Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-28
WYOMING COAL FIELDS.
Work in East-central
Carbon County.

Carbon County.
The coal field on the western edge
of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming
| lust east of the great Grand River
field was surveyed during the sum :
mer of 1906 by party Of government
biologists, and a report on the work
has tust been issued by the United
state Geological Survey as chapter
in Bulletin No. 316, which forms Fart
III of Contributions to Economic Cecil
ogy 1906"
| The area studied lies at the point
where, the Rocky Mountains ranges de-
part from their north-south course. SO
characteristic in Colorado. and swing
westward across Wyoming to the
Yellowstone National Park. At this
point Of change of direction the
mountains are broken into number
Of dome and lozenge- shaped uplifts OF
greater or less extent and of consider
able variation in trend, and the coal
area Of east-central Carbon county Is
thus Topographic and geologic basin
with an average altitude between 65OV
and 1000 feet, amost completely
trimmed by uplifts ranging in elevation
|
The North Platte River crosses the
area surveyed west of it's center. Its
principal tributary within the dis
trict being the Medicine, which drains
the northeastern quarter of the field.
The surveying party consisted OF
Messrs A. G. Veatch in charge. Max
w. Ball, Max A. Pishel, and Spencer
r. Logan. A large number Of coal
samples were collected and forwarded
to the fuel-testing plant of the survey
at ST Louis and subjected to analysis.
| The results of these analyses are In
corporated in the report.
| Coal was discovered in this area by
Fremont in 1913. on Platte River,
near the mouth Of Sage Creek, at
point now known as Coal Bluffs. In
1856 Lieut. F. T. Bryan. of the topo-
graphic corps of the United States
army, surveyed a road from Fort
Riley to Bridger Pass. He was accom-
panied by Mr.. H. Engelman. geologist
and they reported coal not only on
Platte River but north of the present
village OF Elk Mountain, near Medi-
cine Bow River. Bryan reports that
on August 10, 1856, they camped for
a few days on an island in Platte
River Ito rest the animals and burn
coal for the forge" The coal beds
opened at this time were mined in a
desultory way by emigrants and by
the Overland Stage Company. whose
stage ran across the southern portion
of this territory from the summer OF
1852 until short time after the COM
pletion Of the Union Pacific railroad.
Regarding the commercial develop
ment of the coal in this region Mr.
George r. Black, superintendent of
the Union Pacific Coal Company,
states:
county, Wyo., and worked to any ex-
tent, We're opened by this company in
1868 at and near the town of Carbon,
the last one being abandoned in 1902.
There were seven of them. While the
coal is not Of the best, it is certain that
the mines in that vicinity would still
be working had not the main line of
the Union Pacific railroad passing
thru Carbon been vacated and taken
farther to the north, where 1t passes
thru the Hanna coal. The mines at
Dana, Carbon county, were opened in
1889, and abandoned in 1891, on ac-
count of the coal sparkling too badly
for locomotive use. The Hanna mines
were opened in 1890, and are still in
operation"
The Goals of this field range from
poor to high grade bituminous. They
are as rule bright, brittle, and nom
coking. The best Goals in the area are
found in the formation called by the
biologists the Mesaverde, which con-
tains also the high grade GOALS Of the
field in Routt county, Col.
The natural commercial market for
Goals from this section of Wyoming is
limited on the east by Omaha, on the
west by Rawlins, on the north by the
Black Hills, and on the south by Den
yer. The western outlet is today
blocked to large degree by the high
er-grade Goals of Sweetwater and
Uinta counties. At Denver the Car
bon county Goals come into competi-
ton with the Colorado Goals; at On
aha with those of the Interior BASIN
and at the Black Hills with the New
castle and Sheridan Goals. The de-
velopment of the metalliferous de-
posts in the ranges surrounding the
basin may create a considerable local
demand for this coal.
Grounds for Complaint.
lot