Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1919-09-13
TWO DEEPEST OIL
 WELLS OF WORLD /. <. ARE IN THE LISA

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 During the last few years the Hope Natural Gas Co.,, and the peoples Nat. ural Gas Co.,, both of Pittsburg, Pa. have been drilling deep wells in north ern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania to find deeper oil-bear, ing and gas-bearing sands, their ob' jects being to reach, if possible, the horizon of the rich Clinton sand ot Ohio, which, according to Dr. l. c White the State geologist of West Virginia, should be found in this re. zion at depths between 1000 and s. 900 feet. L.f a<
 Drilling for Deep Oil and Gas
 The first exceptionally deep well thus drilled, the R. A. Geary we'll, of the Peoples Natural Gas Co.,, is about 4 miles northwest of Mcdonald, Pa,, and about 20 miles southwest of Pitts burgh. The mouth of the we'll is about 1,O5O feet above sea level. The we'll pentrates the Gordon stray sand, the last of the usual gas sands in this region, at a depth of 1871 feet. From this point to depth of 6,700 feet the strata penetrated are alternately "lime" and "slate," and from 6.70o feet to the bottom, 7,248 feet, they are "sand" and '1ime" interposed with about 60 feet of rock salt. The sec ond deep we'll was drilled by the Hope ' Natural Gas Co. oni the farm of M. o, Golf, about 8 miles northwest of \ Clarksburg, in northern West Vir- ginia. Its mouth is 1,164 feet above sea level. The we'll begins 200 feet below the level of the Pitsburg coal and penetrates the usual oil-bearing and gas-bearing sands, the lowest be- ing the Bayard, which lies at depth of 2,21O feet. The strata in the re- mainder of the well are alternately 'lime" and "slate." The third deep well, the J. H. Lake, of the Hope Natural Gas Co.,. is about 8 miles southwest of Fairmont, w. Va. It is about 20 miles north of the Golf we'll and about 60 miles south of the Geary we'll. The mouth of the we'll is about 2 1900 feet above sea level. The Bay ard sand, the lowest of. the gas sands, was found in this well at depth of 2,O5O feet. The remaining strata are alternately 'lime,' "slate," and "sand." rI
 Four Deepest Wells in the World
 Named in the order of depth, the four deepest wells in the world are the Lake, 7,579 feet; the Golf, 1886; a we'll at Czuchow, Germany, 7,34S; and the Geary, 7,248. The two deep est wells in the world are therefore the Lake and the Golf, the Lake sur passing the German we'll by the large margin of 231 feet. In comparison with these great depths, other depths reached by wells or mines sunk in the crust of the earth are rather insigni- ficant. The deepest mine in the world is shaft No. 3 of the Tamarack mine, in Houghton County, Mich., which has reached depth of 5,20O feet. Other shafts of the Tamarack Co. and of the, Calumet & Hecla mine, in the Lake Superior region, reach depths be- tween 4,OOO and 5000 feet. Three shafts in the Prizbram silver mines, in Austria, have reached depths of about 3,3OO feet. The Victoria quartz mine, at Bendigo, Australia, is 4,3O0 feet deep. A number of shafts in the Transvaal gold region of South Africa have been sunk to depths of about 4,OOO feet.
 Limits to Depths of Mines and Wells.
 The depth to which a mining shaft can be sunk is limited to the /heat of the rocks, as the temperature at depth of mile in nearly all parts of ' the earth is so high that workmen can not live in it, even with ventilation. The depth to which we'll 6 inches in diameter can be drilled seems to de- pend chiefly on skill in drilling and strength of cable. The cable itself is heavy, and besides carrying its own weight and the weight of drill, which weighs 1 to tons, it must bear strains produced by vertical move ments of the drill, which may so great as to break it at any moment, so that the drill and a part of the cable may be lodged in the well in such way that they cannot be, removed. Excep- tional skill is required, therefore, in operating the ponderous machinery used in drilling a well. The drill, which is a~column of steel about 3 inches in diameter and 40 to 5O, feet long, beveled to V-shaped edge at the lower end, is attached to one end of the cable, and at some other point determined by the driller, the cable is' attached to long beam, which is op- erated in, the same manner as the walking beam of steamboat. Mere ly to lift the drill through the height determined by the swing of the end of the walking beam and to let it drop repeatedly would do no drilling. In order to drill, oscillations must be in duced in the cable, such as those set up by attaching light weight to'a suspended rubber band. A slight os- -:II.I:.u x.o,orl,, ipd,,cad hv the fin-