much sulphur present, 

there is no reason why this bed will not make coke equal to that of the 

Conuellsville, throughout all of the region south and west from the 

latter.

The roof coals of this bed are never mined; not because they do not 

furnish good fuel, but because they are always interstratified with 

shale, which renders the mining difficult. These roof layers often 

amount to 3 or 4 feet of good coal, and thus this large quantity of fuel 

is continually wasted, though the time will doubtless come in the distant future when the Pittsburgh bed will be mined over again for the 

coal now neglected in its roof and bottom.

FOSSILS OF TIIK IJPl'F.U COAI. MKAStJIiF.s'.

The flora of the Pittsburgh roof shales as well as of the entire Upper 

Coal Measures is very meager, and only a few of the very common 

types, like Ncnropterix hirxuta, N. Jlexuosu, and Pi'coptcrix <trborcsrcns, 

are usually found, while the fauna of the whole group, so far as known 

at present, seems to be restricted to fresh water types.
i

CHAPTER IV.

THE BARREN MEASURES, OR ELK RIVER SERIES. 

THICKNESS, CHARACTER, AND EXTENT.

Below the Pittsburgh bed we descend into a very natural group of 

rocks (No. XIV) which was long ago clearly recognized by the Rogers 

 brothers in both Pennsylvania and Virginia. The group as defined by 

them extended from the base of the Pittsburgh coal down to the top of 

the Mahoning sandstone, and was called the Lower Barren Measures; 

but subsequent investigation seems to render it more desirable to extend the group downward so as to include the Mahoniug sandstone. 

This brings the group within the definite limits of two important and 

very persistent coal beds, the Pittsburgh above and the Upper Freeport below ; and hence, for purposes of comparison, study, and all the 

uses which classification subserves, is more desirable than the old 

system, since the top of- the Mahoning sandstone is too variable a 

quantity for the limit of any group.

I have already indicated in a previous chapter that a larger view of 

the Carboniferous Measures, which overlooks details invaluable for 

classification to the working geologist, would run a line through the 

middle of the Barren Measures, and call everything above it, to the 

top of the Dnnkard Creek series, Upper Carboniferous; that below it, 

to the base of the Pottsville conglomerate, Middle Carboniferous, and 

the rest down to the Catskill, Lower Carboniferous. Such a classification of the Appalachian Carboniferous may be useful for comparison 

with the Carboniferous system in other regions and countries, but it is 

too general for the practical geologist, and can never supplant that 

which has stood the test of long and continuous use. Hence we deem 

it best to retain the limits of the Barren Measures intact, with the 

slight modification just suggested, and already long in use by tue 

Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania.

1 have adopted the name Elk River series as a geographical designation for these beds, since they are very finely exposed along that stream 

between its mouth at Charleston, West Virginia, and Bnixtou CourtHouse, or Suttou, nearly 100 miles above.
WHITE. I THE ELK RIVKU SKK1K8. 71

This series, as thus limited above and below by important coal beds, 

consists of two very different members; an upper one composed largely 

of shales, therefore soft, easily eroded, and always making rounded 

hills and rolling topography; the other, or lower, composed largely of 

massive sandstones which resist erosion and thus form steep cliffs, deep 

gorges, rugged topography, and wild scenery generally.

These sand rocks form a coping to the Lower Coal Measure hills, and 

cap the summits long after the soft beds above have disappeared.

The soil formed by the soft member, while rather thin and not to be 

compared in fertility to that of the Upper Coal Measures, yet with care 

and a liberal use of lime yields excellent crops and always makes 

good grazing lands. But the lower portion, being almost destitute of 

lime, and containing so much sa:ul, forms a very poor soil, on which 

only the scantiest crops can be grown.

The upper portion always contains a large percentage of red and 

marly shales, which make a broad band of red soil from Pennsylvania 

clear through central West Virginia, to and beyond the Kentucky line 

on the one hand, and thence circling around through eastern Kentucky 

and southern Ohio, back to Pennsylvania again on the other. These red 

clays are the fruitful source of landslides, bad roads, and many other 

troubles. They cave easily in drill holes, and thus give endless annoyance and expense to oil and gas drillers. Their tendency to slide 

causes much expense in cleaning out railroad cuttings, so that a proper 

knowledge of their character by engineers would lead to economy of 

money in building and maintaining both railroads and wagon roads.

The coal beds of this series are, with one or two exceptions, noted 

for their variableness and uncertainty. They may be in fair development on one farm, and absent entirely on the adjoining one. They are 

also usually rich in ash and poor in carbon, and although they are 

patchy in their distribution, yet the main beds appear to maintain the 

same horizons in the stratigraphy, and can thus be identified with 

reasonable certainty over wide areas. The sandstones found within 

the limits of this group are of more economic importance than the coal 

beds, since the former nearly always furnish most excellent building 

stone, while the latter are commercially valuable only over limited 

areas. Iron ore in valuable quantity exists locally at several horizons 

in the Barrens, and these will be referred to hereafter in detail.

The limestones of this series, like the coals, are generally thin and 

impure, so that they are of more importance in determining the stratigraphy than for economic purposes.

The, entire thickness of the group varies much in different portions 

of the Appalachian field, reaching a maximum of 800 feet in the vicinity 

of Charleston, West Virginia, while along the northwestern outcrop of 

the beds in Ohio the minimum is not much above 300 feet.

In Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia the average is alxmt 

GOO feet, but it sometimes runs up to 030 and down to 550.
72 THE NORTHERN HITTIMINOUS COAL FIELD. | m i.l,. 65.

Tlie following sections, taken in the several portions of the Appalachian lield, will serve to illustrate both the changing thickness of the 

series and tlic variable nature of the individual beds.

Section in the Fittxburgh region. We shall begin the 

list at Pittsburgh, where the upper half of the I5arreus is finely exposed, and the numerous carefully 

kept records of drill holes have revealed the constitution of the lower half, so that by uniting the two we 

get the following (Fig. 33):

in"

Flii. 3.1. Snctimi in 

the Pittsburgh regie*.

In mtthHrglt region. 

[See map, 1 in. |

Ft. Ft.

90

1. Pittsburgh coal..............................................

2. Concealed ........................................_........ 20]

3. Limestone................................................... 2

4. Shales, variegated .......................................... C;"i I

.1. Limestone................................................... f> J>

C. Hed shale ............._................................... 2ci

7. Concealed .................................................. 70

P. Sandstone, Morgantown .................................... 4"'

9. Coal, Elk Lick ..............................................

10. Shales, variegated........................................... JO

l-l. C'oal ........................................................ 2

12. Limestone .................................................. 3

13. Shales, variegated........................................... 35

14. Limestone, erinoidnl ........................................ 2

15. Coal, crinoidal .............................................. 1)

16. Red and variegated shale.................................... 30

17. Sandy shales and shaly sandstone .......................... 50 114

18. Coal. B»kcr.ito« n ........................................... :t

19. Shales and sandstone ....................................... 30)

20. Limestone, Upper Cambridge ............'.................. 2

2t. Sandstone, massive.......................................... 60

22. Limestone, Lower Cambridge............................... 1

23. Shales....................................................... 10

24. Coal, Masontown ........................................... 1

25. Shales....................................................... 20

2C. Smilstone, Mahoning ....................................... 100

27. Fpper Freeport coal.

Total .................................... ..............^. 618
WHITE. J THE tyVRREN MEASURES. 73

Section at SewicMcy, PennM/lrania. At, Sewickley, Pennsylvania, a 

diamond-drill hole was put down by Mr. Cochran Fleming as a test 

for coal. The cores were carefully preserved, and 

from them I obtained a very accurate section of the 

lower portion of the Barrens, which; combined with 

the good surface, exposures around Sewickley, gives 

the following structure (Fig. 34) for this series in 

that region:

SO1

2' 

40'

u'o" 5 

38.5

eV

196'

Fio. 34. Section at 

Sewickley, Pa.

Xetricklty, .Ulei/liani/ fount;/, renimylrnnia. 

[See map, 11 ) '

1. Pittsburgh coal ...................... .........

2. Shales, sandstones, and concealed ............. 180

3. Sandstone, Morgantowti, massive .............. 2 r»

4. Coal, Elk Lick ................................

5. Shales and sandstone...........................

6. Limestone, crinoidal ..........................

7. Coal, crinoidal ................................. 1

8. Red slmlesand sandy beds...... .............. 110

9. Limestone, gray, Upper Cambridge ............ 2

10. Shales ami concealed .......................... 40

11. Snndygliali!.................................... 32

12. Dark slate .................................... 11

13. Limestone, dark, Lower Cambridge ........... : 14. Dark shales ...................................

15. Coal, Miisoutown...............................

10. Sandstone, micaceous, gray .................... IT J

17. Fire flay, sandy......................... .... 0 (

Ft in.

3

80

I

II

18. Sandntoiie, light gray. ........................ 22 «

19. Sbale, dark gray ............................... H I

20. SaudBtoiie, gray...... .......................... H 8

21. Sbale, sandy .................................. « «

92. Shale, Wno. .................................... < 

23. Samlatono...... ............................... 0 -s

24. Slate, gray .................................... 3 4

25. Fireclay, variegateil at, base, impure .......... 25 11

2G. Sandstone, gray, micaceous .................... 38 5

27. Shales, sandy, blue .....-.- - ................ S *

28. Sandstone, light gray ......................... 8 «

i 29. Upper Freeport coal.

Total.

The interval No. 2 in this section was estimated, 

since the Pittsburgh coal is not found in the immediate vicinity of Sewickley, the highest stratum 

remaining there beiiig the Morgan town sandstone, 

No. 3.
74 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUg COAL FIELD. IIIMI.I.. 85.

Flection on J)unbar Creek, Pennsylvania. Eastward from the Pittsburgh 

region, we have a line of measurements of the Barren series which extend across the Alleghanies. Tlio first one is in the 

adjoining county of Fa.vette, at the foot of Chestnut Ridge, made by Prof. Stevenson and published 

in his Report KK, page 182. It is as follows (Fig. 

35):

uik*

Fin. 35. Section on 

Unuliar Crock, Pa.

235 0

Dunbar Creek, Fagettr County, Pennsylvania. 

[See map, K n.j

Fl. in. Ft. in.

1. Coal,Pittsburgh............__.....................

2. Concealed .......................................... 15 )

3. 8audHtmin .....'. .................................... Ill

4. Coal, Litllo Pittsburgh.............................. 0 (i

5. Clay.......................... ...................... :i

C. Limestone and shale................................. 20

7. Sandntone, Connollaville............................. 60

X. Shiilos............................................... 50

9. Llmostono............................................ 5

10. Shulo................................................ 5

11. SiimWoiiP, Moijjantown ............................. 55

12. Sluilc,sandy... ..................................... 12

13. Coal, Elk Lick.......................................

14. Shale................................................ 12

1 ">. Couct'ttled .................................... ....... TJ

10. ^\a\v,\-taA»yimtA.................................... 35

17. Coal, ''lay, crinoiilal..................................

18. Shales, brown ....................................... 10

19. Sandstone........................................... 28

20. Shalo................................................ 45

21. Ooal.BaliCTStowii..................................... 2

22. Shalo................................................ 03

23. Limestone, Lower Cambridge........................

24. Shalci................................................ 1

25. Samlatone,argillaceous.............................. 10

20. Concealed ......................................_.. 25

27. Coal,Uasontown ....................................

28. CUiy................................................. 30

29. Sandstone, Tapper Mahoning ................... .... 35

30. Coal, Mahoninjf.......................................

31. Fireclay ............ ...............................

32. Sandstone, Lower Malioning ........................

33. Coal, Upper Freeport.

Total...................................................... RSIH t)

59

2

148

3

42

2

03

4

35

The identification of the Lower Cambridge limestone in the above 

section is open to question, but the probabilities are in favor of the one 

given. ; - 
WHITE.) THE BARREN MEASURES. 75

Section at Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Eastward from the last locality, 

and between Chestnut Kidge and Laurel Hill, the following section 

(Fig. 36) of these beds was measured at Ligonii'r, 

Westmorland County, Pennsylvania, by Prof. Stevenson, as given iu Report KKK, page 129:

174*

50'

23'

Ligonier, It'estmorcland County, I'nwtylrauia

[See mail, J 1> 1

t'l. in t'l. i»

1. Pittsburgh coal........................................

2. Concealed.............................................. tin

3. Coal, Little Pittsburah ................................ 1

4. Limestone ......................... .................. 8

5. Conceali-il.............................................. 27

6. ShaV, variegated ..................................... 4.1

7. Coal, Little Clarksburg................................

8. Shalo .................................................. 10

9. Concealed.................................... ........ 10

10. Sandstone, Morgautmvn .............................. 115

11. Shale, olive............................................ 1«

12. Coal, Elk Lick.........................................

13. Shale .................................................

14. Limestone, green, fossiliferous ........................

15. Shale..................................:...........-..-. 20

16. Sandstone.............................................. f>

17. Clay.................................................. H

18. Limestone, ferruginous ................................ 2

19. Shale .................................................. 10

20. Sandstone.............................................. -5

21. Concealed.............................................. H«>

22. Shale .... ............................................. >

23. Sandstone, TTppei Mahoning ............... ..........

21. Shale ..................................................

25. Coal, blossom, Mahouing ..............................

20. Concealed.............................................. "*

27. Sandstone, Lower Mahouing................. ...... '-'."i

28. Shale .................... ..... - . -.- -- - 5

29. Coal, Upper Frevport.

3 C 

IS

15

20

Total.

FIG ' ' at Tuis antl tue Preceding section, as well as the one 

which follows, illustrate in a remarkable manner the 

rapid variation in the individual elements of the Barrens, while the 

total thickness remains almost exactly the same.
76 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BIII.I.. 6

flection near Berlin, Fcnnsylrania. Still farther east, in the Berlin 

basin of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and on the .very summit of 

the Alleghany Mountains, we find this series with the following structure (Fig. 37) as determined by Messrs. 1'Iatt, with some additions and 

modifications by the writer:

200'

.. ' 100

lo'4>

44V

Fm. 37. Section 

near lierlin, Pa.

J*icinity of Rerlin, flomcrnfl County, Pennsylvania. 

| See map, K ]>.]

1. rittshiii-Kli coal .

2. Interval shales, sandstones, etc ......................

3. foal...... ............................................

4. I.iim'stow, gray and Imff. ............................ 10

5. Concealed ............ ................................ .10

0. Sanitfttone, maxslve ...... ............... ............ 25

7. Slink*, ttork ......................................... 15

f Cannel nlate. .. . ]'

8. Coal, Halt (crii.oid.il). i

Ft. in. "Ft. in.

9. Sandy .shalcrt and black alatca ........................ 50

iro.il...... i Coal.......3' .32"")

10. Coal, 1'ricc (liakerstownK .Sl:itn .... ..0' 4-'>........ 4

'Coal...... 0' «")

11. Slates,dark........................................... 4

C LimoHtnno. V 8" 1

12. LimcHtone, dark gray.. < Slate .......()' X"}........ 3 8

( Limeatonc..!' 4")

13. Shale................................................. 0 6

14. Coal.................................................. 1 0

15. SImles, and concealed........................-......._. 45

16. Coal.C'olrinon ........................................ 1 fi

17. Slale.ilark.................. .......................... 0 1!

18. IJmeslone, Cideinan (i^pper (.'amlirid^e).............

1ft. Kh*}e» ................................................ 10

20. Sandstone,and concealed ............................. 15

21. Sliultw, Hiinily ......................................... 15

(Coal............ 1' 3"!

22. Coal, I'hilsou....... < Slate, black...... ()' 0" >....... 2 6

/Coal.............0' 6")

23. Fii<<clay.............................................. 2

24. Limestone, Pliiln'

25. ConrealtMl, and Hlialoa................................. 25

26. Coal, Maauntown .................................... 2

27. Concealed ............................................ 5

28. Sandstone. Maluming, and concealed.................. 100

29. Coal, Upper Frcepoit.

Total....................................................

200

1

KM

110 4

41 0

3 4

132

Section at Jiroad Top, Pennnylvania. As showing tlie remarkable 

persistence of this series in its general thickness over the Pennsylvania
WHITE.) THE BARUKN MEASURES. 77

eld, we

-sSfffjS

-iSSSSS

.-: H^.=-~- 

^i/=k!^i=

--^ .-.---r

5?!ffi?l?

"10. 38. Sec 

at Bloud 1 1'a.

This s 

or the st 

/Section 

ngton, ] 

)il have 

dthough 

One of

give another measurement (Fig. 38) from far east of the 

Alleghauy Mountains, in the center of the Broad Top 

Basin, Bedford County, Report 1", Stevenson, page 00:

liroad Top, Bedford t'ottiity, 1'iiiHnylrauia.

(See ll.a|i. .1 t.| ft.

\. Pittftlmrjih coal. ............ ...............................

2. 1'oorlv exposed (shalea and sandstones) ...............:..... .

:t. Sandstone, Upper Mahouiu^ ................................. . .

5. Clay......................................................................

7. Coal, Upper i'reeport.

Section opposite Stenbenville, Ohio. The next line 

sections in this series across the Appalachian field will begin at Stfubcnville, on 

the Ohio River, and keeping south of the 

4af former line, end at Davis, Tucker County, 

West Virginia. The following succession 

(Fig. 3D) was obtained opposite Steubenville by combining the surface observations with the records of drill holes and 

shafts :

Opposite Steubenrillt, Ohio. 

| See map, I j.) ^ ^

4. Sandstone, massive, Mor^antown ...... fc.'i ) 

5. Limestone, fosailiferoun, crinoidal ...... 10

6. Ited shales... ........... ............. 40)

7. Concealed, with shalea and lla;wy wind- |

stouo ................................. 100 ; 142 

8. Coal .................................... 1

*/ 9. Shale ................................... lj

10. I.iineatoue, foasiliferoua, Lower Camjl 11. Shalca, drah.-.. ....................... HI

** 14. Sandstone, Mahoniiij;, and concealed 1

15. Coal, TTpper JTreeport. 

^I1 Total..................................... ~~4!»

hows a westward thinning of about 100 feet 

ries between Pittsburgh and Steultenville. 

under Washington, Fenmylrania. $eur Wash- 

'ennsylvania, many wells drilled for gas and 

revealed the structure of the Barren Measures, 

they lie many hundred feet below the surface. 

" these borings was supervised by Prof. Lin-

-_m-^-^

'i'i'T-'nVit

;; if =: : "d = "

E = M.m^3

^=J=^^^?"

rao 

o' 

«&'

10' 

40'

100

i

rm

M 

I) 

;i 

40

52:1

of

200'

I4Z' 

l«»-

ton, of Washington and Jefferson College, and from r';;^.-*.;^ 

the record thus obtained of the Thayer oil well, as vliUe'8ubio.
78

W-II

.& .

THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. | HULL. 65.

published in Pennsylvania Geological Report, 1886, page 7G4, we get 

the followiug for the Barrens there (Fig. 40):

ftn

raw

tor

rizo'

191'

Flo. 40. Section at 

Washington, 1'a.

Washington, Pennsylvania.

[See map, J k.]

Ft.

1. Coal, Plttsbnrjrh........................

2. Sandstone............................... 65

8. Shale, black anil reel.................... 70

4. Shale, red .............................. 30

r>. Limestone .............................. 5

(i. Sandstone, Morgautown ................ 50

7. Shale, black ............................ 251

8. Shale. red and variegated............... 60 |

9. Sandstones hard ........................ 20 (

10. Shalo, lihick ............................ 37 f

11. Sandstone .............................. 171

12. Shale, red, variegated .................. 31)

13. Sandstone, Upper Mahoning............

14. Shale, olive green ......................

15. Sandstone, Lower ( grav, fineflaggy .. 16' \ 

Mahoning...... ) white ........ I...17'>

16. Sliale, dark, to place fur Upper I reeport 

coal...................................

Ft.

220

193

71

4

32

28

Total....................................... 5»8

Nos. 8 and 12 are the beds which 

"cave" and give the oil drillers so inucu 

trouble.

Section near Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. In the vicinity of Cannonsburg, a 

few miles northeast from Washington, 

the record of a well drilled for gas on the 

Boyce farm, furnished me by Mr. Wm. 

S. Stevenson, assistant superintendent of 

the Philadelphia Natural Gas Company, 

gives the following (Fig. 41) as the structure of the Barrens there:

Near Cannoniburg, Washington County, Pennsylvania. 

[See map, J1. j Ft. Ft.

1. Coal, Plttnlmrgh........................

2. Limestone, blue, hard .................. 20

3. Slate, white, soft....................... 45

4. Shale, red............................... 38

5. Slate, black............................. «

6. Shale, red............................... 47 225

7. Sandstone, gray, hard .................. JO

H. Slate, black............ ................ 20

9. Sandstone, gray, hard, Morgantown .... 38 j

10. Shale, red............................... 251

11. Shite, black............................. 5

12. Sandstone, gray, hard ................... 20

lit. Slate, white, soft........................ jo

14. Sandstone, grav, hard .......................................... 20

1.1. Slate, black...'................................................. 15

16. Sandstone, gray, hard.......................................... ]0

17. Slate, black..................................................... 25

IH. Sandstone, gray, hard .......................................... 5

1». Slate, black...'.................................................. ]0

20. Sandstone, gray, hard .......................................... 20

21. Shells and slate, gray, hard............._..................... 25 J

L'-'. Slate, black, soft ...............................................

23. Slate, with coal, Mahouiug.....................................

24. Shells, gray, hard .................................... .........

25. Slate, black, soft ...............................................

26. Sandstone, white, hard, Lower Mahoning......................

27. Coal, Upper Freeport.

190

40 

IS

40

45

==» 

Total............................................................... 557

Flo. 41. Section 

uear C a 11 u o a 

burg, Pa.
WHITE.] THE BARREN MEASURES. 79

'Section at Morgantoien, West Virginia. Kroiu Washington across to 

Morgantown, West Virginia, the Barren Measures, as revealed by borings, hold ubont the same thickness as in Washington County. In the vicinity of Morgantown the 

entire column of the Barrens is exposed, and there 

the following structure is exhibited (Fig. 4'2):

32'

8JV

40

\trt

Morganlown, Monotujulia County, It'ttl I'injiiiia. 

[See ina]>, M ui.)

1. Pittsburgh coal .............................

2. 1'ire <lay ......................................... 2

3. Sandy shales anil sandstone....................... :'.2

4. Coal, Littl»ritt.ibiirj;li...--....................... 1

5. Sandy shales ...................................... IT

6. Limestone......................................... 1

7. Yellowish shales with iron oiv.................... 10

8. Sandy shales, ami eoneealed....................... 17

9. Sandstone, rnthrr massive .... .................... 2.">

10. Sandy shales, ami concealed....................... 15

11. Massive sandstone. ................................ 20

12. Bluish green sandy beds .......................... 2i>

1?,. Blark slate, fossiliterous............... ........... 1

14. Limestone,CMarkslnirg ............................ 1

15. Shales anil Handy beds ............................ 4."'

16. Sandstone, Mursiantown .......................... 20

17. Elk Lirkcoal......................................

18. Shales, and conee.ileil......... ....................

19. Limestone, i Hlloidal...............................

20. Variegated shales .................................

21. Limestone, Upper Cambridge......................

22. Shales............................................. H

23. Sandstone, Upper Malioning....................... :!

21. Shales and shaly sandstone........................ 3D

25. MasH'.ve samlstone, Lower ilahoninf;.............. loo

26. Shales............................................. 40

27. Coal, Upper Frecport.

Total ................................................

Ft. in. Ft. >» 

1

85

1

1*7 «

The black fossiliferous slate, No. 13, represents

F.O. 42.-secti«ji «tMut. the horizon of the Little Clarksburg coal, and is 

santowi., w. va. hero fi ,]e(l with _/i.s7t teeth and wale*. The Upper 

Freeportcoal is about 100 feet under the river at the Morgantown 

wharf, bnt southward it rises very rapidly and comes up to the bed of 

the river at the mouth of Coburn's Creek, 2 miles above. It is there 

about 4 feet thick aud very pure.
80 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (BULL. 65.

Section near Little Falls, West Virginia. In the vicinity of Little 

Falls, Monongalia County, 9 miles above Morgantown, the basal members of the Barrens can be obtained more in detail 

than in the Morgautown section, and the following 

(Fig. 43) shows the structure there:

47'

Of

zziof

wstf

Obley

59k*

Flfi. 43. Section at Little Falls, W. Va.

Little fall*, Jlouuiiyalia County, ll'tHt I'tryiiiia.

[See map, M in.]

1. I'itUlnirgli coal ..........................

2. Shales, xaudstouee, and concealed.........

3. Sandstone,in kuub .......................

4. Shales........... ........................

5. Massive, coarse yellow sandstone.........

0. Coaly tfliale, Little Clarksburg .... ......

1. Limestone, fossilil'erons, Clarksburg ......

8. Concealed, shales and sandstone.... ......

9. Limestone, nodular .......................

10.'Gray and yvlluw shales...................

11. Jilack slatii .

12. Coal, Elk Lick

f (Coal........ 12") - 1

JCoal 2 Slate....... 1" \ 1' 5" I

1 Concealed with red shale 15' 

I Coal, good ............... 0'

1't. in. Ft. in.

inn )

5 

15 

Li

0

1 

47

:t

0

3

205 9

13. Shales .............................................. 8 6

It. Limestone, gray and bntriu several layers, Elk Liek. ti 

16. Flaggy sandstones and shales...................... 2'2 10

10. Sandstone, massive, pebbly at base for 4 feet....... 15

17. Concealed, probably sh.iles ......................... 31

18. Fossiliferous shall', crinoidal........................

19. Concealed, red shales and impure limestones .......

20. Limestone, light gray, I'pper Cambridge............

21. Shales and Unggy sandstones....................... 24 0

22. Sandstone, rathir massive .......................... 10 10

23. Concealed, and shales........................ ...... Ifi 3

24. Sandstone, Upper Mahoning, massive............... fi;t 0

2f>. Coal, Maboniug.....................................

20. Shales and concealed ............................... 27

27. Shale, greenish, sandy............................... 11

28. Sandy slmlo and Haggy sandstone.................. 5 2

21). Shale, greenish yellow .............................. 12

30. Concealed, probably shale .......................... 17

31. Lower Mahoning sandstone ........................ 26 li

32. Coal, Upper Frceport.

Total.....................................................

16 11

83 4

1115 1

08 8

087 3

This section illustrates well the variability of the Barren Measures, 

when compared with the previous one, takeu only a few miles distant.
WHITK.] THE HAKKEN MEASURES. 81

nu

Fir.

1

sai 

no

Section at Neioburg, West Virginia. The syucliue between 

t Eidge and Laurel Mill anticlines crosses the Baltimore 

Railroad at Newburg, Preston County, Wes

 *' * "'" " *-'- * ' "-

Rg^^g^g

=5SSo^5£^

fi« 

 w=r'=^r~.- -~

^ =-'"°-J~a!:'"'?=

V77V77T7777

^ff-f^&i&'i

>** jllMrtll.lt

4'

30' 

ZOO'

oo'

15

10*

20'. 

5'

4o'

10*

is'

5'

«'

Id' 

0' 

10'

M'

25'

40' 

2'

J4' 

«L'

44. Section 

fewlmrg, W. \

idstoue. 

t include >

Rnll <

about l,j miles east from Little Falls, and 

Barren Measures admit of vertical measu 

combining surface exposures with the rec 

Orrel Coal Company's shaft. The result is 

(Fig. 44):

jVeirftim/, I'rfulon ('aunty, 11'ent I'iryinia. 

(Sue map. N in.)

5 Cum (-.led

10. Shales, dark, fosailiferoua (iTinoidal) ................

OJS 1

20. Coal, Fpiicr Frceport. 

Total.. ............................-.-...- - -- 

the Chest- 

) and Ohio 

t Virginia, 

there the 

remeiit by 

>rd of the 

as follows

ft. Ft.

5 } 

14

30 > J09

2:w 

:io )

"1

1C . 35 

10 

15 

20 

5 

40 ^ 

10 

15

2d 

10 

10 .. 

10 

'X, 

2f, 1 

1 

40

:i4 ! fa 

i

...... 64r.

80'

This is in the same geological trough as the section, 

at Ligoiiier (Fig. 30), and, as will be observed, agrees 

at with it iu having an unusually large interval between 

the Pittsburgh coal and ,the base of the Morgantown 

[t is possible that the Upper Mahouing saudstoue should 

fos. 17-20 at this locality.
82 Ti'lE NOKTHKRN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [UULU65.

rii

Section near Fairfax Knob, Went Virginia. About 50 miles east 

from Newbnrg we come to the North Potomac Coal Basin, the southward extension of the Cumberland or Georges Creek 

field of Maryland, and there, in the vicinity of Fairfax 

Knob, Tucker County. West Virginia, the Barrens exhibit the following structure (Fig. 45):

Fair/me Knob, Tucker County,-Went Virginia.

| See map, o<i.]

ft.

zotf

2. 

3. 

4.

5.

0. 

7. 

8

Coul, Lit lie 1'

Fire t'la^ and 

Blue dhalea w 

Black nlato ..

( (Joal . 

ittcihur^li . \ Slale . 

< Coal . .

(Coal, slaty. 

JCoal ......

I Coal ......

0' 

0'

0' 1' 1' 

1'

'«::; ...........

G"J

io"l

 . ...........

0")

( Coal.. 0' 8")

9. Coal, Little Clnrksburj; .. \ Slate «' 4" ,

<Coal. 1' 0")

10. Concealed, with .-landhtonrH and Hltaleg ...

11. Coal, and black slate, Maaontowii..........

12. Shales ....................................

1 13. Sandstone, massive .......................

U. Concealed ................................

15. Sandstone,soft............................

........... ................^ K

........................... 9

................ ......... 1

16. Clay.yellow ......................................... 0

17. Sau«8tono ........................................... 20

18. Linieutonc,Mahoning................................

18. Softslialo............................................ 1

20. Hnidslialc .......................................... 0

21. Softslialc.......................................... 1

' 22. Slate, li^bt blue...................................... 10

K. Slut»,ilark........................................... 19

21. Sandstono ..........................:................ 2

25. Coal, Upper Frceport.

Total.

Ft. in.

40

10

IS

200

3

50

61

20

42

638

Fm. 48.-Section at 

Fairfax Kuob, W. 

Va.

The last 100 feet of the section was obtained from the record of a 

diamond drill hole put down by the West Virginia Central liailroad 

to test the character of the Upper Freeport coal. The writer saw samples of the Miihoning limestone, takeu from the drill hole, and it was 

a dark gray, rather pure limestone.

No. 5 is a second Little Pittsburgh coal which is occasionally present 

in the Potornac basin and elsewhere.
WHITE.] THE BARREN MEASURES. 83

Section in Guernsey County, Ohio. Toward the northwestern side of 

the Appalachian basin, in Ohio, the Barrens are thinner than elsewhere, 

as may be seen from the following section (Fig. -1C), 

made by Mr. F. W. Miushall, in Guernsey County, 

Ohio.

ixf

Guernsey Ctunty, Ohio.

(See map, K f.]

ft. in.

1. Pittsburgh coal................

2. Shales ......................... 10

3. Limestone ..................... 15

4. Shales ......................... 30

5. Concealed ..................... 75

6. Shales......................... 20

7. Limestone, criuoidal...........

8. Coal, crinoidal................. 1 3

9. Shales ......................... 15

10. Limestone ..................... 10

11. Shales......................... 35

12. Sandstone, pebbly ........... . 25

13. Shales ...................... .. 5

14. Coal, Bakeratown.............. 2

15. Shales ........... ............. 35

10. Limestone, Lower Cambridge..

17. Shales ......................... !i

18. Coal, Masontowu .............. 1 3

19. Stales ....................... 30

ft. in.

150

itll"

20. Sandstone, UppiT M«houin£...

21. Coal, Mahonin^................

2'.'. Shales ....... .................

i3. Kaudstuiie, Lower Mahoniuj;..

24. Shahs .. ....... .............

25. Coal, I'pperFieeport.

3.1 112 11

Fm. 46. Section HI 

Guernsey Couuty, 

Ohio.

Total.

Section at Burning Springs, West Virginia. At Burning Springs, VVirt County, West Virginia, the Barren 

Measures have the following structure (Fig. 47), according to Mr. Minshall:

Hunting Si>riHgn, 11 irt County, He*/ firyinia.

I See map, 1' K.]

ft. in.

1. Pittsburgh onnl .................................... ...

S. Shales ............................................... 10

3. Limestone ............................................ lo

4. Concealed........................... .................. 1M1

5. Limestone, criuoidal ...................................

6. Coal, crinoidal ......................................... 1 f

7. Shales .............................. .........'......... 10

8. Limestone. ...................... ............... ..... 3

9. Coni.aled..... ....... ........... ...................... 2«0

10. Sandstone .......... ....... .......................... 4o

11. Shales ................................................ 4U

12. Coal. Hpper Freeiwrt.

Total.

ft. in.

20U

294

41)7 8

Z94V

ni. 47. SeiUurniug Spr 

V».

u at 

s, W,
84 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL, FIELD. [HULL. 69.

Section near Huntington, West Virginia. Near the southwestern 

limit of the district, in the vicinity of IJiintingtoii,West Virginia, the 

Barren Measures have the following structure (Fig. 

48) according to the determinations of Mr. A. G. 

Selby, who made careful measurements of the rocks 

exposed there, and combined them with the record 

of a boring for gas:

101*

m

JO1

197'

106'

as'

Flo. 4H. Section near 

Huutiugton.W.Va.

ricinity of /Ittntiiigtoti, ll'ext Virginia, alony Ohio Hirer.

[See map, 8 b.]

coal .

Ft.

28

10.

11.

12.

la.

14.

15. 

1C.

17.

in.

10. 

20.

lied shale, containing limestone nodules .............

Sandstone, shuly .....................................

lied shale* and Hhaly sandstone...................... 101 .* 

Coal, Little Clarksburg .............................. 2 I

Sandstone, maiwivr, Morgantown .................... 50 I

Elk Lick coal ........................................

Fireclay............................................. I!

Shales,deep red...................................... 103

Limestone, crinoidal..................................

Coal,crinoidal ....................................... 2

Jted shales ........................................... 4

Limestone ................................... ....... 4

Shales and sandstones............................... 1".">

Limestone, Lower Cambridge ...........;............

Shales................................................ 10

Coal, Masontown..................................... 1

Shales ............................................... :tO

Sandstone, Mahoniug ................................ 12.p>

Upper Kreeport coa!.

Xotal......................... ............................

Ft.

1117

2

100

185

JC.O

600

This is nearly twice the thickness that the Ohio 

geologists report for the Barrens along the northwestern margin of their outcrop, but all of the measures thicken very rapidly toward the southeast from 

this portion of Ohio. It is jiossible, however, that 

Mr. Selby may have gotten some of the elements of 

the section too thick, since there is no single point 

between Huntington and the Big Sandy where a vertical measurement of all the members can be made. 

The true thickness can not be much under OOOieetat 

least.
WHITE.] THE BARREN MEASURES. 85

Section near Charleston, West Virginia. In the vicinity of Charleston, 

\\est Virginia, and just north from it, the Barren Measures attain a 

greater thickness than anywhere else in the Appalachian Basin, so far as known. The following structure 

(Fig. 49) may be observed along the Great Kanawha 

liiver there, and its tributary, Two-mile Creek :

Ntar Cliarlintoii, IIVsl riryinia.

Ft. Ft.

, Pittsburgh coal ......................

Concealed red shales and sandstone. 

Sandstone, massive ..................

Red shales, sandstone and concealed .

0.

7.

X.

0.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

10.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21

22.

23.

24.

tf~t.

Shales ...........................................

Sandstone...... ..................................

Shales, inurlv, with limestone nodnlrs. ...... ....

Litni'stoiif, iinpfli t- (crinniilal linnznn) ..........

1>ark n-d slialrs \villi iron noilu !< !* . . . ...........

Coal, iinpiu c>. IViki-rHlnwn ........................

Firt^ rlav nnd shaU-s..... .........................

Sandstone, massive, pelilily .......................

Sliali-s, with st leaks of cttal, Mammtnwn .........

Sandstone, verv hard ............................

Coal, M:ihotiin>: ..................................

Missive sandstone.................... ...........

Shales ................. ........................

Co.il, T T |iper ('aiinelton ..........................

Sandstone, tn;i8sive ..............................

Saudv shalfs...... ...............................

Coal, Middle Cannelton ..........................

1'laek Hint ......................................

........ ,0,

. .... :<"

..... .. 3(>

r,

........ 5

. ...... 30

........ 100

........ 20

....... 25

........ 4

....... 10

........ -'

r»o

........ 1".

....... 1

 >

215

189

27. Coal, Up|ier Fret-port,

Flo. 49. Section iiear Charleston, \V. Va.

As may be seen from these sections 

just given, many of the beds which have 

received distinct names are not persistent. They occur at some localities but 

are wanting in others, and hence are so 

variable that they are never all found iu 

one section.

We shall now take up the more important members of the series and describe them in more detail as exhibited at 

their type localities and elsewhere.
86 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (BULL.M. 

CHARACTERISTIC HORIZONS.

THK PITTSBURGH COAL ORKS.

In Fayette County, Pennsylvania, a group of iron ores come immediately below the Pittsburgh coal, and have been mined for the manufacture of iron for nearly 75 years. They have been very carefully studied 

by Stevenson, who describes them in his report (KK) of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey. He gives the following as the general section 

of the ores :

Pittsburgh coal.................................

Clay ............ ..............'.................2 to 8 feet. -

Blue Lump ore...... ........................... 1 to 0 foot.

('lay...... ...... ................4 indies to 1 foot (i inches.

Condemned flag ore.............................1 to 0 foot.

Clay ................'...... ......4 inches to 2 feet C inches.

Hi); Bottom ore....................1 foot to I foot X inches.

Clay ...................................10 inches to 5 feet.

Ri'd ling ore ..............................2 inches to (i fcet.

Clay ...........................................1 to 3 fi-et.

Yellow ttsig ore...................................4 inches.

This succession does not, of course, represent the structure of the ore 

layers at all localities, as the thickness and quality are constantly varying.

The '' Blue Lump" and the "Big Bottom " beds are of the most importance, and it is from the former one especially that Mr. F. II. Oliphant manufactured iron so long and successfully at Fairchance. 

These ores are confined principally to the Blairsville basin, in Fayette 

County, though they extend into the edge of Monongalia County to the 

south, and have been recognized on the edge of Greeue County to the 

west.

When these ores are not present their places are often occupied by 

ferruginous limestones or shales, though occasionally a sandstone 

stratum comes in close under the coal and cuts out everything else. 

This interval, immediately below the Pittsburgh, for 30 to 40 feet is 

more variable than any other portion of the Barrens, and hence it is 

useless to attempt to classify its rocks.

THE LITTLE PITT8I1URCH COAL.

At a varying interval of 25 to (iO feet from the top of the Barrens 

there often occurs a thin and usually impure coal bed, which has been 

termed the Little Pittsburgh coal, from the fact that it is so close to 

the great bed above. The thickness sek.oin exceeds two feet, and it is 

often only halt that. The best development of this coal which the 

writer has ever seen occurs in Fairfax Knob, Tucker County, West 

Virginia, at the locality of Section 45, where the bed is nearly 4 feet 

thick and is locally known as the " coking vein," from the fact that it 

Las the typical structure of a good coking coal.
WHITK.] THE "BARREN MEASURES. 87

Occasionally there appear to be two of these beds, one at 20 to .'50 

feet below the Pittsburgh ami the other at 50 to 75 feet below, but 

they may probably both be splits from the same bed.

The Little Pittsburgh coal is quite persistent at the northern end of 

the Appalachian coal basin, but it disappears sonthwestward across 

West Virginia and is seldom seen beyond Uarrison County. It also 

fades away southward in Ohio, since it does not appear in any of the 

Ohio sections, unless it should be the " Jeffers" coal of Prof. Andrews, 

in Gallia County. That, however, may possibly represent the Pittsburgh bed. In the vicinity of Wellersbnrg, Somerset County. Pennsylvania, there appear to be two of these Little Pittsburgh beds, and 

the upper contains 3 to 4 feet of good coal, while the lower is only 18 

inches thick.

THE PITTSBURGH LIMESTONES.

There are very frequently two limestones in the shale interval of 50 

to 75 feet below the Pittsburgh coal, one of which comes above the 

Little Pittsburgh coal and the other a lew feet below. They are both 

known under the general name of Pittsburgh, limestone ; but it would 

be better to call the first one Upper Pittsburgh and the other one 

Lower Pittsburgh. The first is seldom more than 3 to 5 feet thick, but 

the latter is occasionally much thicker, as*it is the more persistent of 

the two, being purer and frequently quarried and burned into lime for 

agricultural and other purposes. ,

THK CONNKLLSVII.LK SAXD8TOKK. ;

At a short interval under the Lower Pittsburgh limestone there is 

often found a massive sandstone which is frequently conglomeritic. 

This rock rises from the bed of the Youghiogheiiy River at Connellsville, and was named from that locality by Dr. Stevenson. Being one 

of the cliff rocks in the Barren Measures, it has played an important 

part in shaping their topography. It is especially hard and massive 

in the Cumberland or Georges Creek basin, and the rounded hills 

which hold the "Big" (Pittsburgh) "vein'' rest on a platform of this 

rock, which, owing to its erosion-resisting power, makes a bold terrace 

far up the mountain sides after all the soft boils above have disappeared. 

It is this great bed of pebbly sandstone that caps the summits in the 

center of the trough south from Elk Garden, after the Pittsburgh coal 

has disappeared, forming almost level plateaus over thousands of acres 

where the great Pittsburgh bed is missed by an interval of only 50 to 

GO feet.

The same pebbly sandstone mark's the snmmitsof the hillsat Belington, Harbour County, West Virginia, and forms huge dill's at many 

points along the Monongahela River between Fainnont and Morgantown.

At Connellsville the top of this stratum lies about f>0 feet under the 

Pittsburgh coal; but this interval is sometimes as small as 40 feet, and
88 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COA& FIELD. [BUU. 68.

If;-.

again increases to 80 or 90. When not pebbly it frequently furnishes 

excellent building stone. The thickness varies from 25 to 50 feet, but 

it is often absent as a massive rock, and then its place is filled with 

sandy shales or flaggy sandstone.

THE LITTLK CLAKK8BURG COAL.

By this name has been designated a bed of slaty coal which occasionally makes its appearance close under the Connellsville sandstone, 

and 100 to 1-5 feet below the Pittsburgh coal.

At Clarksburg, West Virginia, the coal in question crops out along 

the bod of Elk Creek for a considerable distance, and is li to 2 feet 

thick, but poor and slaty. It is called Litlle Clarksburg to distinguish 

it from the Pittsburgh coal, which is extensively mined in the vicinity 

of that town, and is locally known as the Clarksburg bed.

Very frequently this coal is represented by a bed of black slate, 

which is filled with fish remains, teeth, scales, etc. The deposit in 

question is rarely more than 14 to 2 feet thick, and is often absent 

altogether, so that it is of very little economic importance, (hough in 

the Wellersburg region of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, it attains 

a thickness of nearly 0 feet, and contains some good coal, being known 

as the "0-foot "bed.

THK CLAnKSBl'KG LIMI2STONK.

Directly under the last described coal there often occurs a limestone 

which is finely exposed in the vicinity of Clarksburg, along the bed of 

Elk and the West Fork Kiver. The upper portion is there rather 

slaty, and tilled with fossil ostracoidsand fish remains. The next layers 

under this are very compact, and come out in peculiar rhomboidal 

blocks. This eutire limestone series is 20 to 30 feet thick, and some of 

the layers are quite ferruginous, so much so that they were mined for 

ore many years ago at an old charcoal furnace on Elk. Some iron ore 

was also obtained near Clarksburg from the roof shales just above the 

Little Clarksburg coal, and used in this furnace. The Clarksburg 

limestone is rather widely distributed in Pennsylvania and northern 

West Virginia, and is frequently mined, since many of its layers furnish good lime for fertilizing and building purposes.

THE MORGANTOW.V SANDSTONE.

At 25 to 40 feet under the Clarksburg limestone, and separated from 

it by soft shales, we find one of the great sandstone horizons of the 

Barren Measures. This rock was named by Dr. Stevenson from its 

flue exposure at Morgan town, West Virginia, where it has been extensively quarried and used iu building the State University and other 

structures. At this typical locality the top of the stratum lies about 

200 feet below the Pittsburgh coal, and the thickness of the sandstone 

is 25 feet. It is^of a yellowish gray cast, of medium grain and hardness, and splits readily into blocks of any desirable size. Scattered
WHITK.] THE BARREN MEASURES. 89

through the rock are stains of peroxide of iron and also a considerable 

quantity of feldspar grains, which are generally decomposed, thus 

giving the surface of the stone a mealy look. I n some of the crevices 

and cavities of the sandstone pure kaolin has accumulated from this 

source. The base of the sandstone is often couglouieritic and sometimes brecciated.

This is a quarry sandstone nearly everywhere that its outcrop extends. All along the Monongahela River it has been quarried and 

used in building the locks of the Slack Water Company. The stone 

dam, No. 9, was built of rock from this stratum. It is one of the most 

persistent members of th«j Barren Measures, and often makes high 

cliffs. It caps the hills in the vicinity of Grafton, West Virginia, 

where it is also quarried, and it makes a line of conspicuous bluH's from 

there to beyond Newburg, along Three Fork, and far up into Harbour 

County along the Valley River. Along the North 1'otomac River, in 

Mineral, Grant, and Garrett Counties, the same rock is found, and on 

the Great Kanawha, Guyandotte, Big Sandy, Big and Little Muskinguin, t\nd other tributaries of the Ohio, this bed is generally conspicuous. At Huntington, West Virginia, on the banks of the Ohio, it, is 50 

to (»0 feet thick, while on Crooked Run, Monongalia County, near the 

Pennsylvania line, the stratum is 100 feet thick. It is the first oil rock 

on Dunkard Creek, and some of the wells produced largely from it. In 

the deep borings of Washingron County, Pennsylvania, where it underlies the surface 500 to 1,000 feet, this stratum is 35 to 50 feet thick, and 

generally contains salt water.

THE ELK LICK C'OAI..

Immediately under the Morgantown sandstone, or separated from it 

by only a few feet of shale, there comes a coal of very wide distribution 

which occasionally attains workable dimensions.

This name was given the coal in question by the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, but/the place of the bed in the series remained 

uncertain till Messrs. Platt, of the Second Survey, recently determined the matter finally by identifying the massive sandstone above it 

at the typical locality as the Morgantowu.

This coal attains a thickness of 4 feet in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and has there been mined to a considerable extent for local 

use.

In Westmorland, Fayette, and Alleghany it seldom exceeds 2 feet, 

and is gent-rally less, but quite persistent.

In Preston County, West Virginia, north from Cheat River, this bed 

has been mined to a considerable extent and is known as the " top 

vein." In the summits near Bruceten it is 4 feet thick and a rather 

good coal.

At Morgantown it is nearly 4 feet thick, but rather poor and slaty.

South from Monougalia County, it is occasionally seen, but is not so
90 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (BULL. 05.

thick as at the northern end of the field. At Glenville, Gilmer County, 

it is in the bed of the Little Kanawha liiver, and 18 to 20 inches thick.

The same coal is also recognizable on the I>ig Kanawba, but is there 

quite thin. In the section (48) at Huntingtou, West Virginia, Mr. 

Selby finds this coal 2 feet thick but very slaty.

It is not often reported by the Ohio geologists, and hence may frequently be absent from the measures in that State.

THE ELK LICK LIMESTONE.

fn sections .37 and 43, a limestone is seen at a short interval below 

the Elk Lick coal, and from its occurrence at this horizon in Somerset 

County, Pennsylvania, it has been termed the Nik Lick limestone by 

Mr. Franklin 1'latt, of the Second Geological Survey, Pennsylvania. 

The stratum in question occurs at 200 to 240 feet under the Pittsburgh 

coal, and is not alway* present.

As exhibited in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, this limestone is of 

a light gray color, and often tinged with buff, the same being true of it 

in Monongalia. Platt reports it as 12 feet thick in Somerset, but in 

Monongalia it is only about half that, and is not persistent.

THK ClilNOIDAI. LIMESTONE (GREEN FOSSIUFF.KOfS LIMESTONE, AMKS LIMESTONE).

The next step downward in the rocks takes ns to a very important 

horizon and one which marks a change from fresh or brackish water 

deposits to marine conditions, for here we get abundant marine fossils 

for the first time in descending the column of rocks.

The bed in which these fossils occur has received several names. 

The geologists of the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania called 

it the Green Fossiliferous limestone, the Ohio Survey has termed it the 

Ames limestone, while the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania 

has termed it the Crinoidal limestone. This latter name is so well 

known now in geological literature that it is probably best to let it stand, 

though as a synonym and geographical designation the Ames limestone may be retained.

The character of this stratum and its fossils have been admirably 

worked out by Stevenson, who first showed its importance as a stratigraphical horizon. It comes almost exactly midway in the Barren 

series, and hence it is a constant datum from which the geologist can 

measure either upward or downward to identify the rocks.

When once thoroughly known it can not be confused with any other 

rock in these measures, since it is the highest bed that contains abundant Krachiopods.and Lamellibranchs. and its lithology is distinctly different from anything else. Prof. Stevenson thus aptly describes its 

general features : "Dark bluish or greenish graj', tough, and breaks 

with a granular surface much resembling that of a coarse sandstone. 

* * *. In all cases it is fossiliferous and contains immense numbers 

of criuoidal stems and spines or plates."
WHITE.] THE BARREN MEASURES. 91

Its common fossils are: Froductus Neltraxcetms, P. Prattcnidnwi, P. 

longispinm. P. semi-reticulatus, Hcmipronites crassus, Splriftra camcrata, 

S. plano-convexa, Athyri* xubtiUta, Lopltophyllum prolifcrwm, Xeacrinus 

mucro«j»nt(8, together with the undetermined plates and stems of criuoids,

x Throughout Pennsylvania this stratum comes about 275 to 300 feet 

below the Pittsburgh coal, and the same distance above the Upper 

Freeport, though occasionally this last interval is increased to 3."iO feet. 

The rock is rarely more than 1} feet thick, and often not so much, but is 

wonderfully persistent. Even when not present as limestone its horizon is almost invariably made known by the fossiliferous shales which 

accompany the bed.

Through Ohio this rock is almost continuously present from the point 

where it enters the State near Steubenville clear around to where it 

leaves it at the Kentucky line near Gatlettsburg.

Opposite Stenbenville the bed is 8 to 10 feet thick, but this is unusual, 

since it is only 1 to 3 feet at most points in Ohio.

The interval between this rock and the Pittsburgh coal decreases 

westward to 200 feet on the Ohio Kiver nt Wellsburg, and farther west 

in Ohio the interval still further declines to 140 feet, but where it leaves 

the State at the southwest it increases again and gets to be 300 feet 

opposite Huntiugton, West Virginia.

Through this latter State the limestone holds its place very regularly 

in the series from the Pennsylvania line southward into Harrison and 

Lewis Counties, and it is also present on the Volcano uplift at Burning Springs and other points, still holding its' characteristic fossils. It 

disappears, however, in passing from this Little Kanajrha region southward to the Big Kanawlia, for when we come to this latter stream the 

fossiliferous limestone is gone, and its horizon replaced near Charleston by a thin, impure limestone which holds only minute fresh water 

forms. It is highly probable, however, that the crinoidal bed comes in 

again a few miles north from Charleston, since on the Big Sandy it was 

followed 20 to 25 miles above the month of that stream, and there it 

still retains its crinoidal phase, though getting very impure where last 

seen in that valley.

THE CHINOIDAL COAL.

Immediately under the last described limestone we very often find a 

thin coal bed, which seldom exceeds 18 inches in thickness, and hence 

is of very little economic importance. In Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Franklin Platt identified with this coal No. 8 of the Berlin (37) 

section, a very impure, slaty bed, occurring in several layers in the vicinity of Berlin, where it is altogether 7 feet thick, and locally known 

as the Platt coal. If this identification be correct, this is the greatest 

development the coal ever attains.

There is only one other locality besides the Berlin region where 

thia coal has been mined to any considerable Extent, and that is at
92 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HCT.L.A5.

I

Burning Springs, Wirt County, West Virginia. Here it was mined 

and used for fuel in drilling the numerous oil wells once put down there, 

and it is still taken out on a small scale for domestic purposes, though 

only 20 inches thick. Some very finely preserved fossil Brachiopods 

and Lamellibranchs have been obtained from the roof shales of the 

coal at Burning Springs, since it there comes only 2 to 5 feet below the 

Crinoidal limestone.

The "Weller" coal, near Wellersburg, Pennsylvania, is probably 

identical with this bed.

I!KI> SIIA1.K I1KDS.

Throughout most of the Pennsylvania and West Virginia region, the 

Crinoidal limestone is underlaid by very soft, red, and variegated shales, 

and marly clays. They make a broad red band in the soil wherever 

they extend, and are a great nuisance along roads and railroads, since 

when wet they decompose into a greasy mud, which produces many 

landslides and slips.

It is this stratum which causes so much trouble to the oil and gas 

drillers of southwestern Pennsylvania and the adjoining regions of 

West Virginia, since it is so easily reduced to mud, which runs into the 

hole and fills it up, so.that casing must be put through the stratum as 

soon as the drill Las penetrated it. Krom this tendency to slide out 

into the drill hole, it is termed by the oil drillers the " caving " rock.

Over a largo portion of Ohio and in many regions of West Virginia 

a hard, bluish gray limestone, not at all or but sparingly fossilifcrous, 

occurs near the center of this shale interval. The bed is 3 to 10 feet 

thick, and in Ohio is generally called the Kwiug limestone. It is shown 

in the West Virginia sections at Burning Springs (47) and at Huntington (48), and it is recognizable at many other points in the State.

The rest of the Barren Measures from this red shale down to theMaLouing sandstone is extremely variable. Sometimes it is nearly all 

shales, much of which is red, and "caves" in drilling through it, just 

like that under the Crinoidal limestone, and again as in the Berlin section (37) it contains 3 or 4 coal beds, and as many limestones. Some of 

these, however, are rather persistent ami will be referred to in detail.

TIIK HAKEKSTOWN COAL.

At some localities in western Pennsylvania a bed of coal is found 75 

to 90 feet under the Crinoidal limestone. This bed is mined in the vicinity of Bakerstown, Alleghany County, and it has been designated 

from that village. As there exhibited, it is not quite 3 feet thick and 

rather slaty. In the Berlin region a coal called the Price bed seems to 

come at this horizon. It is about 4 feet thick and furnishes sonic valuable fuel in Somerset County.

In Section 37 will be found some thin coal beds under the Price coal, 

which are rarely represented in any other section of the Barrens.
THE BARREN MEASURES. 93

Among these are the Coleman, Philsou, and the one a few feet under 

the Price bed; but they are all local, though occasionally we tiud traces 

of some of them in other regions than Somerset County. This whole 

interval for 100 feet below the Crinoidal limestone is so extremely variable that the classification for one region is of very little use in another. 

An instance of this is seen at Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, where a great 

sandstone 100 feet thick comes into the series a few feet under the 

Crinoidal limestone horizon. This was termed the Saltsburg sandstone 

by Stevenson, but it is hardly persistent enough to classify as a regular member of the Barrens. In the Charleston, West Virginia, region 

a massive pebbly sandstone occurs not far from the horizon of the 

Saltsburg rock, and the one which caps the hilks at the mouth of the 

Big Sandy Eiver may be identical with the same bed.

THE CAMBRIDGE LIMESTONES.

At many localities in Ohio two dark fossiliferous limestones occur 

only HO to 30 feet apart, and Prof. Orton, director of the Ohio Geological Survey, has named them respectively the Upper and Lower Cambridge limestones. In Ohio these beds generally occur from 90 to 130 

feet under the Crinoidal limestone and are always very fossiliferous.

In many regions of Pennsylvania two dark fossiliferous limestones 

occur, which correspond to the two in Ohio, only there they are GO to 

70 feet apart, and the upper one 90 to 120 feet under the crinoidal bed, 

while the lower one is 150 to 190 feet below the same horizon. 1 have 

identified the two in Pennsylvania with the two in Ohio, and have also 

adopted the Ohio names, since the Pennsylvania beds are known under 

several names in different parts of the field, while the Ohio names are 

now well established. The upper one is the lighter colored of the two, 

and while generally fossiliferous, the fossils are not so abundant as in 

the lower limestone. This upper one was termed the Pine Creek limestone in my Report Q of the Pennsylvania Survey, while in Somerset 

County it seems to be identical with the Colemau limestone of Platt.

At Morgan town, West Virginia (Section 413), this bed is dark, quite 

fossiliferous, and lies 85i feet below the Criuoidal limestone.

The term Black 1'ossiliferous limestone of the First Pennsylvania 

Geological Survey Reports was probably applied quite as often to this 

upper rock as to the lower one, since at times they very closely resemble each other, and contain practically the same fossils.

The interval separating the two limestones is generally shale in Ohio, 

but in Pennsylvania it is sometimes a massive sandstone, and 00 to 90 

feet thick.

The Lower Cambridge limestone is identical with the one termed 

Brush Creek limestone by the writer in Report Q. Second Geological 

Survey of Pennsylvania, but the geological horizon of that limestone 

was there placed lower than it should have been by 50 to CO feet, since 

it was considered to belong between tue two members of the Mahouiug
94 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. 68.

sandstone, instead of above both members, and hence the term Brush 

Greek limestone should be dropped from the nomenclature, and Lower 

Cambridge substituted. This lower limestone is very fossiliferous, 

often being a mere mass of Brachiopods and Lamellibrauchs, of which 

the most common are Chonctcn mesoloba, Athi/ria subtilita, Pruductus 

Nebracensis and a large Soleuomya, together with Nautilus occidentalis 

and Orthoceras cribroxum.

This bed seems to be quite as persistent in Ohio as the Grinoidal 

limestone, since it is present in almost every section at the proper 

horizon, from Stetibenville clear around to Ironton, near which latter 

poiut it is only 75 feet above the base of the Barrens.

In the hills at Catlettsburg, Kentucky, a dark fossiliferous limestone 

occurs at ICO feet above the Upper Freeport coal, but this is probably 

the Upper Cambridge, and the same limestone occurs in the summits 

of the hills opposite Louisa, Kentucky, at 200 feet above the Upper 

Freeport bed. It is barely possible, however, that this may be the 

Lower Cambridge limestone, since the Barrens thicken very rapidly 

southward from their, north western outcrop. In the Berlin section, 

(37), the Lower Cambridge limstone appears to be represented by the 

Philson limestone of Platt. The " calcareo siliceous rock" of Hildreth, 

in Ohio, appears to represent the same bed.

TUB MA8ONTOWN COAL.

At an interval of 5 to 20 feet below the Lower Cambridge limestone there occurs a coal bed which has quite a wide distribution. It 

attains its best development in the region of Masontown, Preston 

County, West Virginia, and it has been designated from that village. 

It is there, and at many other points in the Preston basin, mined for 

domestic purposes, being known as the "4-foot" bed, and is a dry, 

open-burning coal, highly prized for domestic fuel. It is everywhere 

preferred to the Upper Freeport, which is accessible in the same 

region.

This appears to be the same bed which the writer described in Report Q, Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, under the name of 

Brush Creek coal, since a diamond drill hole has recently shown that 

the Brush Creek bed lies 135 feet above the Upper Freeport coal instead 

of 75, as formerly supposed, and hence it is deemed best to drop the 

name Brush Creek altogether for both the coal and the limestone. 

This Masontowu coal is generally the first one above the top of the 

Mahoning sandstone, and the interval separating it from the latter varies 

from 5 to 50 feet. Very frequently the coal is only one-half to 1 foot 

thick, and sometimes it is represented only by black slate.

Near Gallitzin, Pennsylvania, it is seen in a cut on the old Portage Kailroad, where it is only one-half foot thick, but it is overlaid by 

3 to 4 feet of black slate. The coal is here 140 feet above the Upper
WHITE.) THE BARREN MEASURES. 95

Freeport coal as measured in the McCoy shaft, which starts at the horizon of the Masoutown bed.

This coal is reported as present at many localities in Ohio, though 

there it seldom exceeds 2 feet in thickness. It is probably this bed 

which has been opened near the summit of the hill opposite Louisa, 

Kentucky, where it is 2 feet thick and rather slaty,

In the Beliugton basin, Barbour County, West Virginia, this coal 

attains a fine development and is often 1 to 5 feet thick with 0 inches 

of bony coal near the center.

THE 1HONDALK LIMESTONE AND ORB.

Directly under the Masontown coal there is occasionally found a bed 

of buffish gray limestone, which at Irondale, Preston County, West 

Virginia, and adjoining regions, is accompanied by a bed of iron ore 

immediately under the limestone.

When the ore is present, however, the coal above is generally absent, 

as is the case at Irondale and Gladeville, Preston County, where the ore 

has been used to a considerable extent. It varies in thickness from 1 

to 2 feet, and is rather siliceous, there being only about 38 per cent of 

metallic iron in the ore. It conies 155 feet above the Upper Freeport 

coal, and hence its horizon is assigned to that of the Masoutowu coal, 

since the interval agrees, and then a similar limestone 3 feet thick is 

seen under the coal at Albright and other localities in Prestou County.

T1IK MAHON1NG SANDSTONE.

This is the lowest sandstone deposit of the Barren Measures, and although at times consisting of one solid rock, yet it is generally complex. 

The usual rule is for the mass to divide into two sandstones, an Upper 

and Lower Mahouiiig, each 40 to 50 feet thick, with a shale interval 

between containing a coal bed and limestone or iron ore, but sometimes 

when the group reaches a great development, as on the Big Kanawha 

(Section 49), it contains three coal beds, and as many sandstone divisions. This is exceptional^ however, the normal structure having only 

two sandstones with one included coal, the whole series being 100 to 

150 feet thick.

The wild scenery and poor soil of the lower portion of the Barrens 

are largely due to these sandstones. Being frequently quite hard and 

eveu pebbly, they cap the hills long after all the other members of the 

Barrens above have disappeared, and they have thus protected the 

 underlying Lower Coal Measures over wide areas where the latter 

would otherwise have been carried away by erosion.

In Wyoming County, West Virginia, they cap the summits of Guyandotte Mountain at an elevation of 3,000 feet above the sea. Much of 

the Lower Coal Measures between that mountain and the Great Kauawha liiver would have been swept away but for this massive coping.

It is the same friendly cover that has preserved largo areas of the
IIP

f.

96 THE NORTflERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HILL 65.

Coal Measures on tbe summits of tbe Alleghany Mountains, and in isolated basins like Broad Top. Tbe great tuuuels on tbe Pennsylvania 

and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads, Gallitzin and Kingwood respectively, pass under domes of this sandstone group. Some portions of 

this sandstone nearly always furnish good building rock, tbe Government locks on the Great Kanawha being constructed of it. The same 

stone is also largely quart led along the Ohio Kiver hills in Beaver 

County, Pennsylvania.

The Upper Mahoning is generally more massive than tbe Lower one, 

and is tbe conglomerate member, since it is often a mere mass of quartz 

pebbles, having once been quarried for mill stones on Cheat Kiver near 

Morgantown. In tbe Great Kanawha region this rock is extremely 

hard and siliceous, and at many points a mere bed of pebbles, some of 

which are as large as an egg.

TIIK-,MAHONING COAL.

This is the coal bed which is so often bound up between the two 

great divisions of the Mahoning sandstone. It was formerly called 

the Brush Creek by the writer, but as the place of that coal was misunderstood, it is thought best, as already stated, to drop the uanie entirely, and replace it with the name Maboning, since it comes in the 

middle of the Maboning sandstone. It is possible that the Gallitzin 

coal of Platt in Cambria and Blair Counties may belong at this horizon, 

but owing to the uncertainty connected therewith it has been deemed 

best not to adopt that name.

This is a very widely distributed coal bed, and frequently attains 

commercial importance. It is the coal No. 7 of the eastern Ohio series, 

where it is .'> feet thick and very excellent fuel. It is mined at many 

localities in Ohio, as well as in Pennsylvania.

On the Great Kanawha lliver, a few miles above Charleston, this bed 

swells out to a thickness of 17 feet in the vicinity of Ccalburg; but 

much of this is slate and bone, there being only f> to (! feet of good coal 

in the bed. There is probably a considerable area of this coal of merchantable thickness in tbe region southwest from the Great Kanawha, 

since it is several feet thick along (be summits of ridges in the Huff 

Creek Mountains, at the southern line of Logan County, and the same 

bed is ~> feet thick along the Tug branch of Big Sandy, and in the 

Peach Orchard region of Kentucky, where it occurs 1W5 feet above the 

Peach Orchard bed (Winnifrede). The coal is quite hard, and in many 

places a " block" coal through this southwestern region. The interval 

of this bed above tbe base of the Barren Measures varies from 50 to 

175 feet, this latter being the figure at Coaiburg and Peach Orchard.

TIIK MAHONINO UMKSTOXK.

Occasionally a limestone comes into the series immediately under the 

Mahoniug coal. In Beaver County, Pennsylvania, it is often 5 to 8 feet
Till: 15AURKN MKASUUES. 97

thick, and is locally termed the '' Summit" limestone. It is not a persistent bed, being much less s;> than the coal of the same name above, 

and when present it, is often iiiumre and ferruginous. In fact it is occasionally an iron ore, the Johnstown ore of Pennsylvania being identical 

with this stratum.

TllK UPPEK ANI> MI1XII.K CANNKI.TO.M COALS.

Along the (Ireat Kanawha, where all of the measures have thickened 

up so abnormally, two other coitl beds make their appearance in the 

Barren series below the Mahoning coal, and they have been termed the 

Upper and Middle Cannelton, from a locality on the Kanawha where 

both are exposed. The former has there been mined for a long time in 

the summit of the hills, where it furnishes 5 feet of excellent "block" 

coal. It comes 90 feet above the base of the series, but the interval 

constantly decreases northward, and at Charleston is only 40 to 50 

feet. As this interval decreases the coal becomes inferior, until at 

Charleston it is represented by some coaly streaks only, about the middle of the Lower Mahoning sandstone.

The Middle Camiclton coal never attains commercial value, and is 

found only in the region of Cannelton and southward. It is slaty, 

worthless, never more than 3 feet thick, and comes 20 to 25 feet above 

the base of the Marrens.

The Lower Mahoning sandstone is generally of a bluish gray color, 

quite homogeneous, and often an excellent building stone. Though 

occasionally containing pebbles, it is much freer from them than the 

Upper. Mahoning. The thickness varies from .'50 to 50 feet, except in 

the Kanawha region, where it splits up into two or three divisions, and 

is more than 100 feet thick.

The shales which separate the Upper and Lower Mahoning sandstones are sometimes red, or variegated, as in the Sewickley section 

(,'M); and, occasionally, as in the vicinity of Tnnnelton, Preston County, 

West Virginia, good tire clay occurs at the horizon o,f the Mahoning 

limestone. ..-;

Both members of the Mahoning sandstone are occasionally oil-producing, but more generally the upper one, this being tlie main oil rock 

at Bobtown, on Dunkard Creek, Grecne County, Pennsylvania, and 

on Whitely Creek. It is known to the oil producers as the "Dunkard 

sand,'' and it is also oil-bearing in the Macksburg and other regions of 

Ohio.

The shales which usually intervene between the base of the Mahoning sandstone and the Upper Freeport coal often contain fossil Brachiopods and Lamellibranchs, a* well as the common coal measure plants. 

They are quite variable in thickness, the Lower Mahoning sometimes 

cutting out the shales entirely and resting on the Upper Freeport coal, 

while again the shales may thicken up to 50 feet. 

Bull. 05 7
II

98 THE NOHTHKKN BITUMINOUS COAL KIKLD.

TI1K KANAWHA BLACK FLINT.

[iim.1,.05.

In the midst of the shales at the base of the Barrens, and apparently 

at the horizon which usually contains the marine fossils, there occurs 

along the Great Kanawha River a peculiar dep 'sit, known locally as 

the "Black Flint." It makes its appearance in the section first at 

Charleston, and occurs from there southward along the river until the 

Barrens disappear from the summit of Gauley Mountain, 50 miles distant.

The distribution of the Hint appears to bo confined to a belt along 

the river 10 to 12 miles wide, since at 5 to (> miles back on cither side it 

generally disappears from the section, so as to be no longer recognizable. It is not conQned to the Kanawha region however, since the 

deposit is visible near Clay Court House, on Elk River, and near the 

California House, on the crest.of the Burning Springs anticlinal, where 

it crosses Hughes River at the corner of Wirt and llitchie Counties. 

The rock varies from 5 to 15 feet in thickness, and is usually of a dark 

or bluish black color, though at the California House it is light colored. 

Being almost indestructible by atmospheric agencies, it has played a 

conspicuous part in shaping the topography in the Kanawha region, 

since it protects the underlying beds from erosion. Through the agency 

of heat and cold it finally breaks down into oblong and rudely rectangular blocks which everywhere line the beds of streams and cover the 

surface below the line of outcrop. The Indians manufactured arrow 

heads and other implements fr.mi this material, so that pieces of it have 

been found as far north as Pennsylvania. It is evidently a marine 

deposit, since it is distinctly stratified, and specimens of J)iacin(t, 8pirifertif and Prodncttut arc common in the loss siliceous layers. The flint 

is evidently derived from the skeletons of diatoms and protozoa, though 

no microscopic examination has been made.

h
I

C FI A P T K R \r.

THE LOWER COAL MEASURES, OR ALLEGHANY RIVER SERIES. 

THICKNESS, CHARACTER, AND EXTENT.

Below the Barren Measures or Elk River series there occurs a group 

of rocks (No. XIII) which always holds valuable coal beds. From the 

fact that they are finely exposed along the Alleghany River, they were 

long ago called the Alleghany River series, and their geological position in the general scale of the Carboniferous gave them the name 

Lower Coal Measures. The discovery in recent years that the next 

lower group of beds (the Pottsville Conglomerate) sometimes holds 

workable coal, has been .used as An argument by some geologists for 

breaking up the old nomenclature and rearranging the Carboniferous 

into new groups, but this nomenclature is so convenient, and expresses 

the natural divisions of the rocks so well, that it would be very unwise 

to make any such changes as have been proposed, since it would be of 

no particular service and would only bring confusion to the minds of 

many people interested in Carboniferous geology who are now thoroughly conversant with the old and tried nomenclature of Pennsylvania 

and Virginia. Hence, while for strictly scientific purposes it may bo 

well to group the Carboniferous rocks on a wider basis as proposed in 

a former part of this report, yet for every day field work in practical 

geology, the old nomenclature can not be improved upon.

The Lower Coal Measures, as now limited, begin at the top with the 

widely distributed and valuable Upper Freeport coal bed (a horizon 

which is easily recognized anywhere by the field geologist) and extend 

down through several,beds of shale, limestone, coal, and sandstone till 

a horizon is reached where a marked change in lithology takes place, 

the sandrocks becoming harder, more massive, and often pebbly, accompanied with a corresponding change in the character of the imbedded 

fossils.

The thickness of this series varies greatly in different portions of the 

field, being not far from 300 feet in western Pennsylvania, and seldom 

less than 250 feet anywhere in that State, except in the Broad Top 

field. But westward through Ohio the thickness of these measures 

declines uutil around the northwestern border of the field it is less thau 

200 feet. Southward from this region of Ohio, where the Lower Coal 

Measures are thinnest, they thicken up rapidly until on the Great Kaiiawha River the series is 1,000 feet thick, and the same on the Guyau99
ir

100 THE NOKTHKRN BITITMINOUS COAL FIELD. (nui.i.. 06.

dotte and Tug Rivers. Just where this great thickening up begins in 

going.south westward from the Pennsylvania, line is not exactly known, 

but there arc good reasons for believing that much the greater portion 

of it takes place be.yond the Little, Kanawha Kiver.

Tim topography made by these rocks is generally very much the 

same, except where the thickness is very great. It is nearly everywhere 

characterized by a hilly country, terraced with a series of parallel 

benches which, as Lesley long ago showed, mark the outcrops of the 

several coal beds, since the soft rocks usually found with every coal 

are more rapidly eroded than the harder ones above or below. These 

coal benches are not confined to the topography of the Lower Coal 

Measures, since they are due. to a general law of erosion, but are only 

more, conspicuous in this series because the coal beds are more numerous and closer together.

Through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the northern half of West Virginia, with few exceptions, the hill slopes of these measures, while often 

rather steep, are not too rugged for good arable and gra/.ing lands, and 

the soils are usually rich; but in the southwestern part of West Virginia, where these rocks have increased in thickness so largely, wo find 

a network of narrow ridges, generally capped with the Mahoning sandstone, from which the surface falls away at an angle of 25° to 40° to 

the beds of the streams, 1,000 or more feet below, thus practically confining the arable land to the narrow valleys, which are frequently 

trenched into the top members of the next underlying or 1'ottsville 

series of rocks.

It was formerly supposed that this series held valuable coal only in 

a broad belt around (he margins of the coal field, and that in the center of the Appalachian basin, where these beds are buried under ],.rjOO 

to U,000 feet of superincumbent strata, they contained no coals thick 

enough to mine; but the recent drillingof many oil and gas wells over 

the central portion of the field has proved the supposition to be unfounded, for the drill has many times penetrated thick beds, of coal in 

this series at localities where, they underlie the surface by an interval 

of more than 1,500 feet. Hence, aside from local irregularities always 

to be found in any coal field, there is no reason for believing that the 

Lower Coal Measures do not contain one or more good coal beds under 

nearly every portion of the Appalachian field, and where it would seem 

to be otherwise the inference has been founded largely on defective 

records of borings, in which no attention was given to the character of 

the beds encountered unless they proved to be " sands." Hut while it 

is true that recent drilling has shown valuable coal in this series along 

the central portion of the trough where it was formerly supposed to bo 

absent, yet it is true as a general law that the coal beds of this series 

are thicker and better and more numerous around the margins of the 

Appalachian field than toward the center. This is illustrated by the
IOWFR COAL MTASUIiP-S C<)A| r.lllir,. KANAWMA lilVPII, WTSI VlltGINIA.
WHITE ] THE LOWER COAT, MEASURES. 101

distribution of the Clarion and I'.rookville beds, which are valuable 

oiily aroHiid the margin of the coal area.

Owing to the geological position of the Lower Coal Measures, their 

beds have a much wider spread and are accessible over a larger area 

than those in the Upper Coal Measures, so that when in the distant 

future the upper coals and the easily accessible areas of the lower ones 

shall have been exhausted, there will still remain far down in the 

trough of the Appalachian field a great wealth of fuel which can be 

obtained by deep shafting. It is true that at many localities disclosed 

by the drill only one good bed of coal has been found in this series 

where it lies so deep beneath the surface, but that is also true of the 

surface outcrops, and many places can be found where not even one 

good coal bed occurs in the surface section, and many others where 

two are the exception.

The main strata of this series,which have been recognized and traced 

over a wide area in the three States with which this report deals, have 

received the following names in descending order:

Upper Freeport coal. 

Upper Frceport limestone. 

Upper Freeport sandstone. 

Lower Freeport coal. 

Lower Freeporr limestone. 

Lower Freeport sandstone. 

Upper Kittannini; coal. 

Johnstown (Cement) limestone. 

Middle Kittanninj; eonl.

Lower Kittannin<{ coal. 

Lower Kittauuin<r lire clay. 

Lower KittuMtiinj; sandstone. 

Kulirstone iron ore. 

Ferriferous limestone. 

I'ntiiani Hill limestone. 

Clarion coal. 

Hrookvillc coal.

Other beds have been named in this series wliicli have ;i local distribution, but those given above are the main one.s which can be traced 

and identified over wide areas.

Prof. Orton, director of the Ohio Geological Survey, has shown that 

all of the main beds of (he Pennsylvania Lower Coal Measures can be 

followed and identified entirely across the Ohio coal field to where they 

enter Kentucky ; and the writer has receiitly shown (The Virginias, 

]88f») that they also stretch unbroken around the southeastern margin 

of the Appalachian field, from the Pennsylvania line down through 

West Virginia to the Great Kanawha, and on across the Guyandotte 

to the Big Sandy, so that the identifications of the main beds of coal, 

limestone, and sandstone of the Lower Coal Measures have now been 

carried from Pennsylvania to the Kentucky line, on both sides of the 

Appalachian field.

As illustrations of these measures, in most of the important coal regions of the area in question, we shall now present a number of vertical 

sections. The identifications of the several beds in these sections have 

been made with all the care and light at present attainable, and while 

it is not claimed that they are final in all cases and free from error, yet 

they express the best efforts of the writer, and it is confidently believed
1(12 TIIK XOUTMKRN COAT, ITKLD.

that their publication will serve to stimulate a more careful study of 

the general stratigraphy by field geologists and those interested in 

mining enterprises, so that finally whatever of error may be embodied 

in these identifications will be discovered and eliminated. It-is certain 

that the first effort to harmonize the- stratigraphy over such a large 

area will bo somewhat provisional, and hence the writer not only expects, but welcomes, the kindly criticism of his brother geologists, 

knowing that all will be pleased when the true order and succession of 

these beds are definitely determined in the several important regions 

of the Appalachian field.

Ill some cases, like that at Hlossburg, where it has been impossible 

to identify the main coal beds with any degree of certainty, the writer 

has given only the local names for the beds, leaving I ho reader to draw 

his own conclusions from the general structure of the section; but 

there are very few cases where some one of the seams in a given section 

can not be reasonably determined.

We shall begin these illustrations of the Lower Coal Measures at the 

most northern point of the Appalachian Uasin, and proceed southwestward through the field.

flection at JHositburg, I'enuitylruHiti. The structure of the Lower Coal 

Measures at the northern end of the Appalachian basin is given as 

follows (Fig. 50) for the JJIossburg region, TiogaCounty, Pennsylvania, 

by the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Final Report, Vol. II, 

page 5UU:

Jtloxxliui'if, '/'tot/ft 1'tnnitit, 1't'inixffh'ttnia. 

[See map, H w.| 

It. Coal, "Seymour"..........................

4. Slate mill naiiiNtoin..........................

'.. (Vneealeil .................................

4710 *i. Sandstone, p^lildy, w ith thin foal nflar top .

7. Coal, ''Dirty vein'........ ................

8. Slatp aitil nanilstono ........................

ft. t'oal .......................................

10. Fiin elav....................................

11. Slate ........................................

( Cnal......8' ti"

1'J. Coal, "llloss vein". < i-'ife clay.5' 0

.. 10 

.. Ill

10

13. Av£ill)ieeoua sandstone, with two thin coals .........

14. Coal. " Hear Creek "..................................

Kin. M.-Section at 13. Saml»tom>.

Total. 10

The " P.loss vein" seems to be identical with the Lower Kittanning 

bed of the Alleghany Kiver, while the " Hock vein" and "Seymour" 

are possibly identical with the Upper and Lower Freeport beds, respectively. This would make Nos. 7 and !) the Upper and Middle Kittauning.
Till: LOWKR COAL MRASURKS. 103

Section nt Fall Brook, I'cnnni/lrfinift. At Fall P.rook, 8 miles north - 

from IJIossbiirg, and the most northern development in the Appalachian coal field, the structure of the Lower Goal Measures is given as 

follows (Fig. 51) hy Mr. Franklin Platt, in lieport CJ, pages ](J«, 1(J«J, 

Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania :

Futl lirtwk, TIOIJII County, I'tuniti/li-diua.

(Cui&l...................... tr 7'

Lard tin- clay 

n»-k 

!, kidney .,,v at l».l.,,,,,

Section near Kartlianx, rcnnsi/lrunia. Alwut 05 miles southwest of 

P.lossburg, in the northeastern corner of Clearlield County, Peunsylvaniu, the following section (Fig. 5L«) of the Lower Coal Measures 

is reported from the vicinity of Kartlians, l»y II. I). Rogers, in the First 

Geological Survey of Pennsylvania :
104 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD.

I

Section in Jlorion Township, Elk County, I'ennxi/Jrfnno. Norton Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania, lies on the borders of Clem-field an-.l 

Jefferson Counties, 30 miles west from Karthaus and 

about 80 miles distant west southwest from the Blossburg region. In this township Mr. C. A. Ashbnrner 

finds the following section (Fig. 53) for the Lower Coal 

Measures, HeportKU, page 227:

Jlorion rotrimliiii, Elk Comity, rniii*ylra>iia.

[See.

1. OiU-pporFrpOport.

2.

5

l-'iin iiltiv titiil uliflln 1(1' \

J' II tl t 111^ HIlllHIlillC... HI > .............

Ci.al ................. :!'>

-t ; .; .' ;--,

I.imeHti.'ne, Upper Frccjwrt..... 

Slut V HiiiuNtone

14.

15. 

10.

17

C....I, Mi.l.llc K

]fluck»l.ltc...

Ci.nl, Lower Ki 

. Shnl.-mid H»nilsti>llr, 

i 111, i!i.l.inicBlmic. i.iiiien((iiie. Fcirilcn. cen 

» W. Shiil<'illl(l»l«1.'

lion in

Section iii'ttr Brockicai/rillc, Pnnixt/li-ftniit. Snytler Township, Jefl'erson County, adjoins Morion, and Ihere, near J'.rockwayville, Mr. Win. 

G.TIatt reports (lie following strue,ture (Fig. 54) for tbo 

Lower Coal "Measures, Report M' 1 , ]mges 1Sfi, 187:

; ./,;//ir«o» Con,,!;!,

17. ( (.iK'ralcil.^lnil.-Mf; ........

IK. <J(.nl,Xli(l<H.-Kitliiii]iiii)S.....

Ifl. C(>nri-al(>(l,wiii(Nr(iii<-nl haw

2«. C

21. SI

/V. in.

I! 6
THK LOWER COAT, MEASURES. 105

Section in Clarion County, Petmsytrania. Clarion County lies next 

west from Jefferson, and Mr. H. Martyn Chance gives in Report VV, 

page 32, Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, the 

following as the general structure of the Lower w*t

-= = =H^==.-^

!Y,V.Y. .-Xv.Y/

Measures in that county (Fig. 55):

5 Clarion County, I'mtmylraiiia. 

(See map, K o. ]

2. Fiivilay ..... .^.. ...........................................

6. ShnlB... .....................................................

o' S. Firuolay ........... ..................................... ...

(mx-fM ~-=^-i^~^-~-:~

"" ";" 73=jj

^^k-^'^'-^^j.

:. 56. Si'

n Clarion 

 a.

ggfe

ffixPt

V.*'.v". '.'".%-.'. '.'. '.

.v.'.sv.v.v.v.

'.;.V.'.v;'.v.-.v.

jo- 1(1 Coal, Middle Kittamiing...... ...............................

cc,.iil...... ...... I")

<U<iill..... ....... 3'S 

25. Fireclav.....................................................

, 26. Shale .mill s:\nilstoiie. ........................................

3 28. Masaivu sandstone, XII. tiun 

Co., Total. .....................................................

' Section at Miller'sEddy, Clarion County, Penn 

' "The following section (Fig. 50), made by Mr. , 

*' gorty, M. E., of IJrady's Bend, Pennsylvania, 

the Lower Coal Measure structure at Miller's 1 

the mouth of the Clarion River (V V, p. 11'3) :

Miller's Kddy, Clarion Connly, I'l'inioylninia 

[Sec map, K n.]

3. Iron ore. .......................................................

2ft 6 10 Qlnlrta

Ifi TiliiB aluilpa . ..... .......... ........................

(; r(£ _ Section !" Sandstone, massive.

Ft

o

......... 25

......... 4

......... 8

....... . 40

 i

......... 3(1

* .

.......... 7

.......... 30

.......... 2

.......... , 2

.......... 3

.......... 335

vylrnnia. 

lolin Hagrepresents 

Otldy, near

Ft. in.

....... 2

....... 103

....... 1 6

........ 30

....... 3 0

........ 10

........ 9

........ 2 4

........ 29

........ 312 5
106 TIIK NORTHERN WTUMINOITS COAL FIKU). (nri.T. 65.

faction at East JiraiJi/, (Marion County, Peiuisi/lrania. Mr. Haggerty 

also leveled another section of these measures at East Biady, in the 

southwestern corner of Clarion County, which is yiveu as 

follows (Fig. 57) in .Report VV, p. 77:

East Braily, Clarion I'ounti/, 1'runti/lrania. 

(See map, F n.]

Fl. in. 

1. <'<inl I'ppor Freeport ................................................. 2

il .Utoni' 10H

'""

.1. Cnnl Upjior KitlannluR. .............................................. 1 5

4. SiiiiilHtono ................................................... j......... 0

! >. IntiTval.... ........................................................... r.7 fi

0. Ciuil, !.OW<M KillanniiiK .............................................. ' > U

7. Sliali>, with Hiiiiilittiiiin...... ........................................... 40 fi

211'

8. Liim-slmm, Fen ilVrous. ............................................... 10

ft liiliTvnl...... ......................................................... 22 2

10. <!IM|, Clarion ................... ...................................... 2 2

11. SiiiHlstono ............................................................. *J3

' »" 12. C.ial, thin, Ilionl.ville.

"'

Fin. 57- S^tinn 

at Ka.st Hi. lily. 

1'tt.

l:i Siin.lsl.in.', No. XII.

Total...... ......................................................... ~270~

iicar Xcir JictltlehKm, Peniwylrania. Mr. Chance gives the 

following (Fig. 58) as the structure of the Lower Coal Measures in the 

vicinity of New Rethlehein, on the Red Bank llivcr, in

'mam

r^ -.- 

- :_-.; --y-;i

?-":. ::, £

Fl". fiH.-Seot 

uenr New lit

'3 southeastern Clarion County, VV, j). S8:

_Vcm- \fif lieHilelieni, Clarion dninli/, I'fiinnylranin. 

i' |S»e uinp, Fo.]

11. Fireclay ............................................................

16. Sniiil.stnne, top of XII. ii n tliTotal.............................................................

n.

3

42

7

3 

4

43

2

60

1

4

r.o

295
WHITE.) THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 107

Keclion in Tlraily Toirnxhip, BtitJer County, Pcnnsylranin. In tlie 

northwestern portion of Butler County (P.nuly Township), Mr. Chance 

gives, in lleport V, the following section (Fig. .">!)) for 

the Lower Coal Measures down to and including the 

Ferriferous limestone, and the, portion below that is 

added from an exposure in an adjoining township:

2'6'

60'

 J 1

liraily Tmruiiliiji, ISiiller I'ouiily.

|S,'0 map, F \.]

1. Coal, Upper Ficeport.....................................

2. Fireclay ............ .................................... fi {

3. Shale and sandstone...................................... fif> I

4. Coal, Lower Freeport-....................................

.1. Concealed, and massive sandstone...... ................. 4.1 >

fi. Masaive sandstone .._.._ ................................. If. i

7. Coal, Upper Kill alining:...................................

«. Concealed, and shnle......................................

9. Coal, Middle Kit tanning (')...............................

10. Concealed ................................................ 10 |

11. Iron ore..................................... ............ tliin v

12. Concealed ................................................ ;' "> j

13. Limestone, FeivitVr.ms ..................................

15. Sbalefl .....................................................

10. Coal, I'.rookville ..........................................

Ff. in. 

 _' fi

Gil

:i

Total

ir.

1

r.o

2 

328 0

Section near Ore Hill Furnace, Armxlrong County, 

FI<; MI section in nut- PenHxi/1 rania. In the vicinity of Ore Hill Furnace, 

lei county, Pa. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, 3 miles below the 

month of the Mahoning River, the writer found the following succession (Fig. GO):

at

Ore Hill Furnace, .-trnmlroiifi Cnitiilii, /'cm/.'

[See map, G o.)

1. Coal, Upper Freeport.......................................

2. Fire clay with iron ore......................................

3. Flajray sandstone and shales................................

4. IMtnmimills shales ........... ..............................

5. Coal.lilossom, Lower Freeport.................... ..........

(i. Fire clay and limestones, Lower Freepoi r ..................

7. Klajmy sandstone and dark shales ..........................

H. Limestone, gray, Johnstown Cement ........................

fl. Concealed and sandstone ...................................

10. Coal, Middle KittauniiiK . ................................

11. Fire clay ......................... .........................

12. Sandy sliale ................. ..............................

( Coal ..... 1' 0" 1

13. Coal, Low erKittanuins s Shale..... 4' 0" > ...............

tc-.ial...... 0' C' >

14. Fire clay.......... .........................................

lf>. Shales, brown, aamly ........................................

Ft.

^

 M\

I'l. in. 

6

16. Iron ore, llnhrstone

17.

1

50

2 6

38 

1(1

Fin. 60. Section near 18. Concealed and shales to top of No. XII sandstone in AlOre Hill Furnace' lagkauy Kiver....................... .................. i.<

Armstrong County 

Pa. Total ..................................................... 247 6

This section exhibits a rapid thinning away of the whole column, 

but principally iu that part of it between the Upper Freeport and the 

Upper Kittanning coals.

[ !

i

1

. ,',

1 ' f ' J- *^!* e

ill i*«i
108 TIIK NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIKLD. IBHI.I..

Section near CentcrviUc, Pennsylvania. Five miles northeast from Ore 

Hill Furnace, the following succession (Fig. Cl) is reported from the 

vicinity of Centerville by Mr. Win. G. 1'latr, iu Keport 

IIs, Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, pages

i.l'IO"

Tit 

n

1

:v::rr^.- 

*. J6* 

it'

15'

'

46'

ll'

"a"

US' 

*'

30' 

40'

. 01. -Section 

'ar CYnlervillo, 

a.

1 0<5j 104.

Ceutcrcille, AniiHlroii;/ County, 1'eiiHsylcania 

ISeo niaj), (i o. J

14. Concealed ..................................................

20. Hlack niato (Hmokvillc coal). 

21. Top of No. XII conglomerate.

Total

Section at Pittneyvillc, Pcnnanlvanitt. Five

of ('enterville is the village of Pntneyville, 

this vicinity Mr. Win. G. J'latt rei>orts the

Ft. Ft. 1,1. 

3 10 

15 )

K§ ! :*

:i o 

"' 37

401

2< 

1 0

0 4

8

40

...... 298 2

miles east 

and from 

following

section (Fig. G2) of the series IP, p. IfiO:

. .'.' ilij ' j! JK

i i.' -^Fv.j^ll'-i

WMLJJUJu

 ! .' -..-- . . . .v/. .

" " t. : 't "i" '

V_" ..!___.._ /..- 

. -J'"t ".'- v ; . '.;

^," .,,,.,/-

-i^*^,,-^^.^

fl'J'l' '(,' LiJ..; . J.,

I

i,.j

,

, a,

< ^

30'

^0

?! -^ u

?n'

f

J

43'

4V

1.

(I

SO' 10. II.

12.

IS.

14. 

15.

»' 17.

18.

ID.

M'4" ;!/

24.

21).

;io.

ruliieyville, .trmxtnnti/ dnnity, 

[Sec map, *i o.]

Concealed....................................

Limestone, Johnstown Ccmt'iit bed ...........

Clay. .........................................

Sandstone, friahlu ............................

Krookyillo coal. 

Top of No. XII, conglomerate.

rciiiiiiyli'ania. 

Ft.

............ 12

............ Ill

............ 15

............ 1

............ 2

........... 20

............ 3 

............ 15 

............ 40

............ 20

............ 6

.i

Fir,. fi'J. Si'Clion at 

1'uluoyville, Pa.

Total .

/T. in. 

4 U

42

3

53 0

4

58

1 8

r.o

2

26 4

8

fi 

15

1 

4II

314 3
WlllTK.J THF. LOWER COAL MEASURES. 109

Ft. in. 

4

faction near liittanning, Pennsylvania. In the vicinity of Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the succession of the Lower Coal Measures is as 

follows (Fig. Go):

1 ivinily ttj Kittiininntj, I'eiitnyli'aHiu.

[Set- IUa]>, Cr II.)

Ft. in.

1. CVal, Upper Freeport .................................

2. Sliales. and concealed ............. ...................

8. Coal, Loner Freeport .................................

4. Concealed, and massive* sandstone..................... it5

5. Slialeaaud sandstone.............................. ... 40

P. (Joal, slate in center, Middle Killaiiiiini; ..............

7. Kiro clay .............................................. 4

8. Sandy ahales .......................................... 0

». Kill' clay .............................................. 3

10. Klaji^y sandstone ..................................... 17

11. Shales, dark, sandy, with iron ore...... .............. 40

fOal......!' 10'

Slate .....0' _'

1L'. Coal,Lower KittaiiniiiR-. ; Coal ......0' 8'

I l!one......O' r

13. Fire clay .............................................. 5

14. Sandstone and sandy shales........................... 40

l.'i. Shales, with iron ore .................................. 5

Hi. Iron ore, Itiihrstoue ................................... o

17. Limestone, Ferriferous............................... 11

18. Sandy shales .......................................... Ii

ly. Coal...................................................

20. Sandy shales and sandstone ...........................

21. (Joal, Clarion ..........................................

22. Concealed, to top of No. XII sandstone ...............

l! >

FIG. 03. Section near 

Kittannin<;, I'a. Total

0

1

'J.">

315

Section 5 milcn south of Kittannin'g, Pennsylvania. About 5 miles 

south of Kittanniug and 1 mile below the mouth of Crooked Creek a 

very important exposure may be seen on the left blutt'of the Allegheny 

Eiver, since it gives in a clear manner the relations of the upper members of the Lower Coal Measures. The section there (Fig. G4) was 

carefully leveled by the writer, and reads as follows:

Fi

e 

i

 iaiSir£;3iit':lr:m% * 6

FP fimS

as'

; 1" " '" 20'

fcfWi.^^J't" l».in,.i.i .J-TlJn,.

v'y':':: : : ."-:: .' '«s'

. : " _-;- 4' 

,,__ n .,^r:^tJ. i'

_ ._.:. ...'.!js'

. -~ 1-. ;^13

). «4. See.ti 

until of Kitt 

iiiiL'. I'a.

1.

8o 3:

ii.

8. 

9.

S! 10. 

11. 

12.

1 1

14. 

15. 

Ifi. 

17.

19.' 

o n 20.

Ulfive miles Mow Killniiiiiiiij. 

(See map, G n.] 1't. in.

t Coiil .... 0' 2") 

Coal, Lower Freeport... \ Slate . ....!' 8" £ ..........

Total................................................

ft. in.

..

S 0

| 55

0 C 

20 

1 0

1. t>

s 

g

10

~M "

" ,£*. ''W: 

I. "

' " .Mb"*

 :. Pf

 I ! i
110 T1IK NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL KIELU. [IICI.L. 03.

at Lin/inix/tort, Pentixylrania. The last, suction gets its special 

significance when compared with another one, obtained 2 miles below, 

on the right bank of the Alleghany Kiver, and opposite the town of 

Logansport. The section ther.e (Fig. 05) gives the following structure:

< !, .IriH/ilrontj County, 

I See map, G n.]

Ft.

1. Coal, Upper Freepiirt.

2. l''iro cliiy..............

ft. in. 

3

'i. Limestone, Upper Fiveport .

Impure, limestone............... 2')

Limy shales..................... 4'

lamestone, good ..........*..... ]' ;shales........................... rs

I Limestonp., "Kliwav layer" ..... 2' '

I Limestone, youd, . 

I. Shales and lire day ................ 10 I

f ('oal ............. 2' 0"!

G. Coal, I,o\vcr Fivei>ovt ....\ Fire clay, inipine, 2' 4" ] ..

(Coal ............. 4' »")

7. Very massive, ^r.-i.yish white, pebbly saudstone, Frexpurt

8. Coal, tipper Kittiinniii^.................................

'J. Hark jjrny shales .......................................

I CM:.! :..........

10. (N>al, Middle Kittiinniii^. sl.n« ..........

81

0 8

20

11. Firo day.................................

1?. Limestone ...............................

II!. Fire day, with limestone nodules in top .. 

II. Sandstone, shaly........... .............

15. Concealed (shule*) ......................

Hi. lihie shales ...............................

7

15 

20 j

I Shito............

17. Coal, Lower Kittannm^. .[ t'oal ............. 1

I Shitn............. U

(Coal ............. 1 2"J

18. ('unoealed to river level ................................

19. To base of Lower Coal Measures, about ................

Fin. e.r>. Section at Lo- 

^ausport, 1'a.

52

3 0

SO 

L'OS 0

I Fere we find a ferruginous limestone making its appearance under 

what the section shows to be the Middle Kittaiming coal, and it is possible that this same bed may have occasionally been identified with 

the Johnstown Cement limestone in this portion of Pennsylvania, 

which would be erroneous, since that bed belongs under the little coal, 

No. 8 of the section, while, the Johnstown Cement bed, as correlated by 

Messrs. Platt and others, comes just under the Upper Kittanning coal.

The section also exhibits the great variations that may take place 

in the thickness of the intervals between important coal beds, that 

between the two Freeports being here reduced to only 128 feet.
WHITE.] THE LOWER COM, MliASl'KES. Ill

Section (it Freeport, Pcnnnylrnniii. Freeport, on tlie Allegheny Hiver, 

at the southern point of Armstrong County and 7 miles southwest of 

Logansport, is a classic locality for the upper portion of the Lower Coal 

Measures, and the following section (Fig- <><>), taken (here, is given 

for the purpose of illustrating the relations of the Upper and Lower 

Freeport coais at this typical locality:

Ft. iu.

[See map, (j 11.) 

2' 8 "I

] Slate, gray.....

1. Coal, Upper Freepcirt ; Coal ...........

I Slate, dark gray ..... 0' v\" i 

I Coul, snlpliuioun..... U' 5 "j

2. Fireclay ..............................................

i-isSiv 11

L<6 "

3. Limestone, Upper Freeport .

4. Sandy slialcs ................

5. Coal. Middle Freeport.......

C. Sandy slialew and sandstone. .

3 0

20

I Cannel slate... 5' 0" |

ISIalv eoal .... 4' 0" |

7. Coal, Lower Frjopurt -^ Fire elav with ; 

| llnientiinu.... 2' <i" |

(Slaty coal...... 2' li" I

CO

It

8. Fireclay !ind*liaU-,s..........

9. Sandrttone, massivo ..........

10. Coaly slate, Upper Kittanniu;

£2 | 11. Sandstone, gray, i

Fir.. CO. Section at 

Freeport, Pa.

12. Coal, Middle Kittannilig...................... .

13. Fire clay, with litncstoiienotliilesin upper lull'..

Total.

Tliis section shows that there is a third Freeport coal, coining nearly 

midway between the upper and lower ones, at this, their typical 

locality, a fact that has been frequently overlooked by geologists, and 

that has led to error in identifications. This Middle Freeport coal, as

I have termed it, is not persistent; but the fact that there is such a 

bed in the series occasionally should lead to careful scrutiny of this 

portion of the column of rocks before positive identification of the 

Lower Freeport coal.

This latter bed, No. 7, also has elements of possible confusion in its 

structure here at its type locality, since, as may be seen from the section, it is a double bed, made so by L'.l feet of tire clay, in which a nodular limestone occurs. It is possible that these -parting rocks may 

expand to several feet in some regions, and thus give two Lower 

Freeport coals, as indeed they are known to do.

I have included No. 11 as a part of the Freeport sandstone, since at 

one locality the coal bed No. 10 thins out entirely and lets Nos. 0 and

II unite into one solid sandstone; but it is possible that No. 'J alone 

should be included under the uauie Freeport sandstone, as originally 

intended by llogers,
112 TIIK NOUTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIKL1). [iil-u.. 65

Section near month of Bearer Hirer, PenHxy!rania.~l\\ the region 

about the mouth of the Heaver Uiver, the Lower Coal 

Measures thicken up to a considerable extent, thrAugh 

' the local expansion of some members, as shown by 

the following (Fig. 07) section of the structure there:

mouth of llearrr Hirer, Hearer County, reuusylraiiiit.

c. k.]

Ft. ft. in.

.1.1

£i

87

1 

4:)

2 0

0 0

4

Fici.«7 ..-Swlion ncur 

month .if Heaver 

Kivrr, I'a.

Section at SeirieMey, Pennxylranitt. M Sewickley, 

Alleghany County, rennsylvania, u test hole for coal 

was bored by Mr. Cochran Fleming, through whoso 

courtesy the writer had the opportunity of measuring 

the carefully preserved cores from the diamond drill, which gave this

structure (Fig. OS) for the rocks of the Lower Coal

Measures there:

AllxjliHnii Comity, I'niHiylriiitia.

|S.r inap, Jll.|

ft. in.

I. r-nnl, Uplior Kn-.-iM>rt

'.'. I>'ir« cluv ............

II. SI,al..s,l,lm.,s;.iHl.v...

4. Silli.lftOiKi .......................................... (I 1

"i. File rlil.v ............................................ II

7] siiii'ieV!.."..""""!!!!;!!!!;!!"'!'.'.!!!"."".'.'.;;!;;;!!! Hi

n l>nrk»liito. ......................................... (I

9. C.iMl.^il.v, I..nv,.rFr.Tp(.it.... .....................

1(1. Kin- fhi.v,p.,«l ..

11. Fire .-lay, sandy

1

In thin hi.vrra Frorporl iv,irrKitu

15. I- in- clay (Siiij.iie Kittniinini.' coal li.i 

..tn.tlll.-il with Hr«

............................. Ifi G )

clay (Mi.lclh; Kittanmnj.' coal horizon) ......... H (

i-», dark, inteivtn.tlll.-il with Hr« clay .......... »S 6 5

ccoul........!' 4")

17. Coal, Lower KitlaniiinB .... < Shit« ...... .V }"<>...

I 3

II 81

0 IJ

7:i

2 2

8

20. Interval to top of Xo. XII, 

Total ..................
TMK LOWKR COAL MKASITRKS. 113

Section at Washington, renuxi/lrania. At Washington, Pennsylvania, 

the top of this series is 1,000 feet below the surface, and Prof. Linton, 

of Washington and .Jellerson College, gives the following (Kig. <>!>) as the structure, of its rocks according 

to the record of the Thayeroil well, the drillings from 

which he very carefully studied (Geological Survey of 

Pennsylvania, 188(1, pp. 701, 7oT>):

Umkr H'nxliiii<itoii,

Ft.

1. 1'ptn-r Fret-port cowl iilixeiit ...........................

2. DaiU xhale with litm-sti-no at bottom, 1'pper Fre.-pmt....

t{. ?*;iii(ist out*, u;ii I\...........................................

d 1. ^Illll^tlllll' nil MUM IHI( i H » 111 MilltH1 . ........... ............................

:,. San.NK.ll.-. dark, with lilllfMt.in.............................

(i. SaillNtOKC.!!!!!-.! .......................................... 10

7. Shale, dark ............................................... -JS

	: : .: ?T- :

». Slial.-, varitiRat.-.! with dark 

U.

10

... 8

n.

til 

4

11

Fir. 6!».-Sfctloii

115

10.

Toliil

I] ere there is only one coal present in the series and it would 

appear to bo the Middle Kittanning.

tint ion near Cia-penter-H Station, WeatniwlaiKl County, Pennsylvania. 

Near the main line of the Pennsylvania, Railroad, in the vicinity of Carpenter's Station, Wcstmoieland County, Pennsylvania, a 

well was drilled for gas by Mr. K. M. llnldll, who thus 

(Fig. 70) reports the structure of the Lower Coal Measures, as published in Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, 

1880, p. 7UC:

Acar C,iri>fHter'x ». i;-iiiiiii1eiiHia.

IS,-,- ,«,..!!,.]

 rt. 1. Coal, UPI..T Fr.

1'. Fin-day (uliales)......

3. Coal, Lower Fm-poit..

4. Fire clay..............

0. Slat.......'."..........-

iY.

S

Samlstoii,..lia«l. (1) 

San.lstoii..,»..rt . 44 

Sandst..n,.,har.l. lli'^

H'7

 :i

7

12

16

, top or xi i.

Total.
114 THK NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL MELD. [iiui.i.65.

Section under Hfurrnysville, Ucniixyh-anift. At Murraysvilh', Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the celebrated natural gas region, 

the top of the Lower Coal Measures lies GO to 75 feet below the surface, 

and the structure of the series is thus given (Fig. 71) 

by Mr. Doubleday, from the records of a gas well on 

the Kemaley farm, Geological Survey of Pemisylvaiiia, 

1886, p. 721:

Under Murraynvllle, Wat morel'and Counly, L\ 

[See map, I n. I

1. Coal,Upper Froeport.....< Slain ....5'J. 

(dial......4'J

Fl.

2. Slate................

i»' 3. Coal, slat i'in center.

1'iu. 71. Suction 

under Mm raysvUlc, Pa.

4. Slate............................

!>. Sandstone ......................

t'. Slate............................

7. Slate ami shells.................

8. Massive sauilstoni', top of XII.

10

77

11

135

Total.. 230

Section on Bearer l\tin, Wcstmorvlaiid County, Pennsylvania. About 

1) miles northeast of Murraysville a well was drilled on Beaver Uun, 

beginning only 4 feet below the level of the Upper Freeport coal. The 

record (Fig. 12) of this well, as given by Mr. J. A. Mehattey, shows 

the following structure there (Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 1880, 

p. 72S):

 KHB^t

1C'

. >-,1"

iiiiiiii?:

HWW"1 9 u .. ^

; :j

- , " j

- .j!

- er

 - . ll'

-_,.". : -"; 

^:r;V-?''

 ^ "||ii[rH!,ii|ii,!i'r

:r ' .&'

TitJSi;f.; >.'

- i

77* 7

11.

11.

 *' 15

16.

17.

18.

 - 1.

L':i.

//rarer Run, II 'eutmortlauil County, 1'vniinylvaiiia. 

(Son map, H n.J n. ! /. ,-,,.

Slate, lilack .............................................. M) [

Sl-i!(» lil-u-k 5 j

Kirt> rl'i \* IK

lV1tl»l> HillHlstullC, top Of XII.

Kli.. 7i SIT! inn "II

Heaver Uun, Pa. Total.
WHITE.) THE LOWKR COAL MEASURES. 115

Section near Richmond, Pennsylvania. In the northern portion of 

Indiana County, Pennsylvania, in the vicinity of Richmond village, 

... the Lower Coal Measures exhibit the following structure (Fig. 73) according to Mr. Win. G. Platt, FI4 ,p. L'titi:

Near Richmond, Indiana County, I'ciiHsylrania. 4Z'

«'

rt

1. Coal, Upper Freeport.....

2. Clay ......................

4. Shalea and thin sandstone.

[S.-oinap,F

l Coal... thin 1

5. Coal, Lower Freeport.... < Shales. 15' > 

I Coal .. thin )

40'

!»' 

3f 

M'

0. Concealed.,

7. Sandstone.

K. Clay slate................................................

9. Coal, I'pper Kittauuine...................................

10. Concealed................................................

11. Shales ...................................................

12. Sandstone-...............................................

13. Slate and shales..........................................

14. Coal, Middle Kit! aiming.................................

15. Interval..................................................

10. Coal, Lower Kittiiuning..................................

17. Interval .................................................

18. Shales ...................................................

lit. Limestone, Ferriferous...................................

20. Shales and slates.........................................

21. Coal, Clarion ............................................

22. Shales....................................................

23. Sandstone, massive, top of XII.

Ft.

30 ( 

10 i

Ft. in. 

3 (i

42

15

4

45

3

4

20

:i

30

Total .

[«. 73. Section near 

Richmond, Pa. Section near iMckport and Bolivar, Indiana County, 

Pennsylvania. In the vicinity of IJolivar and Lockport 

just east of the Chestnut Kidge anticlinal, Mr. Win. G. Platt finds the 

following succession (Fig. 74) for these measures as given in H4 , p. (io:

Near Lockport and Ili'lirar, Indiana County, I'tnnxylvtinia.

|See map, I p.)

1. Coal, Upper Freeport............:........................ 8

2. Clay shales............................................... <i

3. Shales, with ore masses .................................. :c

4. Sandstone and sandy shales.............................. ]fl

5. Fireclay, ^ood ............................. ............. 3

ti. Limestone, impure, Upper Freeport...................... X

7. Thin bedded sandstone.................................. 7 I

f. Clay slates anil shales. ..J................................ 15 }

II. Coal, Lower Freeport..................................... 2 0

10. Clay, impure ............................................. 3

11. Limestone, Lower Freeport .............................. 5

12. Clay shales............................................... 10

13. Sandstone........................................ ...... 7

14. Sand v lire clay........................................... 3

15. Slates nml .shales....... ............................... '.'(I

18. Sandstone.................................... ........... 10

17. Grayish slates............................................ «

IN. Coai, Upper Kittanning..................................

l!i. Fire elay, impure............-..........................; 6 )

20. Limestone, Johnstown eemeut.............:.............. 3 I

,21. Dark slates and shales.................................... 211 '

22. Sandy shales with ore noddles............................ 20 f

23. (lai libnate iron ore band ................................ (I (i

24. Blaek slates.............................................. 10 )

25. ('oal, M idtlle Kit tannin;;..................................

2(1. Slates ........................'............................ 8 )

27. Shales.................................................... 10 ',

2C. Hluek slate and shale..................................... 30 )

29. ('oal, Lower Kittauning .................................

30. Clay...................................................... 5 1

31. Sandstone................................................ 10 \

32. Shales and clay slates.................................... 13 )

( Coal ....... thin 1

33. Clarion coal.............. -, Sandstone.. 5' J- ..........

(Coal........ 1')

34. Fire clay.................................................

35. Shales.......... ..........................................

Iti. Sandstone, heavy, »'i*ui|ia<:r.

64

2

10

Km. 74. Section near 

I,nt'kport ami Uo/ivar, I'tt. Total. 2881
116 THi: NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [III'LI..

Section near Laiitjlilinstown, Pennxylvnnin. In tlie vicinity of Laughliustown, Wcstinoivlanil County, awl 10 miles south from Holivar, Dr. 

Jiio. J. Stevenson (KKK, p. 13">) reports the Lower Coal Measures with 

the following structure (Fig. 75):

Ltuml Hun, Lit/outer Toiriinhip, H'estmoreland County, I'cnnsijlruiiia.

VMM

(See map, J p.] t't. in.

I. Conl, Uiiper Froeport ..................................

'2. Clay ................................................... 6

3. Hie clay, non plastic...... ............................. 2

4. S:ui<lntnn«. ............ .............................. 1

5. Concealed .............................................. 11

6. ^ltnd."tOne .............................................. 1

7. Conrealod..... ......................................... 2!l

8. Shaln.. ................................................. 12

II. Coal, Lower Freeport ..................................

10. Sluilca.................................. ................ Id

11. C.'iic, : ile.l................ . . ........................... 8

.....

12. Coal, Upper Kitt«niiiii):< Slialy .saiulsloni' ...... V IP" s

(C(>iil..................O' 1")

111. Shiili..... ........ .......... ........................ ..

14. LinicMonc, JoliiistowiiJ''.'"',1 '"' 0"" },' f"

cement. ..............^^--:;;:::;;;:;J, i',

14. Slinlo............................................ .....

16. Coal, Middle Kittanninj; ..............................

17. Concealed...... ......................................

..u

30

Flo. 75. Section on 

Laurel i:un, I'a.

19. Shale...... ........................................ ....

(Co*\.... ........... ...I' 10")

| Clay. ................ 0' 2"

20. Coal, Loner Kittnnniiici' Coiil .................. 1' 0"

, Coal, Mluty. .......... 0' 0"

I Cat Ipniiaceoii!* aliale..!' 8"

21. Clay .................................................

2'J. ^la.Hsive Hnndstone, coarse .............................

'.'X Shale............ ......................................

*J4. Iron tpre. ..............................................

2ft . SI i u 1 e .................................................

'.'li. Co:il, Cl:irinn ......... ................................

L'7. Shale, .. .... ........................................

28. Top of No. XII.

ft. in.

C2

0

18

42 «

:t fi

61 6

5 2

5

35

20

18

25

Total .

Section on Cucumber liun, Klcwurt Township, Fayettc Comity, Pcunxyl-

^^^^^ > i ti' 111 i i 1 1 1 / r

\*i-*-. ^^^^1 

["tWtil'filiifTi'jji'ir

i:|V 4 -. -.'4. -'} .

^ '' '<'' ' ' ' 

 . ^tj

* . ward near the Yonghiogliciiy 

w the Lower Coal Measures exh

5 (Fig. 7<i) on Cucumber Run, 

"' (KKK, p. Sit):

5>l"

' CiifNiiibcr HHII, Stcirart '/'oir»*/i//(,

4i^ | See ilia | 

1. Coal, Upper Freeport........... ......

w 3. I.iiueMtone, Freeport ..................

» 5. Shale, Hiiiiil>- .......... ..............

io> t Coal

, 8. Coal, I'jiper KitlaniiiiiR(.')<Clav...... 

rt * (Coal......

1U. Colieeuleil . ...........................

y 17. Coal, Clarion or Hrookville. ...........

:. 76. Section on 19. Sandstone, massive, top of XII.

igonier) and on southwestRiver, in Fayette County, 

bit the following structure 

as reported by Steveusou

I'ayitte I'oiinly, l'enHH>ilrania. 

, It u. | ft. ft. in.

EE= Jf « ..................... 20J

0 H

2' :i"»

0' 4'S. ............ 5 11

:c 4" )

..................... wl B:>

.................... jo/ .

or; i J-'

.................... 2 a 

.................... It)

Ciit'iimlxM linn, Kuyt*tt*j Countv, Pa. ' Totul. 10
THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 117

Section at Xcicliurg, Went Virginia. Newbnrg. on the Baltimore and 

Ohio Railroad, in Preston County, West Virginia, is situated at the 

center of the same coal basin as Bolivar, Ligonier, etc., and there a 

deep shaft reveals the following structure (Fig. 77) for the Lower Coal 

Measures:

Shaft at Xi'icbm-fi, 1'resliin County, Went 1'irginia.

[See mail, O -l

Ft. in. Ft. in.

1. Coal. Upper Freeport ................. ^ ( "!'] ."L j"]'.'|"~" o'<// \ ............... 5 4

2. Shales................................................................... ...... 8 |

3. Sandstone ................... ................................................... 18

4. Limestone, Upper Freeport................................................. .... 8

6 Shales........................................................................... G ( *~J

6. Iron ore............................................................................ 1

7. Shales................................................ 4

8. Fireclay (horizon of Lower Freeporl coal) .......... o

9. Shales, gray .......................................... 14 j

10. Shale, dark ........................................... 11 j

11. Shalc.gray ........................................... fl I 108

L£^-55-. -^a 12. Sandstone, Frce]iort.................................. 74 j

i <;°al - '; ?;;>

......«-. T-* ]3 L'oal.T'pper and Middle J (ji^f slaty 2' 0" ^

Kiltnuning ........... | pjv|( (.|av- ._ l),, [ . .'

I Coal, good 2' U") , ;?' : 

.' 74.' 14. Fireclay and abales with iron ore nodules ........... jt;

(Coal .............0' 10"

(Shale, gray.......«' 10"

I Coal .............0' «"

IB. Coal, Lower Kittanning^ Coal, Inmy .......«' 3' ; .. 95

;*.,' I Coal, main bench.4' 6" 

I , I Ulaek slate ......0' <!' |

I 9S (Coal ............2' 0"J

tt3r-iiW5| 1(J Sandstone and shah) .................................. 38 t 1 .'.'..''.1 ^-.'-;..-.' 3d

&''^1 J^h'^L:! 17. Pebbly sandstone, top of XII.

FIG. 77. Section nt Total............................................... 2::o

Newbnrg, W. Va.

Here the Upper Freeport coal lies 150 feet below drainage and 700 

feet below the tops of the immediate hills.

No. 13 appears to represent both the Upper and Middle Kittaiining 

coal beds, which are brought practically together, and also very close 

to the Lower Kittannitig bed by the thinning away of intervening 

rocks.

The interval under the Lower Kittanning bed here is revealed by a 

diamond drill hole which was put down 150 feet below the latter 

stratum.

The Lower Freeport coal is not present, but its horizon is clearly 

indicated by the bed of fire clay, Xo. 8, at 45 feet under the Upper 

Freeport coal.

The Freeport sandstone, No. 12, has a large development, and where 

it comes to the surface, 4 miles above Newburg, is nearly 100 feet 

thick.
118 THK NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD.

1

ili ii

Section nt JohnKtmrn, Fennxylrania. Johnstown, Pennsylvania, UPS 

just cast of the Laurel Hill anticline, and the Lower Coal Measures 

have there been splendidly exposed through the mining operations 

of the Cambria Iron Company. The following section (Fig. 78) of the 

rocks in that region is given by the chief engineer of the Cambria 

Company, Mr. John Fulton (IP, pp. 308, .'109):

Vicinity of Jolinttotvn, Cambria Coiuity, Pennsylvania,

[See ma|i, I q.J

Fl. in.

1. ('oal. Upper Freoport..........................................................

2. l-'ire clay....................................................................... 1

:i. Shales ......................................................................... 5

4. Sandstone...................................................................... 10

6. Kidney ore..................................................................... 0

7. Shales ...............................I......................................... 15

8. Sandstone .....................................__......_................... 15

0. Shales ......................................................................... 3

10. Coal, Lo Kreeport .

11. Shale .......................................................................... 0

12. Limestone. Lower Fre«port.................................................... 3

1,1. Iron stained shales............................................................. 17

14. Sandstone, gray, inicaccoiia....................._................ ........... 21

1.1. Slates.................................................... .... ................ 4

18 Coal, Upum- Kit tannin;: .......................................................

17. r'ire clay........................ .............................................. 0

1H. Liim-stonc, Johnstown Coinent.......................................... ...... f>

19. 1'iie clay, ilnpnro ............................................................. 7

20. Slates, with iron oro .............................. 8

21. Slate.............................................. 8

22. niack ,-lates, with iron ore........................ 11

54V

45'd'

33*

40V

60'

(('mil...... 0' 3")

23. Coal.MiddlcKittamiinjc'shili!..... 1' 0"J......

{Coitl...... 0' 3")

24. Thin h!acksl»teg.................................. 13

25. Coal .............................................. (I

20. Kiio clay ........................................ 4

27. Sandstone, gray .................................. 13

28. Sandstone, wavy, gray............................ 4

2!>. Iron-stained slates ............................... G

30. Coal, Lowor Kit tannin;; ..........................

31. Kite day.......................................... 3

32. (iruy sliltes and shales. ........................... 21

M. Massive Mack shales ....:........................ 1",

31. (Jray sandstone ................................... ft

35. Massive Mark slate............................... fi

3(1. Coal, thin.............................. ..........

-.;-,. lilai-k slates....................................... 1

38. (.Sray sandstone................................... 4

M. Thin cia.v slates ............................. .... (i .

( Coal ..... 4' fl" l

40. Coal, Clarion. .......... 'Slain .... 0 ( "[. ......

(Coiil...... 1' 1« )

41. Kire i^\:\y..........................................

42. (ifay slates..............>( ........................

43. While massive sandstone, top of XII.

Fi<:. 78. Section near 

Johustuwu, 1'iL Xouil.

Fl. in. 

:i 0

SI 10

2 C

3 0

3!) 0

1 6

v 40 0

3 0

CO 0

0 10

3 0

28 0

292 g
WHITE.) THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 119

Section at Coiiemaur/h, near Johnstoini, rciiMylranin. The writer 

compiled a section of the Lower Coal Measures atConeuiaugh and elsewhere in the vicinity of Johnstown, which differs only

irp»': 

 y^r^Kf-^-*-:

-rif-^?~

_v: .. ...v

iijlllllilfltlilllillljlil'lii

r-v-.^-.- ----- -.---

TEr^_--_-=rCH

H~- -Z ~ - m

4d'

7" 

&

vf

1;. 

» 

IBS'

« 

*/

i« 

Fin. 79. Section 

Conninaii'il.. 1'n

in minor details from that of Mr. Fulton. It reads as 

follows (Fig. 79) :

year Jolinslmcn, Pfiinn/ilrania.

|See map, I q. | Ft. in. Ft. 111. 

1. Coal, TTpper Freeport ...... ............................. :i ii

Ceinent "S V " j Sbiile and iron ore I'll"'..... K 0

0. Dark sandy shales with iron ore............ ............ 33 J

( Coal and slato..O' 0"!

T.' {SliltVCO.il ......0' 10' )

11. Shales, drab .................... '........................ 15

14. SiUiilMlone, i:.av inicaeeons ............................. 4"»

21. Top of XII. 

lit 

Total.................................................

40 

o 7

40 

4t 0 

1 10

71 

3(1

r

15 

^81 11

Section in Jackson Tinrnship, Camhria (loitntif, Pcunitylranifi. In Jacksou iWnsliij), Cambria County, .S miles northeast of Johnstown, a 

, well was once drilled for oil, and I obtained from the contractor the following record (Fig. 80) of the strata representing the Lower Coal Measures. It ischiell.v important 

as giving the total thickness of the scries in a vertical 

measurement:

Si' Jacl'son Toirnstiip, Cambria Count//, 

[See map, I q.|

ft. in.

1. Coal, Tipper Freeport...... ........................................ II 8

2. Fin> clay and slate ...................................................... (i

3. Sandstone, gray ........................................................ II

4. Slativlrah.............................................................. 2

5. Coal, Lower Frooport................................................... 4

0. Firo clay and limestono ................................................ G

7. "Soapstone" (sbale.) ................................................... 54»

8. Sandstone, <:ruy ........................................................ 3fi

9. Coal and slate, Lower Kittanniii«r .....,.....-.......-..-...--........- fi

jO. Sandstone, gray......................................................... 48

II. Shale................................................................... 3

55' 12. Coal,Clarion............................................................ « fi

13. Flip clay

14. Slate, gray.

(i

Fir,. 80. Section 1,1. Hard sandstone, top of XII. in ffackson Township, Cambria Total................................................................ 27il 8

County, Pa,

i^ifl
120 THE NORTHK1IN BITUMINOUS f'OAL KIKUX fin 1.1.. es.

Section on lien's Creek, Cambria C ninty, Pf.inntylcania. Near the 

eastern border of Cambria County, along the waters of Ben's Creek, in 

Washington Township, the following seotion (Fig. 81) is reported by 

Mr. Franklin 1'latt (II2, p. 48):

Ben's Creek, Cumbria Comity, I'cmixylraiiia.

(See map, 1 q.]

ft. in.

1. Coal, Upper Freeport ..........................................................

2. Fire clay .............................. ........................................ 6

3. li'.ack slates and shales......."................................................ 15

4. Limestone, Upper Freeport .................................................... 7

6. Interval........................................................................ 15

6. Snndistone................................................... .................. 1'J

(Coal

7. Coal, Lower Freeport.,

Ft. in. 

4 4

5.5

........... 0' 2"|

. ._...... .__............ 2' <>"(.

Icoal...'.'..........' ;! 2' 0"J

8. Fireclay ....................................................................... 2

IK Limestone, Lower Kreeport..............................rf ..................... 2 0

10. Shales, iroii-bcarinj; ......................................'...................... lr>

11. Co.il, smut...................................................................... 0 2

12. Fireclay, shales, with oro lialU....... ......................................... 5

13. Coal, smnt...................................................................... 0 3

14. Fire clay ....................................................................... 1

15. Slates and sliales ............................................................... B

l(i. lilack slates .................................................................... 7

17. Coal, I'pper Kit tannin*; ........................................................

18. Fireclay ........................................................................ 1 ,,

in. Drab Bliales ....................................... 25

20. Sandstone, line grained ............................ 110

'-'I. liliiek slate ........................................ 0 3

22. Coal, slaty, llidiile Kiltauniii"........... .........

23. Fire clay ...........................................

24. Sandstone.......................................... 5

25. Fire eliiy, nhale..................................... 10

2(1. IMm-k »Iatp......................................... 6

27. Coal, Lower Kit tanning............................

2s. Sandstone and shalo.................................

2ft. Coal. Clarion.............. ........................

:iO. l-'iri' clay ........................................... 5

31. Samlstdne........................................... 0 10

!12. Dove-colon d shale, with 1,1 e ....................... 10

;u. Fire clay, slialc .................................. 2

:ir». C*>al, lirookville........... ................. ......

Illi File clay............. ...........................

37. Concealed..........................................

3«. Top ol XII.

10 2

38 11

30'

0'

sa1

ioV

M'll'

ssV 

zo'

20

18

a

 '"

29'

FIR. 81. Section on Ben's 

Crrrk, CaniltriiiComitj', 

Pa. Total.

20 10

1 8

25

2U3 2
WIMTK.] THE LOWER COAL MEASUKES. 121

Section near Stoyestoicn, Pcnnsylraitia. In the vicinity of Stoyestown, on Stony Creek, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, near the center 

of the basin between the Viaduct and Negro Mountain 

anticlines, the series exhibits the following structure 

(Fig. 82) according to Mr. Franklin Platt (IP, p. I'-'O):

70'

jo'

~'

as'

Si'

Stoyealoirii, Somcnel County, Femisylraitia.

« Coal ...... 3'

I. Conl, Upper Frceport ..< Shale ..... »

<C'oal....... 3

[See map, J <\.]

*)

Fl(;.82. Section near 

Stoyestowu, 1'a.

2. Interval

3. Black slates .........................................'.....

4. Cnal, Lower Frecport..................................... 3

5. Fire clay.................................................. '2

6. Limestone, Lower Froeport............................... 3

7. Interval .................................................. 7

H. Sandstone,massive ....................................... 3o

9. Black slates .............................................. K

10. Coal, Upper KittamiinK...................................

11. Black slate..................................... .......... 0

12. Limestone, Johnstown Cement ........................... 'I

I.'l. Fire eln y .................................................. ?

II. Interval .................................................. 85

15. Black slates .............................................. 3

16. Coal, Clarion..............................................

17. Interval, concealed ......................................

18. Top of No. XII.

Fl. in. 

14

70

?

Total.

Section at PinJcerton Point, Pennsylvania. On the Castlcinan Ixivcr 

at Pinkerton Point, in the southern portion of Somerset County, a very 

complete section of the Lower Coal Measures was obtained by Mr. 

Franklin Platfc along the Baltimore and Ohio Itailroad, near Shoo Fly 

Tunnel, and is reported as follows (Fig. 83) (H:i, pp. L'OJ, 2

a'e'

Pinkerton Point, Sutntmtt County, I'l-nimylfania.

[See map, L o.]

Ft. in.

1. t'pper Freeport Coal (absent)

2. Limestone, ferruginous, Upper Freeport ................. 2

3. Interval.................................................. lift

4. Sandstone................................................ 10

I Coal............... 2' 3' )

5. Coal, Upper Kittauning'' Shale and fire clay 2' 0" > .... 

I foal............... 1' 3"}

6. Limestone, Jolinstown Cement............................ K

7. Interval............................................. .... Kit

8. Sandstone................................................ S

9. Black slate............................................... 7

10. Coal, Middle Kittnnuiug .................................

11. Fire clay, with ore........................................ 3

12. Sandstone...................................... ......... 4

13. Black slates.............................................. 10

14. Coal....................... ............................. 0

15. Fire clav with iron ore balls..................... ........ 3

16. Slate and clav........................................... 10

17. Coal, Lower lv it tan ninji..................................

18. Fireclay......... ....................................... 1

11). Shales, with ore balls.................................... '.'»

20. Sandstone, brownish ..................................... lo

21. Coal,Clarion .............................................

22. Fireclay............................................. ...

23. Sandstone.

Fin. i-D. -Section at 24. Slates, dark colored ......

Pinkerton Point, 25. Massive sandstone, top of No. XII. 

Somerset County,

C;

Ps. Total .

90

1

ni c

i

8

4

18

2C7
122 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAT, FIELD. [nui.i.. (13.

Section near CVmow, 1'enmtulrania. An oil boring near Cresson, on 

the summit of the Alleghany Mountains, gives the following measurements (Fig. 84) for tbe Lower Coal Measures (11- page 

30):

Horing at Cresson, Cumliria County, Pennni/Irania.

| See map, II r.]

Ft. in.

1. Coal, Upper Froeport................................................ 6

2. Limestone, Upper Freeport .......................................... 2

3. Mixed drilling ........................................................ 39

4. Coal, Lower Frecport................................................ 4

fi. Shelly "sonpKtoim' 1 (samltitoues and nliales)......................... 11.1

8. Canni'l coal .......................................................... 0 10

7. Sliitfl................................................................. 35

8. Coal, mixed with sandstone .......................................... 49

0. Hard sandstone (No. XII).

Total........................... ................................. 210 10

Section at Jieinii in/ton, I't'iitutylriiniti. .lust over th«3 

crest of the Alleghany Mountains, at JJeimington, Ulair

Iiie»rlrre8Non ti'»" ^""'ty) the following section (Fig. 85) of this series lias 

been carefully worked out by Mr. John Fulton and

Franklin Plutt (IP, i>j». 3, 4):

liiHiiiitt/toii, ISlair Coiititi/, 1'cniiniilrania.

|Sci> map, II r.|

Ft. in. Ft. in.

1. Cnal, TT ppor Frooport.................................. 5 U

2. Firn rln.v, iiopiitu ...................................... 2 )

3. Sandstoiii'.s and blaok wlati'H............................ 20 |

4. Liimwtiui,., (Ippm Kii'i'port............................ 3 J. C5

f>. SandMtoui-H aud t»an<iy Hlialo8........................... 20 J

7. Coal....................................................

8. Firr rln.v....................................... ....... 1 1

». SiiiiilHtiuio, ilrab........................................ 21 '

in. Hliiik slut.'H............................................ 20 i

11. Coal, Upper Kittannlnji................................

12. ]>rab ilalns, with iron balls ........................... 11 1

13. Sandstone.............................................. I) 71

14. ltlno»lati)»............................................. 13 [.

Hi. Slates ....'..........'.'."...'...'..'.'....'.'....'.'..'.'.'.'.'....'.'.. 12 c)

fOo»l....... 0' 6")

17. Coal, Middle Kitlannint;.. <Slalo ...... 0' B" >......

<Coal....... 1' 8")

18. Fire rlay, impure ............ .......................... 0

Jit. San.lVoiio.............................................. 12

20. SI it«................................................... 1

21. dial ......... ......................................... 0

22. Sandntonfl.............................................. 7

23. lilark Blati-8............................................ 8 10)

24. Coal, Lower Kittanniuj; ...............................

25. Kin* rlay, jjood......................................... 3 i

20. Shales.................................................. 29 S

27. Itlaek alates............................................ 2 )

28. Coal, Clarion...........................................

29. Slates.................................................. 23

30. (Jray sandstone ........................................ 4

31. Coal, lirookville........................................ 4

32. Kii-eelay............................................... 5

33. Sandstone, massive, No. XII.

'

3

42

2 10

2 8

35

3

34

! «

FKI. 85. Swtion at 

tteiiiiiugtou, 1'a. Total.......................................................... 2C3 8
WHITS.] THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 123

{ Section at Clcarfield, Pennsylvania. At the town of Clearlield, Clourfield County, Pennsylvania, the following section (Fitf- SO) was made

by the writer:

Clearfiuld, Penn»yltania,

[Sot1 map, K «.J J't. ]'t. itt. 

f Coal, bony. 1' .V ) 

,' Coal. (Lund 1' li" I

Fl". SO. Section at 

Cleiirflelil, 1'a.

1. Coal, I'pper Freeport ... s iSIllto ';..___ 0 . r, .

(Coiil.'.".".'.'.'. 1' U"j

2. Concealed, ami shales....":................................

3. Coal, Lower Freeport ....................................

4. Shales ....................................................

fi. Sandstone,inassive, gray, Freeport........................

II. Shales, sandy .........'...-...............................

7. Coal. Mi<Ml<- Kittiinnin.^..................................

8. ShalcH, aiul oiHK'i'illeil.....................................

!*. t'oal, Lowt-r Kit tanning ..................................

10. Siuiily Mliak-s .......................................:.....

11. Fir»» rhlv .................................................

12. SaniUroiu1 , Hajiuv..............._.......................

13. Skull*, dark ....'.................................. .......

(Ciml, slaty........... 1 «" i

14. Coal, Clarion. ..,. \ Kiro clav ami slialrs. 8 0" .........

( Ciial, jjiiixl ..........T 1 tr }

15. Firoclaj and skalfs......................................

S

Cnal, Mkitv. 0' -I" ) 

Shak'....'.. «' V." J ................ 

Coal....... 0' H >

17. Fire i'lav anil ronrealod .............................. ...

18. Hard nia88i\*k sniulMtoue, top of No. XII, in Uril ol' Susijiivlianua Uivnr.

4

r.o

8 i «r

i; I

10

10

2

Total.

Section near Morrisdale, Pennsylvania. Near Morrisilalo, Cloarliold 

County, the following section (Fi^r. 87) is reportfil by Mr. 11. Martyn 

Chance (1J 7 , p. 01):

(Si1 * 1 map, F t.J

Fl.

1. Coal, Upper Freeport................................

2. tin: clay anil shales.................................

3. Coal, Lower Freeport.................................

4. Fireclay.............................................. 2 0 ]

5. Limestone, Lower Freoport........................... 2 l

6. Slate and sandstone................................... II!) j

7. Coal, Upper Kittuuning...............................

8. Fireclay ............................................. H n

9. Limestone, Johnstown Cement ....................... 2 5

10. File clay and sandstone with iron ore ................ 8 10

4-7- 11. Black slate............................................ 8 'J

12. Coal.................................................. li !>

js'e"

13. Sandstone .

Total.

Fin. 87. Section near 

MoiTisdale, Pa.

in

(Coal ...... 0 8";

14. Coal, Middle. Kittanning. ; Sandstone. 3' ::'} ......

 (Coal....... 0' 10' V

15. Sandstone........................................ ....

16. Slate .................................................

17. Coal. Lower Kittanning ..............................

18. Interval to top ol'Xo. XII, estimated, alwiit ..........

8 1

4 t

/r . ».

L' «

32 fi

4 0

4 7
' '

124 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. 05.

Sect inn at Sterling Mines, near tfoittz/lalc, Pennnyleaniii. At the 

Sterling mines of It. 11. Powell's Sons & Co., Clearfield County, a 

diamond-drill boring was sunk through the Lower Coal Measures, beginning 10 feet below the level of the main coal mined in that region. 

I copied the record of this bore hole from the oflice of the company, 

and it, combined with the surface exposures, gives the following succession (Fig. 88):

Boring at Sterling Mines, near Hout:dale, Cleat-field County, Pennsylvania.

| See limp, tr 8.]

1. Coal, Upper Fnvport..

Z. Cont'flnleil ....................

3. Surface material iu drill hule.

ito tai. «tor . V

0">

i>'$-

Ft. t'l. in. 

» 4

10 >

"1

/'oal, Lower Fi

mmm^tm w

«'

> :: - ' ' * .

M .. .-: ,:-T--: S(

^ ig'*'

T ;; _-.' . "-

Sf I Coal ...............................

* 11. Dark slate...........................

12. Uoal, Middle Kittaiming . ............

13. Slatu.......... ........ ...............

" ' J -I 17. Kin. rlnv .... _ .....................

11'

., .. "!" 22. Hard»lftte. ...........................

6")

ttn I

:::: J. I. ......

U" I

.................... 5, 

.................... 31 V

.................... 11 J

2

.................... 31 $

.......... ......... 3 , 

.................... » !>

.................... 7J

.................... 32 1

.................... 21 )

13

50

33

19

Fio. 88. 

Sterllug Millet*, 

neai lloutzilah.l'u. Total.

3

4

241

The coal at the top of this last section has been identified as the 

Lower Frceport bed, throughout the Clearfield region, by Messrs. Platt, 

Chance, and other Pennsylvania geologists; but it seems to me that 

this section, taken in connection with the one at Clearfield (Fig* 86), 

tends to prove that the coal in question is the Upper Freeport. This 

interpretation is further con finned by the presence of the Lower Mahoning sandstone on above No. 1, and a thin coal, the Mahoning bed, 

at 00 to 80 feet above the latter, while crowning the hills is the Upper 

Mahoning sandstone, whose top is 100 feet above No. 1. Then, too, the 

structure of the coal itself is the same as the Upper Freeport, a few 

miles distant, where it is mined along the Pennsylvania llailroad, iu 

the edge of Blair County.
WHITE. I THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 125

Section at Shoup's Run, Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. In the Broad Top coal basin, Slump's ]{un, Huntingdon 

County, Pennsylvania, the Lower Coal Measures exhibit 

the following structure (Fig. 89), as given by the writer 

in T:i , Geological Survey of I'eiinsylvaniiv, page 40:

00'

Slioiip's liun, ISroad Top liasin, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

[See map. J t. ]

1. Coal, TipperFrceport ........

2. Sandy shales anil sandstone .

3. Coal, Upper Kittanning......

so' 4. Sbalea anil sandstone.........

5. Coal, Middle Kittanning .....

6. Shales and shaly sandstone ..

7. Coal, Lower Kittanning .....

Fin. 89. Section * Shales and concealed.........

at Shoup's Run, 9. Massive conglomerate. 

Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon 

County, .Pa. Total.....................

Ft.

1

100

2 

18

4 

10

G 

20

Section in East Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. 

In the East Broad Top region of Huntingdon County the structure is 

thus (Fig. 90) given by Mr. H. N. Sims (T! , p. 08):

East Jiroad Top Basin, Huiilingilon County, Pennsylvania. 

(See map, J t.]

Ft. in.

T^^f^r

«-=» *

^T-".T: '--,:'

10 

»'

69'

2' 

J4'IO"

30' 

*^

5? 1

i\

1. Coal and slate, Upper Freeport...................

2. Concealed ............................................ 10

3. Conglomerate, small pebbles........................... 10

i. Massive, lifiht gray, pebbly sandstone, slightly argillaceous at top ......................................... CD

5. Cone.ealed.............................................. 4

C. Sandstone, micaceous. .^............................... 2

7. Concealed to top of shaft.............................. 34

t't. in. 

2

C 105 4

8. Dark gray slate with iron ore halls.

9. Sandstone, micaceous, dark gray ....

30

(Coal............ 2' 7"!

, I'pper Kittanning < Black slate, .... (V 5">....

(Coal............ 0' 3"i

, 10. Coal

11. Sandstone, slat y .......................................

12. Coal, Middle Kittanniug...............................

1.1. Concealed ............................................. 4

14. Bine clay shales ....................................... 3

13. Concealed ............................................. 8

10. Yellow shaly sandstone .............................. 3

17. Dark gray sandy slate................................. 5

If. Black slate, sandy .................................. 11

( Coal, top bench .... 1' <V )

19. Coal, Lower Kittamiini: \ ll:ird slute, parting 0' 4 '', 

tin. 90. Sec-linn in bast (Coal, bottom bench 2' 0" ) 

Hroud Pop Ba^in, Huntingdon County, Ta. Total

3 3

3 10
12G THi: NORTHERN UITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [LULU 03.

If:

vl

flection in Hroftd Top lltixin, lied font Count;/, Pennitylvanin. In the 

Broad Top Masin of IJedlbrd County, IV-nnsylviiniu, the structure is 

thus (Fig. 91) given by Stevenson (T:1 , pp. 59 and GO):

Jli'vad 1'op Itatin, Hertford County, I'enniiylrania.

[Sw map, J t.J

Ft. Ft. in.

1. Coat, lrppi'r Freoport...................................... 5

2. Shale* and sandstones.................................... 03

3. Coal, Upper Kittauuin^.................................. 1 6

4. Clay....................................................... 2

 '.tt 8. Coal, Middle KittnuiilnK.................................. 4

1?1 7. Clay....................................................... «| M

K Sandstone and shale........ .............................. 50 J

> 34 9. Coal, Lower Kittanning................................... 0

10. Clay. ..................................................... 3

11. No. X 11, conglomerate.

*'','; 9V^St'",'!"'-iu- Total........... ........................................ 105 Itniad Top 1'r.wln, I'a.

Section at Piedmont, West Virginia. In the vicinity of Westernport, 

Maryland, where the North Potoinac <!iit.s across tlie Cumberland or 

George's Creek coal basin, the Lower Coul Measures exhibit the following succession (Fig. 92):

l'iedmonl, Minrral County, 11'tnl J'irgiHia.

ISi-it iniqi, N p.]

<C»nI............ 2'1 *'' fl- "'.

1. Coal, I T |t|n r Krecport .. \ Shah1 ami hone, r > ........... 5

f Coal............ '!' >

2. CnlH'caleil .................................................. 10 ( 

:i. Khak.hluUli................................................ 10 *

4. Coal, Lower Ftve|Mirt....................................... -

, 5. Fire clay ...................................................

6. Concealed ........................ ......................... 10

7. Sandstone, liard............................................. 2 ' '*

8. Saiidstoiif, slialy............................................ 5

1). Shales, KmdHtone.andconeealed............................ 55

10. Coal, Upper KitlaiiniiiK-. J ( ,',tai'"'"" 1"' "I"" %\ ....... 7

........... II. DarU MliaK'H. anil coin-ealed................................. 10 1

, V.-.V.V.Y.. .. ;. -SO j.j Murtrtive saiiiltftone, jiray.................................... 50 * 05

i:i. Slialrn, drali............................................... 5 j

fConl, slaty I' 0" ) 

Coal, bony . 0' 8" ' 

" i* 14. Coal, I.o\\er Kitlannin^ \ Coal, ^CMM!.. 1' -I" f- ............. 5 (U

I Slate, hard 0' }''I 

i Coal, PMM|. . '2 0" J 

, 1,\ Fire clay, Handy ............................................ 3

Hi. Shales, witli nodular iron oro................................ 2

lll|l° 17. Fire clay, impure............. ......''........................ 4

 ,vw 1H. FlaKKy Kiiid«toue .......................................... 20 f 89

19. Concealed .................................................. 25

L'O. Flivrla.y,Bandy ............................................ 10 |

4tf 21. Fla^jiy sanilslono and sandy whalert ........................ '_'5 J

22. Concealed, and nandy alntlea................................ 40

 .M. Top of No. XII.

riutluioiit, W. Vu. Total ........................'.......................... 307 aj
wnnu.J TIIK LOWKR COAL MEASURES. 127

Section near Maple Swamp icatcr tank, Went Virginia Central h'ailroail, Mineral County, Wext Virginia. Near Maple Swamp water tank, 

on the West Virginia Central Railroad, Mineral County, 

West Virginia, these beds exhibit the following structure

(Fig. 93):

Ou \ui'th 2'otomac at Maple Swamp irattT tank, H'ctl I'injinid Central

lidilroail.

53' | See map, N p.] 

Coal.

Ft. in. 

. 4 3 

. 00

(Coal............ 0' 5"i

, Coal, Upper Frecport ..< Hone and slate.. 1' 4" y .............

(Coal............ 2' 6")

Concealed ........................................................

Coal, Lower Freeport.............................................

, Concealed ............................................................ 5.1

, Coal,. Upper Kit tanning ............................................... 1

, Concealed, aud slate....................... ...................... .. 4,1

(Coal............ 3' li"l

, Coal, Lower Kittanning < Slate ........... '!' 0 ' / .................... (i

< Coal............ 1' 5")

10.

11.

Concealed, and sandstone. 

Coal, Clarion .

Shulr id.

i' tiaiulstone, top of Xo. XII.

Total.

Section near Thomas, West Virginia. At the head of 

____ the North Potomac and on the Cheat River side of the 

Fi<;.«3 On North great Allegliauy watershed, we get a line exposure of the 

pi" si""!,,',', vft Lower Coal Measures in the vicinity of Thomas, Tucker 

vTrgm'ia'ceT,' Comity, West Virginia. The exposures have been made 

traiitaiiroad. ^ ^ , { } am| ,,,-!Uli,,,r operations of the West \"irginia Central llailroad, aud there the section reads as t'jllows (Fig. 1)1):

no'

Avar TlioiHtif, Tucki'r County, II tut I'injiina.

(Soc map, o o. ]

(dial.................. :< >

1. Coal, Fppcr Ficcpoit .. s liono ami liony ioal .. 'J' , ........

r (Coal.................. v^<"«...- II )

2. Sandy slialt's, wuutlirriue mldi.th.

i Coal ................. 2" )

M. Coal, Lower Freepoi't .. < Shale ................ 4'^ ........

4. Concealed....................................................

.1. MaHHive pehlily sandstone, Kreeport..........................

ti. Coal, streaK, Upper Kittanning ..............................

7. Fireclay and shales .........................................

( Coal,good ........ 1 '.,"

Slale.............. tl V

8. Coal, Middle and Lower ! J.',""!: -""'' - - - £ *', 

Kittuiiumi;... j (J0;,i,good ........ :i 0" I

,' Shale.gtay ....... 1' ti" I

I Coal, itluty ........ y U" I

9. Concealed....................................................

10. Massive sandstone...................... ....................

11. Shalen ...............................:...... ................

12. Iron ore, Imhrntone ............. ............................

13. Limestone, ferriferous .......................................

14. Shales and sandstone ................................. ......

15. Coal, Clarion.................................................

IB. Shales .

L

Fir.. 94 Near 17. Sandstone, top of No. XII. 

Thomas. Titrker 

Uuuuly.W.Va. 1'olal.....................

/ (. III.

40

1

Ill I 

OU )

3

40
128 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL KIKLD. [nri.!..65.

i! Section near M»atnviUe, Harbour County, Went Virginia. Near Moatsville, Barbour County, West Virginia, on the Tygart's Valley Hiver, 

the following section of the Lower Coal Measures is exposed (Fig. 95):

Flo. 05. Scrtion 

near MoatsTille, W. Va.

Moatsi-ille, Harbour County, West I'irginia.

| See map, O m.] Ft.

1. Coal, Upper Freeport........................................

2. Concealed, and sandy shales .................................

r Slaty coal and slate, 0' 6" I 

Shale and tire clay.. 4' 0" [

3. Coal, Lower Freeport.. i Coal ..... .....'... 2' 0"). .......

Dink bony clay..... 0' 3"

(Coal .....'........... I' 3"J

4. Concealed ....................................................

5. Sand »lone, massive, gray .....................................

6. Concealed....................................................

7. Dark blue shale..............................................

8. Vlagii.v sandstone and concealed .............................

9. Limestone, gray, Campbell's Creek ...........................

J 10. Shales, and maaaive sandstone ...............................

if, (Coal... 1' fl" 1

if]"* 11. Coal, Lower Kittaunin«.... < Shales «' 0" > ................

(Coal... :i' 0") 

I 12. Concealed ....................................................

13. White pebbly sandatone, top of No. XII.

Fl. in. 

3 

SO

20 )

as

35 S, 

']

10

ToUl.

10.r)

O

20

12 6

20

220 6

Section near Valley Fallx, Wext Virginia. In. the vicinity of Valley 

Falls, Taylor County, West Virginia, where the Chestnut Eiclge anticline brings the series above water level, the following succession is 

visible (Fig. 90):

ratify Fall*, Taylor County, Went rirfl iita.

[See map, N I.] 

1. Coal, Upper Freepoi t

Ft. Ft. in.

Coal, Upper Freepoi t.......................................

Concealed niul shiilea ....................................... 40

3. Sandstone

4. lil ue shales.........................................

i

Coill .............. 0' S" 

Slato, fttv........ 0' 6" 

Goal .....'......... 1' II" 

;.. i IIHI, IXIWIT rm-piiri;..-, Sliillo ............. 2' II"

I Coal, IKIIIV runnel. 0' «" 

I Shale, BI-BV ....... 0' K"

(Coal.....'......... V 8"

«. Dark Hhalen.......................................

7. Sandstone, Freeport ..............................

8. Sha'es, blue

40 » 

'Si

, . (Coal ....... 3' 1")

V. Coal, Upper Kittannin<; . ; Shale, jrray. 0' 1" > ............

(Coal, bony.. 0' 7" )

10. Shales, dark grayish.........................................

11. Coal, Middle Kiltaiininir ....................................

12. ShaleHand tliisji.v sandstone ................................

1.1. I.inicslone, ailiti'cni* .........................................

14. Sandstone, tla^uy ...........................................

' 15. Shales, containing iron ore nodulea..........................

16. Limestone, dark blue, Campbell's Creek.............:.......

17. Shales ........................................'..............

18. Coal, Lower KitUluuine................... ...............

1ft. Fireclay.. .. ..............................................

i 20. Sandstone, flaggy ...........................................

45 21. Sandy shales, and concealed ................................

22. Sandstone, hard, micaceous

23. foal,Clarion.

24. Shales, and omeealed ....

t Coal.. 0' 2")

< Shale 0' 10" > .

(Oal.. 0' 2"i

Fid. !W. -Sec t ion *> Sandntone, niasnive, top of No. XII. 

neai' Vnlley Falls. ,., , w.v». lotnl............................

-7 4

55

3 0

16

1

37

5

45

1 2

25

~258 i)

In this last section, and also in the preceding one (Fig. 95), a bed of 

impure, siliceous limestone occurs in the shale interval above the Lower
WHITE.) THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 129

Kittanning coal. It occupies the same geological horizon as the thin, 

siliceous limestone above the Campbell's Creek (Lower Kittanning) 

coal on the Big Kanawha lliver, and hence I have identified it with 

that stratum.

Section near Nuzuni's Mill, Marion County, Went Virginia. Farther 

down the stream (Tygart's Valley lliver) the following structure (Fig. 

97) was observed on the right bank, below Nu/.um's Mill, Marion 

County, West Virginia:

Near Nuzum's Mill, Marina ('utility, ll'tit I'iryiiiM.

[See map, N l.J

fl. in. Ft. in.

1. Coal, Upper Freeport ................................. 3

2. Clay .................................................. 2 |

3. Sandstone............................................ 15 I

4. Limestone, Upper Freeport........................... 3 ( M

I). Shales and concealed.................................. 13

6. Sands!one, roarse ..................................... 10

7. Shales, sandy, drab ................................... 13

8. Coal, Lower Freeport.................................

fl. Shales and concealed ................................. 3'l {

10. Massive sandstone, Freeport.......................... 25 \

11. i'oal, I'pper Kitbmning ...............................

12. Shales, dark, sandy, with limy beds................... 40 I

IS. Black slate..................!......................... 3 S

14. Coal, slaty. Middle Kit tanning.........................

15. Shales ami sandy lieds.................................

16. Coal, Lower Kittanniug...............................

17. Fireclay .............................................. !> )

1H. Sandstone, rlaggy..................................... 5 I

111. Dark shales with iron ore nodules ........ ......... 1'2 I

20. Iron ore, Ferriierous limestone horizon................ 0 li ;

21. Dark shales........................................... 5 j

22. Black slate............................................ 2 61

 23. Coal, Clarion..........................................

 24. Fire clay, sandy....................................... 3 1

2,r>. Dark ah'ales, with iron ore nu^cts near midille ...... '20 [ 

2(1. KlacKj- sandslone ..................................... to }

27. Concealed and coal blossom. Itrnokvillo...............

28. No. XII, cougluiuerale.

5

55

30

97.-Section near 

Nitznm'sMill, Marion 

County, W. Va. Total.

Section under Clarksburg, Went Virginia. From the 

records of the Despard gas well boring, at Clarksburg, 

Harrisou County, West Virginia, as furnished by T. M. 

Jackson, civil engineer, we get the structure of the 

Lower Coal Measures there, as follows (Fig. 08):

Under ClarKxbunj, \Vetst I injiiiia. 

[See map, O k.j ft.

1.. Upper Freeport coal .........................................

. Shales, sandy ................................................ 2:i

Fie. 9». Section 

under Clarksburg, 

W.Va.

3. Sandstone, white..

4. Shales........................................................

5. Sandstone, wr hite, Freeport ..................................

6. Sandstone, dark.............................................

7. Coal, Middle Kittanning.....................................

8. Shale, black..................................................

9. Sandstone, gray..............................................

10. Sandstone, white.............................................

11. Coal, with slate. Lower Kittanuin£..........................

12. Sandstone, hard, £ray........................................

13. Sandstone, hard, white ......................................

14. Shale.................... ....................................

15. Top of No. XII, white sandstone.

ft. 

absent

j .

 49

..... 

14)

Total. 232

The Lower Kittanning bed is here more than 1,000 feet below the 

summits of the hills. 

Bull. 65 9
180 TIIE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HUM.. 05.

Section under Ptirl-crnlniry, \Ye*t Virginia. At I'arkersbnrg, Wood 

County, West Virginia, the following structure (Fig.!«)) is given by the 

rerord of the Camden Consolidated Oil Company's drill 

hole, on the authority of U. A. Cole, superintendent:

lS,,,,,a,,,Nf.] 

rujil ...........................

v:-;-

1. Fpiwr Fri'cport

;;. shall'*, «IM> anil

R Top'ol'No.VM.""" -- " ___*^ 

Total .............................................................. -75

The Lower Kittanning bed is the only one in the series 

here, but it has a good thiekness, though lying 1,100 feet 

below the bed, of the Ohio Itiver, and 1,500 feet under 

the surface of the hill summits.

L- III. 0. . .- * * Ill'll

llutw-V^"'

mirier Wheeling, West Virginia. 

Under Wheeling, West Virginia, where the 

top of the series is more than 400 feet below 

water level, the record of the Central Glass 

Company's drill hole for gas gives the ibl. 

lowing structure (Fig. 100):

Vnihr ll'hccli,,!/, "V»l nryiiiia.

[S,'« map, K j.)

1. Co!,l,rpp,.rFroi.n0rt-r,.-.or,.,>t unili'i' l'itt»l.ur« roal aii'l 

Ohio lilver lnvi-1 ......................... ...............

1 '^I'ffSS^.:

5. Top ot No. XII.

Total.......

Section at mouth of Little Heaver, on ft 

Penimjhanw-OhM State line. At the 

month of Little Heaver, on the Pennsylvania-Ohio Stale line, and the northern point of the 

West Virginia "Pan-Handle," the structure is as follows (Fig. 101):

1. <" !

 J. !

Ohio a«(? 1'fHHnylraHia Hit,; month of Uftlt Hearer. 

|Si.i.iuai.,(;.i.| ft. Ft. in.

 J. (;»:il,'l.ow.T Krei-poit..

4. ; S.lll.i.V Hllrth-H

r,. Sai.ilstnm-. in

6. Sanil.v sliah-8

7. CiKil, Miiiillu

S. Fir.-day....

SJ

:io)

lolinm;

Id. Coal. Lower Kil

11.

12. --..--

111. l.in,,.st..oe. F,.rrifi-i-oii8..

H. SaiHl.vsliiilw ..................

-- ' ' ashal,.,Clarion i-oal .

 i

103

 , top of No. XIL

Total.
WIJ1TE.J THE LOWEK COAL MKASUKKS. 131

Section near Spruwrale, Coliituhiiuxi ('muili/. Ohio. Xorthward up 

the Little Heaver tlie coluinii ol' rocks is very inucli the same as at the 

Ohio Uiver, as may be seen from the follow ing section (Fig. 101') taken 

near Sprucevale, Columbiana County, Oliio:

=.-r,--~-

ia|i.

n. Ft.

Jo'

Fin. 102. Scotinii 

near S|irurm'ale, 

Columbiana 

Comity, Ohio.

1. Co.il, rpptT FnH'jMn't ......................................

2. Fire clay........................._.........._............,,

3. Liir.t'Hlow1 , Upper Frccport ...............................

4. Shales, amlconreaUMl ......................... ......,...'.

It. (*Oiil, I.nu'M1 1'YtM'piii I .................. .................. lilnjjL

7. Saint nt om*, massive, Fn'O|mrt ..............................

8. CiKil, MitMIt- KiltainitM^ ................................... tliin

9. Conceiilt'tl..................................................

10. Coal, Lower Ktttanning....................................

11. Fiiv rlrty and t*\in\t'*........................................

12. IJiiiesluiH1 , siliofuiiM, U[>[»T Kei lift-iuurt....................

ly. Shales, gray................................................

14. Shulfa.ilark................................................

,, T . . < Ijowt*r Ft'irilt'roits .. )

15. Liim-stiine......{,. , , ,_______J..................

16. Coaly shales, Clarion..................... ................

17. Fin1 clay............ .....................................

IS. CoticealoH, to top of No. XII...............................

Id/ 

.u)

Total

 JO

 -til

Here we get the beginning of an important feature in Ohio Lower 

Coal Measure stratigraphy, viz: a duplication of tlie Ferriferous limestone. The lower bed, Xo. 15, occupies the regular horixon of the 

Pennsylvania "Ferriferous" bed, but there comes in above it here a 

stratum, Xo. 12, of (siliceous limestone, not seen anywhere in Pennsylvania, but becoming the ore-bearing limestone of the Ohio series, and 

known as the " Gray " limestone, the ore on its top being of the same 

character as the Uuhrstone ore of Pennsylvania and apparently identical with it.

Prof. Orton, director of the Ohio Geological Survey, thinks that on 

entering Ohio the Great Ferriferous limestone of Pennsylvania splits 

into two portions, the upper part representing the " Gray " limestone 

and the lower or blue portion of the Ferriferous representing the 

" Putnain Hill" bed of Ohio. Tin's seems to be the most probable view 

of the matter, though it is barely possible that the lower or I'utnam 

Hill stratum is an entirely new deposit, and has no representative in 

Pennsylvania, or this may be true with reference to the upper limestone, 

No. 12.
132 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. 66.

Section between New Lisbon and Leetonia, Ohio. In going northwestward from Spniceviile, a very rapid change takes place in the lower 

portion of (lie column, sftice it rapidly contracts, as will be seen from 

the following section (Fig. 103), made in the vicinity of the cement 

works, between New Lisbon and Leetonia, Ohio:

30 j 

10 

1U '

Between New Lisbon and Ltetonw, Ohio.

[Sepn-.ap, G i.) AY. Ft. in.

1. Coal, Upper Freeport (not seen).........................

2. Concealed................................................

3. SandMone, .....................-....................'.....

4. Shales, chocolate ........................................

5. Coal, Lower Kreejwrt ..................................

B. Fin- clay.................................................

7. Limestone, Lower Freeport....... ......................

8. Concealed, and sandstone ...............................

9. Shales ...........'........................................

10. Coal, Lower Kittanning..^.^81 ^'6 ;;-; £ %',\....

11. Slate........ ............................................

12. Limestone and iron ore, Upper Ferriferous..............

VJ. Concealed, and nllales ...................................

14. Lime-tone, fossiHferons.. \ ft^^ 8;;;;; } ....

15. Coal, Clnrion ............................................

16. Fiieclay.............................. ....... ........ 10

50

0 2

4

4

60

5

6 6

Fin. lo:i. Section 

tween New Lixlion 

and Leetonrn.Ohio.

17. Interval to top of No. XII............................... 25

Total........................................................

35

196 ~~8

Section neat- ZnnemnUe, Ohio. In the vicinity of Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio, the section of the Lower Coal Measures reads as 

follows (Fig. 104), at the type locality of the Tutnam Hill limestone 

(Vol. V, Ohio Geology, p. 96):

XancirHlf, Mtmkitigum County, Ohio. 

[See map, K c.[

1. Coal. Upper Freeport..........

2. Fire clay ......................

3. Liniealoiie, Upper Freeport ...

4. Concealed .....................

5. Coal, Lower Freeuort..........

fi. Fireclay ......................

7. Concealed .....................

8. Sandstone, Freeport...........

9. Coal, Middle Kittanniiig ......

10. Fireclay ......................

11. Shales, with ore nodules ......

12. Coal,Lower Kittanning........

13. Fireclay ......................

14. LinieHtone, Upper Ferriferous.

15. Sandstone ......................

16. Shales.........................

17. LinieHtone............

18. Sh»les, dark...............................................

19. Coal.......................................................

20. Fire clay and dark shales..................................

21. Coal, Clarion..............................................

22. Fire clay, shales, «nd concealed, to bate of Lower Coal

AY.

2

1

39

"!

20 '

6 I

18 5

u

Ft. in.

4

42

1

{ Lower Ferriferous ...... I

 ) Putnam Hill.

thlo

It*

Fir,. 104. Section 

near Zaiicarille, 

Ohio.

4 

G6

7

1 0

15

Total.
WHITE. | THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 133

Section near Shawnee anil McCuncrillc, Ohio. In the vicinity of 

Sliawnee and McCuneville, Perry County, Ohio, these bed.s exhibit thn 

following structure (Fig. 105):

. rtvinity of Shawnet and McCunerille, Perry County, Ohio.

[See map, M <1.J

Ft.

1. Cool,UpperFreeport (not seen).............................................................

2. Fireclay and shales containing "Buclitel" ore............................................. 15

3. Limestone, Upper Freeport............. ................................................... 2 «

4. Shales, iind concealed ........_............................................................ 25

5. Coal, LOWIT Freeport................................................ 1 6

6. Clay, with iron ore................................................... 10

7. Concealed,and shales ................................................ 25

0' (Coal.............

l "Mother 1 coal..

Coal.

8. Coal,MiddleKittannin S 10 8

Fin. 105. Vicinity 

of Shawnee and 

McC u u e v i 11 e, 

Perry County, 

Ohio.

Coal............. 1'

Slate ............ 0'

t Coal. ............ 3'

0. Clay, with calcareous ore ....... .................................... 10

10. Concealed, and shales ........ .................................... 20

11. Coal, Lower Kittanniug....... .......................................

U. Clay ................................................................. 5

13. Ferriferous ore and flint...... ....................................... 1

14. Sandy shales. ........................................................ 40

15. Limestone.............. ^:^S|f^-;::::; | ................ ,

16. Firnclay ............................................................ 10

17. Maasive sandstone, top of No. XII. 

Total.............................................................. 176 8

Section near Buchtel, Ohio. In the vicinitj- of Buehtel, at the line of 

Hocking and Athens Counties, the Lower Coal Measures exhibit this 

structure (Fig. 106):

Hacking falley, netti- /tiiclittj, .tthm» County, Oliin.

[See map, N < | ft. Ft. in.

 "!U^WW^

 « 

mamaseam

Fir,. 108. I 

ii)g Valley, 

Bnchtel, A. 

Count r, Oh

( Coal, slaty ...... 1' S" 

I Shale..... ...... 0 3"

Coal............ 1' 3"

fg. ICoal. ........... 1' 3"

f <Co»l.... ........ 1' till" Coal............ 2' 0"

 7. Coal, Middle Kittannins'^,"' J,' ^

1 Slate........... 0' 1"

^ (Coal ........... 1' 6'

look- '" Limestone, Ferriferous ..........................

hens 

io. Total..........................................

1- 

............. 5)

............. 40J

}......_... ,

.............. 30

1 ............

............. 30

............. 1

............. 10

............. 1

o 

............. 40

............. 178 11
131 Till: SOUTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. |urM..OS.

Hn-tion on Mn-kcr'* 7.'w», imir Xrlnoiirille, O/,m. On decker's Hun, 

near Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio, the structure of the Lower 

Coal Measures is thus (Fig. 107) given by I'rof. Orton in Vol. Ill, Ohio 

Oology, page Oi'ti:

On J/,,icr'.s //««, near \ehouri11e, ,ttl,<«s County, Ohio. 

[See map, N c.J

Sectional 1'nnther mil, 8twtoC<nnity,Oli;o. Farther to tlicsouthwest, 

in Panther Hill, near Mt. Vcrnon Furnace, Scioto County, Ohio, thesu 

roeks arc given as follows (I'ig. 108) in Vol. V, Ohio Geology, p. 103S:

, Ml. IVriioM Furnace, Scioto County, Ohio.

Feet. Feet.

Ki«i. 1<K I'anlli.M- L1 :!. (.'iKil, Brimkvilli- ...........

Jlill. MI.V.TI...II -J4. Siinilst..iii.,l«pof Xi.. XII.
WHIT*.] THE LOWKK Cff.VL MKASl'KKS. 135

faction near fronton, Mm. From the vicinity of Ironton, Ohio, 

Orton reports the following structure (Fig. Itl'.t) for the Lower 

Measures (Vol. Ill, Ohio Geology, p. !HVS):

Jronton. I.airrcnci- County, Ohio. 

| See map. UK]

Prof.

I

... 37

1. Coal, Upper Fr,

 J. Fireclay.......

!!. (;iii, K loinerat« anil s:,ml 

4. Little yellow kUlncy or 

f,. c, ' ' 

(!.

8.' Yellow kidney ore (Moxaliula) ...

 I. Heavy sanil rock .................

10. Coal Xo.6(SI,,-ii,lan coal,, Mi,l,lle

11. Fireclay............................................... H til

12. lllack kiilneyore ..................................... 1 '.

111. Sand riMik............ ... ............................. 24 0*

14. Coal No. V (Xmv Caallc), Lower Kittannin-...........

If,. Fireclay............................................... 2 >

1(1. Samliwk.............................................. 211 «<.

17. Fireclay............................................... (i \

IK. Limestone., ................................. .......

1') (Jv'iv lifiu>stoini KcrvitV*r<Mis 21).' Sin'i.'lrock, II,.!i'rtli»toiH»|iiiiiriV» "."""""""""""

21. Conway coal No. :i, C. (linrnkville)

L'2. Kin-clav............... .........

211. 'lo], olXo. XII.

Total........

Ft. fii. 

4

:i c

31 6

r. 

fit 0

LM4 0

faction iii sou tin ni Ohio, nciir lr/>iilon. \n the same 

region of Ironton, but at a different locality, the writer 

found the following structure (Fig. 110):

In MUthfrn Ohio, nliorr Ironton.

ISoemnp, SI,.]

11. tt. in.

1. Cnnl. ITpporl'-iwport. .................................. 2

2. Slial.-an.Unliily lx»U.

3. Coal, l,ou-..r Knvvort..

4. Massiv

5. Shale.............

C. Coal, Miililli-KitlanniiiK

11.

] - . Kiiv

(Coal ........... 1

rir.'.lay....... I'

... ;coni........... r

I Fir,, clay....... 'J'

(Coal . . ....... »

clay anil 

Coal, Clarion 

14. Shales, anil

ow'r Kitlun 

anil II iv clay .... 

I-'i-rrifi-rous.

in s,,ntl,ern 15. Massive saii.l.-lon,-. Ion oC Xo .X II. 

Ohio, near Ironton. Total.............................

This section dilfers but little from that tumid in \\estern Pennsylviiniii. The "P.iihMtoue" or "Uaird" ore, which was not noted in this, 

is present in other sections at its proper hori/.ou on top of No. 11. The 

Putiiam Hill, or lower division of the l-Yrriferous limestone, seems to 

have disappeared, either by coalescing with (lie upper one or failure of 

deposition, and the same appears to be true of the Upper KittanniiiR 

coal, unless it is to be found in the upper layers of the complex Middle 

Kittanning No. (J, which is not improbable.
136 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [nii.L. 66.

Section at Clmrlesloii, \Vext Virginia. As we leave the northwestern 

margin of the Appalachian field in southern Ohio, and pass southeastward toward the other or eastern side of the same, the 

Lower Coal Measures thicken up quite rapidly, as will 

be seen from the line of sections which will now be 

given along the Great Kanawha Itiver. The following 

one (Fig. Ill), from the month of Elk Itiver, at Charleston, is the record of Edwards gas well No. 3. It begins 

at the level of the Upper Freeport coal, and the record 

was obtained from Mr. W. S. Edwards, the superintendent of the gas company:

I'mlir Clnirltaloii, Kuii/in-lia County, ll'rtt Virginia, by lore hole near 

mouth of Jilk Him:

|Seeniap, Sf.J

ft. in. 

1. foal, Upper Frppport........,..................*..................... 3

V Shales and nlates ...^.... ......................................... 65

3. Cn:tl, Lower Frecport............ .................................... 1 0

4. Sandstone and shale*................................................ 116

fi. Coal, slaty, Upper Kittannlug ....................................... 5

0. Shales and miudHtonp................................................ 203

7. Sandstone, coarse, with gas nml water............................... 70

x. Coal, Clarion ........................................................

9. Shales and nandstono ................................................ DO

Id. Shales ............................'.............. ..................... 30

11, TopofNo. XII, while sandstone.

(I

The thickness of the measures is here about three 

times greater than in the .Flocking Valley, 100 miles 

north from Charleston. .lust where this rapid thickening begins has not yet been determined, owing to the 

absence of reliable borings between the Hocking Valley 

and Charleston, but it is probable that the most of it 

comes in Irom the Ohio h'iver southward to Charleston, 

since the borings at Pomeroy and Hartford City disclose 

no unusual thickness of the Lower Coal Measures.

The identification of coal No. <S in the above section is 

open to question, as it may possibly represent the Lower 

Kittanning bed.

There may have been other bedsof coal passed through 

by the drill in the well from which this section is taken, 

since it is seldom that drillers for oil and gas exercise much care in examining the drillings for coal.

li:. 111.-Section 

under Charleston, W. \ a.
THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. 137

Section at month of Lid; Ittni, iti'ttr Churh-xtoii, West Virginia. Near 

tlie month of Lick Run, 2 miles south of Charleston, a well was 

bored for gas, by Mr. Hillings, and from the superintendent, Colonel Jordan, 1 obtained the following 

record (Fig. Hi') by combining it with the 70 odd 

feet of rocks exposed above the month of the boring :

7J*

if

4'

54>

FM. 112. At month 

i»t' I.iek Kun, two 

niilvanliovfCliurlestou, W.Va.

month <tj Lit k lilt ii t tit'o ittib-x aboi'* ('httrli 

County, M ra/ I'ii'ij'tunt.

[Sot1 nt.ip, T 1. 1

tun,

Fffl.

1. Coal, Upper Free port ..................................

a. Shali-M... .............................................

If. Concealed ..............................................

4. Sandstone, massive ....................................

5. Coal, Lower Fret-port. ..................................

6. Shale* ami concealed ..................................

7. I'.lmi slate. .............................................

(lilno s.indstone, hanl.. 01' |

| Shltr illlll r4;thllstiilltv .. (!' I

8. Siinilstoni". Freepiirt | Sanilstone, haul ...... 73' .... '

I Slat,-... .....

l8nnilstuiu>, liilnl.

9. Slati'.Wuo ................................

1(1. S.imlstone,.................................

11. Slato.....................................

12. Sandstone, u liite..........................

13. Sandy slialc, dark Idue....................

14. Wliilr pi'ldily sandstone, top of No. XII. 

Total..................................

Pert. 

3

3 

CO

33 

M

15

195

688

Colonel Jordan states that no particular search 

was made for coal here, and hence several beds may 

have been passed unnoticed. It is also possible that 

the. top of No. XII is placed about 100 feet too low 

by the section above, since the ordinary driller frequently neglects to note changes in the character of 

the strata through which the drill passes; hence it 

is quite probable that a considerable thickness of No. 

115, which the drillers called "sandy shale," may have 

been really the top portion of the No. XII series.

The Freeport sandstone, No. S, exhibits an unusual 

development here, and it is possible that the lowest 

division included in No. S is not really a member of 

this stratum, but belongs lower in the scries.

No. 10 is probably a representative of the Ivittanning sandstone.

I
Noinm:i;\ itrn.\iixors COAL rim.,I). fl.fl.1.. (!.',,

.SVr//n» «/ IHcl'uixon xnll irni-l-x, Kumnrlin C»ii/i/i/, JlY.s/ Virginia. 

In the vicinity of .Hidden, <> miles above Charleston, the rapid rise of 

the strata on the northwestern slope of the iJrownstown anticlinal has 

brought nearly nil of the Lower Coal Measures to 

the surface, and the rest of the column is supplied 

from the records of the Edwards gas well No. -', at 

I lie Dickinson salt works. The combined section 

reads as follows (Fig. I!.'{):

i mi// iro/7,v, KuiiatrJia 

ISw.map.Tf.J

, IV it

Ft.

3. Shiil.-s..........

:i. i

4. : §

' slaty.......... 1' li-i

............... U' II"

............... r 6"^

............... 0' fi"

slaty.......... 1' 6 J

8.' k'm.'l" "l.'i>i.'»','«Si'lli'iV,inV,r.. I

/ f. in 

4

5 0

JO 14:.

 J' (>'

.1 

Coal ................ »'

Kin-rlav Jlllil »|K>|.-H 1' li

811 3

This section would seem Io confirm the statement 

made in connection with the Lick linn boring, viz, 

that apart of the last interval given there should 

more properly be credited to No. XII, the next 

series below the Lower Coal Measures.

The CiimpbeH's Creek, or Lower Kittanning coal, 

is here very much split up with slate and shales, 

but on the Maiden side of the Kanawha it is a good 

bod, from which 4 to (J feet of coal is obtained with 

only the two parting slates. 

This is the type locality of the Campbcirs Creek limestone No, ID.

Fl.i. 113. Sec tin n at 

Kii-LiimiHi salt wurls, 

Kauawha C.MIMI.V, W. 

Vn.
WhITK.I TIIK LOWKK COAL MKASKRKS. 160

near JinnntKtoirn. UY.v/ \'ir<iiniii. \\\ the vicinity of I'.rownstown and near the l>urnin<j; Spring, !l miles above Charleston, another 

gas well was drilled (Kdwards No. 1) and its record 

combined with the surface exposures in that vicinity 

gives the following succession ^L'i<;. 114):

... _ .

.v/.v.v.

:-;.; ..;.; . »*

****», * **, .*.** ' 

, thret milt-x *,>uth from M.ilthn.

H. ,'w.

in 

 x.

Ft. ;/..

5

.1. Sandstone, mamiYc. siray................

fl. Sandy slialea. ami . onc.'al.'.l............ ».(-!^S^ a -:''^:mm*.''.''^'.'.'".

9. CiK.l (i:..ilar(;rnv.-l,Mi.l.ll,- Kittannin-.

Ill li'. ( i 'iHI.'t>'ll|.|l 'fin i til* u. .HIM tillI willitutiitlis Md ininnuir ...... ..........

j Low, i Kit. ) ( , |>al . f) ,,

24 10

2!l. S!,it,.,pr«y..............

;io. SiiiiiUlinii., cray .......

-.11. Slat... .lurk.............

;W. \Vliit.'Hani!stoii.',liiii..l NIL XII.

Total..........................

Kin. 114. Section nenr liiowiistuwii. lln. 

InilrswHitlifroiii Mul.li'11, W. V.i.

The only part of this series dependent on the bore 

hole record is the last 100 feet, or that from the 

Clarion coal down, the rest of it all heinu exposed 

above the bed of the Kanawha in the 

region of lirownstown.

I'.v comparing this with the < 'liarleston section (Fi--. Ill) it will be seen 

that the whole column has thickened 

southward at the rate of about ~S> feet 

to the mile. It will also be observed 

that \\ith this thickening a new coal, 

the r.rownstown. makes its appearance in the series. This is one of a 

local iLjronpof twoorthree coals which 

appear in the column of rocks around 

the southeastern margin of the coal

field between the Lower Kittanninjr bed and the 1'erritennis limestone, 

which \vouldseemtoberepreseiitedbyNo.liliofthesection. These coals 

are of little economic importance, as they arc usually thin and slaty.
140 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HULL. 65.

V*

Cl

Section at mouth of Armstrong Creel; on the Big Kanairha River, West 

rgiitia. At the mouth of Armstrong Creek, 25 miles south from 

arleston, the whole column of the Lower Coal Measures is above 

-. water level, and a high point almost vertically above

JvX-'v/V.-X

 Xv.v/.v & : ', '. '. ' '.'

. , >?~7>

' v-y

 .'.'. , .',' '

aftw*:"

C^H-ri;-

BBSS!

'/vffift

i.-= -,=a.-3=; - -.:

. .-.-V.r-J

*2*&&.---

K>'

,»

V

»'

»'

to'

»' 

5' 

0* 

S'

£ 

jj

!*'- 

rf

5' 

V .

>ic'

th 

sa 

g'

i.

3. 

4. 

5. 

li.

7.

8. 

9.

»» 10.

11. 

12.

u!

IS.

It). 

17.

*»'

*' 

SI'

e Kanawh 

me, so tb.r 

ves the fol

MoiM of

Coal. tipper F 

Sandstone, HIM 

Sandstom1 , ma 

Concealed, am 

Linn-alone, sili 

Sandstone, ma

Coal.,:.....' J

Fire clay, and 

Sandstone, maf 

Shak-s, cnneea

a lliver catches the top members of the 

it here a very fine exposure of the series 

owing structure (Fig. 115) :

Armstrong Creel;, on the liig Jianaiclia Hirer.

(See map, U g.J Ft. Pt.in. 

rceport ................................ ...... , 3

ciiiiM.aled...... ..............................

Coal....... 6"

Middle Kltunning. J Shale...... *'

Cedar Grove..... ..r--- J, /,; ;;;;; »,

Coal....... 4"

ed, and sandstone .........................*...

Sandstone and »hali-s.... ....................................

Sandstone 

Sauil.y slial

Coal, Low

-^

 -

 ".-' -^L-i"

;v,,.'.-^:.

^ -- 1 ---^^r^

 . -:-.v.-.-.-

,

+ 9 rr * t

*-'-_»^« * »r

er

W 

za'

*" 

«/

i' 

»'

k»'

Coal.......... ]' 1")

Slate ......... 0' l"S ....... ]' 8"

Sandy shali'H I''' 0"

Coal, " IVerlena "............. 2' 0"

iMrlinj;....... ................ 0' 1" 

Coal.......................... 0' 7" 

Slatii ......................... 0' 1"

!«v 1 Coal.......................... 2' 10"j 

18. Fireclay.... ......................... 

19. Saudslouuaiid slialrs.. ............... 

Coal.......... 1' 0"

Shale. ........ 2' 6" 

20. Coal, Browns Coal.......... 0' 10'

stf sam stone . . 15' 0" 

Coal.......... 1' 2"

21. Concealed, ami sandy shales. .........

23. Shales................................ (Coal.......... «' 8"

Shales. ....... 1' 4 '

 24.Coal,C,arion J,^1 ^;..*; «i 

(J'.a ffle).....\,,,,; » , 2,,

(Coal.......... 2' 10" 

25. Shjilcs and sand\ heda................ 

2ci. Coal. Little Kau'e...... ...............

28. Sandstone, massive ...................

30. I.imi'stone, t'ossilifeiotis, Ka/jlo .......

32. Sliales, samUitniU's, and coucealeil.....

"' 34. Shales.... ............................

36. Shales, sandstone, and concealed ...... 

37. Sandstone, massive, top of Xo. XII.

Total...............................

. 1701

. 115 372

2

. 25j

1 ,.

6) 

. 20

. 20 

. 20

. 2(1 105 

. 25 1

' '"! 1

. 1UJ

36

6

35

20 C 

1 S 51

26 2

20 

1 6

10? 56 

. 40 1

75'} »

 >

301 

1>131 

100 S

1,006 7

Flo. 115. Section at mouth of Armstrong 

Creek, on the Big Kauawha Kiver.
WH1TI.J THE LOWER COAL MEASURES. lit

Here both the Lower Kittanniug and the Clarion coals show in their 

structure the effect of the general thickening up of the whole column 

of rocks. Three miles north from this, the Clarion or Eagle coal is a 

good bed, which, with its partings of slate, is only 4A feet thick, but the 

partings gradually thicken aud new ones come in till the structure 

shown in No. 24 is obtained.

A small coal which has been termed the Little Eagle conies into the 

section in this region, aud seems to have a wide distribution around 

the southern margin of the coal field. It is a very pure coal and may 

be a lower member of the Clarion bed.

The Eagle limestone, No. 30, was named from a mining village 3 

miles below the locality of this section, where it is finely exposed in the 

cuts of the Chesapeake aud Ohio Railroad. It and the shales below it 

are crowded with the Lower Coal Measures fossils, the general faciesof ' 

the fauna being very similar to that found in connection with the Ferriferous limestone in western Pennsylvania, but the general section forbids the supposition that it is identical with the latter. At one time I 

entertained the idea that it might be the representative of the Putnam 

Hill limestone, of Ohio, but a closer study of the Ohio section renders 

that hypothesis untenable, since the Putnam Hill bed belongs above 

the Clarion coal and not below, as does the Eagle limestone.

No. 33 is a very bituminous shale, since lubricating oil was once 

manufactured therefrom, and it may possibly represent the Erookville 

coal of Pennsylvania.

A comparison of this section with those on the other side of the Appalachian basin at Buchtel (lOfi) and Shawnee (105) will show the 

wonderful expansion of these beds from 175 feet at the latter localities 

to a thickness of more than 1,000 feet at Armstrong's Creek, and the 

same thing is shown graphically in map, Section C. That such a great 

expansion of these measures should show only the same number of 

workable coal beds as the section at Shawnee was hardly to be expected, 

but it is true beyond question. The coal beds themselves give evidence 

of this great expansion of the general column in the slates and other 

impurities with which they are interstratined.

The interval (105 feet) which here separates the Middle and Lower 

Kittanniug coal beds appears excessive, since it is only 100 feet a few 

, miles below, but there can be very little doubt of the figures given, and 

there are no coal bods between Nos. 7 and 17, it is evident that No.

must be the Middle Kittanning.

The top member of the Pottsville conglomerate is in the bed of the 

Kauawha, where the section shown in Fig. 115 ends.
142 THE NOUTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. | BULL. 65.

Section at Guyandotte Mountain, Raleigh County, West Virginia. 

That the Lower Coal Measures keep their greatly expanded measurement on southwestward from the Kanawha Hiver is shown by the following section (Fig. 11<») made by Captain Miller, chief engineer of the/ 

Traiw-Flat-Top Land Association. It begins at the summit of linyundotte Mountain, lialeigh County, -West Virginia, 

and was measured along the turnpike eastward to the 

foot of the mountain:

Guyandolte Mountain, Kalti'yh County, We»t Virginia.

(Set. map, W

S ,4'a"

44

itf

at1

44'

la's"

1. TT])jM<r Freeport coal (absent)........................

3. Shales...............................................

t Coal ............... 3' 10"!

4. Coal, Lower Freeport.. \Slato ........ '" "'

<Coal.........

Shale........................ .........

3' 10") 

0' 1"}.. 0' 9")

/'(. in. ft. in.

'. S3 

15

4 8

43

6. Coal, Winnifi etln......

I Shale..............12' 2"|

Coal ............... 1' 3"!

 ; Slain .............. 0' 2" .' ......

I Coal............... 2' 3''

[Slate .............. 1C I" 1

(Coal............... 0' 1"J

7. Sandstone, hard, uray ...................................... 28

8. Shale ..............1.^....................................... 81

». Snn.lstone.................................................. 8

10.Shale....................................................... 14

11. Sandstone, hard, grav........_........................... 63

12. Shale....... .................._.......................... 3'J

13. Sandstone, shaly ........................................... 24

14. Shale, yellowish'.__................................._.. 7

fCoal............... 0' 7 '

,,,, . (Slate .............. 0' 1 '

447 Coal............... 0' » '

15. Coal, Lower KittanniUL's Slate .............. 0' 111" j

Coal............... 1' 1 "'

Slate .............. U' 4

I Coal............... 1' 1J".

16. Sandstone, doff, yellow ......... 19

17. Coal ............................ 0

18. Firoclay........................ 1

IB. Shales, yellowish ............... 36

Hlow

2I71

Flo. 118. Spctinn nt Onvamlottp Mountain, 

Kaleigh County, W. Va.

21. Fireclay... 

2L'. Sandstone, nol't.

23. Sandstone, hard, uray .......... 22

24. Sandstone.*ofi.yellow,micaceous 21

25. Shales, yellowish ... ........... 67

2<i. Coal ............................ II

27. Fireclay........................ 1

2R Slate, black ..................... Hi

'J!'. Sandstone, soft, vellow ......... 3.Y

30. Shales, yellow .."......... ...... 39

Coal....... I'll"

Slate ...... 4'II'

Fireclay .. 2' II 

Coal....... 0' 1'

31. Coal. Ea^le Clay....... 0'3'

(Clarion).' Coal....... 0' »'

Clay....... 0' 2"

Coal....... 0' 1"

Clay....... I'O"

(Coal ....... 0' 1"

32. Sandstone, hard, tr.iy........... 13

33. Sandstone, iiot't. yellow ......... 33

34. Coal, Little Kajjlo ..............

35. Fireclay........................ 1

3d. Shales, sandv. yellow ........... 4fl

37. Sandstone. Miff, vellow ......... 70

38. Shales, Bandy, yellowish........ W

39. Sandstone, llacL'y ............... 7

411. Shales, yellow .."................ J6

41. I'el.lilv sandstone, top of So. XII.

18 5

247

3 2

II 8

40 

U 3

2u8

Total................................ »jj 5
WHITE.) THE LOWKR. COAL MEASURES. 143

It impossible that the Iiori/on of the UpperFreeport eoal should have 

been placed higher than the section shows, since the eoal is not present 

and the piaee given it is only a surmise.

Mvtion near (k-i'itnu, Wyotuiiiy County, HY.sV Viri/inia. In the vicinity 

ol Oceana, Wyoming County, West Virginia, and the neighboring region, the Lower Coal Measures present the following 

structure (Fig. 117):

Orf

County, ll'txt 

(Sec map, W f.)

Ft. in.

TO"

1. Upper Freeport coal ( not seen) .....................

2. Sandstone* and concealed ................... ........

f Coal ...... ......... (>' 1")

Sliule. ............. 0' 4"|

3. Coal, Lower Freepoit.. ; Coal ............... 0' 10" > 

liony coal ......... 0' 4"

( Coal. .............. 2' I")

4. SandHloiH', and concealed ...........................

r>. Caimel slate mixed with coal, UpptT KittaDninir. .....

(1. Ci.m'eal.-d....... ............I.. ........... ... ..

7. SaudBtuiif, ma.ssivw ...................................

O.'.ial ................ 1' 6" 1

\ Shaln ............... W 5" S 2

(Coal ................ 0' 8" )

-Shalfsiind Haiidstone. ......... 'JO

. |C«al,j;,,od .......... 2' 6" )

' ' Slnili-, gray ......... ()' 2.V (/ oal. ............... o' :«" ;. 4

Shale, cray ......... 0' 10r'

.Coal................ 0' 8" )

9. Conofaled, nud nandxtoiie...... ....................... t!0

10. Coal .................................................. 0

11. Firo clay aitd shales ............... .................. ft

]'_'. Sandstone, niassiyo...... ... . . 5<t

111. Shales, dark, slaty...... ...... 10

Coiil.. 1' d" | 

'

8. Cm], Middle Kittun 11 ill)?..........

Z4.V

160'

14. Coal. I 

Kit

Slate Ul'

"'"« - Slate . 0- 4" 

Coal.. 4' 0" 

Slate . .V :i" 

I Coal.. 0' lo"j ' 

10. Massive sandstone ........... 100

Hi. Concialed.................... 40

17. Shales........................ 20

(Coal... 1- 7"| 

Slate.. 1' 4" 

Coal... 0' 2"

18. Coal, Browns- (s,'(".|* -; j|', J"

I

ciial... 0' li" 

Slate.. 1' ti" 

(Coal... 1' 0"

19. Sandstone, anil concealed ....

,,B s, »">-*} «,!f.'.'.VV'

21. Coni'ealf.l, nini sliilli'S ........

22. Coal, I.itlle Kaale ............

211. Shales and sandstones........ 70

24. Shales, crav.witli fossil plants 5 

2.">. Coal..........................

26. Concealed.ami shales and sandstone........................

27. Coal, blossom ................

2K. Shales........................

29. Massive sandstones, top of 

So. XII.

30'

FIG. 117. Section near Oeenna, Wyoming 

County, W. Va.

Total.

Ft. 

100

21 9

160

7 7

70

2 3

80

1 10
O

144 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. lIR'fcl.. 0$.

No. L'O is known as the "coking coal" in the Wyoming region, since 

it has the typical structure of such coal, and looks very much like the 

same (Eagle) bed on the Ivanawha.

The Little Eagle bed No. 22 is also very good coal here, and its inU-rval below the main seam has increased from 20 to 05 feet. 

Section »t mouth of Blaine Creek, Lawrence County, Kentucky. In 

passing southward up the I5ig Sandy River, at the 

southwestern line of West Virginia, the Lower Coal 

Measures thicken up at about the same rate as they 

do along the Kanawha, as will be seen from the following sections. The first one (Fig. 118) is from a surface measurement, combined with the record of Itigdongas well No, 2, at the mouth of hlaine Creek, 20 

miles above the mouth of the Big Sandy Eiver, and 

reads as follows:

70'

Mouth < /' Jilaiiw Creel, firmly inilcH abort; month of JHy 

Hirer, Kentucky.

I See inu|i, T b.|

Fir.. 118. Section nt 

mouth o f Bla i u e 

Creek, Ky.

1. Coal anil black xlate, l'|i|»H- Free-port ....................

2. Saiiilntunr.................................................

3. Slati-. Muck...............................................

4. (%ial, Lower Frot'port.....................................

5. fiivcfay..................................................

6. SanoHtoutf, wliitv..........................................

7. S;imlnt<pm>, dark f.t:\\ .....................................

8. SaiulHtoiio, whito .........................................

9. Slate, black...............................................

10. Sniiilntiiiin, ilark...........................................

11. Slate, blai'k...............................................

12. Coal, Miilille Kittaniiinj;..................................

13. Slate......................................................

14. Sandstone, ^r.i.y...........................................

15. Slufe, black ...............................................

16. Sandstone, ma.v ..........................................

17. Coal, Lower Kitlannin^ ..................................

IK. if in- clay..................................................

111. SundHtinii', gt»y...........................................

20. Shite, Kray................................................

21. Sandstone, jrra.y...........................................

22. Slate, black................................._...........

'23. Sandstone, white, top of No. XII.

:io

50

7 

45 

10 

10 

15 

25 

10 j

27

6

24

25

3 

70

60 > 

25 j 

60 J

80

4

Total.

218

621

For the carefully kept record of this boring I am indebted to Mr. 

P. H. Oliphaut, now the chief geologist of the South I'eim Oil Company.
THE LOWER COAL MKASURKS. 145

faction MM*' Ol<l 1'ettcli Orchard, Lawrence County, h'ciitiicli/. lu the 

vicinity of Old Peach Orchard, on the Louisa fork of Mig Sandy 

Kiver, Kentucky, the surface measurements, combined with the records of oil and gas borings near by, 

give the following structure (Fig. lit)):

4. Coal ...} Wililiifr,.,!... IVad, Sh:,l,. ..... 0' lr'....

( Orchard bed ......< Coal...... _ ' 4" >

5. Pirecla.v. silic.'ous .................................... 4

0. Sandy»halrH ................ .......................... :ir,

<Coal. slaty!"-".".'.".: 1' O'T

Atcic /'.ac/i On-hunl. Kentucky.

[Sec map. V 1,.| 

. oaKabwnt) .........................

Ft. in. ft. i,l.

1:17 4

2 6

((Vil ............. I"

SSl!:::::::::::: j:

top of No. XI [.

III

4

1" 

711 

L'

1(1 

IS

115

I

11J

1

X.'

e

The place of the Upper Freeport coal here is determined with comparative certainty by the massive Mahoning sandstones, which come in above No. 1, and 

also by the occurrence of the Mahoniiig coal, with its 

characteristic structure, at 235 feet above the Peach 

Orchard bed, and 135 feet above where the horizon of 

**' the Upper Freeport lias been placed.

No. 15 is very probably a "split" from the Middle 

Kittanning bed, No. 18, and should be regarded as 

a part of the latter.

The Lower Kittaiming bed, No. ±J, is given as reported from a bore hole at "Old" Peach Orchard, by 

Prof. Shumard, who examined the drillings at the 

time the boring was made, and the rest of the section 

below this is from a deep boring made for gas, about 

3 miles distant, the record of which was obtained from 

Mr. F. H. Oliphant, the civil engineer under whose superintendence 

the deep well was bored. 

Bull ttf 10

Fin. llO. 

01,1
14G T11K NOKTI1UKN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. 05.

There has been much variance of opinion among geologists who have 

examined the Peach Orchard coal bed as to its horizon in the series, 

some placing it as far down in the column as the Clarion coal, but this section shows that it is either the Lower Freeport coal of the Pennsylvania, 

column or else one that is probably a "split" from the 

latter, viz, the Winnifrede bed of the Kanawha series. 

Section near WarfieM, Kentucky. In the vicinity of 

Warfield, Kentucky, opposite the line, of Logan County, 

West Virginia, and <i() miles above the mouth of the Big 

Sandy, the following structure (Fig. 120) is obtained by 

combining the surface observations with the records of 

of the Warfield gas wells:

II ni'Jiclil,- Kentucky, <»i Tmj Fork of li'nj Faiult/ Hirvr. 

1. TJppi-r Fri-i'poi t i-oal (not WIM-II) .

 " Ft. in. Ft. in.

!*amlMoii.-, and i-onri-iili'il ....................... 160

(Coal............ 0' 5'

I Sandy »lialrs...lO' d" 

l-'ii,. l-lny....... « U"

s. coat, wi'mif'V'i"...-}!^'"1'""';;;;; ',; ;;........... u t

I Coal,.splint-.... 1' 4" I

Id.iv ........... 0' J"

(Coal.___...... 0' «"J

51 4. Com-cali'd, and nanilstom................................. J5 )

5. I. iiiii-.i(on<>, silic-i-ouH...................................... 4 > 59

(i. Shali'M, Halldston.'. and coni-iMlhul......................... M J

7. Coal, iraniu'l, t'|ipi'r Kit taimiu^ .......................... 2

£. Sandstone, and rom-fak'il................................ :iO )

'.I. l.im.'sloms HiliiToim...................................... 1 £ 51

1(1. Saudntoiip, and i-onia-alnl................................ 20 J

II. Coal, liloxsoni, Jlidillc Kiltanniiii; ........................

J2. Ciiiicciili.il, anil Kniiilstniiv..............................i. «B

HI. l.init'MloiH', siliceous ...................................... 2

14. Sandstone,luassivi) ...................................... '.'0 )

la. Shalu .................................................... (l 3 I

IB. Ciiiil ..................................................... (I 4 [ 70 7

7* 17. SaiulHtono and whitloH .................................... 40

!« *. Saud»«loni', inaswivi! ...................................... 10 J

(Con!.......... II' 4")

19. Coal, Lower Kittnnniii);.'Slialo......... 0' 10"'. ......... f 2

(Coat.......... 4' 0" S

20. Oiin-ali-il, and sandstone................................ 45

21. Ijmeslonr, rtiliri-ous...................................... U

'.".'. Slialo.s and winilsloni>3 to top of No. XII................. 320

Total.................................................. 787 6

Some have supposed that No. 3 of this last section is 

identical with the Peach Orchard bed, but it seems to 

occupy a horizon a few feet below the latter, and I have, 

_^ therefore referred it to the Winuifrede bed 

p j of the Kanawha column.

No. 19, which is locally known as the 

"Wartield" coal, is the same one as No. 2li 

of Section 119, and the representative of the 

Lower Kittanning bed.

The "siliceous" limestones, Xos. 13 and 

lil. may possibly represent the Campbell's 

Creek and Ferriferous beds respectively.

Flo. I3il._swtiun nt Wiirlli'lil, Ky., 

on Tiig Kiu-kol'JiijiSuiiilv Jiivff! :-
T1IK l,o\VKIi O'OAI, MKASl'KKS. 147

faction on TitffForl-of Rii/iStDuli/ Riri-t; I.»i/,tn <'<HI,</I/, MY*/ r/Y///;*/i». 

Near the month of Knox Creek, at the southern edge of Lo-jan Comity, 

50 miles by the river above \V;;rlield, the follou in--seeiion 

(Fij;. 121) was constructed on the \Vest Virginia side of 

Tng liiver, by adding to the upper i»ortion ol'ilie section 

there the part which has been removed by erosion:

'J'uy fork o/ Jliu fiaiHlij Him; near mouth of /I'M-..,' O,</,, »,n 

.noily, ll'e*l

W ,1.)

Fl.

Upper Frcoport (,,*] diluent

211. (.'(>iiceiil(.(l.f.iin(lsti>ii,..!iii(lc,,iir,.:i

wm. . . .-. . . .-- . v.-.-.'.'.-.v.

-- -

 > . . . . .

I . ...» X V

- ' i i.-.

Total....

CHAKACTKKISTK! IKHMXONS. 

TIIK riTKi: i i:i:i;i'oiii COAL.

Asniaybescen by thescclions just -iveii, 

a very important coal bed comes ;ii the 

summit of the Lower Coal Pleasures col mini, 

and marks the latter oil' from the I'.arrens 

above. This coal, which was named the 

Upper Kreeport coal by 1'o^ers, has a very 

wide distribution in the Appalachian fielil 

and is the source of much valuable coal 

and coke. The coal is not entirely persistent, however, beinjr frequently too thin to 

i-^^'^^s^ti^c^n. mine, and from lar^e areas it is absent en- 

' v ' u ' Xa- tirely, though its horizon in the measures 

can then still be determined, and generally without much dilliculty. 

The bed is probably more regular and i>ersistent in Pennsylvania than
148 TIIK NUKTIIKUN IJITI'MINOUS COAL I-'IKLD.

in either of the other two States (Ohio and West Virginia), but even 

there it is not always found in workable condition, being thin or wauling in some portions of nearly every county where its outcrop extends.

One of the main features which characterize* this bed is its complexity, since it is always separated iuto two or more benches by divisions 

of slate. This complexity of structure is illustrated at the type locality 

(Section G(>), and so far as the writer knows it is never entirely absent 

anywhere in the Appalachian tield, whenever the bed is thick enough 

to mine. These parting slates vary in both number and thickness in 

dilferent regions, so that there is nothing characteristic about them over 

the whole Held, but yet in any particular district or coal basin their 

number and position in the bed are quite regular.

Another peculiarity of the .coal is that it, nearly always cokes well 

whenever attaining anything like its normal thickness and hence in 

several regions is locally known as the "coking vein.'7 There art> many 

districts where this bed will produce coke but little if any inferior to 

that of the Pittsburgh, in the famous Connellsville basin, and when the 

latter is exhausted the next source of supply to the Pittsburgh and 

Pennsylvania region generally must come largely from this horizon. 

Still another feature of this coal is its tenderness, and by this it can 

often be distinguished from the very hard Mahoning coal next above, 

(which often rivals this bed in si/.e), since as a rule the coal from the 

Upper .Freeport horizon does not bear much handling without breaking 

up most of the lumps, although they often come out of the mine with 

large size. This is true of the bed everywhere in Pennsylvania and 

West Virginia (except in the south western part of the latter State, where 

it is often a splint coal), and Prof. Orton reports the same thing as characterizing it all over the Ohio lield.

There is frequently alayer of impure cannel or highly bituminous slate 

in the roof of this coal, and in the Cireat Kanawha region a.fine deposit 

of cannel coal occurs at this horizon. This is true of the Cannelton 

locality, but whether any of the cannel deposits on Coal River, south 

from the Kanawha, belong at this same geological level is as yet undetermined, since the latter have not been sulliciently studied, though the 

flora would indicate that the. Peytona deposit belongs at the horizon 

of the I'ppcr Kittanning coal.

The several sections that have already been given (Nos. 50-llil), indicate-the structure of the Upper Freeport bed in many regions, but 

there remain others where it is equally important, and some of these 

will now be given.

 SVi7/»« at Mi-Coy nlnif't, near GaUit:iii, Cumbria County, I't'iiiini/lnutiii. 

Some large coke plants have recently been put into operation on this 

bed along the line of the Pennsylvania llailro.ul and its branches on 

the summit of the Alleghauy Mountains in Cambria and Cleartield
WIIITF.] TIIK TTPKtt FIJKK'PORT COAT,. 1 t!)

Comities. At (he McCoy shall, near (iallit/.in, the coal lias (lie following structure, according to the superintendent's statement:

Ft. in

Black slate and lionc coal.................. n . 

Coal .......

Slate, gray . 

Coal .......

.Slate ......

Coal ....... I I

Section near eastern cml of old I'orltif/r 1,'nilroinl linnii'l, <tt (!<tU !/:!><, 

I'cniixi/lrniiid. Nisir the eastern end of tin-old Portage Itailroud tunnel, :it Gallit/.in, the coal is well exposed, and there shows as follows:

Coal ....................

Dark slain anil bony coal 

Coal ........:... ........

Slale, ^ray ...... ........

Coal ....................

Slate and slaty coal......

According to Messrs. Chance and 1'latt, this coal is but pooilv represented in the present mining- regit in of Clcartlcld and .lellerson ('(unities, Pennsylvania, but it, is possible, as already suggested m connection \vjtlt .section (SS, that in some cases, at least, the ("pper l^'reeport 

coal may have been erroneously referred to the horizon of the Lower 

I'Yccport.

Section at ^[o1tHt Eijuily mine, Bedford County, rcnnxylninia. In tlic 

I'.road Top field this coal is finely developed in Bedford County, where 

it is known as the "Kelly seam," and ex hi bits the following structure at 

theMt. Equity mine, according to Stevenson, Ueporl 'I", Second Cieo 

logical Survey of Pennsylvania, page (52:

Coal ........................

Coal ...... ..................

Coil *

Coal ............ .... ........

Clay ........................

Coal ........................

Ft. 

.>

.. .. It

.. ...... ...... 1

.............. 1

o

.... II

in. 

1

-

.(

0

o

I

Although this bed is so well developed in Bedford County, yet when 

followed northward into Huntingdon, only l'» miles distant, it thins 

away to only 1 foot; or even less.

Followed southward from Cambria County along the Alleghanics, 

this coal becomes quite thin and slaty in Somerset, and where the bed 

enters .Maryland near the northern end of the Ceorges Creek l>a>in. it 

is only .'? to 4 feet thick and quite slaty, there being a layer of bony. 

worthless coal, 1 (oo| thick, just ;i.bo\Jiihi'_Uil!l<.!.lu-..___.__.._.___
150 TIIK NOllTItERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BUM.. 65.

This poor condition of the bed seems to be maintained southward 

along the Georges Creek basin to Piedmont (Section 9li) and up the 

North Potomac (Sec.tion !>3) to near its source (Section !>4) before the 

coal becomes valuable again, since there the whole, bed thickens up to 

8 feet, and is extensively mined at Thomas, on the West Virginia Central .Railroad, in spite of the fact that, - feet of bony, worthless coal still 

remains near the center of the bed.

In the. Ligonier basin of Westmorland and Fayettc Counties, Pennsylvania, Prof. Stevenson reports this' bed of inferior quality, being 

filled witli knife edges of slate and containing too much sulphur for the 

manufacture, of coke, though it often lias a good thickness. This condition of a Hairs is continued southward along the Ligonier basin into 

Preston County, West Virginia, until we begin to approach the vicinity of Cheat Uivcr, when a great change takes place in the character 

of the coal, the, sulphur and thin slates disappearing and the whole, becoming a most valuable, coking coal.

Section at J'oxti'H'x bank, near Maxnnloirn, I'rcnton County, Went Virt/inin. The section at Mr. Posten's bank, li miles from Masontown, 

Preston County, shows the following structure:

Klatn, gray .................

Coal, gmtt\... ...............

Coal, irooil ..................

Ft. in.

............... l :n

.............. :t o

. 0 1! ! J'»-

............... l :» ' '

............... 0 10

............... :i o l

in.

7

Ft. in. 

8 7

This is near the center of the basin, and the coal is there thicker 

than the average.

faction at Hartley's ba.nl; near Manontoirn, Prenton County, West Virginia. The following from the side of the trough near Masontown, at 

Air. Hartley's bank, will better represent the average, thickness of this 

coal in the Preston basin :

Vt. In.

Slaty coal...... ....................... _ . 1 It

Coal, jjood ................................. 3 !i

Shall-, gray. ............. .................. 0 4 -J

Coal, good ................................. 1 :!

Shall-, w.iy ................ ................ 1 0

Coal, <;'no<l ................................. 1 6

The first parting below the top is usually called the "little" slate, 

while the next one is known as the " big" slate.

This is the same, coal that has long been coked for the manufacture 

of iron at Iroiidale, Pivston County, and also near Austin, on the Haitimore and Ohio Railroad. At both of these localities the coal below 

the " big " slate is not taken out on account of the expense of mining 

the latter.

Southward from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad this bed again 

splits up v itii numerous slate partings, and when it comes out to day-
WlllTF.) TIIK UPPKR FUEKPOnT COAL. 151

light, on the Valley River, at I'hilippi, the coal is 4 feet thick, but so 

slaty as to be almost valueless, and only 20 to L'5 feet above the Lower 

Freeport coal.

Section at Wilson's mine, Roaring Creek, Randolph County, ]]'cst Virginia. Southward from Philippi it increases in thickness, and when we 

come to the eastern side of the lielington basin the bed has a total 

height of 10 to 15 feet, and is locally known as the Roaring Creek vein. 

Its structure there is shown by the following, section at Mr. William 

Wilson's mine, in the northern edge of Randolph County, and about 1 

mile east from the Valley River, at the mouth of Roaring Crock:

Coal, "breast".......... ...... .

Slate, erav .......... .. . .....

Ft.

........... 1

0

........... I

........... 0

in.

« 1

0

H

3 Fret.

1 14

C 1

Coal, "inininjj ply "............ ......... 1 rt

Clay and slate...... ....................... 0 4

Coal, "bottom," slaty...... ................ 1 0 J

-. 

At some localities the " bottom " and " mining ply " benches form one 

layer of coal 3 to 4 feet thick, but as a rule the " bottom " portion is 

slaty and worthless, while the "mining ply" and the ''breast" layers 

furnish very good fuel, the " upper bench " being frequently slaty and 

otherwise impure.

Followed still farther southward along the eastern side of the 

Appalachian field, through Randolph, Upshur, Lewis, Webster, Nicholas, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Cabell, and Wayne Counties, West 

Virginia, this coal bed presents the features shown in the sections given 

below.

Section oft Stone Coal Nun, Upslnir County, Wcxt Virginia. In Upshur 

County, 10 miles west from the Roaring Creek region, the Upper Freeport coal is exposed on Stone Coal Run, a tributary of the Big Sandy, 

which empties into the Buckhannon River. Here the following structure is visible: '

Ft. in. 

lilack slate......................... 2 t> 1

Coal ............................... 1

liuny coal .......................... 0

Coal ............................... 2

lilack slato ......................... I!

Coal ............................... 1

( ray slate.......................... 4

Coal ............................... 1

Slate, dark......................... 1

Coal ............................... 1

Slate, dark.... ..................... 0

Coal, slaty.......................... 0

Slate, gray ......................... 0

Coal ............................... 1

0

8

0

0

0

0

4

10

5

J

6

v; Ft. in.

| 14 <M

_

u fj

' * '< 4

'3

ft

22
ir>2 TIIK NORTIIKRN IUTUMIXOUS COAL FIELD. [IIL'I.I.. IS.

This is the locality of the celebrated "22-foot" coal bed of Upshur 

County. The detailed structure above, given does, indeed, exhibit a 

bed of this enormous thickness, but it is so split up with slate as to be 

practically worthless.

Section on the Tiuel-Jiannon River, Up*hitr Count;/, West Virginia-. Still 

further west from this, on the main Piuckhannon River, one-fourth of a 

mile above C.rassy Run and !li miles from I'.iickhannon town, in a cut 

on the West Virginia and 1'ittsburgh Railroad, the following section is 

exhibited:

.. 12' 0"1

.. a' o" [

17

F.'ct, 

Massive sandstone (Lower Maluming)

( Caiini'l slate...

Upper Frcoport coal.. ' ^^'"" ____ y ()/ , ,

I Coal............ 1' 0"j

Oray shale .................. ......................... 3

Concealed ............................................ 10

Massive sandstone in bed of Itiickhaimon River.... .... 5

Here the coal has almost entirely disappeared in the great mass of 

canne! slate at the top, which, of course, contains a large quantity of 

bituminous matter.

Section at Llot/il Wamnle)/''« bank. Upxlnir County, Wait-Virginia. About 

10 miles .south from the l»ist locality we come to an area of this coal between the main I.uckhamion River and its middle fork, where it lias 

regained a structure more nearly normal, viz:

Ft. in.

f'annel slate........................................ 0 7

Coal ............................................... 2 7

Slate, lilaek ........................................ 0 4

Coal ................................ ..............0 8

Shale, gray......................................... 0 8

Coal, soft .......................................... 1 7

Mr. Bryari1 * bank, one half mile northwest, exhibits the following:

Kt. in.

Cannel slate........................................ 0 C

Coal ............................................... 2 0

1 liony I'oal .......................................... 0 (>

Coal ............................................... 3 0

fled ion at Current'* farm, Upitlntr County, West Virginia. A few miles 

south of this, near the Randolph County line this coal passes into the 

air on the laud of Air. Current, where it exhibits the following:

	Ft. In. Ft. in. 

"Sandstone................................ '2T»

Coal ...................................... 1 0

Slate, bine ................................ 2 2

Coal ...................................... (1 2

Clay ...................................... 0 1 0 6 8

Coal ...................................... it li

Sand rook ................................. 1 0

Coal, visible. ................ ...... ........ 1 0
THE UPPER FRKEPORT COAL. 153

Ft. in. 

!) 0

flection near Hacker"1* ]'«lley P. 0., Webster County, Went Vin/ini/i. 

Southward from this, through the edge of Kandolph, the coal has been 

eroded by the waters of the P.uckhannon, but beyond Helvetia and the 

Florence Pass we come to an elevated plateau, from which the Uiickhannon, Little Kanawha, and Holly (a tributary of the Elk) Rivers all 

take their rise, and here, in Webster County, 7 miles northeast from 

Hacker's Valley post-ol'lice, we catch an outlier of this coal with the 

following structure:

Ft. in. 

1'ony <'oal .................................. 0 (il

CoaJ, KOO.I.... .............................. 1 :i { Ft ML

Bony coal .................................. 1

Coal, <;oort.................................. '2

Section on the Little Kanaicha. Hirer, Leu-is County, West Virginia, 

About 10 miles northwest from this last locality the same coal exhibits 

the following structure (according to William S. Stevenson) in the hills 

along the Little Kanawha Kiver, where the left branch of that stream 

cuts across the panhandle of Lewis County:

Ft. in. 

Slaty coal .................................. .". 01

Coal, linnl.... ......................... .... a r1

Slate ....................................... 0 s

Coal, softer.... ............................. 1 8

Section on the Holly Ifira; Webster County, Wext Virginia. Tn the 

summit of the hills near Anderson's mill, on the left branch of Holly 

Jiiver, Webster County, we find t he Upper Freeport coal with the following structure on the land of Mr. Marcum Cougar:

Ft. in. 

f. 10

Section at Poieell Mountain, Nicholas County, West Virginia. To the 

southwest from this there are no more openings on this coal until we 

come to Powell Mountain, in Nicholas County, although a "7-foot" 

bed of coal is frequently "reported"' in the hills where the Upper Freeport ought to be found. Hut in Powell Mountain it has been mined 

for a long time on the Weston and (Jauley liridge turnpike, where it 

exhibits the following structure:

Ft. in. 

Coal, Itlossoni............................... )

Sliiil<>.M,irra.v ................................ 10(1 Ft. in.

Coal, splinty ............................... 2 0 } 14 ii

I'.lack slatr ................................. 0 :i

Coal, splinty ............................... '.> 0 ]

Here the character of the coal begins to change to the hard, splinty 

variety which distinguishes the coals of the Kanawha Valley.

Co.il, liniil ..................

Slate, <lark.... .............

Coal, soft ..................

Ft. ii

................. :t 2

................. 0 -1

.......... ....... i -i

................. 0 4

................. 1 H
TIIK NORTHERN RITtlMINOtTS COAL FIELD. | III I,T.. (15.

faction on Strond Creek, \icliolim County, \\'cxt Virginia. A few miles 

east from this, on the waters of Strond Creek, this bed shows the following section on the land of Dr. O. M. Lewis:

Ft. in.

Cannol ..................................... 0 f>

Coal, splint................................. 4 0

Soft coal.................................... (I 4

Black slato ................................. 0 I

Coal........................................ 0 (i

Black, coaly slato....................... .... 0 ti }'"' '"'

Gray slato .................................. :t 0 l'~ 10

Coal,soft ................................... 1 10

Clay.................. ...................... 1 0

Coal, Hoft.................................... 0 10

Slato ....................................... 0 1

Coal......................'.................. 0 :! ,

SecfioHHonMiunble-tlii'-iM'ff Creel; \icliolnx Con nil/, HYutf Virginia. On 

Mumble the-peg ('reck, half way between Towell Mountain and Nicholas Court-House, we find an opening in the Upper Freeport coal on 

the land of Mr. Herold, where it shows the following structure:

	Ft. in. 

Coal........................................ I ti)

Slialo.s ...................................... r> 0

Caniiol ..................................... 0 H Ft. in.

Coal,Nplinfy................................ 2 ti < :! '°

Slato, Mack ................................ 1 H

Coal, splinty.--- ............................ 2 ti

At another bank, .'500 yards west from the last, the following is seen:

Ft, in. 

Coal, Mossoin............................... "\

Bony runnel................................ 0 (i ( - .

Coal, splinty ............................... 2 1 j

Slato, Mark ................................ 0 :t I

Coal, Nplinty ............................... 2 (! j

At this loculiiy, as well as in I'owell Mountain and on Stroiul Creek, 

a very good <|iiality of splint coal is obtained from this bed.

From Nicholas Court House on southwestward to the Great Kanawha 

River no openings have been examined along the crop of this coal, but 

at Cannelton, in Fayctte County, we find it a valuable bed of cannel 

coal with a thickness of 1.1 to 4 feet, while - to 24 feet of bituminous 

coal rests immediately on the latter.

Two miles below Cannelton, at the mouth of Upper Creek, the bed 

thickens to II feet, but the layers of coal are so interstratified and 

diluted with slate and muddy sediment that the whole is worthless. A 

few miles farther down the Kanawha, at Kast IJank and Crown Hill, a 

portion of this great bed becomes the excellent splint coal, 3 to 4 feet 

thick, which is mined at those localities, but farther down this rivetthe bed again becomes impure and remains practically worthless from 

Coal burg on down until it disappears under the river at Charleston.
WHITE. I THK UPl'KR FRKKFORT COAL. 155

West from the Kanawha we have no information about this coal until 

we reach the Guyandotte Itiver in Cabell and Lincoln Counties, but it 

is possible that some of the Coal River cannel belongs at this horizon.

Necliononthe Giii/Hiiilottc Rirer, Cnbell County,Wcxt Viryinut. On the 

(Juyandottc Kivcr the 1 'pper Freeport coal rises above water level about 

two miles above the " Falls Dam." It is first opened and mined at the 

mouth of Stone Coal KIIII, whore it exhibits the following structure:

Coal 

Slate 

Coal

visible. ...................

Ft 

.... (1

. . ....... 0

........... 0

........... 0

........... 1

1U.

4 1

*

7

; 

8

in. 

G

Another opening a short distance up the run gives the following:

Ft. i". l'"t. '" 

Massive sandstone.... .................... - >

Cannel slate.... ........................... I 0 )

Slate........ _ ........................... 0 a *; ">

Coal, good ................................ 4 0 j

3

This latter section very probably belongs immediately on top of. the 

first opening, since the interval between the two banks is concealed.

The coal is known in this region as the "big bed." On the Caldwell 

tract, opposite Camp Branch, this coal exhibits the following section in 

the blutl' overlooking the O uyandot te :

Ft, in.

0

Coal, Upper Freeport.. . 10

-

Coal, slaty. . .. 

Coal ..........

Slate .........

Coal ..........

Slate .........

Coal..........

Sliale.... .....

Coal ..........

Slate, .........

Coal ...... ....

r u"i

. i (i"

d' i '

. -2' (1 '

0' -J" I. .

 - 0' ! "

(I' it"

. 0' H"

II' (>"

. :; 0"

As will be perceived, the coal contains much slaty material and the 

layers of coal themselves are inclined to be bony and impure, approaching the type which this bed exhibits in the vicinity of the Kanawha 

Mining Company's plant on the P>ig Kanawha Kiver.

Sections on Core Creek. \\'<tyne County, \Yc8tYirginiu. As we pass from 

the (iuyandotle in Lincoln County westward across the divide to the 

waters of Twelve Pole, a great change takes place in the Upper Freeport bed, and on Cove Creek we find it split into two portions with .'JO 

feet of rock between, and the lower bench a line quality of caunel coal 

3 to 4 feet thick at some openings.
Iftfi THF. NORTHKRN JUTl'MINOtTS ('o.U, FIKLD. fiin.i flv 

At another locality the following is seen : '

Ft. in. 

Coal blossom .............................. '^ « \

Shales and sandstone .................. ....!!il (I j Ft. in.

SI,ale.. ....................... 0' C, | ) :" 10

Coal, s|ilint.................... 1' H' |

C.IIIIH'l, JJOOll .................. 1 4 |

Coal, IHIIIV .................... 1' 4' j

On the opposite side of Cove Creel; we, see:

Massive snndstone 

Coal ............ .

Slate.......... ...

Coal ..............

Caniicl ...........

I'I. in.

(I (! 1

0 4 (

1 C>

:i ii

From this jioint a belt of ennnel coal at the horizon of this bed extends in a general westerly direction nearly across Wayno County, being 

found on all ot the main branches of Twelve Pole. It is possibly identical with the celebrated Closes Fork eannel and other eannel deposits 

in Kentucky. This belt of eannel varies inncli in width, but it is often 

1! or ',} miles across, and while the bed is not entirely persistent, it is 

seldom less than -0 inches thick. It is quite pure and will compare 

favorably with the celebrated Kanawha eannel, which comes at tlie same, 

geological Iiori/.on.

O» tlir left hnnn-li of Tirclrr Pole, one-half mile above the mouth of 

lirush Creek, this eannel coal shows as follows :

Ft. in. 

Massive sandstone.........................

Coal, liitiiininoiiH .......................... (I 10") p.

Rock, dark ............................... H H v 4'

Cannel .................................... 'J li j

(hi Litllr Linird, a branch of lle/ekiah Creek (tributary of the, left 

fork of Twelve Pole), the eannel exhibits the following:

Ft. in.

Sa mist ono.. ...............................

Coal, bituminous.... ...................... 1 (I \

Honrroal ................................. 0 H I

Caimrl .................................... :! 1

UoniM'oal ................................. 1 d
Will IK ] THE L'ri'EK FKKLroUT COAL. 157

On Snic L'it bntiu-h of Cove Creek the. following section was measured : y

Kt. iu. IVi't.

Cdill, l)ll)SMIIII ............................... ',' (I I .,-,

SamUtom- .............................. ....'-'."i (I \

Coal ........................... ............ 0 (i

Slate, f,'ra> .................................. (I t

Coal, bituminous.. .......................... 1 :>

Ciinnel ..................................... I 7

Coal, splint ................................ 1 0

Slat.- and »lal\ <-«:\\ ...... ...... '...... ....... 0 ,r><

Coal ....................... ................ n a

Slatii ....................................... O _'

Coal, sidiut ................................. II ^

Slulf, blu'o .................................. (I r,

Coal, splint ................................. I (j J

Z/i Siii/tir Camp JIolloic, a short, distance above Jesse (Jneeii's, the 

Upper Free-port eoal exhibits tlie t'ollo\vin,i; structure:

Kt. iu.

ISaiulstonc, massiv 

Coal ..............

Sliit« .............

Cuul, Miiliut. ......

Slat.', "Viiy .......

Coal ............ .

Coal, splint........................ (I 8

Slalr, »ray ........................ n I

Coal .... .... ...................... 1 li

Slatr, ilai-k ........................ u ;i |

Coal .............................. u 7

Shito.............................. o (i

Coal .... ...... .............. ...... 0 1 |

Slialy saml.-*toiiu .. ...... ...... ............ K>

Coal ..................................... 1 li

On TroKjjh Creek, near James Kuiney's, this eoal exhibits the fol 

lowin.;;:

Massivf saiiilslonc ................

CilillU'l Hlatc. .....................

Coul, s}>linty ....^. ...............

Slato...... ........................ 0 1 I

Coal, splint.... .................... 1 (I j

FlafJJf.v Hinnlsloiit: anil slialr. ............... 15 (I

CainiL'l slato ........................ 0 ,s

Coal .............................. L' 1

Slate .............................. 0 -^ 1

Coal ............ .................. (i 10 j

Slialo. uray. ....................... U li I

Coal .............................. -J 1 j

,,(in 

._»j 7
158 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [in u.. 65.

If

Kt. in. 

7 \

At Grcene Porto's, on the right bank of Twelve Pole, the Upper 

Freeport bed shows tin- following:

Ft. in.

(.',,iil........................................ 1 0

Clay ....................................... 0 .r>

Slinlu inxl mill ....... ..... ....-....... II '.i

Coal........................................ 1 HI

llonv cuiil and tiliitc ......................... 1 0

Coal"............ .......- .............. 'J 4 j

From this point on west to the Kentucky line on the Tug River nothing is known of the Upper Freeport coal, ;iml at Warlield it. seems to 

be absent from the section, but this may possibly be due to the fact 

that its horizon there overtops the summit of the hills.

In western Pennsylvania, there are large areas, especially in Heaver 

County, where this coal is either absent or else too thin to mine; so it 

enters Ohio not as a persistent bed, but occurring in patches, and this 

characteristic, seems to remain with it there, from the Pennsylvania line 

entirelv across the State to the Kentucky border at Ironton.

Even along the Ohio Biver from the Pennsylvania line down to where 

this bed dips below the same, it is generally absent* and Prof. Orton 

thinks it is still absent in the Hteubenville shafts, the coal mined there 

being the Lower Freeport bed, instead of the Upper Freeport as was 

formerly supposed.

lu eastern Ohio it is known as bed No. C in the Ohio scheme of numbers, but in other portions of the State, as Prof. Orton lias shown, it 

was often called No. 7. The following list of Ohio names for this bed 

will indicate regions in that State where the bed becomes prominent: 

"Big Vein" of Salinesville, "Dell Boy," "Cambridge," "Alexander," 

"Bayley's Kun," " Norris," " Happy Hollow," " Waterloo."

Section IICKI- Kcnorti, Went Virginia. After passing beneath the Ohio 

lliver above Steubenville, this bed never emerges from the same until 

within 2 miles of the Kentucky line, and if the Steubenville shaft 

coal be the Lower Freeport, then the Upper one is absent over a wide 

region along the Ohio Biver, for it appears to be absent in several borin«'s, notablv at Parkersbnrgand Pomeroy. It is reported from a boring 

at lluntington, however, as 1(1 feet thick, though where it comes up to 

the level of the Chesapeake and Ohio Kailroad at the east end of the 

Big Sandy bridge, 10 miles below lluntington, the bed is worthless, 

as shown by the following structure there:

Ft. 

Coal ........................................... 1 ] Ft,

Sliale .......................................... :! S 5

Coal, slaty ..................................... 1 j
THE UPPER FREEPORT COAL. 159

Section in Rltcliie County, Went Virginia. Where this bed is brought 

to the surface on the Volcano anticlinal in Ritchie County, West Virginia, it has the following structure, according to Stevenson:

Kt. in.

Coal ...................................... '-' <J I Ft. in.

SanilHtone, ^ray ........................... 15 l> J 0 8

Coal ...................................... 0 8 J

TDK ri'l'KK KKKKPiiliT UMKSTONE.

Below the coal just described, at an interval which varies from 0 to 

40 feet, there comes a limestone which was named from the same locality as the coal. It is quite generally distributed in Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and Ohio, but in the southwestern part of West 

Virginia it appears to be absent, since it has never been reported from 

the region along the Big Kanawha and its tributaries, nor from the 

region between that and the Big Sandy.

The limestone is usually of a light gray color on fresh fracture, but 

some of the layers are always buflish when weathered, owing to included irou. Frequently the rock presents a brecciated aspect, as if 

made from the broken fragments of an older limestone.

Fossils are rare in this bed except a minute univalve which looks as 

if it might be of fresh water origin. Some layers of this stratum generally contain a considerable amount of carbonate of magnesia, and 

occasionally enough to constitute it a good rock for the manufacture of 

hydraulic cement.

The thickness varies from 1 foot up to 30 feet as a maxim :im, though 

the average, might be placed at ~> to 8. It makes an excellent lime for 

fertilizing purposes, and is much sought after to enrich the barren soil 

lauds above, though it is occasionally mined for use in blast furnaces, 

as on the Alleghany Kiver between Freeport and Kittanning, where it 

is unusually thick.

In Ohio this bed has been given several names, as "Shawnee," 

"White," " Buchtel," etc. There, also, as in Pennsylvania and West 

Virginia, it occasionally becomes iron-bearing and some or all of its 

layers develop into iron ore, which is known in Ohio as the "Buchtel" 

ore, and in Pennsylvania as the " Summit" ore.

THE KOI.lVAIi KIIIE CM.AY.

When the Upper Freeport limestone is absent, or but slightly represented, there occasionally comes into the section at its hori/on a bed 

of excellent tire clay, which from having long been mined near Bolivar, 

"Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, is generally known as the Bolivar 

clay. As there developed it shows a line quality of non-plastic clay 

which is used in the manufacture of lire brick and gas retorts. It also 

occurs in several other regions of Westmoreland County, as well as iu 

Fayette and other Pennsylvania counties.
100 TIIK NOHTHKRN BITUMINOUS C'OAL HKLU. >l l.i. 05

This clay has been reported as valuable at only two or thive points 

in Ohio, viz, in .letl'erson and Mnskingmn Counties, while, in West Virginia it is known to be valuable in only one region, viz, ou Deckers 

Creek, in Preston ami Monongalia Counties.

TIIK Ul-l'Kl: FllEKFOKT SANDSTONE.

As a rule the main portion of the interval between the Upper ami 

Lower Freeport coals is occupied by sandy shales or thin Haggy layers 

of sandstone, separated by shales, but occasionally a bed of massive 

sandstone makes its appearance at this horizon and it has received the 

name of Upper Freeport Sandstone. It is quite prominent in some portions of Pennsylvania, but appears to be generally absent in Ohio. It 

is also conspicuous along the Great Kanawha and in all the region of 

West Virginia, southwest from there, sometimes attaining a. thickness 

of 7o feet, while in Pennsylvania it is seldom more than .'ill feet.

When this sandstone is not present as a massive rock there occasionally occurs a thin bed of coal in the interval between the Upper and 

Lower 1'Yeeport coals, and 1 have termed it

THE MIDDLE FKKKI'OKT COAL.

This bed is shown in Section GO at the typical Freoport locality, and 

as already stated in connection therewith, its presence in other sections 

may, have led to some confusion in identifications. It is not a regular 

member of the series, however, and is probably uever much thicker thau 

at Freeport, viz, li feet.

The interval between the Upper and Lower Freeport coals varies 

greatly in thickness, running up sometimes to 80 and again thinning 

away to 'JO-odd feet, as shown in Section 05.

TIIK l.OWKI! FKKKrOKT COAL.

This bed is quite as variable, or even more so thau the Upper Freeport above. The rule is that whenever one of these beds has a fair 

development the other is poor or worthless, but in addition to this uncertainty, they are both frequently thin, or practically absent from the 

section at the same time, so that no one should look upon any of these 

coal beds as being continuously valuable over wide areas.

As shown in Section G(i at the type, locality of this bed, it is even 

more complex in its structure than the Upper Freeport above, being 

split into two well defined layers separated by a stratum of clay and 

limestone. It is quite probable that this dividing layer may at times 

thicken up greatly as all other rocks do, and separate the two layers of 

coal by an iuterval of several feet, thus making two apparently distinct 

coal beds, but which should really be classed as members of one.

If Messrs. Chance and Platt are correct in the identifications of the 

Lower Freeport coal in JclVei-son and deal-field, there are large areas 

in both of these counties where this coal is quite valuable, since it is 4
WIIITB.] THE LOWER FREEPORT COAL. 161

to 7 feet thick and of excellent quality, though it is always separated 

into two or three benches by partings of slate.

The upper portion of the Lower Freeport bed often lias a tendency 

to become cannelly, as at Freeport, and some highly bituminous shalo 

is frequently present at this horizon, even when the coal is absent.

Another very fine development of the Lower Fret-port coal is in the 

vicinity of Fairmont, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, where according to 

Chance it is 5 to 7 feet thick without any partings, and furnishes an 

excellent quality of gas coal, as it does in the Reynoldsville regiou of 

Jefferson County.

In Ohio the reputation of the coal as a patchy deposit is fully sustained, since Prof. Orton says of it (Vol. V, p. 10(>, Ohio Geological 

Survey), "this is a seam the horizon of which can be followed throughout the entire field, but which becomes workable at comparatively few 

points."

In eastern Ohio it is called No. o, but iu Stark County ami southwestward it is known as No. Oa, while the synonyms, "Whan" "Steubenville Shaft," "Roger," " Hamdeu Furnace," and "Hatcher" indicate 

localities where the bed becomes important.

If the " Stcnbeuville Shaft" bed really represents this coal instead of 

the Upper Freeport, then there is quite a large Held of it along the Ohio 

River, for it is found of good thickness iu every boring as far south as 

Moundsville, West Virginia, where it underlies the Ohio by more than 

000 feet.

Section near Philippi, Barbour County, West Virginia. In Preston, 

Monongalia, Mineral, and Tucker Counties, West Virginia, this bed is 

quite thin and often absent entirely, so it is not mined till \ve go south 

into Barbour County, where it thickens up and in the vicinity of Philippi exhibits the following structure:

l-'t, in.

Coal ........................

Slate ........................

Coal ...................... ..

Coal ........................

.... .... ...... 1 ID -I

.............. 0 8 Ft. in.

............... 0 6 \ 5 10

............... 0 10 I

.... .......... 2 0 ]

Nothing is known of the Lower Freeport from Philippi on southwestward along the eastern margin of the Appalachian Held until the Great 

Kanawha River is reached, except in the Roaring Creek field, where it 

is only 2 feet thick and 25 feet below the upper bed.

But from the fact that this coal becomes one of the principal beds in 

the Kanawha region, and from there on southwestward into Kentucky, 

it is inferred that it is also a valuable bed at some points between Philippi and the Big Kauawha.

On this latter stream the Lower Freeport appears to be the parent of 

two valuable beds known respectively as the Coalburg and Winnifrede 

veins. The former certainly belongs to this horizon, anil the luttcr 

Bull. CD 11
162 THE NOUT11EKN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (13UI.L.G5.

probably does, though formerly I was inclined to refer it to the horizon 

of the Upper Kittanning. Tlie Lower (Joul Measures thicken up so 

greatly in that region, liowever, ami the intervals separating the (Joalburg and \Yinifrede beds from the top of the series and from each other 

vary so much that it seems more probable they are both members of 

the complex Lower Freeport coal. The Coalbnrg and Winifrede beds 

are themselves complex, being always separated into two or threebenches by layers of very hard slate or bony coal locally known as 

"nigger head." They usually furnish the variety of coal known as 

"splint," and the Kanawha ".splint'' is highly prized as a general" domestic fuel. These two beds are quite irregular in their thickness and 

one or both are often too thin to mine, but they appear to be much more 

regular and persistent southwest from the Kanawha than the Upper 

Freeport, since they furnish valuable coal clear across to the I!ig .Sandy 

Itiver, the celebrated Teach Orchard coal of Kentucky coming at the 

horizon of either the Coalburg or Winifrede bed, or both combined. 

This latter view is the more probable, since at the tunnel near the New 

Teach Orchard mine the coal is seen splitting up till it is scattered 

through more than 40 feet of rock material.

Section of bed at Coalbury, l\finaichn Count;/, ITo-f Yiri/iniu. The 

following section shows the variations in the structure of the (Joalburg 

bed at its typical locality:

Splint .coal. ............................... C in. to 10 ft.

"Nij^orheiul".. ......................... 4 in. to b iu.

Splint coal ............................... '.'i ft. to 3J ft.

Shnlo .................................... 1 ft. to H ft.

Soft coal 1 ft. to ft.

Ft. in. 

' 4 10

Section (i1 Winifrede, Knnaivhn County, West Virginia. The structure of the Winifrede coal at Winifrede is as follows:

Ft. iu. 

Gray splint ................................. 0 ,r> *|

Soft coal.... ................................ 0 5 j

Gray splint ................................. 0

Soli coal...... .............................. 0

Gray splint ................................. 1

Soft coal.................................... 1

Slate .... ................................... 0

Soft coal.................................... 1

I do not know of any locality in the Kanawha Valley where both the 

"Winifrede and Coalbnrg beds are mined one above the other in the, 

same hill, for when one is good the other happens to be worthless, ami 

this is so constantly true that, were it not for the fact that the Coalburg bed is only 100 feet below the Kanawha black flint, while the Winifrede seam is 17f> to 200 feet below the same datum line, 1 would be 

strongly inclined to believe that they were one and the same coal.

Section (it month of Illai/ie Creel; Lair fence County, Kenltieky. In descending the T.ig Sandy liiver the Lower Freeport sinks below water
THE LOWER FREKPORT LIMESTONE. 163

level ;it (lie mouth of Hlaine Creek, G miles below Louisa, where it exhibits the following structure:

Hamlet < mo ......................... ~|

Coal ..................................... 0 111 ! K'- "' 

Fireclay................................... 5 Of 7 10

Sandy slialc. ............................... li 0 j

Conl ................. ..................... 0 10 1

Sliali: with iron ore ........................ 1 0 I

Coal, slaty................................. 1 OJ 5 7

Shale, him;.. ............................... 1 3 |

Coal....................................... 1 GJ

Tin: I.IIWKI: mi-.r.i'OKT M.MKSTONU.

The conditions preceding tlie spread of a great coal marsh seem to 

bave been eminently fitted tor the prod action of limestone deposits, 

especially in the Pennsylvania and Ohio regions, for, witli few exceptions, a limestone is found close under every coal bed, and this is true 

of the Lower Free port horizon. This limestone very much resembles 

the one under the Upper Freeport coal, except that it is usually thinner 

and more earthy. It also contains the same univalve fossil, and no 

others, so far as the writer is aware, thus showing that it too is a freshwater deposit. It contains a considerable quantity of carbonate of 

magnesia and occasionally, as at the locality of Section 103, furnishes 

material for the manufacture of hydraulic cement.

Considerable iron ore is also found at this horizon, and the limestone 

is generally of a bullish cast from the disseminated iron. From this 

fact it and the Upper Freeport limestone above are generally called the 

"bull1 '' limestones in southern Ohio.

In West Virginia this limestone has not been recognized anywhere 

in the northern part of the State, and it is certainly absent entirely 

along the Great Kanawha. An i in pure limestone is sometimes found 

in connection with the Peach Orchard coal of Kentucky, which is possibly identical with the Lower Freeport.

THE l.OWKK KHKEPOKT SANDSTONE.

The next lower stratum that has a general distribution over the Appalachian field is known as the Lower Freeport sandstone. Section CG 

shows the thickness and structure of this sandstone at its typical 

locality, and there it is seen to be double, with a coal embedded in its 

lower portion, the whole being Gli feet thick. That the 15 feet of sandstone under the coal at Freeport belongs properly with the main sandstone above is known from the fact that at one locality the coal is seen 

disappearing entirely and then the two beds of sandstone unite into 

one solid mass.

This rock is always of a grayish white color, generally quite hard, 

often containing pebbles as well as much feldspar, which decomposing 

permits the rock to disintegrate readily and weather into fantastic
164 THE NORTIIKKN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. 05.

shapes. It is more persistent as a massive rock than the Maboning 

even, but unlike the latter it is seldom used for building purposes. 

This is owing to its hardness, coupled with the fact that it will not 

stand the weather well, and also it is often so gnarly and twisted in its 

bedding that it will not split evenly.

This sandstone is never less than 30 feet thick in the Pennsylvania 

region, and it frequently rises to 75 and even 100 feet in some localities, 

making a bold din" or blnlf wherever its outcrop is above drainage, and 

thus becoming a conspicuous feature in the topography of the Lower 

Coal Measures.

Throughout a large portion of Jleaver County, Pennsylvania, this 

sandstone is 75 to 80 feet thick, and near its center is a very hard 

caleareo-siliceous layer 2 or 3 feet thick, which may possibly represent 

the Johnstown Cement limestone, in other portions of the State.

The sandstone maintains about the same thickness throughout eastern Ohio as in Heaver County, and continues on around to .southern 

Ohio with a thickness of;{() to 50 feet.

It enters West Virginia from Pennsylvania as a very massive bed, 

50 to 75 feet thick in Monongalia and Preston Counties, while in 

Tucker, Taylor, Harbour, and Randolph, it is still thicker and more 

pebbly even than the Pottsville conglomerate. Southwest ward through 

Randolph. Webster, Vraxton, and Clay, this sandstone keeps on increasing in thickness, and when the Big Kanawha is reached it has swelled 

out in a wonderful manner, becoming 250 to .'500 feel thick, and remaining the same across to the Big Sandy, often crowning the hills and 

ridges with cliffs weathered into turreted and chimney-shaped forms. 

When attaining this immense thickness it often consists of three or four 

sandstones, with shales and two or three coal beds interstratilied.

This rock has produced a small quantity of oil at Fairview, Marion 

County, West Virginia, and is generally known as the "gas sand," iu 

the drillers' parlance, since it often produces considerable quantities of 

natural gas.

THK UI'l'Kl! KITTANNIXO COAL.

Throughout several counties of .Pennsylvania a third bed of good 

coal occurs at 80 to 1JO feet below the top of the series, and to this 

Messrs. Chance, Platt, and other Pennsylvania geologists, have, given 

the name Upper Kittanning, though the bed in question is not workable at Kittanuing or anywhere near that town, as may be seen from 

Sections (50-(j(! along the Alleghany River, since it is thin and unimportant in that region. The Messrs. Platt at one time identified this 

coal with the Lower Freeport bed in Cambria, Clearneld, and Jefferson 

Counties, calling the coal which is now termed Lower Freeport there 

the Middle Freeport, and it is barely possible that this lirtt arrangement of the stratigraphical order was the correct one, iu many regions, 

siuce, as. already shown (see 00), there is a Middle Freeport coal even
WHITE.) THE UPPER KITTANNING COAL. 165

nt Free port, and in addition the Lower Freeport bed is itself so complex that either halt'of it might at any time separate from the other 

and both become independent beds.

But however the questions suggested may turn out, the fact remains 

that at many localities in Pennsylvania, at least, there are three distinct coal beds between the Ferriferous limestone and the Lower Freeport coal, as shown in Sections 64, G5, and GO.

Westward in Ohio, however, the Upper Kittanning coal appears to 

be, either wanting entirely in most cases or else coalesced with the 

Middle Kittanning bed, since Prof. Orton finds no place for it as a regular member of the Ohio series, but puts it down as a synonym for the 

Lower Freeport seam. (See Vol. V, p. 120, Ohio Survey.)

In West Virginia the Upper Kittanning bid first appears in the sections along the Tygart's Valley River (90 and 97), where it is 2 to 3£ 

feet thick, and a rather fair coal; but it appears to be absent entirely 

in the Newburg shaft, Preston County, unless it is combined with the 

Middle Kittanning there, while in the North Potomac basin near Davis 

it is represented by a mere streak. In the Kanawha field two or three 

thin beds come at this horizon, and one of them is frequently canuel, 

and the same horizon can be recognized on the Guyandotte River, in 

Wyoming Comity (Section 117).

Chance says that it is the main cannel horizon in Pennsylvania, the 

New ISethlehem, North Washington, and Murrinsx ille cannel deposits 

coming at this horizon. If the Darlington cannel, of Beaver County, 

comes at this same horizon, then the interval separating the Upper 

and Middle Kittanning beds has there thinned entirely away, and thus 

brought the two into direct contact. This might well be, since the Darlington cannel rests directly on 2 feet of bituminous coal, below which, 

through a shale interval of 30 feet, comes the undoubted Lower Kittanning coal, underlaid by its great bed of lire clay. This would account 

for the absence of the coal in Ohio, if it really does unite with the Middle Kittanning before crossing the Pennsylvania Ohio line.

This bed appears to attain its greatest importance in Pennsylvania, 

along the eastern border of the coal field through the counties of Jefferson, Clearfield, Cambria, and Somerset, where it has been fully described by Messrs. Platt and Chance. The general sections already 

given show the horizon and structure of this bed at numerous points, 

so that no further description of it is necessary.

THE JOHNSTOWN (OEMENT) LIMESTONE.

Lying only 2 to 5 feet below the coal just described, there occurs, over 

a wide region in Pennsylvania, a bed of magnesian limestone, which Mr. 

Franklin Platt named the Johnstown Cement, from its occurrence at the 

city of Johnstown, Cambria County. It is almost an exact counterpart of the Lower Freeport limestone of the comities farther west in 

physical aspect, chemical composition, fossils, and everything else, and
166 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. OS.

this is one of the facts which, taken iu connection with the entire absence of this limestone in the western tier of counties and in Ohio, has 

sometimes led to the suspicion that possibly the Johnstown Cement 

and the Lower Freeport limestone of Butler and Beaver Counties are 

identical. Still there are other facts of stratigraphy which appear to 

forbid such an hypothesis, and hence, until it can be shown otherwise 

by more positive demonstration, we must accept the stratigraphical 

horizon given the Johnstown Cement first by Messrs. Platt, whoso 

labors moved it up from the horizon of the Ferriferous limestone, to 

which the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania had erroneously 

assigned it. The stratum ranges in thickness from 1 to 8 feet, and 

when it is 5 feet or more some of the layers often make good lime for 

agricultural or other purposes; but when the bed is only 1 to .'i feet 

thick it is usually too impure to slake well. This stratum has not been 

recognized at any point within West Virginia with which the writer is 

familiar, and it thus appears to be generally absent from the series iu 

that State.

THE MIDDLE KITTANX1NO COAL.

Whatever uncertainty may exist concerning the exact horizon of the 

coal which has just been described under the name of Upper Kittaniiing, there is none with reference to the next lower bed, for it is such 

a constant member of the series that its relations to the other rocks are 

seen in nearly every section. This bed was formerly called the Upper 

Kittanning, until Messrs. Platt and Chance discovered that the coal 

last described was a member of the Kittauning group, and then the 

coal in question was lowered to the name of Middle Kittanning.

In the vicinity of Kittanning (Section 03), and along the Alleghany 

lliver below (Sections 64, 05, and 0(5), this bed is thin and unimportant, 

but west from this it thickens up and is the most important seam in 

Butler, Lawrence, and Beaver Counties, the coal being quite pure and 

highly esteemed for gas, steam, and domestic purposes, though it seldom exceeds 4 feet in thickness, and is often much less. This is the 

famous " Clinton," "Rock Point," and "Hog Hollow" coal along the 

Beaver Kiver. It is always divided by one or more thin slate partings, 

one of which is usually near the bottom.

Eastward from Butler County, through Armstrong, Clarion, Jefferson, and Cleartield, this bed, according to Platt and Chance, declines 

much in thickness and value, so that it is seldom mined, except occasionally for domestic purposes.

Still farther eastward, however, in the Broad Top coal field of Huntingdon and Bedford Counties, it thickens up and is apparently represented by the " Barnet'" coal of that region.

Southward from Pennsylvania, in Maryland and northern West 

Virginia, this coal is sometimes thick enough to mine, though seldom 

exceeding 2i to 3 feet. At the southern end of the North Potoiuao
WHITE.] THE MIDDLE KITTANNING COAL. 167

coal basin it practically unites with the Lower Kittanning below, and 

is mined with the latter where that bed is opened near Thofnas; but at 

the Davis mine, further south, the parting slates have thickened up to 

20 feet and separated it from tl*e Lower Kittamiing again.

Section at Netclnirfi, Preston County, Wcxt Virginia, In the deep 

shaft at Newburg, Preston County, West Virginia, this coal has the 

following structure and relations to other beds:

1.- Lower froeport sandstone...................

Ft. 

(Coal ................ 1

Slate................ 0

2. Coal, Middle Kit- J C(lill 8lat ........... 2

tanning....... | Clay................. 2

(.Coal, good........... 2

3. Fireclay and shales............................. 15 -0

4. Coal, Lower Kittanning, with several partings.... 9 5

to.

3

0

0

0

Ft, in. 

7 3

Here it is possible that both the Upper and Middle Kittanning beds 

are represented in No. 2, and they are only 15 feet above the Lower 

Kittanning coal.

In the Great Kanawha field, this bed, although only 3 to 4 feet thick, 

is very pure and valuable, being known there under the names of "Cedar Grove," "Trimble," "Arno," and others.

In the Wyoming County section (117) two beds are often found .at 

this horizon, separated by 20 feet of shales, but the lower one appears 

to be the main coal. The same thing is seen in the Peach Orchard 

section (110), where the lower one is a "splint" coal, thin, but of excellent quality.

Iu Ohio this coal becomes the most important bed of all the coals in 

that State, according to Prof. Orton, since it is almost constantly workable from where it enters Columbiana County on the east to where it 

leaves the State near Ironton at the southwest. The numerous names 

it has received in Ohio will serve to illustrate its importance in the 

mining industry there, of which the following is a partial list: " 'So. 4, 

in Ohio and Yellow Creek Valleys atthe east; " No. 6," in Stark County 

and southwest ward; " Ilaminondsville Strip Vein," " Onasburg," " Pike 

Run," " Dennison," V Coshocton," " Upper Zanesville," " Upper New 

Lexington," "Nelsonville," "Straitsville," "Great Vein" of the Hocking Valley, " Carbondale," " Mineral City," " Upper Zalcski," " Washington Furnace," " Sheridan," etc.

The tracing of this bed through Ohio, and its identification at many 

points where it had formerly been confused with other beds, is due 

largely to the labors of Prof. Orton, the present efficient director of the 

Ohio Geological Survey. The structure of the coal where it attains a 

considerable thickness, as in the Hocking Valley, is always quite complex, there being several parting slates, as may be seen from Sections 

105 and 106.
108 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BUT.I.. 65.

Hi

Section in Hncking Valley, Ohio. The following, from Vol. V, Ohio 

Geology, will^serve to illustrate the general structure of this bed when 

at its maximum development:

Ft. in.

Top coal .................................... 'J 7

Soft coal, rejected .......................... 0 4

Coal................... .................. 4 -i

Bone coal, rejected.......................... 0 6 I '

Secondslate ................................ 0 !M

Coal.......... .............................. I (i

I'irttt slatu............................ ..... 0 1

Coal........................... ............ 2 4

Section at Xrw Straitxfille, Perry County. The following is the structure at New Straitsville, p. 954, loc. cit.:

Ft, in.

Coal....................................... 1 2

ISonocoal .................................. 0 2

Coal....................................... 4 0

Soft coal................................... 0 4

Slate ..................................... 0 :i '

Coal ...................................... a 1

Slato ...................................... 0 1

Coal....................................... 1 11

According toOrton this bed changes in character from a good coking 

eoal in eastern Ohio to an open-burning one from New Lexington southwestward. The reader will lind the eoal fully described in Vol. V, Ohio 

Geology.

The interval separating the Middle Kittanning coal from the Lower 

Kittamiing bed varies greatly both in thickness and composition in the 

different, regions of the Appalachian field. In western Pennsylvania 

and eastern Ohio the interval is usually only 20 to 30 feet and generally 

occupied with dark slates or shales holding iron nodules, and it seldom 

surpasses 10 feet anywhere in Pennsylvania, while in northern West 

Virginia it locally thins away to an insignificant parting, but to the 

soiithwestward in the Great Kanawha region, and from there across to 

the l>ig .Sandy, it often swells up to 100 feet and occasionally attains a 

thickness of 105 feet (Section 315), with some massive sandstone at 

several horizons. In southwestern Ohio a massive" sandstone .'SO to 40 

feet thick often occupies the interval to the exclusion of shales.

In the Great Kanawha region a siliceous limestone makes its appearance in this interval and seems to have quite a wide distribution in that 

region and soiithwestward to the Big Sandy. It is well exposed near 

the mouth of Campbell's Creek, and I have designated it the Campbell's 

Creek limestone from that locality. This stratum seems to be present 

even in northern West Virginia, since in Sections 93 and i)G, at Moatsville and Valley Falls, respectively, a bed of siliceous limestone occurs 

20 feet above the Lower Kittanning coal.

Along the Tug Fork of Big Sandy there are siliceous limestones at
WHITE.] THE LOWER KITTANNIXG COAL. 169

several horizons above the Campbell'a Creek bed, as shown in Section 

119, there being two and sometimes three within the horizon of the 

Lower Freeport sandstone, so that these must not be confounded with 

the one in question.

The bottom layers of this shale interval immediately above the Lower 

Kittanning coal-are nearly always filled with fossil plants. They occur 

in great variety and abundance wherever the rock material in the roof 

of the underlying coal is a shale, and this is the horizon par excellence 

for the collector of plants from the Lower Coal Measures.

These beds have been thoroughly explored at only one locality in the. 

Appalachian field, viz, Cannelton, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where 

Mr. I. F. Mansfield has collected systematically for Prof. Lesqitereiix 

during several years, the results of which are recorded in Report P, 

Vols. I and II, Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania. The list 

includes a large number of species, several of which are peculiar to 

that locality.

THE LOWER KIT-TANNING COAL.

The next lower bed of this series, though formerly named simply 

the Kittanning coal by Rogers, is now called the Lower Kittanning. 

Although seldom attaining any unusual thickness, it is probably the 

most persistent bed in the entire Appalachian field, and has a workable 

thickness over a larger area than any other. In Pennsylvania it furnishes from 3 to 4 feet of valuable fuel over large areas in every county 

where its outcrop is due. Of course, like all other coals, it thins down 

locally and becomes worthless over considerable areas, but the barren 

patches on the horizon of the Lower Kittanning bed are fewer and 

smaller than those at the horizon of any other coal in the entire Lower 

Coal Measures. If the Middle Kittanniug is the more important, coal 

in Ohio, the Lower surpasses it in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 

so that the difference in favor of the former in Ohio is much more 

than offset in the latter two States. This coal is also a composite seam, 

and when it acquires considerable thickness is often split into several 

divisions by separating slates. In the Pennsylvania Held these slates 

are usually mere knife edges, and add but little to the total thickness 

of the bed, except in the eastern portion of the field f where in Clearlield, Bedford, and Huntingdon it often has a layer of impure tire clay 

or gray shale separating the bottom member from the middle one.

The " Fulton vein" of the Broad Top field appears to be identical 

with this coal, though the writer was formerly inclined to regard it as 

identical with the Clarion (see T 3 , Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania), and bed "A" of the Tiptou Run series is probably the same.

The " Bloss vein" of Tioga County seems to be referable to this same 

horizon both with reference to structure and its position in the column 

of rocks (Sections 50 and 51).

In the Georges Creek field of Maryland this is often known as the 

'' (i foot" bed, and its structure there is given in Section 92. From Elk
170 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (BULL. 05.

Ft. In. 

9 5

Ifcl

Garden southward along the North Potomac to where this bed passes 

under drainage level, near German, it is so badly split up with slate as 

to be rather valueless, but whSre it emerges to daylight again on the 

other side of the Cheat-Potomac divide, near Thomas, it has become a 

splendid vein nearly 11 feet thick, as shown in Section 94, from which 

G feet of excellent coal is mined without taking out the bottom member. 

As already stated, the bed attains its great thickness in this region by 

the thinning away of the shales which usually separate the Middle and 

Lower Kittanning beds, thus permitting the two practically to unite 

into one. The coal from it here is prized for smithing purposes quite 

as highly as the celebrated Blossburg bed, with which it appears to be 

identical. It has also been successfully coked in this Tucker County 

field, since it is nearly always a good coking coal everywhere.

Section at Ncicbnrg, Preston County, West Virginia. In the deep shaft 

at Newburg, Preston County, West Virginia, the Lower Kittanning has 

the following structure:

Ft. in.

Coal ..................._. .__......_.. 0 10

Shale, gray ................................. 0 10

Coal ............ ...... ..................... 0 6

Bony coal................................... 0 3

Coal ................ ....................... 4 G

Black slate ................................. 0 6

Coal ...................... ................. 2 0_

Sections 05 and 06 show the structure of this bed where it is brought 

to the surface by the Chestnut Ridge anticlinal, on the Tygart's Valley 

River, below Grafton, West Virginia, and, as will be seen, it is there 

about 5 feet thick.

On the Great Kanawha River, above Charleston, this is one of the 

princip.il coal beds, and has long been known there as the Campbell's 

Creek vein. At this locality on Campbell's Creek the coal is 4 to G feet 

thick with only two parting slates, but in passing southward up the 

Kanawha new partings come in and the old ones thicken up until the 

bed, with its included rock partings, swells out to a thickness of nearly 

50 feet, and two of the members are mined independently, the upper 

one being known as the Peerless bed and the lower one as the Blacksburg. The upper member never exceeds 3 feet, and is usually about 

20 feet above the Blacksburg member, which is often 4 to 5 feet thick 

and is the "Coal Valley gas vein." On the Mount Carbon property, 25 

miles south from Campbell's Creek,.the 20 feet of shales which usually 

separate the Peerless and Blacksburg members of the Lower Kittanning coal thin away to a few inches locally, and both are taken out of 

the same drift. This is also the condition of afl'airs at the famous 

Anstead mines of the Hawk's Nest Coal Company on top of Gauley 

Mountain. At the head of Cabin Creek, a tributary from the south 

bank of the Big Kanawha. the Peerless and upper half of the Blacksburg member come completely together, forming a bed of excellent gas 

coal 5J feet thick.
WH1TB.] THE KITTANNING FIRE CLAY. 171

In Wyoming County, West Virginia, this coal, which is locally called 

the " Cook vein," has a good development, the whole seam with its parting slates being about 25 feet thick, as may be seen from Section 117, 

but the main portion of the bed is about 7 to 8 feet thick, separated into 

three layers by slate partings of 4 to G inches thick.

This coal rises above the level of the Tug Fork of Big Sandy about 3 

miles below Warfleldand 30 above Louisa. It has been mined to some 

extent for local use at Warfleld, and is known in that region as the 

" Warfield coal." Its structure there is given by Section 119. Above 

Warfleld it dips down under the stream and does not come up again for 

about 10 miles, or some distance above the mouth of Pigeon Creek, but 

from there on up Tug River it is constantly accessible for .about 40 

miles, until the southward rise of the rocks throws the coal above the 

tops of the hills near the mouth of Ben Creek, 95 miles above the mouth 

of Tng. Along this line the coal is seldom less than 3 feet thick and 

frequently 4 to 5 leet, with only one slate parting 3 to 5 inches thick. At 

the month of Lick Creek and GO miles from Louisa this coal is 100 feet 

above the river, and reported 6 to 7 feet thick, with only one thin slate 

near the center.

In Ohio the Lower Kittanning coal is almost as persistent as in Pennsylvania, rarely being absent entirely from the section, and generally 

having a thickness of 3 feet, with a maximum of 5.

In the deep oil-borings across southwest Pennsylvania and northern 

West Virginia this coal is quite persistent, being frequently reported at 

a depth of 1,500 to 1,800 feet beneath the surface.

The following list of names has been given it in Ohio : Coal No. 3 in 

Ohio Valley and along Yellow Creek, No. 4 at Leetouia, No. 5 in Stark 

County and southwestward; also " Creek vein," " Potters vein," " Lectonia," "Mineral Point," "Lower New Lexinglon," "Newcastle," etc. 

% This coal is often neglected in Ohio even when it has a thickness of 1H 

to 3 feet, because of the great development of the Middle Kittanning 

coal only a few feet above. Both of these beds have now, through the 

labors of Newberry, Orton, Eoy, and others, been traced from the Pennsylvania Hue clear across Ohio to where they pass into Kentucky at 

Ironton, and have been so well described by Orton in Vol. V, Ohio 

Geology, that it is unnecessary for the writer to dwell on them longer.

THE KITTANNING FIRE CLAY.

Lying directly under the last described coal there comes in many 

regions a great bed of splendid fire clay which often-overshadows the 

coal in value, since many millions of dollars are invested in manufacturing the several lines of articles which can be made from this clay. 

The bed has been named from Kittanning, where it is mined, and here 

as well as at many localities in Ohio the clay does not all immediately 

underlie the coal, but some of it is found a few feet lower and nearly 

on top of the Ferriferous limestone.
172 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. (BULL. OS.

Eastward from the Alleghany River this clay does not appear to be 

very important, but westward from that point it is generally present, 

and attains its maximum development along the Beaver, and westward 

from there down the Oliio; the famous potteries at New Brighton, Kochester, East Liverpool, New Cumberland, and other points in these valleys all deriving their clay from this horizon.

In the Beaver County region the thickness is generally about 8 to 10 

feet, but occasionally runs up to 15 and down to 5. It often consists of 

two portions, an upper " soft" clay and a lower "hard" clay, the latter 

being used in the manufacture of fire brick, etc. In western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio this clay bed is often a very valuable element 

in settling questions of stratigraphy which would otherwise be extremely 

difficult of solution j in fact it is valuable for this purpose clear across 

the Ohio coal field, since, according toOrton. although not entirely persistent, yet it furnishes valuable clay mines in every county of its outcrop from the Pennsylvania line across to the Kentucky border.

In West Virginia (except along the Upper Ohio River) the deposit is 

seldom of value, being too siliceous, and it has been developed in only one 

region, viz, near the locality of Section i)7, at Nuzum's, on the Tygart's 

Valley River. Here along the crown of the Chestnut Ridge anticlinal 

the coal above locally disappears, and then a valuable bed of hard clay 

replaces it, but when the coal comes in again the clay disappears, just 

as it often does in Ohio, when the hard Ilinty clay is present. The 

(Hade Fire Brick Works at. Nii/uins manufacture a good fire brick from 

this bed.

THK K1TTANXING SANDSTONE.

The interval between the Lower Kittanning coal and the Ferriferous 

limestone varies greatly in thickness, sometimes only the clay bed just 

described intervening, and again the interval thickens up to 60 to 75 

feet or even more. Whenever the interval attains anything like these 

last figures we generally find a massive sandstone between the coal and 

the limestone, and to this has been given the name Kittanning. It 

sometimes, as on Buffalo Creek, Butler County, Pennsylvania, develops 

into a great cliff rock of massive and even pebbly sandstone, cutting out 

the underlying limestone (Ferriferous). It often furnishes good quarry 

stone, and a rock occupying this horizon in the series has been quarried 

and used in building the Government lock and dam near Coal Valley, 

on the Great Kanawha River. In this region the interval between the 

Lower Kittanning coal and the Ferriferous limestone thickens up to 150 

feet, and a local bed of coal, the Brownstown, comes into the series 

about half way in the interval. In Wyoming County and westward 

from there the Kittanning sandstone thickens to 100 feet, as seen in 

(Section 117.

TJ11-: UUIIHSTOXK IRON" ONE.

Resting immediately on top of the Ferriferous limestone there occurs 

over a very wide area a deposit of iron ore. In Pennsylvania it is often
WHITK.J- T1JK FERKIFKROUS LIMESTONE. 173

underlaid with cherty material, and hence Ions -1 S° received the name 

of " IJuhrsrone ore," but it is there also called Ferriferous ore. In Ohio 

it has a wide distribution and is known under several names, among 

which are " Baird" ore, "Gray" ore, " Limestone" ore.

The ore generally lies in immediate contact with the limestone, in it 

slab-like sheet one half to 1 foot thick, but occasionally, as in Lawrence 

County, Pennsylvania, on the Houck farm, it locally thickens up to L'O 

feet, entirely replacing the underlying limestone, while again it is absent 

over wide areas, or represented by nodules scattered through the overlying shales. When the Ferriferous limestone is absent, its place in 

the series can often be correctly assigned from the existeuce of this ore, 

as is the case in Section 97, at Nimuu's Mills, West Virginia. This'bed 

was formerly the main ore from which the charcoal furnaces of western 

Pennsylvania drew their supplies,and it is still the main feeder for these 

furnaces in southern Ohio. In northern West Virginia some iron ore 

occurs at this horizon in Alonongalia and Preston Counties, and a few 

inches of it may be seen near the coke ovens on (ilady Fork, below 

Thomas, Tucker County, but in the Great Kanawha region and southward toward the Big Sandy it appears to be completely absent as a 

distinct stratum, though nodules of iron sometimes come at this horizon.

THE FEKUIFKROUS LIMKSToXE.

The occurrence of the iron ore just described resting upon a bed of 

limestone over a wide area suggested the name ''Ferriferous" which 

the early geologists applied to the limestone as well as the ore.

This is the most important and widely distributed limestone of the 

entire Coal Measure column, important both in an economic sense and 

as a stratigraphical horizon which with ordinary care can be unfailingly 

recognized by geologists as well as anyone else interested in determining the correct order of the rocks. It dilfers from the other limestones 

that we have had so far in the Lower Coal Measures, in being a genuine 

marine deposit, abounding in fossil crinoids, corals, brachiopods, lamellibranchs, univalves, etc., a list of the more common forms of which 

is given on pages 46 and 47, Eeport QQ, Second Geological Survey of 

Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania this limestone is confined to the counties west from 

Chestnut Bidge, attaining its maximum development in Clarion, Armstrong, Butler, Beaver, and Lawrence, where it is frequently L>5 feet 

thick, or even more, and seldom less than 10 except it has locally 

thinned away entirely.

Tliis limestone enters Ohio at Lowellville on the Mahoning River with 

a thickness of 15 feet, but westward it changes AT ery much from its 

Pennsylvania type, becoming reduced in thickness, sometimes entirely 

absent, and occasionally splitting into two beds separated by 15 to 

50 feet of shales, the lower one of which has been called the Piitnam 

llill limestone from its occurrence ia au emiueace of that uaiue at
174 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD, [HULL. 85.

I

Zanesville. Tn one way or another, however, it has been satisfactorily 

traced by Orton across the Ohio field to where it enters Kentucky from 

Hanging Rock.

A layer of Hint or " bnhrstone" is often incorporated with the top of 

this bed in Pennsylvania, and the same thing holds true for Ohio, but 

below this the rock is generally gray for 10 to 16 feet and of great purity, being especially prized as a flux in the smelting of iron ore, and 

used almost exclusively for this purpose in the Pittsburgh region. The 

lower portion of the stratum is generally of a bluish color, and its layers 

are shaly, being interstratitied with thin films of clay and other impurities, and occasionally a distinct bed of shale separates the blue layers 

from the gray above. Hence it seems very probable that, as Prof. 

Orton once suggested, this shale layer probably increases in thickness 

through some regions of Ohio, thus separating the upper portion, as the 

" Gray " limestone, from the lower or blue part, which has been called the 

Putnam Hill. Onone point, however, in this connection, the writer cannot fully agree with Prof. Ortou, and that is concerning the presence 

of workable coal beds between these two divisions of the limestone. 

There is certainly none at Zanesville, the typical locality for the Putnaiii Hill limestone (Section 104), neither is there any atShawnee (Section 105), nor at New Lisbon (Section 103), nor Sprucevale (Section 

102), so that it appears more probable that the supposed workable coal 

between the two layers of the limestone is founded upon an error m 

identification.

Another characteristic of this limestone is that when it becomes thin 

and impure it almost Jilways exhibits the "coue-in-cone" structure, 

though there are other horizons in the Coal Measures which show the 

same feature, notably the Mercer limestones.

The most northern point at which this limestone has been found in 

Pennsylvania is in the southern portion of McKean County, where 

Mr. Ashburner identifies with it a siliceous limestone occurring in the 

vicinity of Clermont.

In the North Potomac coal basin this limestone has been seen by the 

writer near Gormau, Garrett County, Maryland, and also below Thomas, 

along Glady Fork of Black Water. In each case, however, the deposit 

is entirely different from the marine type of western Pennsylvania and 

Ohio, and resembles more the fresh water limestones under the Freeport coals, since no marine fossils were observed at either locality; in 

fact there is no point in West Virginia or Maryland where the marine 

type of this limestone is known to exist, so far as the writer is aware.

Along the Great Kanawha River, in the vicinity of Caunelton, a bed 

of siliceous limestone occurs 75 to 100 feet under the. Lower Kittanning 

coal, and it has been identified with the Ferriferous limestone horizon 

as shown in Section 115. It occasionally exhibits the " coue-in-coue " 

structure but is not fossiliferous.

Immediately uuder the Ferriferous limestone in western Peuusyl-
WHITE.) THE CLARION COAL. 175

vauia there are often 5 to 10 feet of black fossiliferons shales, especially 

when the limestone is thin or locally wanting, so that the horizon can 

thus be frequently recognized without the presence of the limestone 

since the fossils in the shales are practically the same as in the latter.

THE CLAKIOX COAL.

Mr. H. Martyn Chance has recently shown (W, Second Geological 

Survey of Pennsylvania) that the coal bed which comes so close under 

the Ferriferous limestone in western Pennsylvania, and was formerly 

called the Scrub-grass coal, is really an off-shoot from the Clarion, and 

hence it is unnecessary to retain the name Scrub grass, which should 

be replaced with Upper Clarion.

The main bench of the Clarion coal occurs through western Pennsylvania at an interval of 10 to 30 feet below the Ferriferous limestone. 

Its usual thickness is about 3 feet, though it often swells to 4 or 5. 

When well developed it generally contains one or two part ing slates, and 

one of them thickening up causes the upper bench to approach the Ferriferous limestone, and it was then taken for a separate coal by the 

geologists of the First Pennsylvania Survey, but, as Chance suggests, 

this should be called the Upper Clarion bed in view of its origin. This 

upper member is thick enough to mine in only a limited area around 

the northern outcrop of the same in Clarion, Duller, and Jefferson Counties.

The Lower or main Clarion bed is of considerable importance in Pennsylvania, and generally furnishes some areas -of good fuel in nearly 

every county where its outcrop occurs, though as a rule the coal is 

rather high in both ash and sulphur.

In eastern Ohio this bed acquires some importance in the vicinity of 

Leetouia and New Lisbon, and is there often parted by a vein of lire 

clay 1 to 4 feet thick, the upper coal alone being mined, and vary ing in 

thickness from 2.J to 3£ feet. Prof. Ortou has also shown that the Canlield cauuel of Mahoniug Couuty belongs to the horizon of the Clarion 

bed.

Westward from the eastern tier of Ohio counties, the Clarion coal 

disappears according to Orton and is of no more importance until Vintou and Jackson are reached, but this conclusion is based upon his present view of the Putuaiu Hill limestone, which he once regarded as a 

"split" from the Ferriferous of Pennsylvania, but which he now appears to reject, since he puts the Clarion coal between this latter limestone and the upper or " Gray" one, and identifies the coal underlying 

the Putnam Hill limestone as the Brookville bed of Pennsylvania. The 

writer has elsewhere expressed his doubt of the existence of any workable coal between these two limestones, believing that the identifications on which the couclusion was fouuded are erroneous, so that if we 

substitute Clarion coal for "Brookville" in Prof. Ortou's Ohio series,
176 T11K NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. IBULL.6S.

all diniculties concerning the disappearance of the Clarion coal between 

eastern Ohio and Terry County vanishes, and the Clarion becomes one 

of the regular and persistent ,beds of the series clear across Ohio as it 

does in Pennsylvania. In the Zauesville section (104) the writer lias 

indicated his views as to the equivalency of these members of the Ohio 

series.

The Clarion coal attains its maximum thickness in Stark County, 

Ohio, where it is 0 feet thick and a very fair steam coal, according to 

Orton.

In northern West Virginia this bed is generally present in the section, 

but is usually slaty and too impure to be valuable, so that it has never 

been mined in that part of the State.

/Section near E«gle, Fayettc County, West Virginia. Along the Great 

Kanawha Kiver a coal bed, which appears to come at this horizon, has 

been largely developed for coking purposes in the vicinity of Eagle, 

Fayette County, and hence is locally known as the Eagle vein. Where 

best developed there, it varies from 3£ to 4i feet in thickness, and is a 

splendid coking coal, having the following structure in the vicinity of

Eagle:

Ft. in. 

Coal....................................... 1 2

Shalo.... .................................. 0 3

Coal....................................... 0 3

Slialo.............................._..... 0 3

Coal....................................... 2 10.

Ft. In. 

4 5)

Iii passing up the Kanawha from Eagle the upper shale parting of 

this bed gradually thickens till at the mouth of Armstrong Creek, 3 

miles above, it becomes 20 feet thick and the coal has the structure given 

in Section 115.

The interval between this bed and the Lower Kittanning varies between 120 and 200 feet along the Great Kanawha, thickening up to the 

latter figures at Brownstown (Section 114), but southward from this in 

Wyoming County the interval swells still further to 230 feet in the vicinity of Oceuna, as shown in Section 117, where the coal in question 

has a thickness of 5 to G feet and is known as the "coking" vein. 

There is evidently a wide area of this coal between the Kanawha and 

Big Sandy Kivers in which it will prove a valuable coking coal.

A bed of excellent fire clay often underlies the Clarion coal both in 

Pennsylvania and Ohio, being second in value only to the Kittanning 

clay above,'and often rivaling it in thickness.

The interval below the clay down to the next coal bed (Brookville) 

varies greatly both in thickness and in the rock material which occupies it. Occasionally the series ends with the Clarion iinderclay, which 

rests immediately on top of the next lower or Conglomerate Measures, 

while again, shales and a sandstone termed by Chance the Clarion 

sandstone occupy this interval, which iii Pennsylvania is geklom lucre 

tliau 30 to 50 feet thick. -: -
WHIT».J THE EAGLE LIMESTONE. 177

In Ohio the interval below the Clarion clay down to the top of the 

Pottsville Measures is seldom more than 150 feet, the same being true 

in northern West Virginia, as may be seen from Sections 90 and 97.

On the Great Kanawha lliver the interval from the Clarion or Kagle 

coal down to the top of the Pottsville Measures thickens to nearly 300 

feet, and consists of a succession of shales and sandstones, in which 

occur two thin limestones and two or three thin coal beds. None of 

the latter attain a thickness of 3 feet, however, anywhere between the 

Kanawha and Big Sandy Kivers, so that the workable coals of this 

series in that region really end with the Clarion (Eaglo) bed.

Two or three rocks in this interval of 300 feet in southwestern West 

Virginia require more particular notice. One of them, and the uppermost, is a very pure seam of coal, which at Eagle comes only I'O feet 

below the main Eagle bed, and is li feet thick. I have termed it the 

Little Eagle coal, since it is possibly a "split" from the main bed 

above. To the south it appears to be quite persistent, since it occurs 

iu Wyoming County in every section; but the interval separating it 

from the Eagle bed has there swelled to G.5 feet (Section 117) and the 

coal has thickened to 27 inches of the same excellent fuel as on the 

Kauawha.

THE EAGLE LIMESTONE.

Another rock worthy of mention in this Kanawha series is an impure 

limestone which occurs near Eagle at an interval of 75 feet under the 

Eagle coal. It is only about I foot thick, quite dark, fossiliferous, and 

exhibits the "cone-in-eoue" structure to a Wonderful degree, being 

locally known as " black marble." The stratum is immediately underlaid by dark shales, which are crowded with marine fossils of the same 

type as those found in connection with the Ferriferous limestone iu 

rennsylvania and Ohio; in fact, so many of the species are identical, and 

the limestone itself so closely resembles the Ferriferous when thin, that 

sometimes I have been inclined to think that the two beds may possibly 

be identical, though this would seem to be impossible from the structure 

of Section 115, iu whicli the whole lower coal series is exposed both 

above and below this stratum. If it should turn out to be identical 

with the Ferriferous, however, then the Eagle coal would be the Lower 

Kittanning, instead of the Clarion, and the Camphell's Creek bed the 

Middle Kittanning, or Netsonville seam of Ohio, instead of the Lower 

Kittanning. The reader will understand the difficulty of correlation 

when he remembers that the lower coal series is less than L'OO feet thick 

in the Hocking Valley, Ohio, while here, only ll'O miles southward, the 

same series has swelled out to 1,000 feet.

The fossiliferous type of the limestone and its accompanying fossiliferous shale have never been seen by the writer, except in the vicinity 

of Eagle, and hence I have preferred to regard it as a local deposit 

below the horizon of the Ferriferous, since the fossils of the Lower Coal 

Measures have the same general facies at all horizons. 

Bull. 65 12
178

ir

THK NOUTHEKN UlTUMINOUS COAL FIELD.

TUB nliOOKVlLLE COAL.

| DULL. OS.

At the very base of the Lower Coal Measures, except the intervening 

underclay, there occurs in Jefferson, Clarion, and some other counties 

of Pennsylvania, a bed of usually slaty and otherwise impure coal, 

which was long ago named the Urookville bed, from its supposed occurrence near the town of that name in Jefferson County. This coal acquires some local importance around the northern margin of the coal 

Held in Jefferson, Clarion, Butler, and Mercer Counties, but southward 

aud westward it thins away and is often absent even as an impure bed, 

there being no coal whatever at this horizon where the Pennsylvania 

series enters Ohio; and if I am correct in identifying Prof. Orion's 

"Brookville" coal, (Vol. V, Ohio Geology) with the Clarion of Pennsylvania, then the Brookville coal is generally absent, or at least seldom workable anywhere in that State.

Very frequently the Brookville coal is represented in Pennsylvania 

by only a bed of black slate or coaly shale, resting on the top of the 

Conglomerate Measures, aud this is the case in northern West Virginia, 

there being no workable coal at this horizon anywhere in that State, so 

far as the writer is aware. Even in the Kanawha field, where this 

lower portion of the column is *s<> greatly thickened, the largest coal 

bed referable to the Brookville horizon is the one in the Wyoming 

County section (117), and this is only 2.J inches.

On the Great Kanawha a bed of very bituminous sh.ile (Section 115), 

from which lubricating oil was ouce manufactured, may possibly represent the Brookville coal horizon, since it is the lowest bituminous 

stratum in the series there.

Below this coal in Pennsylvania, aud resting immediately on the top 

of the Conglomerate series, there is sometimes a good bed of fire clay, 

and Mr. Chance refers to this horizon the clay which is mined so extensively iu Clearueld County, at Blue Ball, Wallaceton, aud other 

points along the line of the Tyrone aud Clearfleld Railroad.
C H A P T E R V I.

THE POTTSVILLE CONGLOMERATE SERIES. 

THICKNKSS, CHAUACTElt, AND EXTENT.

Beneath the lowest member of the last described series there comes 

in a group of rocks (No. XII) which are nearly always so different from 

those in any other portion of the Carboniferous system that all geologists 

have regarded them as worthy of being placed in a distinct series. To 

this series several names' have been given. The early geologists of 

Pennsylvania called it the " Serai" or "Great" Conglomerate, while in 

Virginia it has generally been named the No. XII Conglomerate, or 

simply No. XII. Prof. Lesley has iu recent years, however, given it 

the geographical designation of Pottsville Conglomerate, from the great 

development of the series near the town of that name, while 1'rof. Fontaine, following the Pennsylvania custom of naming the several coal 

series after prominent rivers along which the beds are exposed, has 

suggested the name New River series, from that region of West Virginia where its coal beds attain a great development.

But since only one geographical name is admissible for the series, 

and as the term Pottsville is now so well ingrafted upon geological 

nomenclature through the numerous reports of the Second Geological 

Survey of Pennsylvania, it is thought best to retain it for the series, 

and at the same time retain New Ifiver for the name of the coal group 

which attains such prominence along that stream, thus putting it on a 

par with the Merger group, which occurs iu the upper portion of the 

series.

As exhibited everywhere in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, this 

series is very sharply set off from the Lower Coal Measures above and 

the Lower Carboniferous below, since in both cases there is a great 

change iu the lithology, so that the geologist finds no ditliculty in determining where the Pottsville series begins as well as where it ends.

The series as a whole possesses a large amount of hard, white, or 

grayish white sandstone, much of which is often cougloim-iitic. The 

sandstones are harder, more compactx and siliceous than auy iu the 

Lower Coal Series above. Bowlders of these sandstones take a smooth 

polish when rolled along river beds, but this is not the case with most 

sandrocks above this horizon.

The fossil contents are also different from those of any sandstones 

above, since here for the first time iu descending the column of rocks
180 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BDU.M.

do we find sigillariae aud the large lepidodeudra very abundant in 

sandstones.

At the base of the series the change in lithology and life remains is 

even more abrupt, since with the disappearance of the white or gray 

sandstones and conglomerates, limestones, red shales, and green micaceous sandstones appear, in which plant remains are rare aud the fossil 

trees are all small.

The Pottsville being composed mainly of very hard sandstones, the 

grains of which are cemented by silica and peroxide of iron, becomes 

almost indestructible by ordinary atmospheric influences, and has thus 

proved a most important factor in determining the topography of the 

Carboniferous system. Whenever these" beds come to the surface iu 

West Virginia and Pennsylvania, wild and rugged scenery is sure to 

be found. Rapid rivers, high waterfalls, great cliff's, and barren regions generally, mark the lines where these rocks emerge to daylight. 

The loftiest peaks of the Alleghauy Mountains owe their origin to this 

friendly mautle, while its upturned edges have preserved many coal 

basins from complete destruction. The deep gorges, narrow cafions, 

aud wild scenery of the Alleghauy, Youghioglieny, Cheat, Monongahela, New, Guyandotte, and Big Sandy Rivers are all carved out of 

these rocks. The Falls of the Yough, Cheat, Tygart's Valley, Kanawha, 

and the "Roughs" of the Guyaudotte aud Big Sandy are all made by 

these same beds.

It was formerly supposed that a vast sheet of pebbly material underlaid all of the true Coal Measures, and that it was destitute of coal; 

but the recent work of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania 

has shown that the series is very complex, consisting of several distinct 

sandstone members, between which occur shales, several coal beds, and 

occasionally some limestone.

In Ohio it happens that the upper members are not so massive as iu 

Pennsylvania or West Virginia, while the coal beds which are prominent only around the margins are well developed there, so that the 

Ohio geologists have classed the upper portion with the Lower Coal 

Measures, and retained only the lowest member of the series, viz, a 

stratum termed the Sharon Conglomerate, as the representative of the 

whole series elsewhere. I shall show in the following pages that the 

whole series is easily recognized in Ohio, and that the western Pennsylvania type of these measures can be traced across Ohio, and hence 

for the sake of uniformity in nomenclature the Ohio geologists should 

cut off 100 to 150 feet from the bottom of their Lower Coal Measure 

column and combine it with the Sharon Conglomerate below, thus 

making several members for the series instead of a single stratum.

The coals of the Pottsville aeries, unlike those in the measures above, 

are persistent and valuable only around the margins of the Appalachian 

coal field, and for the most part only where their outcrops are above 

the level of the principal draiuage streams, so that the conditions for-
PI I 1 FTI") *.n. (,< , pi . x

THE POI 1SVILLE CUNGLOMEIiATE TOPOGRAPHY IN BLACKWATER CANYON, TUCKER COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
WHITE.] THE POTTSVILLE CONGLOMERATE. 181

merly supposed to apply to the Lower Coal Measures do actually prevail with reference to the coal in this series, since hundreds of carefully 

kept well records testify to the absence of any workable coal beds in 

this series over all except the outer rims of the Appalachian field. 

This same fact is visible to the eye in passing inward toward the center 

of the field down any one of the great rivers which drain into the Ohio. 

The Sharon coal disappears southward along the Shenango and Mahoning rivers long before its horizon dips down to water level; the New 

Itiver coals fade out of the section before their outcrops touch the 

stream to the north; the great bed at Pocahontas does not extend indefinitely down the Guyandotte and Tug rivers, but only L'O to :iO miles, 

until it dwindles away to a bed too thin to mine, so that should a shaft 

be sunk to these beds 30 or 40 miles from their southern or northern 

outcrops respectively, the same massive, pebbly, white sandstones 

would be found, but instead of inclosing valuable coal beds they would 

hold only thin streaks of coal and some black slates.

Another peculiarity about these interconglomerate coals is the great 

difference in quality between those around the southern rim of the Appalachian field and those around its northern border, for in western Pennsylvania and across Ohio they are all open burning, hard, and generally 

known under the name of " block" coals, which can be used in furnaces 

in the raw state, while to the south, through West Virginia, Virginia, 

and on into Tennessee and Alabama, these same coals are very soft 

and tender, always cementing and making good coke. This difference 

is connected with different conditions of accumulation, there probably 

being less moisture in the great peat swamps at the north, and the 

vegetable accumulations taking place not under water, but partially at 

least in the open air. This much would be indicated by the innumerable films of mineral charcoal which characterize the northern coals 

and render them non-cementing. To the unequal rate of subsidence on 

the two sides of the Appalachian basin is doubtless owing the conditions which brought about the difference in the character of the coals.

Another peculiarity is the great purity of these early formed coals, 

their freedom from injurious quantities of ash and sulphur, both at the 

north and south. This also appears to be due to the conditions attending their deposition rather than to any difference in vegetable tissues, 

since just previous to the spread of these early coal marshes the whole 

Appalachian region was sheeted with a thick layer of clean gravel and 

white sand, thus effectually covering up the muddy deposits of a former 

epoch and causing the streams which drained into the peat bogs of that 

time to be pure and clear like our own mountain brooks of the present.

The thickness of the Pottsville series varies greatly in different portions of the Appalachian basin. In the bituminous regions of Pennsylvania, and everywhere in Ohio, they rarely exceed 300 feet and seldom go below 150; but south westward through West Virginia they 

begin to swell out, reaching 700 feet at the head of Black Water, iu
182 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HUM.. 65.

Tucker County; 1,400 on the New Kiver in Fayette, and probably 

1,800 at the Kentucky line on the Tug Itiver, in McDowell. Map Section 0 will exhibit the manner and rate at which these beds thicken 

southeastward from their northwestern outcrop in Ohio. The data for 

its construction were obtained from surface measurements and oil-well 

borings, several of which have been recently made along the Great 

Kanawha.

This series is .also the repository of much salt water, as well as some 

oil and gas. The celebrated brines on the Great Kanawha, as well as 

at Pomeroy and many other localities along the OLio Kiver, come in its 

basal members, while the "first gas sand" of the Cannonsburg and 

Hickory region of Washington County, Pennsylvania, is found in the 

upper half of the same. This rock is also gas-bearing near Glover's 

Gap, on the Dodd farm, and near Mannington, Marion County, West 

Virginia, on the Snodderly farm. '

We shall now give a number of sections in different portions of the 

Appalachian field, illustrating the character and thickness of the Pottsville series, and, as with the Lower Coal Measures, shall begin at the 

northeastern end of the h'eld and proceed south westward to the Kentucky line.

Section in Fox Township, FAk County, 77eMMSJ//tvwuf. =The following 

section (Fig. 122) exhibits the structure of these beds in Fox Township, 

Elk County, Pennsylvania, as given by Ashburner (Iteport Ell, p. 186, 

Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania): '

Fox Township, Elk County, renntyU'anla.

(Sec map, 1) r.)

Ft. in. 

1. Sandstone, Ilomewooil................................................. 35

2. Coal

(Owl........................... 1' 2")

I rtlnt«, black ................... 0' 3"

.............JC<i:il........................... 1' 8"}-

i, black ................... 0'

Coal................ .......... 1'

4 8

Fin. 122. Suction 

in Fox Towusliip, Elk Conn 

ty, Pa.

3. Slnteaml lire flay..................................................... 19

( Coal........................... 1' 8")

4. Coal ............ <S1ato.......................... 3' 0" > .......__. 6 11

fCoal........................... 1' 3") '

5. Samlet one Conoqueuesaing ............................................ 50

0. Shnlit mill sl»to............................ ............................ 10

7. C'onjilotnrniti! .................... ...... .....................,......'.. 50

8. Slinks of No. XI...... ................................................

Total.............................................................. 170 7

As will be observed, the scries is thin in this region, and it seems to 

decrease still more in Tioga County further to the northeast, where it is 

less than 100 feet and all in one solid bed.

Section at Clearfidil, Clcarficld County, Pcnnsylranin. At the town 

of Clearlield, in the county of the same name, a well was once bored for 

salt. It begins near the top of these measures, .and the record shows the 

following structure (Fig. 123), as given in Keport II, Second Geological 

Survey of Pennsylvania:
WHITE.] tOTTSVILLE CONGLOMERATE 183

, FriiiiHjlrHiiia, from Iwriny.

:sa>:=?*g

WW3r,jl

iSST; S=i3.3

40'

s<f

so'

I See nmp. E ».| 

Sandstone, feiTtt'iinons. ......................................

Sandstone hnnvn ..i.. .......................................

Sandstone, lijjlit colored ..... ................ ...............

Sandstone, eoarse, iron-stained ..............................

Slate, Muck, mixed with Kami. .................... ...........

Sandstone, iron-stained . crninhly .............................

Slate, soft jiray ............ ..................................

Sandstone, iron stained, ciumlily .............. ..............

Sandstone, white ................................. ...........

Sandstone, grayish white .....................................

Slato. dark....'................................................

Sandstone, liyht gray ..... ..................................

Shales, and red liriU of No. XI

Ft.

1

Ft.

4

37

111

50

Total................................. ............................. 288

Fir.. 123. Seetionat 

ClearHeld, Clearticld County, Pa.

Section -near Ttrnokrille, Jrffcrxon County, 

PeniiHylrania. In the vicinity of Brookvine, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania,' 

these beds exhibit tlie following structure 

(Fig. 121), as learned from surface observations combined with the record of the 

Brookville Gas Company's well No. '2:

Hrookr'tlle, Jtfferton County, Fcniuylrniiin.

[See map, K p-1 rt. in. 

1 Sandstone, massive, llomewood .............'..... 75

2. Shales and sandstone .

3. Coul ........................................... o

4. Fireclay ............................ ........... 5

5. Siunlstono, massive.............................. 70

0. Concealed ....................................... 10

7. Sandstone, massive .............................. Po

8. Slaic...... ...................................... 'JO

0. Sandstone,hard............._.................. 40

10. Slate ............................................ 4

11. Sandstone, hard .................................. 22

12. Ked shales uf Xo. XI.

Total.

75'

Here the series has thickened consideraably. and the triple structure of its sandstones so often found in Pennsylvania becomes prominent, ^o. 4 appears to occupy 

the horizon of the Mount Savage fire clay.

Section near Patton Station, ftcd Jiank 

Township, CU'.rion County, PeHmtulrnniit. 

Near Patton Station, lied Bank Township, t.\, i-a. 

Clarion County, Pennsylvania, the rocks of this series 

exhibit the. following structure (Fig. l-o), according to 

Mr. II. Martyn Chance (Report VV, p. 110, Second 

Geological Survey of Pennsylvania): 

Patton Station, 7iY<l Rank T^irnohip, Clarion Conulii, P<nin>ylrania.

Fir.. 124. Si><-tion 

iifiu Hn»okvil)e, 

Couii-

(See map, r- o. 1

1. Sandston'1 , hard, nvissive, nmnexvood ;...............................

2. Sliule, wilh a streak of coal........... . f.............................

3. Iron ore hed.............................*.......-...................

4. Shale ................................................................

5. Sandstone ...........................................................

_ 0. Shale, with kidney iron ore..........................................

7. Sandstone anil shale ............. ................................ .

K Shale wilh aandv layers and ore h:ilU ...............................

Fjo. 155. Section sandstone, with inttiibedded tliiii sli.tleit.............................

near ration Ma- 1Q r t sl,,lle

tion, ('Innon .

County, I'a. Total................................. ..-....... -- - - 

feet. 

40 

20 

1 

IS 

25 

35 

M 

40 

40
181 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. 05.

faction at Ktllcr/iburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Near Kellersburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, these measures have the 

following structure (Fig. 120), according to Mr. William 

G. Platt (II 5, p. JJ)4, Second Geological Survey of 

Pennsylvania):

Section at Kellrriburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.

[See map, F o.]

Ft. Ft. in. 

...................... 62)

...................... 5}. 77

...................... lOJ

li-.v.v. v.v.v.

&w&3&

Pit

'XyXv.X : : : '.

; ;< . ; :;; . ; ; ; ;

fcX&XvX/:

»Xv'.vX-X

^sfepji

n. 128._Sec 

ittller»biirif.

62'

s'

"V 

6'

30*

0

50'

ini 

A

n'

»'

at 

nil1. Sandstone, massive, Homewood .........................

2. Shales............................ ....................

3. Sandstone...............................................

4. Coal (Mercer group) ....................................

5. Shales with iron ore.....................................

6. Fire clay................................................

7. Shalea...................................................

8. Sandstone (Comini|Henessing).............................. 150 J

0. Coal (NewKivoi mou[>)....................................

10. Clay...............'......................................... 2)

11. Shales...................................................... 10 *.

12. Sandstone............................................. . 60 I

"I

31

Total.

0 2

174

0 2

313 4

IJore two prominent coal horizons are represented by 

mere streaks, the upper one being that of the Mercer 

group of western Pennsylvania and Ohio, while the 

lower is the Sharoii coal horizon of the hitter States 

and the New Kiver group of West Virginia,

Section vtuler Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Under Pitts1>a burgh, Pennsylvania, we learn the structure of this 

scries from the careful record (Fig. 127) of the Jones & Laughlin gas 

well No. 2, as given in the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 1886, p. 734 :

Uniler Pittsburgh, Pcn»si/Jrania ; taring. 

[See map, I ui.J

Fid. 127 - Section 

under ritt.shunrh, 1'a.

1. Sandstone, white, massive, Homewood ....

2. .Slate, black, trace of coal.................

3. Stale, dark, with sand shells ..............

4. Coal and slate, with white sandstone......,

5. Sandstone, grayish white, flue ............

6. Coal, coal slato, and white sandstone......

7. Sandstone and black slate.................

8. Sandstone, grayish white, slate in renter .

9. Sandy shale, (lark .........................

It. Coal.......................................

11. Sandy shale, dark ......_................

12. Coal.......................................

13. Sandy shale, dark ......._.......'........

14. Sandstone and black slate.................

115. Slate, black, sandy, trace of coal..........

16. Limestone, Lower Carboniferous.

Feet.

15 j. 

20J

Feet.

18

« 

10)

Total

5

6

10

70

Trace. 

20

1

2

7

7

207

Section m<<1er Murraygrille, Pennsylvania. Under Murraysville, Westmorehind County, Peuusylvauia, the structure is thus exhibited (Fig.
WHITE. I THE POTTSVILLE CONGLOMERATE. 185

128) by the record of the Philadelphia Company's gas well No. 49, 

McCutcheon farm, according to William S. Stevenson, 

assistant superintendent of the company:

Under Murrayirille, Weatmorelaiid County, I'mnnylrania (boring).

Fit 

d

: . ; : ; ; : ; : : >: : 

i-SttWx--;;

1. 128. Sect 

er Hurrays

a/

V

it

If

it 

rf

onuupille.

[ See map. T n. |

1. Sandstone, gray, hard, close... .....................

2. Slate, black, soft.....................................

3. Sandstone, gray, hard, close.........................

4. Slate, black, soft....................................

5. Sandstone., gray, hard,close.........................

G. Slate, black, soft...................... A ............

7. Red shale of No. XI.

t'trl. 

30

GO

8

90

45

Total................................................................ 23!i

Sectioniinder Washington, Pennsylvania. Under Washington, Pennsylvania, the structure is thus given (Fig. 

129) by Prof. Linton from the careful record he kept of 

the Thayer oil well (Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, 

p. 765, 1886):

Under Washington, Pennsylvania (baring).

[See map, J k.] Ft. in. ft. in.

j Sandstone,' w liite micaceous........ 32' (

-\ Sandstone, white and dark mixed.. 17'J

f Sandstone, fine gray 1. Sandstone, '" '-'-- - "- - '- 

Homewood . ,

(Sandstone, white, tine.

2. Coal ....................................................

3. Sandstone, white,hard, salt water........'............... 66

4. Sandstone, tine, white and dark ......................... 15

5. Shale, very dark, hard shells........................... 13

6. Sandstone, white, tine................................... 10

7. Shale, black.......... .................................. 4

8. Sandstone, white,fine................................... 2

9. Shale, hlack, and coal ..... ............ ............

10. Sandstone,close grained................................ 1

11. Shale anil slate ......................................... 13

12. Shale and shells ........................................ 15

13. Shale, black, top of Lower Carboniferous beds.

87

110

2

29

Total.

ar'

6S'«"

Flo. 129. Section under \Vashinj:tiin, 1'a.

Here, as at Pittsburgh (Section 127), a careful record discloses thin representatives of the Mercer and 

New River coal groups Nos. 2 and 9, respectively.

Section in Broad Top basin, Huntingdon Count;/, Pennsylvania. In the Broad Top basin of Huntingdon County, 

Pennsylvania, the structure of these beds is as follows 

(Fig. 130), according to Report T3, p. 09, Second (Jeological Survey of Pennsylvania:

Broad Top basin, Huntinyilon County,,renm>ylraiiia.

[See map, It.) ffft

1. Sandstone, slightly pebbly, Homowood.................................. Ru

2. Shales, with a coal bed.................................................. '-R

3. Sandstone, pebbly. ...................................................... M

4. Shales, with a eoal ....................................................... 10

5. Sandstone, pebbly....................................................... 25

Vio. 130. Section 

iu llroad Top 

basin. Huntingdon County, Pa. Total ................................................................ 1BO

The triple structure of the sandstones with intervening coa! horizons 

is noteworthy here.
18G THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. 05.

\

123'

Ft. in.

75

4

143 8

0 8

Section near WeUcrstnrg, Pennsylvania. At the northern end of the 

Georges Creek or Cumberland coal basin, near Wellersburg, Somerset 

County, Pennsylvania, these beds show the following 

structure (Fig. 131) in the gap of Gladden's Eun, 

through the easternmost ridge of the Alleghanies:

(Hodden's Hun, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

[See map, L q. ]

Ft. in.

1. Sandstone, massive, Homewood .._....................

2. Coal, Mount Savage ....................................

3. Fire clay. Mount Savage ................................ 7 C

4. Sandstone, pebbly..................i.................... 125

5. Sandstone, dark, ahaly .................................. 10

0. Shttle......................._............_........... 1

(Coal............_............ 0' 1")

7. Coal .....jSlate.......................... 0' 4"?....

(Coal........................... v 3" )

8. Fire clay, impure, sandy ................................ 10

9. Shales, dark, with iron ore.............................. 20

10. Sandstone, massive ..................................... 35

11. Bed beds of Wo. XI.

Total .......................................................... 288 2

This section shows the horizon of 

the famous Mount Savage fife clay to 

be in the Mercer coal group. No. 4 

represents theConnoqueneRsing sandFir,, in.-section near stones, while No. 7 is probably at the 

weiiersbniK, i>a. iiorizoii of the Sharoii coal. 

Section near Piedmont and Westernport', Mineral County, 

West Virginia. The Pottsville conglomerate beds 

thicken very rapidly in passing southward from the 

Pennsylvania line through Maryland and West Virginia 

along the Alleghany Mountain region. This is shown

^mi

vy me lutivjuiii^ rsriuiuu (rig. JU-i;, liiHeii i

Potomac, at Piedmont and Westernport, 

stream cuts through the East Front Kidge 

ghauies :

Near Piedmont, Mineral County, West rir

[See map, N p.]

2. Coal ......................................................

11. Coal ............'.................................,........

14. Sandstone, white, pebbly, very hard......................

1C. Concealed shales and sandstones ...... .................... 

17. Sandstone, massive .......................................

11*. Sandstone, tlai^y ........................ .... .. .. ..

20. Sandstone, massive .............................. .. .. ,.

21. Clna\......... ................. ....^...... ............... ..

24. Sandy shales to top of Ko. XI red beds....................

Total...................................................

>ii tut; -mil tu 

where that 

of the AlleFt. Ft. in. 

20

2

.. 45)

.. 40 [

30 ^ 1°7

.. io|

2j

1 6

19 i

:: io2 22

1 6

2i

40 ( 87

.. 45).

5 

145) 

.. 10

.. 10^ 195 

.. 10

.. 20 J

1

4

3 Fit!

4 nt

_ M 

.......... 473 TV

K =-^a.^^K=

^ifiii':':»ii]i

mmmMm?m 22*jj*ySjj

«'

»'j

MV

V

i

* 

Hi

132,-Section 

ar 1'ledinont, 

literal County,
THE POTTSVILLE CONGLOMERATE.

Fl

n 

B

 S^-i~^-*7WM

S-XvXv.Y:

V!Y-'^VV

 "; * "-'. '.'. .',',

 ^;::';|;-'-,:'.v:-:

 VStttf;:;'-;'-

i^"=^ .^Z"3!."^

^-i=-id

 . . .' : :': : ; : : : 

jEirsS

1-fclsSl

T~. "T.TV. -T:

,y.v.'.\'. *.,-' 

^m -=-=-

.;.;. ;.;.. .;.;,;. .

$ ?

fi:

E---.

[tmSSI

ijL^frVrs. 133. Si

ul 

a'

V 

47'

i' 

U'

uT

43'

k'

--

3S'

rt 

rth

Section on Black Fork of Cneut Hirer, Tucker (' 

West Virginia. In Tucker County, West Vii 

50 miles south-southwest from Piedmont, in th 

made by the Black Fork of Cheat River throng 

central portions of the Alleghany Mountains, 

beds exhibit a much greater thickness than at 

mout, as will be seen by the following sectioi 

133) made there by Mr. James Parsons, chief 

neer of the West Virginia Central Railroad :

M. Month of Xorth Fork of lilack Water, Tucker County, W 

ginia.

[See map, P o.l 

Ft. in.

2. Coa), slaty and bituminous shale ......................

4. Sandstone, massive, pebbly............ ........... 228

5. Brown shale. ......................................... '-6

7. Sbale.drab. .......................................... 16

11. Shale............:..............-...................- 4

4J,' 13. Shale................................................. 6

14. Coal..................................................

15. Shale................................................. 24

18. Coal.... ............................................. 0 «

20, Coal..... ............................... ..... ....i.... 1 2

21. Bituminous shale, with coal streaks.................. 8

23. Coal..... ............. .; .... .......................... 1

25. Shale... ............................................. 32

27. Shale, brown....... ................................... 20

28. Red beds, top of No. XI. 

M "> Total. ......................... ....................

ginia, 

e gap 

ch the 

these 

1'ied-

(l-'itf. 

engi-

 st n>-

Ft. in. 

40

7

263 

2 0

142

0 6 

 132

 59 10

1-

.-.. ,a

Here we find the entire interconglomerate eoal 

group represented. Xo. 2 comes apparently at the 

Mercer horizon and is the " Kailroad" vein along the 

"* Potomac. 

Xo. 6 conies at the horizon of the Xuttall bed of Xew 

River, while Nos. 14 to L'4 represent the lower ones 

ion at along that stream as well as the great Pocahontas vein 

?v£°' 'of McDowell aud Mercer Counties, West Virginia.
188 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BCLl.65.

1:

Section near Rotcl&tburg, Went Virginia. A fine section of the Conglomerate coals is exposed in the cuts of the Baltimore and Ohio Bailroad, near the summit of Cheat River grade, 4 miles west from Rowlesburg, Preston Couuty, West Virginia (Fig. 134):

Along the Baltimore and Ohio liailroad, Client Hirer grade, four 

wiles irent from Ji'ou'linliiirij, I'reston County, Wcsl I'irginia.

Ft.

3.

4. 

6.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

0' 5" )

«' 0" >

0' 5" )

19.

(See map, N n.|

Sandstone, massive, coarse, yellowish, Uomewnod....

(Coal............

Coal ................. < Shales, sandy ..

(Caul............

Shale*, hrowD, sandy....................

Coiil, slaty ................I..........................

Shales ............................................... 3

Sandstone, massive................................... 25

Sandstone, flaggy ......................... . ... 15

Sandstone,massive,grayish white. ............. 2(>

Sandstone, flaggy ................ ................. X

Shales, brown........................................ 4

Sandstone, grayish white ............................ 20

Shale, brown.......... .............................. 3

Coal.................. 0' 5"

Shale, gray ........... 4' 0"

Coal. ....'............. 0' 4"

Shales, drab, sandy... 8' 0" 

Iron ore.............. ()'C"

Shales ............... 5' 0"

(tout.................. 1' 0"

Shales ...............10' 0"

Coal ................. 0' 4"

Shales, brown, sandy.'.'5' 0" 

.Coil.................. 0' 6"

Shales, brown........................................ 20

Sandstone ........................... ............. 15

Shales, buff, sandy ................................... 20

Sandstone, massive, pebbly .......................... 20

Concealed, and shales................................ 20

Tii)i of No. XI, red shales.

Ft. in. 

60

6 10

45

2

98 6

13. New Hiver coal beds.

.14.

15.

16.

17.

85 1

93

Total. 362 &

Fin. 134. Section near 

Kowlesburg, W. Va,

Nos. 2 and 4 represent the Mercer coal group, ;Nos. 

0 to 12 the Connoquenessitig sandstones, while- No. 

13 represents the New River coal group. 

/Section near mouth of Sandy Creel', Preston Count;/, West Virginia. 

Farther northwest, down Cheat River, and in the center of the Ligouier 

basin, the Pottsville series exhibits the following structure (Fig. 135) near the mouth of Sandy Creek, Preston 

Couuty, West Virginia :

Near mouth of Sandy Creek, on Cheat River, Vrcston County, West

Virginia. 

[See map, Mm.)

" Xv.Xv'vX

, 6I/ ft. in. 

160 

10

;r

1. Sandstone, massive, very pebbly near middle ..................

2. Shales, dark. ...................................................

(Coal ............. 0' 10" I

3. Coal .................. ..< Shale ......'.:.... 0' 3"', ......... 1 6

(Coal ............. 0' 5"i

4. Fireclay....................................................... 7)

5. Slate, black, lissile ............................................. IS > 37

fi. Sandstone, gray................................................ 15)

7. Shale, with streak of coal ...................................... 1

K. Sandstone, grayish white ...................................... 15

0. Green and red shales of No. XI. _____

Total............................................................. 224 «

Here, as frequently happens, the Mercer coal group 

disappears entirely, while the Homewood and Connoqiieuessing sandstones unite into one solid mass. Nos. 

3 to 7 represent the New River coal group.
THE POTTSVILLE CONGLOMERATE. 189

rt.

159

15

at

15

I'll 

10

Section on Jiooth's Creel; Tnylor County. Went Virginia. The structure of the Pottsville beds in the region along the line between Taylor 

and Marion Counties, West Virginia, is learned from a 

boring made for oil on Booth's Creek, Taylor County, by 

Mr. John L. Steele, to whom I am indebted for the following record (Fig. 136):

liootii'n Creek, Taylor County, ll'cul 1'irijinia (boring).

	[See map, 0 1 ]

1. Sandstone, hard, white, pebbly............................

2. lilack slate................................................

:t. Shale, grav and sandy....................................

4. .Shale, black ...............................................

5. Shale, gray, sandy ........................................

ti. Sand, gray, pebbjv............. ........................

7. lied beds \>f No. XI.

Total.....................................................:.......... ->39

Here the structure is very much like that of the previous section on Cheat River, aud the thickness is also 

nearly the same.

Section under Clarksburg, West Virginia. Under Clarksburg, Harrison 

County. West Virginia, the succession is 

given as follows (Fig. 137), from the record of the Despard gas well, on the authority of Prof. 

T. M. Jackson:

Clarkabury, West Virginia (ijas trell).

PIG. 136. Section 

on Booth'sOreek, 

M'.'Va. Ta\ lor County 

[Seemap, Ok.)

1. Sandstone, Itlack ............

2. Sandstone, white. ...........

3. Sandstone, gray..........

4. Sandstone, white............

5. Sandstone, gray .............

6. Sandstone, dark .............

7. Shah', black ................

8. Sandstone,while ............

9. Sandstone, gray .............

10. Red beds of No. XI.

Ft.

4) 

20 | 

30 I 50 > 

621

8

Total.

Section near Farmington, West Virginia. Under the central portion of

J .. ..... FKJ. 137. Section Marion County, \\est Virginia, the. under darksstructure is shown by the record of the 

Hukill oil boring near Farmington (Fig. l."»8), as given 

in Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, 1880 (pp. 

782, 783):

I'armington, West Virginia (oil boriin/).

[See map, M 1.]

Ft.

TIG. 138. Section 

near Fartuiugtou, 

W.Va.

1. Sandstone.............................................................. 100

2. Shell ........................ .......................................

8. Slate ...................-...............-.-- ---- -.- - -. - 

4. Black slate..........................................................

5. Sandstone..............-.......-.. -..... -. - - - .- 

«. Red beds of No. XL

10

17

70

12

Total.
190 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [BULL. 65.-

Section under Wellsburg, West Virginia. Under Wellsburg, Brooke 

County, West Virginia, the Barclay gas well No. 1 gives the following 

(Fig. 139) for these beds on the authority of Mr. Barclay :

H'ellsburg, Welt Virginia (gat boring). 

I See map, J j.]

3

5.

Coal.....................................

Total. ................................

Ft.

Oft V

..................... 40 j

Ft.

145

6

182

». . The coal reported in this section comes at the hori- *

zou of the Sharou bed of Ohio and Pennsylvania, but 

it was probably uearly all coaly slate or else a local thickening, since 

other borings put down in this region do not report it at all.

Section in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Along the northwestern 

margin of the Appalachian field in the counties of Lawrence and Mercer, bordering the Ohio State line, a series of workable coal beds make 

their appearance in tfie Pottsville series and extend along the margin 

of the Held clear through to southern Ohio. The general section of the 

Pott.sville series of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, given in Q:1 ( p. 3.'3), 

Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, shows the succession of 

these coal groups as follows (Fig. 140):

Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

ft. in. 

.. 50 

6 

2 

2 8

44 8

I'm. 140 Section in 

Mercer Couuty, 1'a.

[See map, Ek.)

Ft. in.

1. Sandstone,Homewood ...............................

2. ShiiK-s .................i ......... ...................

'A. Jrou ore..............................................

4. Limestone,Mercer, Upper............................

5. Coal,Mercer, Upper.................................. 2 6

6. Shales................................................ 25

7. Iron ore.............................................. 2

S. Limestone,Mercer,Lower.... .................. 2 e

9. Shalee................................................ 10

10. Coal,Mercer,Lower.............................'..... 2 6

11. Shales...................-.....---.-.--............... 10

12. Iron ore....... .................................... 1

13. Shales............................................... 5

II. Sandstone, Connoquene»sinR,Upper......... ...... 40

15. Shales with Iron ore ................................. 10

16. Coal, Qunkertown.................................... ' 2

17. Shales................................................ 40 ]

1H. Sandstone, Connoquenessiug, Lower.................. 30 J. 100

19. Shales, Sliaron,iron bearing.......................... 30 j

20. Coal.Sharon ......................................... 4

22. Fire clay ami shales.................................. 5

23. Sliaron Conglomerate,bmeof No.XII................ 20

Total .............................................. 301
WHITE.) THE POTTSVILLE CON'GLOMEKATE. 191

Section near Quakertoicn, Mahoiiiny County, Ohio. Where the OhioPennsylvania State line crosses the Mahouing Kiver, near Quakeitown, 

these beds exhibit the following structure (Fig. 141):

''

|fjftf.wi38s

MjSj^^^gl ^jgrggg?

vivWjS-w//

XXW/XvVX:

 :v.''Xv.'*:vXii

 £v/Av'v.'Xv

y.vi-XvXvXv:

ssJSSvi&i

i/.v'.'X'X'XvX;

>:vXv>Xv'.v>;

~~r.ff.fTf

v.'v.'-.'Si'iViv'fi

^

K/

1

'i»,0

r"

45'

y

IZ-

«.'

.W

r>(

za'

[SetMiiap, Kk.|

^*' 6. Coal, slaty, Middle Mercer ............................

11. Fireclay.................. ............................

I'J. Sandstone, Connoqiienessiug, Upper ..................

(Sandstone, uiussive ..... M 

17. Blue shales, with iron ore balls ......................

n. in.

 JO 

10

=4 5

a « I

10

1 ^

FIG. 141. Section near 

Quakertowu, Ohio. Total. J70 1

The Sharoii coal of these sections (140, 141) represents the New Itiver 

coal group of West Virginia, since the Mercer group above does not 

furnish valuable coal in that region, but only thiii slaty beds.

Section in Holmes County, Ohio. In Holmes County, Ohio, these beds 

are given as follows (Fig. 142), iu Vol. V, Ohio Geology, p. 837:

Holme* t'uunty, Ohio.

I See map, II u.)

mi

Erf

»'*'

1. Interval, sandatunt 1 and shales....................................

2. Limestone, Lower Mercer ............................................ 1 6

3. Coal, Lower Mercer.............. ..................................

4. Concealed ............................................................ 11

5. Gray shales..................................... ................... U

0. Coal ............................................... I.................. 2

7. Gray slialeaml concealed............................................. --t 6

B. Sandstone, Upper Connoquenesaiog .................................. 15 0

9. Coal, Qnnkei town..................................................... blossom

10. Samlstoue.shaly,Lower Connoquenessing............................ 'M 0

11. Coal, thin...........-.......... .- -- - - - 

12. Sandstone......... ........ ..- - - -- -- - - 3

13. Coal, Sharon.......................................................... 2 6

14. Fireclay ..............................................- - 1»

FIB. 142. Section 15. Lower Carboniferous beds, 

in Holmes County, Ohio. Total
192 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIEL1*. [BULL. OS.

Section i>i Waxhinfltim County, Ohio. In Wasllington County, Ohio, 

the 1'ottsville measures are given as follows (Fig. 143) by Mr. F. W. 

, fioui the record of the Epler oil boring:

l''pler oil boring, Washington County, Ohio.

fi,

7.

Klui'kxliulca... ............... .....................

Lower Carboniferous beds.

Total........................ ..................

Ft. 

...................... 24

...................... 20

...................... 4

...................... 178

tesP^Si60' Section at Purser xbury, Went Virginia. The Cainden 

Consolidated Oil Company, in boring at Parkersbmg, 

KM HI-section West Virginia, found the following structure (Fig. 144), 

c'ouutnslui'iii!"" accorcli"is to Mr. K. A. Cole, the superintendent:

1'arkernburi/, ll'est I'injinia (borimj).

[See map, Of.] f,f

1. Shales, cray ...................................... 110

2. Sandstone, liard, white........................... -M)

ii. Slate, lihu-.k ...................................... 25

4. Sandstone, hard, gray............................ liO

M' 5. Shales of No XI.

Total ......................................... 235

Section near Tiurnina Springs, West Virginia-. Near Uurning Springs, Wirt 

County, West Virginia, these same beds 

have this succession (Fig. 145), as found 

in the Simpsou oil boring by Mr. Millshall:

Simjison iri'll, H'irt County, H'ent J'iryinia. 

| Sec map, I')!.]

 *'

1. Sandstone.

2. Coal ......

3. Sandstone .

4. Shales.....

5. Coal.......

f>. Sandstone.

7. Shale*.....

8. Sandstone . 

». Shales..... 

10. Coal ..

12. Shales

13. Limestone, Subcarbonil'erous.

144. Section 

under I'iirkora* 

bnrjr, \V. Va.

Ft. 

............ 36

16 

M

10

44

111

86

40

18

Total................................................................ 352

The Burning Springs section (Fig. 145) shows a rapid 

_____ increase in the thickness of these beds towards the 

FIC-.. H5.-seotion southeast, since they are just twice as thick here as in 

"prUV'w'.'v",,': Washington County, Ohio (Section 143), 50 miles distant.
WHITE.f THK PO1T.SV1LLE CONliLOMEKATE.

ttei-tion neat- Jackson Funnier, Jackson Count//, Ohio. In Jackson

County, Ohio, the Pottsvillo series has the following structure (Fig.

140) near .laek.son furnace, as given in the Ohio (Jeo-

«' logical Survey, 1870 (p. lu.S):

'»

./(lcA*»« / "((/ «((«, ,/I«/,S»H ( oniilii, Ohio

 ! «; |See map, I> I,. | f., , 

' ** 1. Iron ore .......................................................... u g

2. Interval ...........................................................^. jo

H. Iron ore .............................................................. "o 7

4. Coarse sandstone .................................................... jr,

5. Coal...........................-....................................". 11 ice

6. Shale................................................................. IK .

7. Iron ore .............................................................. n $

H. Clay, shalo............................................................ I

iiiiXiijjiiS " Sandy shales ami laininatfil Kaiidatoiiu............................... 115

:t,~~^~ ^^:^ 11. Coal - .................................................... ... 'J 6

12. I'MOflav ............................................................. -j «

.L~~II_ la. Clay.ahalo .......................................................... _ «

^TC-rC^A-/ 1^- Wtiiti'sandstono.............................................. ... ... in

 .'-.' -' .' -' .''I'V-v. A.i* - l.r>. Sandy shale. ................................................... ... ]u

Hi. Coal ................................... .............................. n |

17. SlialfM and Muiidstones to ba«t- of No. XII............................. 2U

; ID',, ____ 

' 4, Total.................. ........................................... -.-:w 7

-20

Fm. i4i'..--Seftion Section (it Uninjiinj Kock, iSviotx. County, Ohio. In the 

Iiiafe,'!iaf'k'«o"ii vicinity of Hanging Itock, Ohio, the 1'ottsville series has 

conuty, ohm. the foUowiug structure (Fig. \ J7):

Uanij'ttifj A'dt'/t, Sciolti Cumitif, ithio.

4rf ISeemap, Ka. I /( |(1

1. Sandstone, massive .................................. ................ 40

UlffllfflWUSit !<f 2. Fire flay..... ......... .............................................. .'i

. It. Liniestouo and iron ore, Tppcr Meix-er ..........,.....'............ . I

mntBuimmnTrlna ?£ f,. Co;t |, (Tpp«>r MffOer ...............'................................... 0 4

'. (i. l''ir«j flay, windy ..................................................... 2

ft'* 7. SitndNtone, Hhaly.................................................. . . H

» 8. Sh»\v*,An\t.......................................................... 8

cCoal............... 0' 5" )

yf 1). Coal, Lower Mercer...... < Fire flay ......... I'4" ^ ................ 'J I

III. Fire flay and shah's ................................................ 5

: *, II. Saiidstoiie, Counoiiueiiessin^. Upper, magaivc, coarae, yellowish ...... :m

! y 1'2. Sandy shalt'.s and «halv fiandstoiif, ... ................................ 15

? 17' ( Coal .............. U' !i" I

13. Coal, Onakertown....... ' Slate .............. 0' ;r >................ :' 1

(Coal .............. 1' 5">

: » H. Fireclay ............................................................. :i

IS. Saudy s'half8 ...... ................................................. 17

Hi. Sandstone, Lower ConnoqueneBsing, masnivo......................... 2R

17. Shahis, dark Idue, with iron ore...................................... I>

18. Iron ore, sandy ....................................................... I

1I>. Ill no sandy shales ............. .._................................ 4'l

1:0. Interval to base of PottMVillo beds under river, front drill hole ( K. It.

Willard) ............................................................ 4n

Total ........................................................... '-Til U

Fin. U7. - s,wtion Here the Mercer group, together with the Quaker-town 

sVi'o't^'coii'nty, eoal, is distinctly recognizable at the very southern I torollU>- tier of Ohio, while the Comioi]iienessing sandstones and 

the dark blue Sharon iron-bearing shales below look exactly like the 

same beds in eastern Ohio. The base of the series was given me here 

from the record of a bore-hole put down by Mr. K. 13. Willard, superintendent of the Hanging Kock Coal Company. 

Bull 05 1,'J

iil
194 TllK NOKTHK11N B1TUMJNOUS COAL FIELD. (m-i.i.. 65.

iS'c(7i'</i <m Iliij Stntily A'l'nr, Ltiirreiifc County, Kentucky. -Twenty miles 

jip the Big Sandy River, and near the mouth of Blaine Creek, the succession of the series is as follows (Fig. 118) according to 

the record of Rigdon gas well No.li, as furnished by Air. 

F. 11. Oliphant:

I'utlir Jiiij Kaiuly Rin-r ill month of liliiim I'ntk (Iwriutj). 

[Sfu ump.V b.] ft

1. Saiulstmii', white......................... .......................... '.'5

«" 'J. Slut,., blai'k .......................................................... 6

:i. S.imlstonr, whitu. ........ ............................................ 20

4 Suiul.stonc, dark gray .................................................. 'J5

5. Slult1 , yfay ............................................................ 15

li Suuil xloiiK. dark ....................................................... 80

7. Slati'.may ............................................................ 'JO

lv Saiidstuju^dui'fL ^ray. ................................................. 40

3. KamUlunv, whilc.aalt water ......... ................................ 100

100' 10 - Sunil»toiu<, dark bliiB...... ........................................... 10

11. Slato, black ......................................... ................. 10

12. Saijil^tomv white...... ................................................ 00

IX Slalf.black .......................................................... 'i'j

II. Slu^lln. ................................................................ 1U

;3 J

l.r>. Saii<I»Un\i'. bard blm> ................................................. 'M

10. LitiR'8toiit~, LOWIT Curbuiiifffuuti.

Total............................................................... 415

This section exhibits the beginning of the great southeastern thickening of the Pottsville series along the Big 

Sandy, but we have not sufficient data southward from 

Blame Creek to traee the rate of increase along the Tug 

Fork, since even the top of the Pottsville does not rise 

to daylight on that stream for 100 miles above the mouth 

Fir,.i48.-Sflction of Blaiue. When the bottom series does finally come to 

Kl?v'-rn"i1fmoutS the surface at the southern edge of McDowell County, 

,,niiaiii,<ci«,k. Wegt virj-inia, it is not less than 1,500 feet thick, and 

may possibly be 2,000, since the Kentucky geologists claim the latter 

thickness for these measures on the headwaters of the Big Sandy.

There is no point along the Tug River in West Virginia where a 

vertical measurement can be made; hence, if the exact thickness is 

ever determined it must be by a boring.

The black slates, Nos. 2, 11, and i;{ of the above section, probably 

represent the intercouglomerate coal beds.
WHITE.] THE TOTTSVILLK C'ONGLOMKRATK.

Section iiiiilfr Clmrlexton, Kaintirlut County, Wcxt Virginia. On the 

Great Kanawha liivcr some, recent borings for gas have supplied tiie 

necessary data there, thus giving measurements at two 

points before the whole formation comes to the surface. 

The first one of these is the record of the, I'M wards gas 

well No. 3, bored at Charleston, West Virginia, which 

gives tin! following structure (I-'ig. 1 I'.t) for these beds, 

according to Mr. William ti. Edwards:

'Xv-**'.

' ' ' ' '

;r-7T7/^/7 ft1 ':-':'

:&&

 X'l'X*

**Vt*tV

Sil

WM

fffrfic I'harlfxlitii, Kanatrlta Comity, H\*t I'iryiuin 1 hnriuii I.

[Svr ll>il|i, T 1. 1

». 

a.

10.

11.

12.

13. 

11. 

15. 

1«.

17.

18.

19.

Hard black shells and gaa.......

White sandstone................

Black sandstone.................

White sandstone................

Black sandstone.................

White sandstone................

Hard shells .....................

White sandstone................

Saudshell, hard .................

White sandstone................

Black sand......................

Lower Carboniferous limestone.

ft.

4:.

:iu 

'. 0

10 

in 

lj

In

Total................................................................ &*U

Ilere the Pottsville series has thickened to about three 

times its size at the northwestern outcrop of these beds 

in Ohio, 100 miles distant. Whether the thickening is 

gradual or abrupt is not known, and can not be until 

more borings are made. It is probably gradual from 

the center of the great Apalachiau trough, ;">0 miles 

northwest of Charleston.

The iuterconglomerate coal beds appear to be entirely 

jv.. H9. section nu- absent from the above section, since not even black

dor Charleston, , Kanawha County, slates are present according to the driller s record.
196 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [HULL. VS.

faction nt Hunting 8priny, Kanawha County, Went Virginia, At Jiuniiug Spring, 9 miles south I'roin Charleston, the record of Edwards gas 

well No. 1 gives these beds us follows (Fig. 150):

ZOO'

tyriny, Hanaiclia I'mnily, II tat I injiiiia (burin;/).

(Sec map, Tf.) Ft.

1. Saml8ttm 

2. Coal, lull 

3. Siiiulstoi 

4. Shale an 

5. Siindstoi 

C. Slate, bid 

7. Sumlsli't 

8. Snmlstoi 

9. Liint'Htoi

1 .............................................

ck... ........................... ...............

255

ft.

176

0

555

r.o

5U

Tulal.

No. U represents the Mercer coal group, though no 

coal thick enough to mine ever occurs at this horizon 

to the southward, where these beds rise above water 

level.

The New Kiver coals belong in Nos. -t and 6 of the 

sect ion, but they here contain no opal whatever, though 

only -10 miles north from the New Kiver coal lield.

The series has here increased 251) feet in thickness 

in !> miles, a very rapid rate, and possibly indicating 

that the great thick ness (5,xo feet) found under Charleston may have been abruptly instead of gradually acquire'l.

In this boring a considerable flow.of natural gas 

was obtained in the top of the Pocono sandstone, or 

" l'.ig Injun" oil sand, at a depth of about 1,000 fret. 

This is the locality where natural gas was first, used 

for manufacturing purposes in the United States, as 

far back as 1841. It was utilized for 

evaporating salt water. One of the gas 

wells found here, according to report, 

displaced for fuel L',000 bushels of coal 

daily during a period of ten years. The 

last well, however (bored in 1887), does 

not produce much over 500,000 cubic 

feet of gas daily. The most productive 

wells were situated near the crest of the 

anticline which crosses the Kanawua 

Kiver at Uuruiug Spring.

FlO. 150. Section at Burning S] 

Kiuiawliit Couiit), W. Va.
T1IK POTTSVILLE CONGLOMRRATE. 197

Section MM*- Niiltalllniru, Fat/cite Comity, \Vext Virginia. Passing on 

southward up the Kanawha and New Rivers, there is no opportunity

to get another measurement of the 

Pottsvillc series until all of its mem 

hers have risen above tl.e level of New 

Itiver, in the vicinity of Nuttallbnrg, 

FayetteCounty,\Vest Virginia,SO miles 

distant from Iturning Spring, where 

the following succession occurs (Fig. 

151):

n.;»;/./ of r..n«i,/, II,

ft. Ml

11.2

I

7:. 

u

l!i. 0,,i.iTal.Ml. :

10. C.wl, : !,, Civ,.|,

17.

7.-. | 

if.:. ,

4 r,

1 f.

N». XI

No. 11, the Nuttalleoal, is the highest 

member of the New lliver group thai 

ever furnishes valuable coal along I hat 

stream. Us place in the Pottsville 

series is 100 feet below the top, and the 

other thin coals above it .belong to the 

Mercer group.

Whether No. IS is identical with the 

(,»uiiinimoiit,or whether this latter coal 

is the same as the Fire Creek, No. Hi, 

are questions yet unsettled.

.lust what represents the Pocahontas 

coal of McDowell and Mercer Counties

bun;. Kayetto r...mi.v, w. v». . in this sect ion, or whether it is represented at all is uncertain, but No. IS may possibly cmne, at that horizon.

151.-Section in Mrinitv ,.f Nntlall 

l-oumy, W.''
198 THE NORTHERN UITUMfNOUS COAL FIELD. f 1HT1.L. 85.

trt

Fie

Section on Cm 

me southern e

: ':' '? ':$:£:

.V.'.'.V.V.V.

V.V.V.V. V. '

-iSMwii

- ^^.^.^

-. : : /. /'v.'y/'

^ XvV.vw-

 r-XvXv.vi.-.

i -^-^.

ajg^SH

i^.^-s^s

:%::'-V'':;Vv.'-':

?-==.^-=.^: ' * . * .' ''!** ' ' .

= «= -.

 ^l^'-y-f:

Pkv'v: '>: : : 

. 152. -Sect

400

100'

4

33'

to' 

set

es'

ion 

Join

raf

on 0 ty.\

i.r Creel 

Ige of t

m&v.:».v>

i^J^^j^J!

P^^^^^

-ftviW^! W$!j$8<

.j.^.vrtJJlJS'l

*x?wy5i° ' .' ; :'/.;: :<;;; ;;

SSSsSSl

±rj!=~'i~'~'i=

-j.Tcv .;.;*;,;.;.;.'

^|gS

^iP^

ie 

if

nf

fr.

M

3m

sf

ft

id 

tV20' 

f . 

J4'

as!

JO'

so' 

40*

ID1

rane Creek, Mi 

V.V».

lerccr County, West Virginia. At the exAppalachian field jn Mercer County, West 

Virginia, the following section ( Fig. 152) 

of the Pottsville series was obtained 

upon the waters of Crane Creek by adding 100 feet to the summit of the column 

for the estimated thickness of beds reis' moved by erosion :

Crane Creek, Mercer County, H'ent I'irgiiiia. 

| Sec map, Y g. ] Ft. Ft. in.

}. Sandstones and shales, here eroded from 

top of No. X 1 1 (< Htinmtttfl) ............. 400 )

:i. Sandstone and Hhaies .................... :ir» ^ -.,,

,,V (i. .SamlstmiiMu:i»ai\r, ami shales. .......... 0"> 

Coal.......... 0' 2"|

Sbalca. ....... 2' 0" 

7. Coal ............. Coal.......... 2' 4" 7 2 

Shale......... 0' fi" 

Coal.......... I'D") 

8. Shales, sandstone, mid concealed ......... 1 10 ( . . r

10. Coal, good ............................... 1 K 

1 1. Shales, and ronrealod .................... 100) 

12. Saiidatoni) ...................... ........ ]i)Sll3 

13. Hbalo ........................... ........ ;i ) 

(Coal........ .... 3') 

14. Coni ............. <Slmle....... ....2'J 0

ir>. Conrenlod, with nli.'iloi), sandsto ICH, and 

two thin coals ................ ........ K>0 lfi- CTX«P?M!"""M ^shaie::::::: : I *'l )3 «

(NO.I1I). ...... Jcoal........ .6' 0"S 

17. Slinloji, snndstonn, and concealed ........ 80 

18. CoaKN'o. 11)......... . ........ ....... 2 6 

19. Sandstone and nlialea . ........ ....... 20 

20. Coal(No.l).......... . ........ ....... 0 2 

21. Shales............... . ........ ....... 281 

22. Sandxtone, gray...... . ........ ....... 3.1

24. Concealed ............................... 60 ""

LTi. Sandstone, and concealed ................ 40

27. Grern, limy, fossilit'crous gbaloB, top of 

Lower Carboniferous.

Total.. ........................ ..........1,402

The interval added to the top of the 

Pottsville in this section is only an estimate at best, nnd the amount may not 

be near large enough, sinco the Kentucky geologists report the series as 

2,000 feet thick not many miles southwest from this region. 

, The separate coal beds of this section 

(fan not yet bo satisfactorily correlated 

with those on New River (Section 151). 

At one time the writer was inclined to 

believe that No. 7 might be the equivalent of the Nuttall vein, and that No. 1C 

of this section was probably identical 

"*'r with No. 18 of the Nnttallburg section
WHITE.] TTTE TIOMKWOOn SANDSTONE. 109

(151), bnt the Pocahontas coal lies iiOO feet nearer the base of the 

Pottsville series than No. 18 docs on New River, and hence unless this 

part of the series thins away towards the southwest, which seems improbable, the possibility of identity is rather slender. The mining 

operations of the next few years, however, may be depended upon to 

settle the question, since it has a more than scientitic interest.

A cursory examination of the sections given will show that the 

Pottsville series generally has something like the following structure:

Sandstone (Himipwowl). ' 

Coal group (Mercer). 

Sandstones (Connoi|iicueRsini;). 

Coal group (New Kivor). 

Sandnlono (Shiiron).

Of course when the series attains such an excessive thickness as on 

the New lliver, for instance, the structure is more complicated than the 

above scheme would indicate, and yet even then a general agreement 

can usually be made out.

Having now glanced at the general structure of these measures, we 

shall take up the more important members and describe them in detail.

* . CHARACTERISTIC IIOIHZONS.

TIIF. IIOMF.WOOD SANDSTONK.

The Pottsvillo series is nearly everywhere rapped with a coarse 

sandstone, which is quite different in texture and general appearance 

from any of the sandstones in the Coal Measures above. In the vicinity 

of llomewood, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, this rock attains a thickness of 150 feet, and was named from that locality. It is generally 

quite massive, making great dirt's along the streams and covering the 

summits with huge blocks arranged in "rock cities." While usually 

quite hard, it generally splits well and makes excellent building stone, 

the blocks from it being almost indestructible. Although generally of 

a yellowish or bullish gray til ge, it occasionally consists of almost pure 

white quart/ grains, and hence sometimes supplies glass sand of excellent quality. This might be called the " cascade" member of I he Pottsville series, since it so often produces water-falls.

In Pennsylvania it is generally 30 to 50 feet thick, but occasionally, 

as at llomewood and other points, it thickens up to 75 or even 150 feet.

Westward, in Ohio, the rock thins down and is often only 15 to L'O 

feet thick, but still distinctly recognizable as a heavy bedded, coarse 

sandstone, filled with fossil stems and trunks of trees, mostly lepido 

dendron and sigillaria. It is seen in the bed of Little P.eaver near its 

mouth, and frequently between that point and Fiedericktown. It is 

the quarry rock in Coshoctou County referred to in Vol. V (p. 101), < >hio 

Geology, where it is 30 feet thick and of the. same type so often found 

in Pennsylvania. From this point on across Ohio, to Ironton and
i UK NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. fBI'M.. fi"..

Hanging Hock, it is frequently seen, and at the latter point makes one 

of the great dill's in the steep hillside which gave name to the place, 

being there 40 feet thick.

Along the Great Kanawha this rock comes to water level at the 

month of Armstrong Creek, and from there on up that stream, as well 

us up the New and Gaiiley rivers, is a great cliff rock 150 to L'OO feet 

thick. It crowns the walls of the New Itiver cailon at Hawk's Nest 

and oilier points to Nuttallbnrg and beyond, where it seems to change 

suddenly in character southward from that, becoming soft and easily 

disintegrating to a heap of coarse, brown sand.

On the Tug fork of Big Sandy this stratum makes great, dill's along 

the hills through the "roughs" of Tug, and sinks below that stream at 

the mouth of Hen's ('reek, !)5 miles above Louisa.

Ohio Pyle Falls, on the Yonghiogheuy Itiver, is made by this rock, 

and Hie upper portions of the great cascades ou the Black Water and 

(ilady forks of Cheat pour over the same stratum..

II, is the gas-bearing member in western Pennsylvania and northern

West Virginia.

TIIK MKCCKI: (ii:onr.

In western Pennsylvania a group of coals associated with two fossiliferous limestones makes its appearance directly under the llomcwood 

sandstone, ami extends almost uninterruptedly across the Ohio Held to 

Hanging Uock. It was lirst fully described from the vicinity of Mercer, 

Pennsylvania, and named from that locality. When well developed 

the group presents the succession seen in Section NO, and is HI to 50 

feet thick.

The two limestones are veiy much alike, except the Lower Mercer is 

a little darker blue than the Upper, and is the more persistent. Both 

are crowded with fossils and are frequently cherry, some of the famous 

" flint ledges" of Ohio being made by one of these beds. Kaeh limestone usually carries an iron ore on its top of the variety known as 

" block''ore. The Upper Mercer is known as the /oar limestone in 

many portions of Ohio, and its ore is called by several terms, among 

which are "Dunkel P.lock," " I'Vanklin Block." "Main Block," " Big 

L'ed Block," etc. The Lower Mercer was formerly known as the "Bine" 

limestone, and its corresponding ore as the "Bine Limestone Block," 

"Little Block,"etc.

The Mercer coals are generally two, the upper one coming under UM> 

Upper Mercer limestone and the lower one under the Lower Mercer 

limestone. Occasionally there is also a coal on top of each limestone, 

but these beds are sporadic, and hence do not merit a designation, 

though Orion has applied the inline "Tioncsta" to the upper one in 

Ohio, as the writer did in Ifeport Q2, on Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.

These Mercer coals are generally rich in ash, and are seldom mined 

on a commercial scale, although they are quite persistent from western
WIIITR.I THE CONNOQUENESSINO SANDSTONF.S.

Pennsylvania all around the northern margin of the Ohio coal field, 

lioth of them occasionally become cannel in Ohio, (he upper being the 

Strawbridge cannel of llolmes (bounty and the lied ford cannel of Coshocton, according to Orton, while the lower coal is the Flint Ridge 

cannel of Licking County. Neither of these beds seldom exceeds :? feet 

in thickness, and they are more frequently only 1 or 'J.

Eastward from Mercer and Lawrence Counties, Pennsylvania, the 

limestones disappear from this group and the coals thin away, except 

around the northern rim of the coal field, where, in MeKcan r.unity, 

the Alton coal group of Ashhurner probably represents the Mercer 

coals, so that usually only one is left, and it is generally unite impure. 

This bed has received a different name for nearly every locality where 

it, attains workable thickness. Rogers called it the Tionesta coal in 

Forest County, Pennsylvania, and it is (he Mount Savage bed of Somerset. Along the north Potomac River it frequently appears in the 

cuts of the West Virginia Central Railroad, and is there known as the 

" Railroad seam." It has been mined for local use just above Valley 

Falls, Taylor County, West Virginia, where it lies near water level, 

and is 1 feet thick, with a slate near center. It always presents a coarse 

structure, and no first-class fuel is ever obtained at this hori/.mi. Along 

tint New Hiver, and through all the country between it and the Tug 

Fork, only an insignificant coal, 1 to- feet thick, occurs at this level.

The famous Mount Savage lire day of Pennsylvania and Mar.vland 

comes within the limits of the Mercer group, and directly underlies the 

Mount, Savage coal, which it occasionally replaces.

Till'. OONNoijI KM SSINii SAXI'STONPS.

1'elow the Mercer group there comes the great sandstone hori/on 

par excellence of the Pottsville series. This group is generally triple, 

there being a massive sandstone at top, then a coal and shale interval, 

below which is another massive sandstone. These sandstones were 

first studied by the writer along the Connoqiienessing River, in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and they were designated from that 

stream. The Massillon sandstone of Newberry represents only a portion of the group; otherwise it would have precedence in nomenclature.

Kadi of these sandstone members is from HI to ."ill feet thick, though 

occasionally the. shale and coal separating them thins out and llie\ 

coalesce into one mass 15(1 to 'JOO feet thick, or even more. They aie 

generally quite hard, the quart/ grains being liner and more compact ly 

arranged-than ill the llomewood sandstone above. The color is more 

frequently yellowish white than any other, though sometimes it is gray.

The, (juakertown coal comes between the (wo sandstone members of 

the group. It seldom exceeds L' feet in western Pennsylvania or east 

ern Ohio, and unless it should be the ".Jackson shaft," or ' \\YIUton" 

coal, it does not seem to attain much importance in (hat State, though 

it is often present in the series as a thin bed, being represented in the
202 TFIR NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD. [iim.t..C5.

Ifanging Rock section (147) by number 13, which is only 2 feet thick, 

slate and .ill.

East from the Mahoning River no workable coal is known at this 

horizon in Pennsylvania, though a thin coal or block slate is often 

present.

THE SEW RIVKR COAL GROUP.

The great development of coal in the middle and lower half of the 

I'ottsville series along New River, West Virginia, has given name to 

this group. Although there are thin representatives of the group in 

nearly every section of the I'ottsvillo which is exposed in Pennsylvania, 

yet only around the northwestern margin of the, Held in that State is 

any valuable coal found at this horizon, namely, the Sharon coal of 

Mereer County. This bed ocenrs in pockets and isolated basins, in the 

western part of Mercer, where it is .3 to 5 feet thick, and a " block," or 

open-burning coal of great purity. It enters Ohio in the same patchy 

condition, and extends through Mahoning, Trmnhiill, Portage, Summit, 

Stark, Medina., and Wayno Counties of northeastern Ohio, and it is 

probably tho "Jackson shaft" or ' Wellston" seam of Jackson County 

in southern Ohio. In all cases it is the same open-burning, pure fuel, 

very low in ash and sulphur.

This Sharon bed and its thin rider appear to represent all the coals 

in the New River group, and hence it can not be called identical with 

any one of them, though according to Prof. Fontaine the flora of the 

Sharon roof shales is very similar to that found in the roof of the 

Qiiiiiniinont bed on New River. These roof shales of the Sharon coal 

through western Pennsylvania and across Ohio arc a very characteristic; feature. They begin directly under tho Connoqueiiessing sandstoues, and are often 40 to fiO feet thick, of a dark bine color, and 

generally contain much iron ore (carbonate) in nuggets and bands. 

These shales show the same character at Hanging Rock (Section 147), 

in southern Ohio, as they do on the Mahoning at the east.

In passing southward from Pennsylvania, along the Alleghany Mountain region, one of these New River beds thickens up to 3 feet in Garrett 

County, Maryland, just east from the West Virginia line, and has there 

been mined for local use on the land of Mr. Hrowning. It comes near 

the base of the Pottsvillc series, is quite soft and pure, and exhibits the 

same coking type as these coals all do on New River. One of these 

beds is also workable along Shaver's Fork of Cheat River, east from 

the Hcvorly Valley. This coal group, which is well shown in the Hlack 

Water section (133) of Tucker County, grows in importance south westward through Randolph, Webster, Greenbrier and Nicholas Counties, 

into Fayetto, where at Nuttallbnrg on New River we find the type 

section of the group (No. lf>l), which there incloses three workable coal 

beds besides several too thin to be of economic importance. The three 

workable beds are, in descending order, the Nuttall, Fire Creek, and 

Qninnimont, with tho intervals separating them shown in Section 151.
THE POTTSVILLE CONGLOMERATE CLIFFS AND DEBRIS ON NLW RIVER, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR FAYt I TE.
WHITE.] THE NEW KIVKR TOAI. GROUP. 203

These coals vary from 3 to 5 feet in thickness along New River, and 

are the ones from which the celebrated New River coke is now manufactured. The Nuttall is the most regular and persistent, being the 

only one which dips below water level at the north with a workable 

thickness.

They are .all quite soft, very low in ash and sulphur, and rich in fixed 

carbon, making coke of the greatest purity.

The Fire Creek and Quinniinout beds are quite irregular in their distribution and thickness, but both of them furnish much good coal on 

New River. I have termed the lowest bed the Quinnimont. but the 

stratigraphical horizon of the Qninnimont seam is not yet settled since 

it may prove identical with the Fire Creek bed, but all the coal operators agree that there are three workable coals on New River, and that! 

Nos. 11, 1C, and 18 of Section li»l are these three beds, whatever their 

identity with reference to the Fire Creek and Quinnimont localities 

may be.

Southwestward from Fayette County towards Raleigh, Mercer, and 

McDowell, the New River coals still continue, to increase in thickness 

and importance, culminating in the great bed at Pocahontas, in the edge 

of Virginia.

Section on Crane Creel; West Virginia, near Pocalionlaa, Virginia. 

Section 152 shows the succession of these coals on Crane Creek, a tributary of lilue Stone, a few miles northeast from Pocabontas. Here 

the Pocahontas coal is divided into two benches by a layer of shale 5 

feet thick, but at Pocahoiitas it exhibits the following structure:

Ft. in.

Coal . ................................. u

Shalo 

Coal .

°1 

10 j

Ft. 

10

in.

8

There is a bony streak about 2 feet below the top of the coal, but it 

is not rejected in mining.

Section at head of South Elk Horn Creek, MrDoicell County, MY*/ Virginia. Across the Flat Top Mountain divide from I'ocahontas, around 

the head of South Elk Horn Creek, in McDowell County, this coal exhibits the following structure:

Fl. in. 

Coal ...................................... :! f |

Bony coal ................................. 0

Coal ...................................... 2

Slate...................................... 0

Coal ...................................... 2

'! 

11

Ft. 

'J

Section on East Branch of Simmonit ('reel;, Morcr County, HY*/ Virginia. On the east branch of Simmons Creek this coal shows as follows:

Ft.

Coal ......

. Hlate, lilna 

Coal .......

- - ) Fl. in.

" ^ > S 10

»;- 4 i
204 THE NORTHERN BITUMINOUS COAL FIELD

II

Kcetionon it-cut branch of Flipping Creek, Mercer County, Went Virainin. 

(Jn the Walker tract, west branch of Flipping Creek, the coal has this 

structure :

Ft. in.

Coal ....................................... 2 0

Dark nlink'8 .............................. .10 0

Coal ...................................... fi 0

Ft , 

Srctinn on ViiiHiiclc Fork of (lie (htyamlotte Rircr, Wyoming County, 

]\'fxt Virginia. .lust before this coal pusses under the level of the 

riiinac.le Kork of the (iiiyandotte Iliver west, from Flat Trip Mountain 

it exhibits the following structure:

Ft. in. 

Massivti HiHidstono. ...... .... ...... .... ....

Coal ...................................... 1 4 -v

Tire clay.................................. :! 0 [ Ft- inSiinil.v slial.i ..........:.................... f> Of 11 H

Coal ...................................... f> 4 >

This coal was numbered III in the, original section published from 

Pocahnntas by Alaj. .led. llotchkiss, and it, is frei|iie,nM.v known by that 

name. Major llotchkiss thinks I lie I'ocahontas bed identical with the 

(^iiinnimont of New River, but, the writer can not, yet satisfactorily correlate this bed with any of the New Hiver coals which have been mined.

The coal from the I'ocahontas seam is <|iiite as pure and valuable for 

coke, and general fuel purposes as any in the New Kiver lield, and, in 

fact, is the same kind ol'eo;il.

Two other beds of I to 5 feet in thickness occur in the hills above the 

Pocahontas vein, but so far they have not Iwen mined to any extent, as 

they are not, regular in thickness and the great bed below monopolizes 

the present mining operations.

TIIK SIIARON rOXfiMIMKIMTK.

The, interval below the Sliaron coal in Ohio and western Pennsylvania 

down to the base of the Pottsville series is often occupied by a massive conglomerate, and when it is absent the coal with its under clay 

rests directly on the Lower Carboniferous beds. This conglomerate 

stratum was considered a separate member of the series by the Ohio 

geologists and as representing the entire No. X 1 1 conglomerate of Hogers in Pennsylvania'.

Hut later studies have shown that it is simply the basal member of 

this series. When well developed in Ohio it is very coarse, being a 

mere mass of pebbles from a pea, to an egg in sixe. There is no single 

stratum around the southeastern margin of the Appalachian lield that 

will exactly compare with the Sliaron conglomerate in physical aspect, 

though local streaks in all these great sandstones are (piite as pebbly, 

but just as the Sliaron coal is represented by several beds in the New 

Hiver section, so the Sliaron conglomerate, only 20 to 40 feet thick in
WHITR.J TMK 1,0 WKK CAKliONU'KKOUS.

Pennsylvania and Ohio, is on New Kiver represented by .'500 to 100 feet 

ot'sliales, sandstones, and conglomerates.

In northern Pennsylvania the Olcan conglomerateof Ilradford County 

and the (iarland conglomerate of Warren have been shown by Mr. John 

I1'. Carll to be identical with tlie Sharon stratum, and they also iesen:lile 

it very much in physical characters. The coarse type of the Sharon 

conglomerate appears, to be confined to the northwestern rim <>l the 

Appalachian field, since it disappears southward uuder the other members oi' the series.

TUB l.OWKK CAIillOMKKIEors T.KI'S.

Below the base of the I'ottsville series come the red .shales am! limestones of the Manch Chunk series, and then succeed the gray sandstones 

of the 1'ocono, the lowest sei ics of the Carboniferous system.

Thin coals occur locally in both of these members of the Lower Carboniferous in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, but nowhere i'n these 

States, nor in Ohio, does any merchantable bituminous coal exist in 

this portion of the Carboniferous.

The Tipton Hun coals of Ulair Comity, Pennsylvania, have been eileil 

as occurring in the I'ocono sandstone scries for the last thirty-live years, 

and this conclusion is reiterated by Mr. Ashburncr in a special lepoit 

made as late as 1,S.S.""> (Pennsylvania (ieological Survey, Annual Kcporl, 

1885, p. -50), but a single glance at the fossil plants occurring in the 

roof shales of the coals now mined there proves that they belong in the 

Lower Coal Measures, or Allegliany Kiver series, and not to the Pocono, 

their apparent stratigraphical position being the result of displacement, 

so that although the Pocono series is reported to contain valuable coal 

beds in Montgomery County, Virginia, it certainly docs not in any of 

the three States covered l>y this report, and hence a further consideration of the Lower Carboniferous beds is not germane to this publication.
II
INDEX.

Page. 

Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvauia, section in .............. 21

Allejrbauy County, Maryland, section |

iu ................................ 56 !

Allegbany County, Pennsylvania, suctions

in ................................ 73,112

Alli'jjhauy River scrii's. .................. 9'.i-178 i

tablo showing strata of. .............. 101 |

Alton coul group Alercer coals..., ...... 201

Allies limestone...... .................... 90-01

Andrews, K. I!., section given by ........ 28

Antiquity', Ohio, section at .............. M

Arliuckle, West Virginia, section at..... 54

Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, sections in . ........ -.107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 184

Armstrong Creek, West Virginia, section

iit uioutli of ...................... 140

Arnocoal ........................... .... 167

Ashlmrner, C. A., sections given by ..... 101,182

geologic ideiitiiications by............ 174

Athens County, Ubio, sections in ......60,133,134

Baird On\ Ohio.......................... 173

Hakorntown coal .. _ .................... 92 63

Baltimore jind Ohio Railroad, section on. . 188 

Barbour County, West Virginia, sections j

in ................................ 128,101

Barclay, Mr., section furnished by. ...... 190

Barcnvill«, Ohio, seution at. .............. 28

Itarnot coal-Middle KittaiiDiuj; coal..... 16C !

Barren Measures or Elk River series ...19,70-98 i 

Beaver (Jonuty, Pennsylvania, section in. 112 

Beaver llivcr, Pennsylvania, section near

uioutb of ......................... 112

Beaver Itnn, Pennsylvania, section on... 114 

Bedford County, Pennsylvania, sections

in ............................. 77,149

Bellaire, Ohio, section at. ................. 08 j

section near..................... 50 i

Bellton, West Virginia, section at........ 26

Bellton coal tfroiip ....................... 32,34

Belmout County, Ohio, sections in........ 50, 67, 08

Benniugton, Pennsylvania, section at..... 122

Ben 8 Creek, Cambria County, Peniisylvailia, section at .................... 120

Berlin, Pennsylvania, section at ......... 76

Berry's Mine, Morgan County, Ohio, section at............................ 67

Big Hurricane Creek, Putnam County,

West Virginia, sectional ........ 55

Big Sandy Kiver, Lawrence County, Ken

tucky, section on...... ........... iw

Black Fossilil'eioiis limestone ............ 93

Blai-ktville liincsU>nn .................... 36

Blainu Creek, Laurence County, Ken.

tucky, set lion at mouth of ....... 141

section on.................. ......... HiJ Hill

Blair County, Pennsylvania, section in... 1JJ 

lllussburg, Pennsylvania, section at ...... 102

Bloss vein, 1'cnn.Hylvania Lower Kitlan

ning ceal. ........................ lli'J

Board Tn>« Tunnel, Marshall County,

West Virginia, sectional. ........ M

Bolivar (Ire clay.............. ............ 1.VJ 100

Bolivar, Pennsylvania, section near..... . 115

Booth's ('reek, West Virginia, Meet ion on li>9 

llraily Township, liuth-r Count.v, lYnn-<\lvaniu, section at...... ............ In7

Broad Top, I'oniisjlvania, section at ..... 7077

Broad Top Basin, Huntingdon County,

Pennsylvania, sections in. .... 12.",, 12r>, 1H5

Brockwayvillf.l'ennsvlvaiiirt, seetion near li»l 

Hrooke Connty, West Virginia, seel ion in 19'J 

lirookvillo, IVnnsylvania, section at. .....

Brookvill.' coal-Clarion coal in Ohio ....

Mrookvillo coal...........................

1HJ 

175

178 

Brown, C. N., sections furnished by ......50, 67, K8

Brown's Mills, Moiionj-alia County, West

Virginia, seetinn near ............ 38

Brownstown, West Virginia, section near 1119 

Brownsville, Pennsylvania, »eetiou at .... 44

Brownsville coal -Washington coal...... 37

Jsrowutown sandstone ................... M

Brush Creek coal- Manuntonn coul ..... 91,%

Brush Creek coal - Malioning coal ....... U6

Brush Creak limestone - Lower Cam

bridge limestone ................. 93

Bryan's Bank, Tpshur County, West Virginia, section at .................. 152

Bu' kbannon liiver, West Virginia, section

on. ............................... 102

Bnohtel limestone Upper Freepoi t . . . . . 151»

Buclitel, Obici, section near .............. 133

Buffalo Crc-ek, Marion county, Wi-at Virginia, section at............ ....... U

Buhrstune iron ore ....................... 173

BuruiuK Spring, Kauawha County, West

Virginia, natural nas tirst used at. . 196 

section at ............................ 188

Buvuing Springs, Wirt County, West Vir

giuia, sections at ................. 52,83

section near................. ...... 193

ButlerCoiiuly, Pennsylvania, section In.. 107

T

\
208 INDEX.

c.

Cabull County, West Virginia, sections

in ........_..................(it>, 155,15H

Cambridge liniesloncs.................... U3

Cambria County, l'uiiiia.\lviinia,' sections

in............... .118, ll'J, 120,122,148,149

CampbcH'B Creek coal vein.....;......... 171)

Campliell's Creek limestone.............. 108

(Jump liranch, Cahcll County, West VirKiiiia, section near ................ l.r>5

Cannelton coals...................*...... 97

Cannoiisbun;, Pennsylvania, sccticn at... 78 

Carboniferous System, Uojjors's table

showing subdivisions ............ ID

Uarll, Joliu F., geologic identifications by. 205 

Carpenter's station, Pennsylvania, section

near............................... 113

1'asnville plant shale ..................... 41

CedniClove coal......................... 1«7

Centroville, Pciinsylrania, section near... 108 

Chance, 11, Martyu, sections given by...l(;r>, 1116,

1U7. 123, l«l 

cited on ^t'nlonic oiinivalont ol' l^piier

Kittaliniii^ in !Ymi8\ l\iinia...... 105

Krotogii- iacntilicatioiiH by ........... 17J, 17K

Cli.iplinr Hill, \VlMvlin-, Vfml Virginia,

seel ion lit ........................ 40

ChnrU'titun, West Vii'yinia, ftt'otiyn near .. <S5 

HccliiniHiit ........................... n(i, 105

t'lioat Kivrr, Tnc'.kcr Coiinty, \V<'«t Virginia, Hfctkma (in................. 1R7, ItW

('Union coal ............................. 175 17ii

Clarion County, I'tMiiiHylvacia, gectioiis

in.............................lo:., 100,18,'l

I'hrinn KIIIII|H(IIIII>........................ IVIi

ChirkHbnr^ linif.Ht«ln> .................... ^8

Clai-kHbnrj!, Wont Virginia, Hwtiinmat. .-18-1!), I-'9,

I8U 

....il I..,I ill, .......................... 88

('It'al liclil County, 1 Yiiiixylviini;), Mi'i'linns

in............................. IMS, 124,182

Cli'.iilirhl, IVm>«\ Ivania.Hri lionet-. 1.M, I8L* IKI 

Clinliin coal Miilillo Kiltaiiiiiiig coal... llili 

i'oalbiii>;, \\Vst Vir^iuia, voalbodH at.... 94i

sn lion at............................ jr.2

Coal Valli-y yaM vein, Wost Virginia..... 170

Coli', R. A., ni'i linns ^ivrn by ............ UO, l'J2

Coliiluliia niiin1 , \Vt>.stiiioT'rlanil Cuunty,

lYniiM.vlYaniu,Hi't'tion at.......... (is

ColiMii.in liiiii'sliine ...................... 93

I'oliiinltiatiH County,Ohio,Rortion in..... 131

(.'olvin'n linn, liivrnti County, Pennsylvania, Kri-tinti on ................... ^:{

Cohin's linn liim'stoni' .................. ;:'J

Concniiiiiuli, lYnn.sy Iviiniii, Nt*c'tioli at.... 11!)

Coiiiu-lliirillc MIIII|»|»II(> .................. H7

I 'nnniinclifSMin^ s;iin|stoilt'8 .............. L'Ol

Cniik vi'in, Wi-ni Virginia ................ 171

Copi'iiiaifs Knob, Wf.st Virginia, Hoclion

nt ................................ 85

Cove Creek. Wayne County, West Virginia, st'clioiiH on.............. 1 !i!v 166,157

Crai;;, (ion., rccou! at IniriiiR l'iirni»li.-il

by ............................... 51

Crane Creek, Mercer County, West Virginia, sections oil ................ IIW,-OJ

Page. 

Crosson, Pennsylvania, section at........ 122

Clinoidal coal............................" 91,92

Ciinoidal limestone ...................... UU 91

Cninmbcr Hun, Kayetle County, Peunsylvania, section on ................. 110

Current's farm,, IT^shiir County, West

Virginia, sect ion at............... 152-

1).

Dickinsou Salt Works, West Virginia,

section at ........................ 138

Douhlcday, Mr., section furnished by.... 114

Dunbar Creek, Fa.vette County, Pennsylvania, section at ................. 74

Punkard coal............................ 33 34

Dunkard Creek beds, fossils of........... 41-42

Duukard I'lvek, lireeiic County, Pennsylvania, seel ion on................. 22

Dunkard Creek series.................... 19,20 -43

highest beds of ...................... 30

ago of................................ 41-42

Dunkard Creek series. See Penuo-Carbouiferous.

F..

Kacle limestone.......................... 141,177

Kaglo, West Virginia, section at ......... 176

Kast lirady, Pennsylvania, section at, .... 108

Udttards, W. S., sections furnished by ... 1:16, 105 

Klk County, Pennsylvania, sections in .. 104,182 

Klk I.ick coal ............................ 80-90

Klk I.ick limestone....................... 90

Klk liivorseiics ......................... 70 1)8

Klk Itiver, West Virginia, section nt

month of......................... 136

Kpli'r oil (Hiring. Washington County,

Obio. section at................... 192

F.

Fairfax, Knob, West, Virginia, section at. 65 

section neiir.......................... 82

Fall Brook, Pennsylvania, section at .... 1»;i

Farmiimloli. West Virginia, section at... :I7 

section near.......................... 189

Fayctte County, Pennsylvanin, sections

in...............................44, 71, lid

Fayette (,'ounly, West Virginia ......... 17B, 197

Federal Creek,Ohio, section at........... 67

Feriiti'ious limestone.................... 173-175

Fire Creek coal .......................... 203

Fish Creek sandstone.................... M

Falling Cieek, \\'el/,el ('oiinty, West

Virginia, section on.............. 38

Fishpot limestone Sewickiey limestone. 02 

Fleming, Cochran, records of borings furnished by ........................ 73,112

Flipping Creek, West Virginia, section on 204 

Fontainv, W.M., formation named by.... it!)

Fossil horizons and localities .... 31, "I. 3,r>, 37,38,

41, 12, 57, .18, 60, 62, 7!), 90 91, 91,

97, 98, 1.19, 103, 109, 177, 179 180

Fossils of the Upper Coal Measures ..... 69

Fossil plant horizons and localities ..34,35,37, .'1H, 

41,42,57,97,10J, 179-180,205
INDEX. 209

P»ge.

Fox Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania, section in .................... 18'J

FreepoTt coals............................ 160-161

Freepott limestone....................... 163

Freeport, Pennsylvania, section at ....... Ill

Freeport sandstone ...................... 163-164

Fulton, John, sections given by .......... 118,122

Fulton vein, Pennsylvania = Lower Kittanning coal. ..................... 169

Q. 

Gallltzin eoal = Mahoning coal (?) ....... 96

Gallitzin, Pennsylvania, sections near.... 148-149

Gaa (natural) first used for manufacturing 

purposes at Burning Spring, West 

Virginia ......................... 196

Gilboy sandstone = Brbwntown sandstone 58 

G ilmer County, West Virginia, section in. 53 

Gilmore sandstone ....................... 31

Gladden's Run, Pennsylvania, section on. 186 

Gray Ore,Ohio........................... 173

"Great" Conglomerate = Pottsville Conglomerate ........................ 179

"Great" limestone...................... 59-60

Greene County, Pennsylvania, sections

in.............................22,23, 24,45

Green Fossiliferous limestone ........... 90-91

Guernsey County, Ohio, section in........ 83

Guyandotte Mountain, West Virginia, seotionat .......................... 142

Gnyaudotte River, West Virginia, sectionson ................. .. ... 155,204

Hacker's Valley post-office, West Virginia, section at .................. 153

Haggerty, John, sections furnished by ... 105-106 

Hanging Kock, Ohio, section at ......... 193

Barrison County. Ohio, section in ........ 68

Harrison County, West Virginia, sections

in. .... ....................48,49,129,189

Hartford City. Wesi Virginia, section at . . M-54 

Hartley's bank, near Masontown, West

Virginia, section at .............. 150

Hobson coal = Washington coal .......... 37

Hocking Valley, Ohio, sections in ....... 133,168

Hog Hollow coal = Middle Kittanning

coal ..... .................... 1C6

Holly River, West Virginia, section on. .. 153 

Holmes Count v, Ohio, section in.. ........ 191

Homewood sandstone ................... 199

Horton Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania, section at.................. 104

Hostetter coal ............................ 33

Hotchkiss, Jed. section given by ......... 204

Houtzdalc, Pennsylvania, section near... 124 

Hukill, E. M., section furnished by....... 113

Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, sections in ............... ... ;...... 12.1, 185

Hnntington, West Virginia, section's at . . 66, 84 

section near.......................... 153

P»geIron ore in the Upper Coal Measure* .... 57-,r>8 

Iroutou, Ohio, sections near .............. 135

J.

Jackson County. Ohio, section in ...... 193

Jackson Kurnace, Jackson County. Ohio.

section near...................... 193

Jackson, T. M.. sections furnished by.... 1-fl !S»

 lackson Township, Cambria County,

Pennsylvania, section in..........

Jefferson County, Ohio, section in........

Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, section

119

Johnston, John L.. section furnished by.

183

49

Indiana County, Pennsylvania, sectionsin 115 

Irondale limestone and ore .............. 85

Bull. G3 14

Johnstown (Cement) limestone .......... 165-11J6

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, section at ..... 11H

Jollytown coal........................... 34

Jolly town limestone ..................... 34

Jordan, Col. record ol boring nearCliarles.

ton, West Virginia, furnished by.. 137

K.

Kanawha Black Flint.................... 98

KanawhaCouuty, \Vest Virginia, sections

in................. 85, 138..13S. 162,195,196

Karthaus, Pennsylvania, section near.... 103

Kellersburgh, Pennsylvania, section at... 184 

Kenova, West Virginia, section near..... 158

Kittanning coals......... 164-165,166-i67.169 170

Kittanuing Bre clay...................... 171

Kittanning,Pennsylvania,section near... 109 

Kittauniug sandstone ................... 172

Langhlintown, Pennsylvania, section near 116 

Laurel Run. Westiiimeland County. Pennsylvania, sen ion on ............... 118

Lawrence County. Kentucky, sections in 144,145

16'J-HW, 11*4

Leading Creek, Gilmer County, West Virginia, section on.................... 53

Letonia, Ohio, section near ............... 132

Lesley, J. P., Pottsville conglomerate

named by........................... 178

Lewis County. West Virginia, section in . !Ti3 

Liberty Township. Washington County,

Ohio, section at .. ............... 2»

Lick Run, West Virginia, section at monih

of .................................. 137

Li^onier, Pennsylvania, section at........ 75

Limestone Hill. West Virginia, exposure

of limestone at..................... S3

Limestone ore. Ohio...................... 173

Linton. Prof., sections given by .......... 113,185

Little Beaver Creek Pennsylvania, section at mouth of.................... 130

Lit tie Clarksburg coal .................. 88

Little Fulls. West Virginia, section at .. 80 

Little Kanawha River. West Virginia.

section on ............... .......... 153

Little Laurel Creek, West Virginia, section on............................ 150

Little Pittsburgh coal.................... 8J-87
210 INDEX.

Page 

Little Washington coal.................. 39

Little Waynesburg coal.................. 58

Lloyd Wamsley's bank, Upslmr County,

West Virginia, gectiou at .......... 152

Lockport, Pennsylvania, section near..... 115

Logunsport, Pennsylvania, section at. .... 110

Logau County, Weal Virginia, section io. 147 

Lovejoy, E.. sections in Ohio furnished by 06,87 

LowerCambridgelimestone-Brush Creek

limestone........................... 93

Lower Cambridge linie8tone=Phllson

limestone .......................... 94

Lower Carboniferous beds ............... 205

LowerCoal Measures. .................19,99-178

Lower Coal Measure*, table showing strata

of.................................. 101

Lower Freeport coal..................... 160-181

Lower Freeport limestone ............... 163

Lower Freeport sandstone...... ........ 163-184

Lower Rittaunin^ coal..................^ 169-170

M.

Maboning coal........................... 96

Mahoniug County. Ohio, gection in ...... 191

Mahoning limestone...................... 9C-97

Mahoning Hiver. Ohio, section on........ 191

Mahoniug sandstones...... ..............95-96, 97

Maiden, West Virginia, section near.... 138

Maple Swamp water tank, West Virginia

Central K. H.. section at......... 127

Mapletown <'oal = Sewickley coal ........ 61

Marietta sandstones...................... 35-36

Marion County, West Virginia, sections

in..........................-37, 48,129,189

Marshall County, West Virginia, sections

in ................................ 25,26

Martin County, Kentucky, gection in.... 146

Mason County. West Virginia, sections in. 54 

Masontown. West Virginia, coal bed at.. 94 

Mammtowu, West Virginia, section near. 150 

Mussillon sandstone Couuoquenessing

sandstones in part................ 201

Uauch Chunk ml shale, geologic place of. 19 

Mct'oy shaft, near Gallit/in, Cambria

County, Pennsylvania, sectional. 148-149 

McCuneville, Ohio, gection near.......... 133

McDowell County, West Virginia, section

in ................................ 203

Meeker s Run. Athens County, Ohio, lection on ........................... 134

Mehafley, J. A., section on Beaver Run,

Pennsylvania, given by .......... 114

Meigs County, Ohio, sections in.......... 53,88

Meigs Creek coal = Sewickley coal....... 81

MercerCoiinty, Pennsylvania, sectionstn. 100 

Mercer County, West Virginia, gections

in .............................198,203,204

Mercer group ............................ 200-201

Middle Cannelton coal.................... 97

Middle Freeport coal.............. ... 160

Middle Kittauning coal.............. .... 166-167

Miller's Eddy, Pennsylvania, section at.. 105 

Mineral County, West Virginia, sections

in.............................126,127,186

Minshall, F. W., sections furnished by.. 29.

52,83,1(2

123

51

19

149

Pag*.

Moatsrille, Barbour County, West Virginia, section at.................. 128

Monongalia County, West Virginia, sections in ....................38,46,47,79,80

Monongahela River serie*................ 42-69

Morgautown sandstone .................. 88-89

Mi/rgantown, West Virginia, section at ..

Morrisdale, Pennsylvania, section near..

Moundsville, West Virginia, section at...

Mountain limestone, geologic place of....

Mount Equity mine, Bedford County, 

Pennsylvania ....................

Mount Morris limestone.................. 39-40

Mount Vernon furnace, Ohio, section near 134

Mumble-the-Peg Creek, Nicholas County,

West Virginia, section on........ 154

Murraysville, Pennsylvania, sections

at............................. 114,184-185

Mngkiugum County, Ohio, section in .... 132

N.

Natural gas first used for manufacturing 

purposes at Burning Spring, West 

Virginia .........................

Neltonville. Ohio, section near...........

New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, section at.

Newburg, West Virginia, sections at....

117,

New Lisbon, Ohio, section near..........

New Martinsvlllc. West Virginia, section 

at................................

New River coal group...... ...........

New Straitsvilie, Ohio, section at........

Nicholas County, West Virginia, gections 

in................................

Nineveli coal.............................

Nineveh limestone.......................

Nineveh sandstone.......................

Nuttallbnrg, West Virginia, section at...

Nuzuiu's Mill, Marinn i.'ouuty, West Virginia, section at..................

196

134

106

65,81,

167,170

132

27

202-203 

108

153,154

32

32-3J

32

197

129

0.

Oceana, West Virginia, section at........ 143

Ohio County, West Virginia, sections In.. 49,130 

Ohio Geological Survey reports cited .... 28,06,

67, 68,132, 134,135,161,165, 168,178,191,199 

Old Peach Orchard, Lawrence County,

Kentucky, section at............. 145

Oliphaut, F. H., record of borings given

by ........................... 144,145,194

Ore nil! furnace, section near............ 107

Orton, Edward, strata named by......... 93

beds of lower coal measures traced

across Ohio by ................... 101

cited on subdivision of Ferriferous

limestone in Ohio ................ 131

gections given by .................... 134,135

cited on Ohio equivalent of Upper

Kittafliug ........................ 165

cited on Ohio coal beds............... 158

cited on geologic equivalent of Upper

Kittanningin Ohio............... 165

cited on Middle Kittanning coal in

Ohio ............................. 167

geologic identifications by............ 175
INDEX. 211

Q.

Quakertown, Ohio, section near 

Quakertown coal................

Quinnimont coal................

E.

Raleigh County, West Virginia, section in

Randolph County, West Virginia, section

in................-.-... .. 

191

201

203

142

161

P.

Page. 

Panther Hill, Ohio, section at............. 134

Parkersburg, West Virginia, sections at . 130,192 

Parsons. James, section furnished by .... 187

Patton station, Clarion County, Pennsylvania ............................ 183

Peach Orchard coal, geologic place of .... 146

Pennsylvania Geological Survey reports

cited.29, 31, 37, 42,44, 68, 74, 93, 94,103, 104,

105, 106, 107, 108, 116, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125.

126,149, 169, 173,182,183, 184,18S, 189, 190,205 

Permo-Carboniferotts or Dunkard Creek

series............................19,20-42

age of..............................A 41-42

Perry County, Ohio, sections in .......... 133,16S

Philippi, West Virginia, section at ...... 161

Philson limestone = Lower Cambridge

limestone ........................ 94

Piedmont, West Virginia, sections at..... 126,186

Pine Creek limestone .................... 93

Pinkerton Point, Pennsylvania, section at 121 

Pipe Creek, Beluiont County, Ohio, sectionat ........................... 51

Pittsburgh coal ............ ............. 63-64

Pittsburgh coal iron ores ................ 86

Pittsburgh limestones ................... 87

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, section at .... 184

Pittsburgh region, section in ............ 72

Pittsburgh sandstone .................... 63

Plant horizons and localities, 34. 45, 37, 38, 41, 42.

57, 97,169,179-180, 205

Platt, Franklin, strata named by......... 90

geologic identifications by............ 91

sections given by.._........103,120,121,12'-'

Platt; Messrs.,strata named by .......... 63

section furnished by ................. 76

geologic identincations by............ 89,164

cited on geologic place of Johnstown

Cement limestone............... 166

Platt, Wm. G., sections given by.. 104,108,115,184 

Pocahontas, West Virginia, section near. 203 

Pocono sandstone, geologic place of...... 19

Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio, section at 60 

Porter's (Greene), Twelve Pole Creek,

West Virginia, section at ........ 158

Poaten's bank, near Masontown, West

Virginia, section near............ 150

Pottsville Conglomerate series.........19,179-205

Pottsville series, structure of............ 199

Powell Mountain, West Virginia, section j 

at.............................. ... 153

Preston County, West Virginia, sections in 65 

117,150,167,170,188

Putnam County, West Virginia,sections in 55, 56 

Putneyville, Pennsylvania, section at.... 108

Raymond City, Weat Virginia ...........

Keystone coal............................

Redstone limestone ........... ..........

Red shale beda...........................

Rice's Landing. Pennsylvania, section atRicbmoud. Pennsylvania, section ne*r.. 

" Ridge " limestone. West Virginia ......

Ritchie County, West Virginia, sett ion in

Roai iu^ Creek coal vt*in, West Virginia.

Robinson's Run, Mmiongalia County,

West Virginia, aei'tion at ........

Rock Point coal=Middle Kittanninf* coal 

Rogers lirotln-rs, strata named by . ......

Rogers. H. I)., strata named by ......43,59,

section given by ........... .........

Roger*'* subdivision of the Carboniferous 

Rowlesburg, West Vitginni. section near

S.

50

62

62-63 

92 

45 

115 

33 

159 

151

46

166

70

43.147

103

18-19

188

Sawpit branch of Cove Creek, Well Virginia, section on ................. 157

Scioto County, Ohio, sections in.......... 134,193

Scott's Run, Monoiigalia County. West

Virginia, section at .............. 47

Scrub-grass coal Upper Clarion coal.... 175

Selby, A. G.. sectiou near Huutiugton.

West Virginia. fuinUhcd 1>\ ..... 84

Serai conglomerate^I'ottsville conglomerate. ........................ 17H

Sewickley sandstone..................... Ou

Sewickley coal .......................... 60 til

Sewickley limestone..................... 61 -62

Sewickley, Pennsylvania, sections at .... 73, 112

Shade Creek, Ohio, sections at............ 66

Sharon coal .............................. 202

Sharou conglomerate..................... 204-205

Shawnee limestone = 1'pper Freeport ... 159 

Shawnee,Ohio,sectiou near.............. 133

Shough's Knob. Greene County, Pennsylvania, highest Dunkard beds at.. 130 

Shoup's Run, Huntingdon County, 1'euu

sylvania, section at .............. 125

Shumard, (1. F., sectiou furnished by .... 145

Simmons Creek, West Virginia .......... 203

Simpsou well, Wirt County, West Vilginia, section..................... 192

Sims, H. N.. se( tiou given by............. 1)5

Somerset County. Pennsylvania, sections

in .............................. 121.186

South Elk Horn Creek, West Virginia.

sectiou on ....................... 203

Sprncevale,Ohio, section near............ 131

Steele, John L., section furnished by..... 189

Sterling mines near Iloutzdale. Pennsylvania, section at ................. 124

Stenbenville, Ohio, section at............. 77

Stevenson, John J., strata named by...... 31,32,33

34, M, 37, 39, 59. 62, l"i. »3 

sections given by.... .44. 6*, 74.116.126.149,159

Stevenson, Wm.S., sections given by. ..7*. 153, Ie5 

Stone Coal Run. rpshur County. West

Virginia, section at .............. 151

Stony Creek, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, i«ction on ................ 121
212 INDEX.

Stovestown. Pennsylvania,section at..... 121

Stroud Creek. We«t Virginia, sectionon.. 154 

Sugar Camp Hollow, West Virginia, seetionin............................ 157

Summit limestone-=Mahoning limestone. 96, 97 

Summit lime«toue= Upper Freeputt..... 159

T.

Taylor County, West Virginia, sections in. 128,189 

Taylorstown, Pennsylvania, lection near. 30 

Thomas, West Virginia, section near..... 127

Tioga County, Pennsylvania, aectiont in. 102,103 

Tiouesta coal = Upper Mercer coal...... 200-201

Tipton Run coals, geologic place of....... 205

Trimblecoal ............................. 1«7

Trough Creek, West Virginia.sections on. 157 

Tucker County, West Virgiuia, lections

on ..........................65, 82,127,187

Tag Fork of Big Sandy River, sections on 146,147 

Twelve Pole Creek, West Virginia, sectionson .......................... 156,158

Tygart's Valley River, section on ........ 128

U.

Uniontowr coal .......................... 59

Uniontown limestone ................... 59

TTniontown sandstone.................... 58-59

Upper Caunelton coal.................... 97

Upper coal measures or Monongabela

River series......................19,42-69 |

table of bed* of................. . 57 ; Upper Freeport coal..................... 147-148

Upper Freeport limestone................ 159

tipper Freeport sandstone............... 160

Upper IvitUiuniug coal................... 1(4

Upshur County, West Virginia, sections

in ................................ 151,162

V.

Valley Fall*, West Virginia, section at .. 128 

W.

Wall, J. Sutton, section near Webster,

Pennsylvania, furnished by...... 68 |

Warfleld coal, West Virgiuia ............ 171

Warnelil, Kentucky, section at.......... 146

Washington "A" coal.................... 35

Washington coal......................... 37

Washington County, Ohio, sections in.. .29,52,192

Washington, Connty, Pennsylvania, sections in ..................29,45,78,113,185

Washington limestone................... 35,36

Washington, Pennsylvania, sections at.29,77-78

113,186 

Washington sandstone................... 38-39

Wavne County, West Virginia, sections In. 1(5,156

157,158 

Waynesbnrg "A" coal................... 39

Waynesbnrg " B" coal................... 39

Waynesbnrg coal ............_......... 57

Waynesburg limestone .................. 68

Waynesbnrg sandstone .................. 40, 41

Webster County, West Virginia, sectionin 153 

Webster, Pennsylvania, section near.... 68

Wellersbnrg, Pennsylvania, section near. 186 

Westernportsandstone .................. 59

Wellercoal = Crinoi(lalco»J............. 92

Wellsburg, West Virginia, section at..... 190

West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, section

at...................................... 45

Westeruport, Maryland, sections near. .56,126,186 

Westmoreland Connty, Pennsylvania, sections in ...................44,88,113,114,116,185

West Virginia Central Railroad, sections

on...................................... 127

West Virgiuia and Pittsburgh Railroad,

section on.............................. 152

Wetzel County, West Virginia, sections in 27,38 

Wheeling Cn-ek, Pennsylvania, section on 24 

Wheeling, West Virginia,sections at .... 130

WilUrd, K. B., record of boring furnished

by ..................................... 193

Willey fork of Fishing Creek, Wetzel

County, West Viiginia, sections on. ... 38 

Wilson's mine, Randolph County, West

Virginia, section at........ .......... J51

,Wiudy Crip coal ......................... 31

Wiudy Gap limestone.................... 30-31

Winfleld.West Virginia, seption at....... 65

Winifrede, West Virginia, sections at .... 162

Wirt County, West Virgiuia, sections In 52. 83,192 

Wise, West Virginia, exposure at ........ 34

Wood County. West Virginia, sections in 130,192 

Wyoming County, West Virginia, sections

in...................................... 143,204

Z.

Zanesville,Ohio,section near ............ 132

Zoar limestone = Upper ileixci limestone 200
LIBRARY CATALOGUE SLIPS.

United States. Department uf the inlerior. ( ('. ">'. tjeolagiciil s«rn v.) 

Department of tlie interior | | Bulletin | of tin- 1'uiu-il 

States | geological survey | no. G"> | [Seal of the department] | 

Washington | government printing otlk-e j l-'.tl

Second title: United States geological Mirvey | ,1. \V. I'owell, 

director | | Stratigraphy | of tlie | bituminous ooal ticld | of | 

Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia | by j Israel C. White | 

[Vignette] |

Washington | government printing otlice | 1-'J1

80. 212 pp. 11 pi.

White (Israel C.).

United States geological survey | J. W. Powi-11, director | | 

Stratigraphy | of the | bituminous coal licld ] of | Pennsylvania, 

Ohio, and West Virginia | by | Israel C. White i [Vigi;otte] 

Washington | government printing oflice | l-'.il 

8°. 212pp. 11 pi.

[TJ.NITED STATES. Department n] the interior. > I'. A', ycolojical «urny.» 

Bulletin G5.] 

«V

a

United States geological survey | J. W. Powcll, director | | 

Stratigraphy | of the | bituminous coal lield | of | Pennsylvania, 

Ohio, and West Virginia | by | Israel C. White | [Vigner. ]

Washington | government printing ollice | l^'.ll

8°. 212pp. n pi.

[TjNiTEii STATES. Dtpard/it/i( oj '.he uitcr^r. \l'. i. j^li'jical mri-ty.i 

Bulletin 65. J

[Bulk-tin No. 65.)

The pnblicationa of the United States Geological Snrvey are issued In accordance with the st.itnte 

approved March 3, 1879. which declares that 

" The publications of the Geological Survey shall consist of the annual report of operations, geological 

and economic maps illustrating the resources and classification of the lands and reports upon general 

and economic geology and paleontology. The annual report of operations of the Geol.>pical Survey 

shall accompany the annual report of the Secretary of the Interior. All special memoirs ami reports 

of said Survey shall he issued in uniform quarto series if deemed necessary by the Itirector, but otherwise in ordinary octavos. Three thousand copies of each shall he published for scientific exchanges 

and for sale at tire price of publication; ami all literary and cartographic materials received in exchange 

 shall be the property of the United States and form a part of the library of the organization ; and the 

money resulting from the sale of snch publications shall be covered into the Treasury of the t'nitcd 

States."

On July 7, 1882, the following joint resolution, referring to all Government publication*, was i>a»ed 

hy Congress:

41 That whenever any document or report shall be ordered printed by Congress, there »hall be printed. 

in addition to the number in each case stated, the usual number' (1,000) of copies for binding and 

distribution among those entitled to receive them."

Except in those cases in which an extra number of any publication bas been supplied to the Survey 

hy special resolution of Congress ot has been ordered by the Secretary of the Interior, this offi> e has 

no copies for gratuitous distribution.

ANNUAL REPORTS.

I. First Annnal Report of the United States Geological Survey, by Clarence King. 1880. 8°. 79 | > 

1 map. A preliminary report describing plan of organization and publications.

II. Second Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. l^sO-'t1 !, by J. \V. Powell. IfSJ. 

8°. Iv. StS pp. 62 pi. 1 map.

III. Third Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. ISSl-'M, by J. \V. I'owell. 18-3. 

8°. xviii. 564 pp. 67 pi. and maps.

IV. Fourth Annual report of the United States Geological Survey, l.»82-'83, by J. W. I'owell. 18i>4. 

8°. xxxii, 473 pp. 85 pi. and maps.

V. Fifth Annual Report of the United States Geological Sutvey. l?8:i-'84, by J. W. I'owelj, 16r> 

8°. xxxvi, 469 pp. 58 p.l. and maps.

VI. Sixth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. li:>4-'-5. by J. W. I'owell. 1885. 

8°. xxix, "nO pp. 05 id. and maun.

VII. Seventh Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 18-5-MJ. by J. W. 1'owell. li-.->8. 

8°. xx, 650 pp. 71 pi. and maps.

VIII. Eighth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1886-'«7, by J. W. Powell. Iff 9. 

8° 2v. xix. 474, xii pp. 53 pi. and maps; 1 p. 1. 475-1063 pp. 54-76 pi. and maps

I.. Ninth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1887->8. by J. \V. Pow.-ll. 18R9. 

8°. xiii. 717 pp. 88 pi. and maps.

.. Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. leSj-'eJ, by J. \V. Powell. Ir9). 

8°. 2 v. xv, 774 pp. 93 pi. and maps : viii. 123 pp. 

.The Eleventh Annual Report is in press.

MONOGRAPHS.

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j882. 43. xiv. 2Mpp. 42 pi. and atlas of 24 sheets folio. Price.Slo.no.

III. Geology of the Comstock Lode and the WashoeDistrict, with atlas by George F. Becker. 1R-2, 

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IV. Comstock Mining and Miners, by Eliot Lord, li-83. 4=. xiv. 451 pp. 3 pi. Price 11.50. 

 I
>

II ADVKRTISKMENT.

Ml V. The Copper-Bearing Rocks of Lake Superior, by Roland Daer Irving. 1683. 4'. ivi. 494 pp. 

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VI. Contributjpns to the Knowledge of the Older Meaoioiv Flora ot Virginia, by William Morris 

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VIII. Paleontology of the Euieka District, by Charles Doolittle Walcott. 1884. 4-. xili, 208 pp. 

241. 24 pi. Price $1.10.

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XIII. Geology of the Quicksilver Deposits of the I'acitic Slope, with atlas, by George F. Decker. 

1888. 4°. xix, 486 pp. 7 pi. and atlas o( 14 sheets folio. Price I'-'.OO.

XIV. Fossil Fishes and Fossil Plants of the Triassic Rocks of New Jersey and the Connecticut Valley, by John S. Ni-wberry. 1888. 4°. xiv, 152 pp. 2(1 pi. Price $1.00.

XV. The Potomac or Younger Mesozoic Flora, by William Morris Fontaine. 1889. 4°. xiv. 377 

pp. 180 pi. Text and plates bound separately. Price $2.50.

XVI. The Paleozoic Fishes of North America, by John Strong Newbeiry. 1889 4°. 340 pj>. 53 pi. 

Price $1.00. 

In preparation:

XVII. The Flora of the Dakota Gronp, a posthumous work, by Leo Lesquereux. Edited by F. II. 

Kuowltou.

 Gasteropoda of the New Jersey Cretaceous and Eocene Marls, by R. P. Whit Held.

 The Peuokee Iron-Bearing Series of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan, by Roland D. Irving and 

C. R. Van Hise.

 Mollusca and Crustacea of the Miocene Formation* of New Jersey, by R. P. Whitfteld.

 Geology of the Eureka Mining District, Nevada, with atlas, by Arnold Hague.

 Sanropoda, by O. C. Marsh.

 Stegosauria, by O. C. Marsh.

 Brontotlicridic, by 0. C. Marsh.

 Report on the Denver-Coal Basin, by S. F. Emmons.

 Report on Silver (Mill 1 and Ten-Mile Mining Districts, Colorado, by S. F. Eiumons

 Flora of the Dakota Group, by J. S. Xe« berry.

 The Glacial Lake Agassix, by Warren ITpham.

BULLETINS.

1. On Hypersthene-Anrtcsite and on Triclinic Pyroxene in Augitic Rocks, by Whitman Cross, witha 

Geological Sketch of Buffalo Peaks, Colorado, by S. F. Emmons. 18S3. 8°. 42 pp. 2 pi. Price .10 cents.

2. Gold and Silver Con version Tables, giving the coining values of troy ounces of fine metal, etc., computed by Albert Williams, .jr. 1883. 8°. £ pp. Price 5 cents.

3. On the Fossil Faunas of the I'pper Devonian, along the meridian of 76° 30', from Tompkins County, 

New York, to Brail ford County. Pennsylvania, by Henry S. Williams. 1884. f3 . 36 pp. Price 5 cents.

4. On Mesozoic Fossils, by Charles A. White. 18*4. 8 D . 30pp. » pi. Price 5 cents.

5. A Dictionary ol Altitudes in the United States, compiled by Henry Gannett. 1884. 8C . 325pp. 

Price 20 cents.

6. Elevations in the Dominion of Canada, bv J. W. Spencer. 1884. 8°. 43 pp. Price 5 cents.

7. Mapoteea Gcologica Americana. A Catalogue of Geological Maps of America (North ami South), 

1752-1881, in geographic and chronologic order, by Julcs Marcoti and John Bclknap Marcoii. 1884. 

8°. 184 pp. Price 10 cents.

8. On Secondary Enlargements of Mineral Fragments in Certain Rocks, by K. D. Irving and C. R. 

Van Hise. 1884. 8°. 56 pp. 6 pi. Price 10 cents.

9. A report of work done in the Washington Laboratory during the fiscal year 1883-'34. F. VT. Clarkc, 

chief chemist. T. M. Chatard, assistant chemist. 16S4. 8°. 40 pp. Price 5 cents.

10. On the Cambrian Faunas of North America. Preliminary studies, by Charles Doolittlc Walcott. 

1884. S3. 74 pp. 10 pi. Price 5 cents.

11. On th£ Quaternary and Recent Mollusca of the Great IJasin ; with Descriptions of New Forms, by 

R. Ellsworth Call. Introduced by a sketch of the Quaternary Lakes of the Great Basin, by G. K. 

Gilbert. J884. 8°. 60 pp. C pi. Price 5 cents.

12. A Crystallographic Study ot the Thiuolite of Lake Lahontau, by Edward S. Dana. 1881. 83. 

34 pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.
ADVERTISEMENT. Ill

13. Boundaries of tbe rnitcd States and of the several State* and Te-ritories with » Historic*'. 

Sketch of the Territorial Changes. by Henry Gaunett. 1885 *-. i:;» pp. Piiiv l» cents.

14. The Electrical and Magnetic Properties of the Iron-Cat burets. liy Curl linriy mid Vim cut 

Stroubal. 1885. 8°. 238 pp. Price 15 cents.

15. Ou the Mesozoic anil Cenozoic Paleontology of California. by Chitilv* A. White IW. «>. 

33 pp. Price 5 cents.

16. On the Higher Devonian Faunas of Ontario County. New Vnrk. liy John M. Chirk.- 1-8.'. S-' 

86pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

17. On the Development of Crystallization in tlic Igneous Rocks of Washoe. Nevada. with Note. on 

the Geology of the District, by Arnc.lil Hague and Joseph P. Idding*. lr-85. 6-'. 44 pp. ruci-s 

cents.

IS. On Marine Eocene, Flesh-water Miocene, and other Fossil Mullnsca of Westi rn Nnnh America. 

by Charles A. White. ISrt. 8-. 26pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

19. Notes on the Stratigraphy of California. l>y George F. Decker. 1883. 8 : . 2f pp. Price T. cent*.

20. Contributions to the Mineralogy of the Rocky Mountains, by Whitman Cross anil \V. F. Hill.-. 

brand. 18^5. 8'-. 114 pp. 1 pi. Price W cents.

21. The Lignites of the Great Sionx Kesei vation. A Re]mrt on tbe Region between the (jiaml and 

Moreau Rivers, Dakota, by Bailey Willis. 1885. 8 D. 16pp. 5 pi. Price 5 ivnts.

22. On New Cretaceous Fossils from California, by Charles A. White. 1S.-5. 8'. 25 pp. 5 pi 

Price 5 cents.

23. Observations on the Junction between the Ka*tciu Sai.dston' :uid the K.-weenaw Seri< « on Ke- 

 weenaw Poiut. Lake Superior, by R. D. Irvin^ »inl T. C. Chambi-i-lin. 1.-85. 8 : . 124pp. 17 pi. 

Price 15 cents.

24. List of Marine Mollusca. comprising the Quateinary Fossil> anil r.cent forms fn»m Auitrimn 

Localities between Cupe Hat terns anil Cape llo(]iie, including the Ilet luudas. by William Heale\ Dall. 

1885. 8 3 . Ii36 pp. Price 2.". cents.

25. The Present Teclmical Condition ot the Steel Industry of the Cnited States, liy Pliiln a?- I'.aniea. 

18S5. ^- 85 pp. Price 10 cents.

26. Copper Smelting, by Henry M. Hove. 1885. 8 3 . Iu7 p]>. Price 10 cents.

27. Report of work done iu the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the tiscal year 

1884-'S5. 1886. * -. 80pp. Price 10 cents.

28. The Galiliros and Associated Hornblende Rocks orcun ing in the Neighborhood of lialtimore 

Maryland, bv George Iliintington Williams. 18*6. 8 :. 78 pji. 4 pi. Price 1" cents.

29. Ou the Fresh-water Invrrtcblates of the North .\merican Jurassic, by Charles A. White 16«fl 

8°. 41 pp. 4 !>! Price 5 cents.

30. Second Contribution to the Studies on the Cambrian Faunas ot North America, by rhailes Di>o- 

. ;if.fl pp. 33 pi. Price 25 cents.

of our Piesent Knowledge of Fossil Insects, including M \riapodsund A rat h 

nids, bv Samuel Hubbarl Scuilder. 1886. 83 . 128pp. Price 15 c.-nu. 

32. Lists anil Analyse; of the Mineral Springs ot the t'mtcd States; a Prel;mii,,iry Study, by All>ert

little Walcott. 18,-ti. 8 

31. Systematic Review

C. Peale. 8-. 28!! pp. Price liu ceuts.

33. "Xotes on the Geology of Northern California, by J. S. Diller. 18pf«. ii". 2:t j>p. Price 5 cents.

31. Ou the relation of the Laraiuie Mollnscau Fauna to that of the aum-ediug Fresh-water Eocene 

and other groups, by Charles A. White. 1886. cc . 51pp. 5 pi. Price 10 cents.

35. Physical Properties ol the Iron-Carburets, by Carl Kauis and Vincent Strouhal. 1886. F'-. K 

pp. Price 10 cents.

36 Subsidence of Fine Solid Particles in Liquids, by Carl Bains. ISrli. 8 :. 58pp. Pi ice In cents.

37. Types of the Laraiuie Flora, by I.ester F. Ward. lf*-7. c. 354pp. 67 pi. Trice 2S cents

38. Peridotite of Klliott County. Kentucky, by J.S. Diller. 18.-7. 8 3 . 31pp. 1 pi. PriceSunts

39. The Tpper Beaches and Deltas ot the Glacial Lake Agassi/. by Warren I'phani. Ic87. .- >| 

pp. Ipl. Price 10 cents.

40. Changes in lliver Cou'scs in Wasliiugton Territory due to Cilaciation. b\ I'.ailey Willi>. 1-87. 

8=. 10 pp. 4 pi. Price 5 cents.

41. On the Fossil Faunas of the rpper Devonian the Genesee Section. New Vork. by Hcniy S 

Williams. 1887. g 3 . 121 pp. 4 pi. Price 15 cants.

42. Report of work done in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal y. ai 

1885-86. F. W.Clarke. chief cheniist. It87. 8: . 152pp. Ipl. Price 15 cents.

43. Tertiary aud Cretaceous Strata ot the Tuscaloosa. Tombipbee. and Alabama Rivers by Kugen.- 

A. Smith and Lawrence C. Johnson. \M. t-. 1*9 pp. 21 pi. Price 15 cent41. Bibliography of North American Geology for ItiC. by Nelson H D.nti'i,. 18.-7. ^ : . 

Price 5 cents.

45. The Present Condition ot Knowledge of the Geology ol Texas, by Robert T. Hill. 1S87.

pp. Price 10 cents.

46. Nature aud Origin of Deposits of Phosphate of Lime, by U. A. F. l\un..-e, jt.. with an Introduction bv X. S. Sbaler. 188S. 8J. 143 pp. Price 10 cents.
IV ADVERTISEMENT.

47. Analyses of Wat-en of the Yellowstone National Park, with an Account of the Methods of Analysis employed, by Frank Austin Gooch and James Edward Whitfleld. 1888. 8°. 8> pp. Price 10 

cents.

48. On tlio Form and Position of the Sea Level, by Robert Simpson Woodward. 18S8. 8°. 88 pp. 

Price 10 cents.

49. Latitudes and Longitudes of Certain Points in Missouri, Kansas, and New Mexico, bj 1 Robert 

Simpsoc Woodward. 1869. 8°. 133 pp. Price 15 cents.

50. Formulas and Tables to facilitate the Construction and Use of Maps, by Robert Simpson Woodward. 1889. 8°. 124 pp. Price 15 cents.

51. On Invertebrate Fossils from the Pacific Coast, by Charles Abiathar White. 1888. S°. 10? pp. 

14 pi. Price 15 cents.

52. Subacrial Decay of Rocks and Origin of the Red Color of Certain Formations, by Israel Cook 

Russell. 1889. 8°. 05 pp. 5 pi. Price 10 cents.

53. The Geology of Nantucket, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler. 1889. 8°. 55 pp. 10 pi. Price 10 

cents.

54. On the Thermo Electric Measurement of High Temperatures, by Carl Barus. 1889. 8°. 313pp. 

incl. 1 pi. 11 pi. Price 25 cents.

55. Report of work done in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly dnring the fiscal year 

1886-'8". Frank Wigglenworlh Clorkc, chief ?liem!at. 1889. 8°. 96pp. Price 10 cents.

56. Fossil Wood ami Lignite of the Potomac Formation, by Frank Hall Knowlton. 1889. 8°. 72pp. 

7 pi. Price 10 cents.

57. A Geological Reconnaissance In Southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1890. 8°. 49pp. 2 pi. 

Price 5 cents.

58. The Glacial lloundary in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by George 

Frederick Wri^ht, with an introduction by Thomas Chrowder Chamberliu. 1890. 6°. 112pp. incl. 

1 pi. 8 pi. Price 15 cents.

59. The Uabbros and Associated Rocks in Delaware, by Frederick D. Chester. 1890. 8°. 45 pp. 

1 pi. Price 10 cents.

CO. Report of work dune in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal year 

1887-'88. F. W. Clarke. chief chemist. 1890. 8°. 174pp. Price 15 cento.

61. Contributions to the Mineralogy of the Pacific Coast, by William Hallow Melville and Waldemar 

Lindgreu. 1890. 8°. 40 pp. 3 pi. Price 5 cents.

62. The Greenstone Schist Areas of the Menominee and Marqnette Regions of Michigan; a contribution to the subject of dynamic metamorphism in eruptive rocks, by George Huntington Williams* 

with an introduction by Roland Uuer Irving. 1890. 8°. 241pp. 16 pi. Price 30 cents.

63. A Bibliography of Paleozoic Crustacea from 1698 to 1889, including a list of North American 

species and a systematic arrangement of genera, by Anthony W. Vogdes. 1890. 8°. 177pp. Price 

15 cents.

64. A report of work done in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly during the fiscal year 

1888-'89. F. W. Clarke, chief chemist. 1890. 83 . 60 pp. Price 10 cents.

65. Stratigraphy of the Bituminous Coal Field of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and We»t Virginia, by Israel 

C. White. 1891. 8°. 212pp. 11 pi. Price 20 cents.

66. On a Group of Volcanic Rocks from the Tcwan Mountains, New Mexico, and on the occurrence 

of Primary Quartz in certain Basalts, by Joseph Paxson Iddiugs. 1890. 83 . 34pp. Prtce 5 cents.

07. The relations of the Traps of the Newark System in the New Jersey Region, by Nelson lie/ratio 

Dartou. 1.-90. 8°. 82pp. Price 10 cents.

68 Earthquakes in California in ItW.I, by James Edward Keeler. 1890. 8°. 25pp. Price 5 cents.

69. A Classed anil Annotated Bibhojjiaphy of Fossil Insects, by Samuel Hnbhard Scudder. 1890. 

8°. 101 pp. Price 15 cents.

70. Report on Astronomical Work of 1889 and 1890, by Robert Simpsou Woodward. 1890. 8=. 79 

pp. Price 10 cents.

71. Index to the Known Fossil Insects of the Woi Id, including Myriapoil* and Arachnids, by Samuel 

Ilubbanl Scudder. 1891. 8°. 744pp. Price 50 cents. i

In press:

72. Altitudes between Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains, by Warren I*pliant. 1891. 8°. 

229 pp. Price 20 cents.

73. Tlie Viscosity of Solids, by Carl Barus. 1891. 8°. xii, 139 pp. 6 pi. Price l~> cents.

74. The Miuetals of North Carolina, by Frederick Augustus Uenth. 1891. 8°. 119pp. Price 15 

cents.

75. Record of Notth Ametica Geology tor 1887 to 1S89, inclusive, by Nelson Horatio Darton.

76. A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States (second edition), compiled by Henry Gannett.

77. The Texan Permian and its Mesozoic types of Fossils, by Charles A. White. 1891. 8°. 51pp. 

4 pi. Price 10 cents.

78. A report of work done in the Division of Chemistry and Physics, mainly diirin j the fiscal year 

18f9-'90. F. W. Clarke chief chemist. 1,<91. S2. 119 pp. Price 15 cents.

79. A Late Volcanic Eruption in Northern California aud its peculiar lava, by J. S. Diller.
ADVERTISEMENT. V

80. Correlation papers Devonian and Carboniferous, by Herry Shalcr Williams.

81. Coirelation papers Cambrian, by Charles Doolittlo \V»lcolt.

82. Correlation papers-Cretaceous, by Charles A. WUite. 

In preparation:

 The Compressibility of Liquids, by Carl Dams.

 The Eruptive anil Sedimentary Uockson Pigeon Point, Minnesota, and their contact phenomena, 

by \V. S. Bavley.

 A Bibliography of PaUobotany, by David White.

, STATISTICAL PAPKKS.

Mineral Resources of the United States. 1?82, by Albert Williams, jr. I8R). b 3. ivii, 813 pp. Price 

CO cents.

Mineral Resources of the United States. 1883 and 1884, by Albert Williams, .jr. I£f5. *=. ilv, 1010 

pp. Price 6U cents.

Mineral Resources of the United States. 188.~>. Division of Mining Statistics and T< chnuliipy. 1HS4. 

J°. vii, 576 pp. Price 40 cents.

Mineral Resources of the United States, 1886, by David T. Hay. IfB'. 8°. viii, 813 pp. Price 50 

cents.

Mineral Resources of the United States, 1887. by David I'. Day. 11*88. 8-. vii, 832 pp. Price M 

cents.

Mineral Resources of the United States. 18f8, by David T. Day. Isito. t3 . vii, GJJ pp. Price 50 

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Ill preparation :

Mineral Resources of the United States, lt^89 and 16JW.

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TO THE DlKECTOK OF 1IIF

Usiitu SiAike GkuLOi.ir»t. SI/KVIT.

WiMii.xurox, D. C. 

WASUIXGTOX, D. C., December, 1830.
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