Geology and Coal 

Resources of the 

Cannel City Quadrangle 

Kentucky

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1020-A

Geology and Coal 

Resources of the 

Cannel City Quadrangle 

Kentucky

By KENNETH J. ENGLUND

GEOLOGY OF THE CANNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1020-A

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1955
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Douglas McKay, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. E. Wrather, Director

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office 

Washington 25, D. C. - Price $1.25 (paper cover)
FOKEWOKD

"Geology of the Cannel City area, Kentucky" describes the geology 

and mineral resources, especially the occurrence of coal, oil, and gas, 

in the Cannel City 15-minute quadrangle. The report was undertaken as a part of a general study by the U. S. Geological Survey of 

the coal and coal-bearing rocks in eastern Kentucky. The general 

study will provide information about the amounts of coal available 

in relation to thickness of beds, depth of overburden, quality, and 

reliability of the information.

The Cannel City 15-minute quadrangle covers about 236 square 

miles near the western edge of the eastern Kentucky coalfield. It lies 

in the western half of Morgan County and in parts of Meiiif ee, Wolf e, 

and Magoffin Counties. West Liberty, near the eastern edge of the 

quadrangle, is the largest town in the area and the seat of Morgan 

County. The area is accessible by U. S. 460, the main east-west highway, and by State Highways 7, 191,203, and 205, which are north-south 

all-weather roads. In some areas road construction is hampered by 

local relief, which ranges from 100 to 600 feet, and by deep, narrow 

valleys cut in massive sandstones by the Licking and Red Rivers and 

their tributaries. There are no railroads within the quadrangle.

Chapters of the report describe the coal resources of each of the 

7%-minute quadrangles Ezel, Hazel Green, West Liberty, and Cannel City which make up the 15-minute Cannel City quadrangle. 

Also included in the chapters are discussions of the occurrence of oil 

and gas, history of its production, well records, subsurface maps, discussions of the rocks penetrated by the drill, descriptive geology, and 

the occurrence of clay, limestone, and other iionfuel mineral resources.

The University of Kentucky provided office space for the preparation of reports and for field-party headquarters. The geology department of the University of Kentucky and the Geological Survey 

of Kentucky have been helpful in offering suggestions and providing 

unpublished information.

John W. Huddle

CONTENTS

Page

Abstract. _____________ ___________________________ _________________ 1

Introduction,_ _____________________________________________________ 1

Location and extent of the area _________________________________ 1

Previous investigations.________________________________________ 3

Present investigation.__________________________________________ 3

Topography _________________________________________________ 3

Acknowledgement _____________________________________________ 5

Stratigraphy _ _____________________________________________________ 5

Pennsylvania!! system Breathitt formation______________________ 5

Strata below the Grassy coal bed____________________________ 6

Grassy coal bed ___________________________________________ 7

Strata between the Grassy and Little Caney coal beds _________ 7

Little Caney coal bed______________________________________ 7

Strata between the Little Caney and Cannel City coal beds_____ 7

Cannel City coal bed_ ______________________________________ 8

Strata between the Cannel City coal bed and Fire Clay coal zone_ 8

Fire Clay coal zone ________________________________________ 9

Strata between the Fire Clay coal zone and the Magoffin beds of

Morse_ _________________________________________________ 9

Magoffin beds of Morse ____________________________________ 10

Strata between the Magoffin beds of Morse and the Nickell coal

bed__________________________________________________ 10

Nickell coal bed___________________________________________ 11

Strata between the Nickell and Sebastian coal beds ____________ 11

Sebastian coal bed_________________________________________ 11

Strata above the Sebastian coal bed_ ________________________ 12

Quaternary System Alluvium__________________________________ 12

Structure of coal-bearing rocks ______________________________________ 12

Coal___________________________________________________________ 14

General description-___________________________________________ 14

Grassy coal bed_ __________________________________________ 15

Little Caney coal bed ______________________________________ 15

Cannel City coal bed- _____________________________________ 17

Fire Clay coal bed_________________________________________ 18

Adele coal bed_ ___________________________________________ 18

Nickell coal bed___________________________________________ 19

Sebastian coal bed_________________________________________ 19

Literature cited _ __________________________________________________ 19

Index________________________________________________________ 21
VI CONTENTS

ILLUSTKATIONS

[All plates in pcckct]

PLATE 1. Geologic map of the Cannel City quadrangle.

2. Sections and correlations of the Breathitt formation in the Cannel 

City quadrangle.

3. Graphic sections of coal beds exposed in the Cannel City quadrangle.

4. Maps showing thickness of the Fire Clay, Cannel City, Little Caney, 

and Grassy coal beds in the Cannel City quadrangle.

1. Map of Kentucky showing the location of the Cannel City 7J>_- 

minute quadrangle in the eastern Kentucky coalfield.______

2. Map showing the Cannel City 7^.-minute quadrangle in relation 

to the western boundary of Pennsylvanian strata._________

3. Comparison of coal-bed names used in the Cannel City quaclrangle_ _ ______________________________________________

4. Large ellipsoidal silty limestone concretions in the bed of Little 

Caney Creek_________________________-_--__-__----__-_

5. Exposure of the Magoffin beds of Morse along U. S. 4GO at the 

head of Greear Branch.____________________-__--_---_-_

6. The Grassy coal bed on Sellars Fork displaced by a low-angle 

normal fault________________-__-____-_---------__----_

7. Stripping of the Cannel City coal bed on Doe Branch of Caney 

Creek________________________________________________

Page

10

13

17

TABLES

TABLE 1. Estimated original and remaining coal reserves of the Cannel 

City quadrangle________________________________________

2. Analyses of coal of the Cannel City quadrangle-_____________

Page

14

16
GEOLOGY OF THE CANNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY

GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF THE CANNEL 

CITY QUADRANGLE

By KENNETH J. ENGLUND

The Cannel City 7%-minute quadrangle, located near the western edge of the 

eastern Kentucky coalfield, covers an area of 59 square miles in parts of Morgan, 

Wolfe, and Magoffin Counties. The rocks exposed in the quadrangle are of the 

Breathitt formation of Pennsylvania!! age. They consist of sandstone, siltstone. 

shale, underclay, coal, and limestone, and are partly of continental and partly 

of marine origin. The gentle southeast clip of these rocks is interrupted by the 

Irvine-Paint Creek fault and the Caney anticline, which extend east-west across 

the center of the quadrangle.

Seven of the coal beds in the quadrangle the Grassy, Little Caney, Cannel 

City, Fire Clay, Adele, Nickell, and Sebastian are more than 14 inches thick 

over extensive areas. Of these, only the Cannel City coal bed has been widely 

mined. The coal in the quadrangle is of high volatile bituminous rank, and 

three of the beds the Grassy, Cannel City, and Fire Clay are composed 

locally of cannel coal. An estimated reserve of about 200,000,000 tons of coal 

is contained iii beds more than 14 inches thick that crop out in the quadrangle.

INTRODUCTION

LOCATION A3STD EXTENT OF THE AREA

The Cannel City T1/^-minute quadrangle, located near the western 

edge of the eastern Kentucky coalfield, covers an area of 59 square 

miles in parts of Morgan, Wolfe, and. Magoffin Counties (fig. 1). The 

town of Cannel City, in the center of abandoned coal and oil developments, is 13 miles southwest of West Liberty and 30 miles north oi 

Jackson (fig. 2). U. S. 460, the principal highway into the area, 

crosses the northwest corner of the quadrangle. State Highway 191. 

serving the eastern and southeastern parts of the quadrangle, extends 

from U. S. 460 southward to State Highway 205 in the southwest corner. A railroad that formerly extended into the quadrangle from 

the south is now abandoned.
GEOLOGY OF THE CANNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY

C'S.

r

FIGDEE 1. Map of Kpntucky showing the location of the Cannel City 7% -minute quadrangle 

in the eastern Kentucky coalfield (shaded area).

Western boundary of 

x Pennsylvanian rocks

FIGURE 2. Map showing the position of the Cannel City 7%-minute quadrangle (shaded) 

within the Cannel City 15-minute quadrangle and its relation to the western boundary of 

Pennsylvanian strata.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE 3 

PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS

Coal outcrops along Caney and Grassy Creeks were reported in 

1857 by D. D. Owen (1857, p. 29). Later, A. R. Crandall (1880?, 

p. 15-19) measured and correlated several coal beds along Caney Creek 

for a preliminary report on the geology of Morgan County. In the 

sequence of coal beds near the town of Caney, he designated a fairly 

thick cannel coal as the No. 2 coal (Crandall, 1880?, p. 329), and subsequently this bed was known as the No. 2 cannel coal (fig. 3). or 

Cannel City coal. Crandall (1910, p. 13-15) also recognized a line 

of structural disturbance, including the Caney anticline and the Irvine-Paint Creek fault, extending across the area from Daysboro to 

Caney Creek.

In a report on the geology of Morgan County, L. C. Robinson (1927, 

p. 251) correlated the principal coal beds with those of the Big Sandy 

and Kentucky River basins. In addition, Robinson prepared a reconnaisance structure map on the Fire Clay coal. A report on the 

Eastern Interior and Appalachian coalfields (Wanless, 1939, p. 53-59) 

]ists several key beds, including the Dingess limestone, Fire Clay coal, 

and Magoffin beds in Morgan County, which are useful for correlation.

PRESENT INVESTIGATION

The Cannel City quadrangle was mapped (pi. 1) as a part of a 

general investigation of the coal resources of eastern Kentucky. 

Field work for this report was in progress from April 4 to June 13, 

1951, and from October 22 to December 12, 1951. For several weeks 

during the latter period the writer was assisted by R. J. Burnside. 

The maps, tables, and text were prepared during the summer of 1952. 

Several hundred coal outcrops and stratigraphic sections were measured and described in mines, domestic openings, and road cuts to determine the extent, thickness, and lithology of the coal beds. Key 

beds, such as the flint-clay parting of the Fire Clay coal and the calcareous and fossiliferous zones of the Magoffin beds of Morse and the 

Kendrick shale of Jillson, proved useful in correlating the coal beds. 

The altitudes of most coal beds were determined by aneroid barometer 

traverses; corrections for atmospheric variations affecting the readings were made by reference to the many temporary and permanent 

benchmarks in the area. Altitudes were also determined by transit 

traverses and hand leveling.

TOPOGRAPHY

The Cannel City quadrangle is on the western edge of the dissected 

Cumberland plateau. The principal streams have flood plains ranging from one-eighth to one-third of a mile in width, and they are 

bordered by low, smooth-sloped hills. In contrast, the tributary

308202 55 2
GEOLOGY OF THE CANNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY

Position of 

bed or zone

^ ^

 ^ 

^ H

^^a^Ba

^^^ H

^MM 

^ H

i. | i . i

mm^^m

^ ^^^^H

Crandall 

(1910)

1

J

Robinson 

(1927)

 Fossiliferous limestone

(Dingus limestone)

Campbells

limestone

This report

-Magoffin beds of Morse -

FireClayl ^ -

zone

Campbell

limestone of White

Tentative correlations with 

beds of Kentucky River 

drainage, this report

- Magoffin beds of Morse -

Campbell

limestone of White

FIGURE 3. Comparison of coal-bed names used in the Cannel City quadrangle.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE 5

streams occupy V-shaped valleys and head into benched ridges. The 

area is drained by Grassy and Caney Creeks (which flow northward 

into the Licking River), except in the southwestern part, which is 

drained by the Red River and its tributaries. Altitudes range from 

a little below 800 feet on Grassy Creek to slightly more than 1,400 feet 

along the southeast border of the quadrangle. Local relief averages 

between 300 and 400 feet.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The writer wishes to thank the many local residents and mine operators who kindly contributed information during the field work for 

this report.

STRATIGRAPHY

PENNSYLVANIAN SYSTEM BREATHITT FORMATION

The outcropping bedrock in the Cannel City quadrangle consists of 

the Breathitt formation of Pennsylvania!! age. It was named from 

exposures in Breathitt County, Kentucky, by Campbell (1898, p. 3) 

and includes all Carboniferous rocks lying above the top of the Lee 

formation. Although Campbell did not designate an upper boundary, 

it is presumed to be at least as high, stratigraphically, as the youngest 

Pennsylvania!! rocks of Breathitt County. Wanless (1939, p. 78) 

recognizes the Breathitt formation as the upper division of the Pennsylvanian of eastern Kentucky, and he includes in it all beds above 

the Lee formation. He further states that the Breathitt formation is 

approximately the equivalent of the Briceville, Jellico, Scott, and Anderson formations in Tennessee and of the upper Norton, Gladeville, 

Wise, and Harlan formations in Virginia (Wanless, 1946, p. 10). 

Wanless' definition of the Breathitt is followed in this report.

The formation reaches a maximum thickness of about 750 feet in 

the Cannel City quadrangle. Its base is about 30 feet below drainage 

level in the northern part of the area near Mize and Grassy Creek, and 

rocks high in the formation are represented by hilltop exposures of 

sandstone at the head of Caney Creek. Rocks of continental and 

marine origin consist of alternating beds of sandstone, siltstone, 

underclay, coal, shale, and limestone.

The sandstone consists dominantly of subrounded, fine-to-medium 

grains of quartz with siliceous cementing material. Although the 

sandstone is light gray when fresh, it commonly weathers to shades 

of reddish brown. Deposits range from thin-bedded lenses to massive 

crossbedded channels. The base of a channel deposit is sharp and undulating, whereas the top commonly grades upward from sandstone 

into finer textured sediments, such as siltstone and underclay. Siltstone also occurs as laminae and lenses in other sediments. It is thin-
6

to thick-bedded and is light- to dark-gray in fresh exposures. The 

underclay, ranging from light- to dark-gray in color, is nonlaminated 

and stigmarian. At most localities the underclay is associated with an 

overlying coal bed.

The shale ranges from clayey to silty, and it is generally even 

bedded. The color, ranging from light gray to black in fresh exposures, is altered in weathered outcrops to shades of reddish brown by 

iron oxide staining. Spheroidal weathering also has occurred in many 

exposures. Some shale beds include thin ironstone bands and small 

ironstone concretions.

The limestone is dense, silty, and light- to dark-gray in color. It 

occurs in concretions and in thin beds that are associated with calcareous shale and siltstone. The concretions are silty to sandy, 

ellipsoidal, and as much as 15 feet in diameter. They occur in shale 

and, less commonly, in siltstone and sandstone. At some localities 

marine fossils are abundant in the limestone beds and concretions.

Natural outcrops are few throughout the quadrangle and consist 

mainly of sandstone, which forms benches and cliffs. Exposures of 

the less resistant sediments are limited to creek beds, mine openings, 

and road cuts.

The columnar sections (pi. 2) show the sequence of rocks in relation to the seven main coal beds. Although a stratum between coal 

beds may change, laterally, in thickness and lithology, the total thickness of the strata between coal beds is fairly uniform. Many lateral 

variations in the rock sequence are present where beds have been 

eliminated in unconformities below the broad sandstone channels.

Informal and arbitrary subdivisions are used in the following detailed description of the Breathitt formation.

STRATA BELOW THE GRASSY COAL, BED

Rocks below the Grassy coal bed are near the base of the Breathitt 

formation and include the lowest exposed strata in the quadrangle. 

The thickest section of these rocks, about 90 feet, is exposed near the 

mouth of Caskey Fork, and smaller sections are exposed to the east on 

Grassy Creek and to the south in valleys along the axis of the Caney 

anticline. Beds in this sequence consist mainly of shale and sandstone, which change in thickness from place to place, and 2 or 3 thin 

coal beds (the 2 lowest coal beds of section 2, pi. 2). The lowest exposed bed, a dark-gray shale with abundant ironstone bands, grades 

upward into massive sandstone, which is overlain by shale containing 

1 or 2 thin coal beds and associated underclays. About 20 feet below 

the top of the unit a calcareous siltstone occurs locally; 10 feet below 

the top, a thin coal was found in the northern part of the quadrangle. 

The underclay of the Grassy coal is at the top of this unit.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE 7 

GRASSY COAL BED

A coal bed exposed in a small mine near the town of Grassy Creek is 

designated Grassy coal in this report (locality 109, pi. 1, and section 

2, pi. 2). This bed, occurring from 140 to 170 feet below the Fire 

Clay coal, is tentatively correlated with the Elkhorn ]STo. 2 coal of 

Pike County, Kentucky.

STRATA BETWEEN THE GRASSY AND LITTLE CANEY COAL BEDS

About 30 to 40 feet of sandstone, siltstone, and shale lie between 

the Grassy and Little Caney coal beds. The lowest bed in this sequence, which is fine-to medium-grained sandstone, crops out as a 

ledge above the Grassy coal near Grassy Creek. Here the sandstone 

has a maximum thickness of 12 feet; toward the southeast it thins and 

grades laterally into finer textured strata. In areas where shale overlies the Grassy coal bed, well-preserved fossil leaves and fronds are 

locally abundant. Beds of shale and siltstone overlie the sandstone 

in the northwest part of the quadrangle and comprise nearly the total 

interval in other parts. These beds include thin lenses of sandstone 

and a zone of silty limestone concretions. The concretions are ellipsoidal, the axes of which are as much as 1 foot and 5 feet in length. 

On the basis of their stratigraphic position, these concretions are 

tentatively correlated with the Campbell Creek limestone of White 

(1885) in West Virginia. Fossils w^ere not found at this horizon in 

the Cannel City quadrangle, and they are reported to be uncommon 

in the Campbell Creek limestone (Wanless, 1939, p. 60). The lightgray underclay of the Little Caney coal is at the top of this sequence.

LITTLE CANEY COAL BED

The Little Caney coal is named for a small mine on Little Caney 

Creek on the north edge of the quadrangle (locality 97, pi. 1). This 

bed, occurring from 110 to 130 feet below7 the Fire Clay coal, is 

tentatively correlated with Elkhorn ]STo. 3 coal bed of Pike County, 

Kentucky. Throughout the quadrangle the Little Caney coal can be 

recognized by a characteristic roof rock of fissile black shale (pi. 3).

STRATA BETWEEN THE LITTLE CANEY AND CANNEL CITY COAL BEDS

The Cannel City coal occurs from 30 to 50 feet above the Little 

Caney coal bed. Between them are a basal bed of black shale, an overlying gray shale, and an upper bed of light-gray underclay. Locally, 

massive sandstone occupies channels cut in the lower part of these 

beds. The black shale, averaging about 1 foot in thickness, is thin 

and is locally absent on the west edge of the quadrangle. The overlying gray shale includes thin beds of siltstone; locally, from 10 to 

12 feet above its base, the gray shale includes either a very thin coal 

with underclay (section 1, pi. 2) or a thin black shale (section 4, pi. 2).
8 GEOLOGY OF THE CANNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY 

CANNEL CITY COAL BED

The Cannel City coal bed, named for mine workings near Cannel 

City (localities 68 and 69, pi. 1), occurs from 75 to 90 feet below the 

Fire Clay coal. On the basis of its stratigraphic position below 

the base of the Kendrick shale of Jillson (1919, p. 96-104) , the Cannel 

City coal is correlated with the Amburgy coal bed of the North Fork 

of the Kentucky River.

STRATA BETWEEN THE CANNEL CITY COAL BED AND FIRE CLAY

COAL ZONE

The sequence of rocks from the Cannel City coal up to the lowest 

coal in the Fire Clay coal zone ranges in thickness from 60 to 75 feet 

and consists predominantly of shale and siltstone with sandstone lentils at various horizons. This sequence also includes the silty limestone concretions of the Kendrick shale of Jillson (1919, p. 96-104). 

These concretions are ellipsoidal, their axes as much as 2 feet and 

slightly more than 10 feet in length. They are associated with strata 

that range from shale and siltstone to fine-grained sandstone (fig. 4). 

Although the Kendrick shale of Jillson is generally unfossiliferous 

in the quadrangle, abundant marine fossils, including brachiopods and 

corals, were found half a mile southeast of the mouth of Stacy Fork. 

A basal bed of sandstone, averaging 15 feet in thickness, crops out

FIGURE 4.- -Large ellipsoidal silty limestone concretions in the bed of Little Caney Creek. 

These concretions are in tlie Kendrick shale of Jillson.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE Q

above the Caiinel City coal on Red River. Locally, this sandstone 

occupies channels cut into the underlying coal. A sandstone bed 

near the middle of the interval includes very silty calcareous concretions at some localities, such as IStone Coal Fork (section 6, pi. 2). 

Sandstone also occurs above the Kendrick shale of Jillson on Stacy 

Fork and Caney Creek. The top bed of this interval is the uiiderclay 

of the lowest coal in the Fire Clay zone.

FIRE CLAY COAL ZONE

The Fire Clay coal zone consists of the Fire Clay coal and two thin, 

coal beds that underlie it. Named by Hodge (1908, p. 40-41), the Fire 

Clay coal is recognized as an important key bed for correlation because 

of its characteristic flint-clay parting (Wan!ess, 1939, p. 55). The 

flint-clay is a dense, hard rock with a conchoidal fracture. In fresh 

exposures its color ranges from grayish brown to brownish black. 

This parting, averaging about 3 inches in thickness in the southern 

part of the quadrangle, is very thin in the vicinity of Haney Branch 

and Barker Branch of Payton Fork, and is discontinuous farther 

north.

The two thin coal beds underlying the Fire Clay coal may represent the Little Fire Clay and Whitesburg coal beds of the Kentucky 

River drainage. Intervals between the three beds increase aw'ay from 

an area near the center of the quadrangle where only thin partings 

separate them. The thicknesses of these partings range from a few 

inches (sections 39 to 42, pi. 3) to several feet toward both the south 

(sections 46 to 50, pi. 3) and the north (sections 25 to 30, pi. 3). The 

partings, consisting mainly of unclerclay and shale, also include beds 

of sandstone where the coal beds are several feet apart. Calcareous 

lenses or concretions occur between the two lowT er coal beds in the 

northern part of the quadrangle (section 2, pi. 2).

STRATA BETWEEN THE FIRE CLAY COAL ZONE AND THE MAGOFFIN

BEDS OF MORSE

The Magoffin beds of Morse occur from 40 to 55 feet above the Fire 

Clay coal. Beds of shale, siltstone, and sandstone, and a thin bed 

of coal, intervene. In the southern part of the quadrangle a bed of 

sandstone locally overlies the Fire Clay coal. A thin coal bed, found 

near the center of the interval, averages about 1 foot in thickness. 

This coal is tentatively correlated with the Hamlin coal of Hodge 

(1915, p. 8) on the basis of its position in relation to the Magoffin beds 

of Morse and the Fire Clay coal. At the top of this interval a few 

inches of coal locally underlies the Magoffin beds of Morse.
10 GEOLOGY OF THE CANNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY 

MAGOFFIN BEDS OF MORSE

A fossiliferous unit consisting of beds of silty limestone and calcareous shale is considered the equivalent of the Magoffin beds of 

Morse (1931, p. 301-303). Where typically developed, it includes 

a basal ledge of dense silty limestone, an intervening bed of dark-gray 

calcareous shale or siltstone, and an overlying ledge of concretionary 

limestone (fig. 5). The lower ledge ranges in thickness from 3 to 

8 inches and includes an abundance of crinoid stem plates. The intervening bed ranges from 1 to 5 feet in thickness and is sparsely fossiliferous. The top ledge, which is as much as 1 foot 6 inches in thickness, 

is locally represented by large ellipsoidal concretions. Most of the 

fossils in the upper bed are brachiopods. At some localities the 

Magoffin beds of Morse are represented by fossiliferous shale or siltstone (section 7, pi. 2).

STRATA BETWEEN THE MAGOFFIN BEDS OF MORSE AND THE 

NICKELL COAL BED

The Nickell coal bed lies 100 to 120 feet above the Magoffin beds of 

Morse. A sequence of rocks consisting of sandstone, siltstone, shale, 

underclay, and several coal beds, intervenes. The most persistent 

bed, which is massive fine- to medium-grained sandstone, occupies 

broad channels which locally cut out the underlying Magoffin beds of

FIGURE 5. Exposure of the Magoffin beds of Morse along U. S. 460 at the head of Greear 

Branch. The two prominent ledges of silty limestone (a) are separated by calcareous 

shale (b) and are underlain by 3 inches of coal (c) (section 2, pi. 2).
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE H

Morse (section 5, pi. 2). The sandstone has a maximum thickness of 

50 feet in the southern part of the quadrangle, where it crops out as 

ledges or cliffs in many localities. In the northeastern part of the 

quadrangle, where the sandstone is thin or absent, a very thin coal 

and underclay occur about 25 feet above the Magoffin beds of Morse. 

Overlying the sandstone is a sequence of 2 to 4 thin coal beds and 

associated underclays. This zone is tentatively correlated with the 

Hazard coal bed of the Kentucky River drainage. Overlying these 

beds is a shale that includes a zone of silty limestone concretions which 

are fossiliferous at one locality. The Adele coal, named for a small 

abandoned mine on State Road Fork near Adele (locality 24, pi. 1), is 

TO to 90 feet above the Magoffin beds of Morse. This coal is probably 

a rider of the Hazard coal. The roof rock of the Adele coal is generally a dark-gray or black shale. On State Road Fork a massive sandstone is present between this coal and the overlying Nickell coal bed. 

The underclay of the latter is the top bed of this unit.

NICKELL COAL BED

The Nickell coal bed, occurring 140 to 175 feet above the Fire Clay 

coal, is named for the Mckell mines at the head of Stone Coal Fork of 

Caney Creek (locality 16, pi. 1). Here the bed is about 35 feet below 

mines in the Sebastian coal bed.

STRATA BETWEEN THE NICKELL AND SEBASTIAN COAL BEDS

The rocks between the Nickell and Sebastian coal beds are mostly 

shale and siltstone, and they range from 30 to 45 feet in thickness. 

At most localities the basal bed of the sequence is dark-gray or black 

shale overlain by gray shales, siltstones, and thin beds of sandstone. 

Two very thin coal beds with underclays also occur in this interval. 

On State Road Fork a massive sandstone bed, near the middle of the 

sequence, lies in channels that locally cut out the basal beds. Marine 

fossils occur about 10 feet below the Sebastian coal in the southern 

part of the quadrangle. The underclay of the Sebastian coal is at 

the top of this unit.

SEBASTIAN COAL BED

The Sebastian coal is the highest coal mined on the C. Sebastian 

farm on Webb Branch of Caney Creek.1 At this locality, half a mile 

beyond the east edge of the quadrangle, the bed is about 200 feet above 

the Fire Clay coal; in the Cannel City quadrangle it ranges from 

180 to 220 feet above the Fire Clay coal.

1 Adkison, W. L.. Coal geology of the White Oak quadrangle, Magoffm and Morgan 

Counties, Ky. In preparation as a Geological Survey report.
12 GEOLOGY OF THE CANNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY 

STRATA ABOVE THE SEBASTIAN COAL, BED

Slightly more than 250 feet of rock overlies the Sebastian coal on 

hilltops in the southern part of the quadrangle. A basal bed of gray 

shale, as much as 50 feet in thickness, locally includes thin sandstone 

beds; near its top are 1 or 2 thin coal beds. Overlying the shale is 50 

feet of massive cliff-forming sandstone. Higher strata, consisting 

mainly of sandstone, are exposed locally in cliffs. That these higher 

strata may include 1 or 2 coal beds is indicated by a few caved openings 

near the hilltops at the heads of Caney Creek and Brushy Fork.

QUATERNARY SYSTEM ALLUVIUM

Alluvial deposits of Recent age occur along the main valley bottoms (pi. 1). They consist mainly of silt, sand, and gravel.

STRUCTURE OF COAL-BEARING ROCKS

The general structure of the Pennsylvania strata exposed in the 

Caniiel City quadrangle is shown by the structure contours 011 the 

Fire Clay coal in plate 1. A gentle southeast dip, typical of the west 

flank of the eastern Kentucky structural basin, is sharply modified 

in the Caimel City quadrangle by the Irvine-Paint Creek fault and 

Caney anticline.

The Irvine-Paint Creek fault, extending from west to east across 

the quadrangle, separates areas that differ greatly in structure. To 

the north, on the upthrown block, the dip is away from the fault in 

slight rolls for a distance of l/2 to 1 mile. This inclination, about 100 

feet per mile, forms the south side of a syncline that extends into the 

area from the east. The syncline parallels the Irvine-Paint Creek 

fault and may be an extension of the Spaws Creek Basin of Robinson 

(1927, p. 243). Strata on the north flank of the syncline dip 20 to 

40 feet per mile to the east and southeast.

South of the fault, strata of the downthrown block form the north 

flank of the Caney anticline. The strata dip as much as 19 degrees 

where cut by the fault plane, but the dip decreases southward to the 

axis of the anticline. This uplift, first reported by A. R. Crandall 

(1910, p. 13) and later mapped by Robinson and Hudnall (1925, map), 

is 2 to 3 miles wide and parallels the Irvine-Paint Creek fault. On 

the south flank the dip averages about 1%°, or 140 feet per mile, decreasing southward toward the axis of the Grape Creek syncline of 

Browning and Russell (1919, p. 22), which extends into the quadrangle 

from the east.

The Irvine-Paint Creek fault is a normal fault with a displacement 

ranging from about 160 feet on Stacy and Walters Forks to slightly 

less than 50 feet on Phipps and Sellars Forks. On Phipps Fork the 

fault plane dips approximately 35° to the south.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE 13

plane is rarely exposed elsewhere and lacks distinct topographic expression, its position is revealed by the displacement of key beds and 

the abrupt change in the dip of strata at the fault. Locally, shales 

and siltstones lying near the fault are highly distorted.

Although minor faults are common in the quadrangle, they have not 

been traced far because of the lack of large or continuous outcrops. 

The displacement along most of them is less than 10 feet; therefore, 

they have little affected the structure of coal beds. One mile above 

the mouth of Phils Branch, in the northwestern part of the quadrangle, the Grassy coal bed is displaced several feet by a normal fault. 

Two miles northeast of this locality, at Greear Branch, this bed and 

adjacent strata are displaced 9 feet. Both of these faults have upthrown sides to the north. On Sellars Fork (locality 119, pi. 1) a 

normal fault dipping 20 degrees to the south drops the Grassy coal 

about 3 feet (fig. 6). On Eighth Branch near the southwest corner 

of the quadrangle (locality 50, pi. 1), the lower coal bed of the Fire 

Clay zone is displaced 4 feet by a reverse fault. Another small reverse 

fault on upper Caney Creek, opposite the mouth of Big Staff Branch, 

displaces the Hamlin coal 3 feet; the fault plane, which dips about 

60° to the northeast, is less distinct in an overlying sandstone. 

Several other small faults were observed by the writer or reported in 

mine workings.

FIGURE 6. The Grassy coal bed, on Sellars Fork near the Irvine-Paint Creek fault, displaced 

by a low-angle, normal fault (locality 119, pi. 1). The coal bed on the upthrown block 

is crumpled and concealed behind the slump block in the left foreground.
14 GEOLOGY OF THE CANXEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY

COAL

GENEBAL DESCBIPTION

The Cannel City quadrangle contains seven coal beds of mappable 

extent and thickness. On plate 1 the outcrop lines of these beds are 

shown where measurements indicate a thickness of 14 inches or more. 

The outcrop line of the key bed the Fire Clay coal is shown even 

where its thickness is less than 14 inches. The locations of control 

points are indicated on plate 1, and graphic sections of the beds are 

shown on plate 3. The thickness and extent of coal in four of the 

more widespread beds the Grassy, Little Caney, Cannel City, and 

Fire Clay are shown on plate 4. The distribution of coal was estimated from outcrop measurements and mine data.

Coal reserves (see table 1) of the seven main beds that crop out in 

the quadrangle are classed as measured reserves if they lie within half 

a mile of an outcrop along which the extent and thickness of the coal 

are well defined; as indicated reserves if they extend 1 mile beyond 

the area of measured coal; and, as inferred reserves if they lie more 

than I1/? miles from a mapped outcrop or mine working. On plate 

4 lines were drawn bounding areas within which the coal beds are 

estimated to be from 14 to 28 inches and from 28 to 42 inches in 

thickness, excluding partings, and on table 1 reserves are reported 

separately for these two categories. All of the calculated reserves are 

under less than 1,000 feet of cover.

TABLE 1. Estimated original and remaining coal reserves of the Cannel City

quadrangle.

[In thousands of short tons. Covered by less than 1,000 feet of overburden. Remaining reserves, as of 

Jan. 1, 1952, are the same as original reserves, except as indicated by footnote]

Coal becl

Sebastian. _ . _ 

Nickell______

Cannel City. 

Little Caney.

Total. .....

Original reserves

Measured

In beds 

14-28 

in. 

thick

1,428 

4,112

184 

8,242 

!8,399 

19, 936 

19. 2(56

1 61, 507

In beds

28-42 

in. 

thick

562

2,753 

218,430

582

222,327

Total

1,990 

4,112

184 

10, 995 

3 20, 829 

19, 936

19. 848

383,894

Indicated

In beds 

14-28 

in. 

thick

4,348 

2, 569

1,322 

1,887 

6, 795 

19, 313

26. 765

62. 999

In beds 

28-42 

in. 

thick

363

122 

225 

15, 373

16,083

Totai

4,711 

2, 569

1, 444 

2,112 

22,1(58 

19,313

26. 765

79, 082

Inferred

In beds 

14-28 

in. 

thick

923 

9,041 

1C, 064

17. 872

43, 900

In beds 

28-42 

in. 

thick

1,532

1,532

Total

923 

10, 573 

16, 064 

17, 872

45, 432

Total

Inb9ds 

14-28 

hi. 

thick

5,776 

6,681 

1, 506 

11,052 

1 24, 235 

55, 313 

63, 903

1 168,466

In beds 

28-42 

in. 

thick

925

122

2, 978 

235,335

582

2 39, 942

Total

6,701 

6, 681 

1, 628 

14, 030 

3 59, 570 

55, 313 

64. 485

3 * 208, 408

1 693 mined and lost in mining.

2 5,931 mined and lost in mining.

3 6,624 mined and lost in mining.

* Recoverable reserves, as of Jan. 1, 1952, assuming 50 percent recovery: 100,892.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE 15 

GRASSY COAL BED

The thinness of the Grassy coal has limited mining to underground 

and strip operations that provide coal for local use only. A small 

truck mine was temporarily operated in 1951 011 Red River (locality 

123, pi. 1).

The Grassy coal bed ranges from 7 to 46 inches in thickness and 

averages about 20 inches. In the northwestern part of the quadrangle 

(graphic sections 103-110, pi. 3), the coal averages about 19 inches 

in thickness and includes a bench of cannel coal northwest of Grassy 

Creek (graphic sections 103, 105, and 106, pi. 3). At most of these localities the roof rock is sandstone, the base of which locally undulates 

into the coal. Toward the southeast, the coal bed thins in a belt from 

1 to 2 miles wide (map D, pi. 4). Much of this thinning is due to 

erosion, which took place along the top surface of the coal bed before 

deposition of the overlying sandstone. Beyond this thin belt, the 

coal increases in thickness. Along Payton and Salem Forks it ranges 

from 19 to 20 inches in thickness (graphic sections 113-116 and 119, 

pi. 3), and 011 Phipps Fork, farther south, it is from 22 to 26 inches in 

thickness (graphic sections 117-118, pi. 3).

On Gillmore Creek and 011 Red River near the axis of the Caney 

anticline, the Grassy coal bed reaches its maximum thickness of -16 

inches, which includes a shale parting near the top of the bed. The 

parting averages about 10 inches in thickness and is typical of the 

bed in this vicinity (graphic sections 121-126, pi. 3). Other measurements of the bed along the axis of the anticline are 17 to 19 inches 

on Sellars Fork, 15 to 17 inches 011 Stacy Fork, and 18 to 26 inches 

on Caney Creek.

The coal consists of bands of vitrain in a dull-to-bright attrital 

matrix. It is reported to be of good burning quality, and an analysis 

(table 2) indicates a low ash content. The total estimated original 

reserves in all categories of the Grassy coal bed are 64,485,000 tons. 

As mined areas are very small, they are considered negligible in the 

estimate of reserves.

LITTLE CANEY COAL BED

At most localities the Little Caney coal is bright, consisting of 

vitrain bands in a dull attrital matrix, and it is without partings. It 

has been mined in several entries, now abandoned, on Little Caney 

Creek near the north edge of the quadrangle. Other workings in 

the bed are confined to shallow diggings along outcrops.

Although the Little Caney coal bed is persistent in areal extent, it 

is not very thick. It ranges from a few inches to 21 inches, a thickness 

of 16 inches being fairly constant in outcrops along the tributaries of 

Salem Fork. Toward the northeast, in the vicinity of Grassy Creek,
TABLE 2. Analyses of coal of the Cannel City qua

[Analyses by U. S. Bureau of Mines]

Coal bod

Nickell

Map 

locality

8

(3)

«

68

53

114

Bureau 

of Mines 

laboratory 

No.

D-77811

D 

77Q10

D-77814

D-77810

D-77812

Rank'

HVBB

HVBB

HVAB

HVAB

(cannel)

HVBB

HVBB

Condition of 

sample 2

A

B

A

B

A

B

A

B

A

B

A

B

Proximate analysis 

(percent;

Moisture

8.2

5.4

4.8

3.4

7.5

7.4

Volatile 

matter

35.8

45.4

38.1

44.8

44.5

49.8

42.7

47.2

38.3

37.3

41.1

1

Fixed 

carbon

43.1

54.6

47.1

55.2

44.8

50.2

47.7

52.8

48.9

56.1

53.3

5S. 9

Ult

Ash

12.9

9.4

5.9

6.2

5.3

2.0

Sulfur

2.5

3.2

2.7

3.2

3.6

4.0

0.7

0.8

2.0

2.3

0.7

0.8

Hyd

ge

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

6

5

1 HVBB, high volatile B bituminous; HVAB, high volatile A bituminous.

2 A, as received; B, moisture and ash free.

3 At head of State Road Fork, one-third mile beyond south edge of quadrangle.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE 17

Phils Branch, and Caskey Fork, the coal averages less than 14 inches 

in thickness. The coal is thin, also, along the axis of the Caney anticline on Red River, Stacy Fork, and Caney Creek. The total estimated reserves of the Little Caney coal (55,313,000 tons) are in the 14- 

to 28-inch-thickness category.

CANNEL CITY COAL BED

The Cannel City coal is the most widely mined in the quadrangle. 

Several truck mines in the bed on Red River and on Sellars Fork 

were in operation in 1951. The development of the bed first began in 

the early 1900's when R. M. Broas core drilled and proved 2,000 acres 

of cannel coal of workable thickness in the vicinity of Caney and 

Cannel City (Crandall, 1910, p. 13). The coal was extensively mined 

by the Kentucky Block Cannel Coal Company, whose workings are 

now abandoned. Present operations in this area are limited to small 

strippings of cannel coal that was disregarded in the underground 

mining of the bed (fig. 7).

FIGUUE 7. Stripping of the Cannel City coal bed 011 Doe Branch of Caney Creek. Approximately 0 inches of banded coal (at pick-point level) overlies 2 feet of cannel. The sagging of the roof shale may have resulted from the caving of drift workings beyond the 

stripping face.

The cannel coal, which is as much as 35 inches thick, is moderately 

bright and is low in ash. Generally, benches of banded coal underlie 

and overlie the cannel and are separated from it by partings of impure
18 GEOLOGY OF THE CA1STNEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY

coal and shale (graphic sections 68-75, pi. 3). The cannel coal thins 

toward the west, north, and east, and probably toward the south.

In outcrops at the heads of Stacy, Phipps, and Sellars Forks, and on 

Reel River, the coal consists of bands of vitrain in a dull-to-bright 

attrital matrix. The coal averages about 3 feet in thickness and includes few persistent partings of shale. At a few localities a thin parting of impure flint clay is present near the center of the bed. In addition to the thin shale partings, a band of cannel about 5 inches thick 

occurs near the top of the bed in the vicinity of Red River. The coal 

locally includes flakes and nodules of pyrite. One of the shale partings, near the center of the bed, thickens northward from the head of 

Phipps Fork and separates by 5 feet the two splits of coal on Walters 

Fork (graphic sections 61-63, pi. 3).

The mined areas (pi. 4) were plotted from mine maps and information supplied by mine operators and former miners. The total estimated original reserves in all categories of the Cannel City coal bed 

are 59,570,000 tons. Deducting 6,624,000 tons the estimated total 

that has been mined the estimated remaining reserves as of January 1, 

1952, are 52,946,000 tons.

FIRE CLAY COAL BED

Mining of the Fire Clay coal bed and the two thin coal beds that underlie it (pi. 3) has been on a small scale for local use only. The three 

beds converge near the center of the quadrangle to form a bed with 

a maximum of 42 inches of coal, excluding partings. On the lower 

part of Stacy Fork the Fire Clay coal is dominantly cannel. It thins 

toward the north, and a cannel shale occurs in its position at some 

localities (section 2, pi. 2).

Generally, the Fire Clay coal contains a high percent of dull attritus, and where it is cannel, it is dull and possibly high in ash. 

A bed of impure flint clay, not more than 6 inches in thickness, is commonly associated with the Fire Clay coal. The total estimated 

original reserves of Fire Clay coal are 14,030,000 tons. Mined areas 

in this coal are insignificant.

ADELE COAL BED

The Adele coal bed has been mined in three small truck mines near 

the south edge of the quadrangle. Its thickness ranges from a few 

inches to 40 inches. On State Road Fork (section 23, pi. 3) the maximum thickness is 20 inches, and on Red River (section 21, pi. 3) it is 

40 inches. In the central and northern parts of the quadrangle the 

coal is thin and locally absent.
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES, CANNEL CITY QUADRANGLE 19

The coal commonly is dull and blocky, consisting of thin vitraiii 

bands in dull attritus. The total estimated reserves of Adele coal 

in all categories are 1,628,000 tons.

NICKELL COAL BED

The Nickell coal bed crops out on hilltops across the southern part 

of the quadrangle. Generally, it ranges from 15 to 20 inches in thickness, and its maximum thickness, measured in an abandoned truck 

mine on Stick Branch of State Eoad Fork, is 27 inches. It is mined 

for local use at many places.

The coal is very blocky and is composed predominantly of dullto-bright attritus. It is reported to be of good burning quality, and 

an analysis of the bed (table 2) indicates a fairly low ash content. 

The total estimated original reserves of Nickell coal 6,681,000 tons 

are included in the 14- to 28-iiich-thickiiess category.

SEBASTIAN COAL BED

The Sebastian coal crops out on hilltops in the southern part of the 

quadrangle and on the highest hills between the Caney and Grassy 

Creek drainages. It has been truck-mined at a few localities.

The coal ranges from 13 to 33 inches in thickness and generally consists of thin vitrain bands in dull-to-bright attritus. A thin parting 

of impure coal and shale commonly occurs at the center of the bed. 

Thin bands of impure coal also occur at the top or bottom of the bed 

in some localities. Analyses of samples from two localities (table 2) 

indicate that the coal is fairly high in ash. The total estimated original reserves of the Sebastian coal bed in all categories are 6,701,000 

tons.

LITERATURE CITED

Browning, I. B. and Russell, P. G.. 1919, Coals and structure of Magoffin County, 

Kentucky: Ky. Geol. Survey, ser. 4. v. 5, pt. 2, 552 p.

Campbell. M. R., 1898, Description of the London quadrangle: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Geol. Atlas, London folio, no. 47, 3 p.

Crandall, A. R., 1880(V), Preliminary report on the geology of Morgan, .Johnson, Magoffin, and Floyd Counties: Ky. Geol. Survey, ser. 2, v. 6, pt. 5, 

p. 315-338.

 1910, Coals of the Licking Valley region and of some contiguous territory, including also an account of Blliott County and its dikes : Ky. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 10, p. 1-34.

Hodge, J. M., 1908, Summary of report on the region drained by the three forks 

of the Kentucky River: Ky. Geol. Survey Rept. of Progress for the years 

1906 and 1907, p. 36-45.

 1915, Coal of the North Fork of Kentucky River in Breathitt and Perry

Counties: Ky. Geol. Survey, ser. 4, v. 3, pt. 3, 409 p. 

Jillson, W. R., 1919, The Kendrick shale, a new calcareous fossil horizon in

the coal measures of eastern Kentucky: Dept. Geology and Forestry of

Ky., ser. 5, v. 1, no. 2, p. 96-104.
20 GEOLOGY OF THE CANXEL CITY AREA, KENTUCKY

Morse, W. C., 1931, Pennsylvania invertebrate fauna: Ky. Geol. Survey, ser. 6,

v. 36, p. 293-348. 

Owen, D. D., 1857, Third report of the geological survey in Kentucky, made

during the years 1856 and 1857, p. 9-30. 

Robinson, L. C.. and Hudnall. J. S., 1925, Map of the areal and structural geology

of Morgan County, Kentucky: Ky. Geol. Survey, ser. 6.

 1927, Geology of Morgan County, Kentucky: Ky. Geol. Survey, ser. 6,

v. 26, p. 229-259. 

Wanless, H. R., 1939, Pennsylvanian correlations in the Eastern Interior and

Appalachian coal fields: Geol. Soc. America Special Paper 17, 130 p.

 1946, Pennsylvanian geology of a part of the Southern Appalachian coal

field: Geol. Soc. America Mem. 13, 162 p. 

White, I. C., 1885. Resume of the work of the U. S. Geological Survey in the

Great Kanawha Valley during the summer of 1884 : The Virginias, v. 6, p. 8.
INDEX

Page 

Adele coal bed, features of-.------.-------- 11,18-19

Alluvium. ___________________________ 12

Amburgy coal bed_ 

Anderson formation.. __ ____.______ 5

Appalachian coalfield_ _ ____ ____ 3

Big Sandy basin______ _ _ 3

Breathitt County______._ _________ 5

Breathitt formadon, features of..- _ -_-- 5-6

Briceville formation., ___ - 5

Campbell Creek limestone of White..-------- 7

Caney, anticline_ 3,12

Creek.-. ... _. - _ 5

townof_-_-___ 3

Cannel City.... 1

Cannel City coal, analyses_______________ 16

features of bed__ -___-____-_.-__ 8,17-18

strata below bed_--_-__ 7

Coal-bed, comparison of names__-_---_---_--- 4

method of determining altitude. 3

Cumberland plateau. 3

Dingess limestone-.----.----.--_----------- 3

Eastern Interior coalfield 3

Eastern Kentucky coalfield_ 1,2

Elkhorn No. 3 coal bed..-------------.------- 7

Faults, minor.. . .-

Fire Clay coal, features of bed.

features of zone.__..___.-

strata below zone.. -____---

Flood plains .. . 

Glade^ille formation__ 5

Grape Creek syncline__----------- -___-_- 12

Grassy coal, analysis..-.--------------------- 16

features of bed..__ 7,15

strata below bed_ 6

Grassy Creek_____________________ __ ._. 5

Hamlin coal of Hodge, correlation.

fault displacement._- -- -.

Harlan formation__ . .

Hazard coal bed. _ . _

Indicated reserves, defined.-.-____ 14

Inferred reserves, defined. 14

Irvine-Paint Creek fault 3,12

Jackson_. -__ 

Jellico formation.

Kendrick shale of Jillson__ 3,8

Kentucky River, basin...-___________.._-_-_- 3

North ForkoL -------------------- 8

Key beds_... ________ 3

Lee formation. -- - . 5

Licking River..._ __ 5

Limestone, concretions- 6,7,8

features of__ __ _ _ . 6

Tage

Little Caney coal bed, features of___._..__ 7,15

strata below_.___-___._--__--_-_._ 7

Little Fire Clay coal bed_-___._-_ _...__ 9

MagofHn beds of Morse, features of. 

strata below...__._..--.......

MagofHn County_.-_._--___-_--_.

Measured reserves, defined._._... 

Mining, Adele coal bed___--______

Cannel City coal 

Fire Clay coal bed__-.--_... 

Grassy coal bed.... .. __

Little Caney coal bed--. _.. 

Nickell coal bed -------------

Sebastian coal bed_-__- -._ 

Morgan County..------------------

10

9

1

14

18

17

18

15

15

19

19

1

Nickell coal, analysis...__ .. _ . _-__.___ 16 

features of bed_-__ _ ______. _. ___ 11,19

strata below bed__ 10

Norton formation___-_-_----____-_.____-__. 5

Pennsylvanian strata, western boundary.....

Quality, Adele coal_- . . -

Cannel City coal.___-_-__. . - -- 

Fire Clay coal.____.__ 

Grassy coal____._--_. _ __-___

Little Caney coal__ ..._..

Nickell coal___---------------- .

Sebastian coal -----------------_-----

Red River. ...... . - - - 5

References. ---__-__--------__._____ ... 19-20

Reserves, coal_.__-__-_-__----_-___._-__------ 14

Sandstone, features of. _____ ____ 5

Scott formation__--___-_ -________-- ..__ 5

Sebastian coal, analyses._--_________--.___--_ 16

features of bed_... ---------------------- 11,19

strata above bed__ _____ _. __..-- 12

strata below bed_---------------------- 11

Shale, features of-- ------------------------ 6

Siltstone, features of ------ 5-6

Spaws Creek Basin 12

Thickness, Adele coal bed. 

Cannel City coal bed-- 

Fire Clay coal bed_ - 

Grassy coal bed -------

.____. _-___ 18

 - 18

- -.- 18

____--_____- 15

Little Caney coal bed--------------_... 15-17

Nickell coal bed ----------------------- 19

Sebastian coal bed _ _________________ 19

Topography.-,_ ..____ __ 3, 5

Underclay, features of.

West Liberty____ 

Whites burg coal bed. 

Wise formation. 

Wolfe County...._

21

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I9E5