The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1912-03-08
MINERAL FORMATIONS
| FROM INLAND SEAS
Interesting Report In Detail
Comes From United States
Geological Survey.
GEOLOGY Of OIL AND GAS
IN F0xBURG QUADRANGLE
Sediments Filled Territory That
Once Was Wide Swampy Area,
Valuable Coal, Oil And Gas
Thus Being Made.

In report recently issued by the
United States geological survey, as
Bulletin 454, bv Eugene w. Shaw and
Malcolm ]. Mum, which discusses the
geology and the coal, oil, and gas re-
sources of the Foxburg quadrangle,
in western Pennsylvania, many inter-
esting facts are brought out regarding
the appearance OF this region millions
of years before the advent OF man.
In this report the biologists describe
not only the rocks that are exposed
at the surface but also those that have
been pierced at great depths by wells
drilled for oil and gas. They explain
how each kind of rock was formed
and show that the rocks themselves
contain an indisputable history OF the
processes concerned iE their forma'
tion. The facts thus revealed show
that at different periods in the earth's
history inland seas covered great areas
of what is now the United States.
Que OF these seas extended entirely
over what IL now the Appalachian
plateau region, from New York to
Alabama.
FILLING INLAND SEAS.
At certain periods the sea became
partly or wholly filed with sediments,
principally sand and mud, which were
washed in by streams and waves from
the surrounding land, and the region
slowly became covered by great marshy
swamps and lagoons, giant plants
throve and died, their remains gradu-
ally accumulatng in such quantities
as later to form coal beds OF wide
extent.
The sands washed In by the sea be-
came hardened into sandstones, the
muds into shaes and clays. The old
soils under the swamps in which the
plants grew became fire clays. Most
OF the limestones come from the re-
mains of flime.secreting animals which
| flourished in the seas. 10 like manner
it is shown that the large quantities
of oil and gas which have been found
in western Pennsylvania and else
where might have been formed from
organic matter, buried in the muds
and sands on the old sea bottom.
In the 227 square miles covered by
the Foxburg report there are no less
Ia ~ OF n
one above another and separated by
lpreater or less thickness Of Other
rocks. The area occupied by these
coal beds aggregates about 1,oSS.5
square miles, OF which .3703 square
. miles contain beds less than one foot
iu thickness, 3109 miles contain beds
between one and two feet thick, ane
!: l4O2.5 miles contain beds OF minable
thickness. or the coal OF minablt
thickness it is shown that only A 62
!: square miles has been mined, though
the total output from the ten active
shipping mines in this area was ovel
400, 900 tons 10 1908.
AS To OIL AND GAS.
The report reviews briefly the his
tory OF oil and gas operations in The
Foxburg quadrangle, which date
back to the days Immediately follow
ing the civil war. AS early az 1871
more than 1000 wells had been drilled
lin the great Petrolia-Elk City felt
alone, which then had daily produc
tion of over 10000 barrels. The EN-
ienton Richey Run, Black Hill, Rat
tlesnake, Cross Belt, Triangle, an'
J Rosenberg oil aud gas fields lie who'll