Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-04-18
Preliminary Examination of Vir-
gin City Field Undertaken by
Geological Survey.
REPORT OF Mr.. RICHARDSON.
DR.. David II. Day Pronounces Oil Pref
cradle to Texas Product for
Fuel Purposes.

The recent discovery of petroleum
near Virgin City. Utah, has caused
much local excitement and attracted
considerable capital, but outside OF
newspaper items very little has been
published concerning the oil. To help
supply the demand for information.
brief account OF the occurrence has
been prepared by Mr.. George l5.
Richardson. of the United States geo.
logical survey and published by the
survey in an advance chapter from
bulletin No. $40, which forms part I
Of Contributions to Economic Cecil
ogy. 1907" Copies of this chapter
may be obtained by applying to the
director of the survey at Washing
ton, n. c.
The new oil district is situated in
the plateau province, in the south
western cornGr of Utah, near the east
ern boundary of the Basin ranges. The
region is drained by Virgin river and
its tributaries, which flow for miles
through steep and narrow canyons
among some Of the grandest scenery
on the continent. This region was
described more than a quarter of a
century ago by Mr.. c. f. Dutton, In
report entitled 1.-THE Geology Of the
High Plateaus OF Utah"
oil seeps have long been known In
the vicinity Of Virgin City. and one
of them that occurs close to the river,
about one and one-half miles west OF
the town, led to the sinking of the
discovery well in the summer of 1907
OIL was struck on July 13, 1907, at q
depth of 566 feet below the surface,
and the well was sunk to clio feet
.t.. .H..1 L. - n
rels III "a hours. Claims have been
staked far and wide. but oil has not
yet teen found outside of the imm ed
late vicinity of Virgin City
sample of the oil was taken by
Mr. Richardson from an open vat
where it had teen exposed to the
weather for a week or more, and SUBJ
mitted to DE- David r. Day, the pc
troleum expert of the survey DIR.
Days examination OF the sample
showed the oil to have n specific grav-
ity Of 0.9225, equivalent to % degrees
Baume. and to contain some paraffin,
large percentage of asphalt, and APP
parently considerable sulphur A large
sample received by DR.. Day had a
specific gravity of 0.g1S, or 22.5 de-
grees Baume. Commenting on the
results OF his analyses of this oil, DIR
Day says: 1T is evident that though
satisfactory Illuminating oil can
be obtained from this Utah crude pc
troleum, the yield is comparatively
small and the oil Is better suited for
use ac a fuel" Much OF the sulphur
in the oil is In the form of hydrogen
sulphlde, easily separated by steaming.
and hence the oil IS preferable to Tex
as oil for use as fuel
AS TO the future of the field little
can be predicted. Whether oil ex-
lists in commercially profitable guam
titles can be determined only by the
drill. The thickness OF the oil-bear-
ing stratum has not been reported,
and whether or not It Is persistent
over a wide area is undetermined. 1t
is probable that the oil occurs in
lenses rather than in persistent beds,
ana to judge from what is known of
tho geology, the general conditions
are not unpromising. although there
are some unfavorable complications.