Weekly journal-miner., 1911-08-16
(Frcm Fridays Daily.)

accurate intelligence as 10 the poSsl' bility. of finding oil of merchantable quality and quantity in the Verde Valley, a letter was received today, through the Yuma County Commercial club, written by P. L. Griffin, an oil expert in the Phelan building, San Francisco, which follows:
 You recent letter received, request ing me to write letter for publiea- tion stating my views as to the oil indications in that section of the country lying along and to the east of the Verde river. Yavapai county, Arizona.
 In complying with your request, it is but just to the people of Yuma to state that it is due to their initiative that the present movement has been started.
 The Yuma people wanted oil to be found in Arizona, and employed me in February last to examine section of country near Yuma on the Gila river as to its oil bearing quality. The formation was not favorable and my report gave them no encourage ment.
 Again. in May they asked me to examine and report to them as to the Verde river country, I did this and reported on June 9th.
 My report was to the effect that found in the Verde river country, all of the conditions necessary to expect it to become on development, an oil field.
 My examination extended over a period of some five days on the ground, and was confined to that sec- tion east of the Verde river and op- posite to the town of Jerome and south below Camp Verde and east ward in mony places from seven to fifteen miles
 Having examined in times past many sections of the great Colorado river plateau country, with its un- rivalled sandstone formations, and its conditions favorable for local oil dis tricts or fields, especially those of the San Juan region Utah, being just over the northern boundary of Ari- zona. and situate about one hundred and seventyfive miles north of the Verde region; it was no stretch of the imagination to connect the Verde field with this great aggregate forma- tion, as the southern extension of the great San Juan oil field.
 Using the Verde river as division al line, the formation changes from an igneous one on the west, to a sedimentary formation on the east, and sedimentary formation is the first requisite for an oil field or belt.
 This formation consists of large measures of sandstone, lime, and shale being also the usual formations encountered in any oil field. The tertiary formation in which the oil measures of California are found, are here entirely eroded away and an older formation, the cretaeeOus Is ex- posed to view; in this, you may ex- pect to develop a grade of refining oil much superior to the California product.
 The age then geOlogieally of the formation to the east of the Verde river is favorable for oil, and the quality should be good.
 One of the prime conditions neees sary to make an oil field possible, ir any formation, is, how it lies to the world.
 All sedimentary formations have been built by sea action, and were necessarily built up stratum by stra tum, lying parallel and level. Before commercial oil district could be possibility ages must elapSe, these thousands of feet in depth must need: have been elevated by a pressure from beneath, from the position of s level to one known as "Anti-clines and Mono-clines,' ,' the surface per chance may become a forest, gras: land or later, improved farms.
 With a lapse of vast periods ot time the oil that may have been gen erated in and under millions of acre. of land is driven and gathered in eer tain belts in accordance with the la, of the land as it has been changed from the position of level to tha CT an incline.
 The man who studies and detect the favorable places for an oil fiel' does not need to be college nor {