The Coconino sun., 1919-11-21

which is scarcely less prominent or it's other borders, and which is more than 1000 feet above sea level, lies wholly within the Navajo -Hopi re, served lands. It lies south of Marsh pass and kayenta P. O., generally north of the Hopi villages, east of Tuba City, and west of Chin Lee val. ley, while outliers extend southward between keamS canyon and Canada and between Oraibi and Tuba, while the country it overlooks generally con sises of flat-lying plains to canyon cut rolling surfaces.
 The nearest railroad, the Santa Fe, lies about so miles south of the mesa, and the next nearest railroad, the D. X R. G., 1S0 miles, at Farm ington, N. M., but there is a natural route for a railroad from the latte:' place up Laguna valley through Marsh pass to west of Williams on the Santa Fe. A railway will prob ably be constructed over the route when the country sufficiently de- velops. Tuba City can be reached from Flagstaff by auto-stage, dis tance, S9 miles. The Moqui (Hopi) country is generally reached from Flagstaff, Holbrook or Winslow, Sunshine or Canyon Diablo, a distance of about so miles. Keams canyon is reached from Holbrook or Winslow, or via Gallup, as are St. Michaels and Canada. Kayenta and Marsh pass are about 1S0 miles each from Flagstaff, Gallup and Pennington and each can be reached by auto from these places. The freight to the trading posts and to the Indian schools is hauled over these routes.
 As would be expected, water is very scarce in this region, the descending washes carrying off most of the water that falls on the mesa. There is, how ever, underground water which comes to the surface in SeepS, springs and pools, and artesian water is obtained in Laguna creek valley in several reclamation wells, one at Kayenta be- ing less than 250 feet in depth.
 The coal bearing rocks are the Da kota, Mancos and Mesaverde. Each of these formations is conspicuously represented in the canyon walls.
 The Dakota formation overlies the McElmo Cat least on the north) and Is something more than 100 feet thick. It terminates at the top in yellow sandstone which in places exceeds 60 feet in thickness and often forms the cap rock of the outlying benches. Un- deneath this cap are thick beds of white, slightly greenish, friable sand stone and sandy Shale. The coal found in this formation in Three-Mile wash south of Kayenta and at several other places along the north, north east and west faces of the mesa sel- dom attains a foot in thickness. The coal is found to be very variable in extent, was always impure, and was found rather to be in short or long lenses than in reguar seams. Also at several places examined between Chilchinbito, 22 miles southeast of Kayenta and Marsh pass, coal seams were observed to be from four or five to ten inches in thickness, con- sisting essentially of carboniZed plants imbedded in sand, sandstone or clay; this was especially noticeable in the Three-Mile wash district. So far as surface showings indicate, there is no merchantable coal in this forma ton.
 The Mancos overlies the Dakota and is a black shale series of from 300 to 800 feet in thickness. Sandstone and other colored shales, however, are also occasionally met with. The formation carries much coal, usually capped with sandstone. At the northern ter minus of the mesa the coal is bony; none so far examined is merchantable, though some of the seams are thick, but farther south the coal becomes purer and is workable. The Tuba City Indian school is supplied with coal from a mine in this series. Froin the agency officials the writer ob- tained a section from this mine which is here given, as follows:
 Section including coal beds at Tuba mine in Coal Mine canyon, IA miles southeast of Tuba City.
 1. Yellow to dark, arenaceous shale, II feet.
 2. Coal, 1 foot, 6 inches.
 8. Shale, 9 feet.
 4. Coal with foot lens of bone (mined), 7 feet, 6 inches.
 5. Brown and gray shale, 6 feet.
 6. Thin beds of coal interstratified with shale, 16 feet.
 7. Buff sandstone followed by shale, including coal lenses, l5 feet.
 Twelve seams eff coal are known to exist in the Mancos shale of this mesa, one approximating six feet in thick ness. Also at all locations examined the position of the sandstone is favor able to mining.
 The Mesaverde formation is mostly a sandstone series and is the cap rock of the mesa (with probably some later deposits toward the south). It con- tains much more coal than the Man cos. the coal is a better grade and the