The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-09-10
STATE OIL SURVEY
NEARS COMPLETION
FIELD WORK is ABOUT FINISH
ED; PREPARATIONS FOR PUB
LISTING TO BE RUSHED
Territory Included Takes In All Of
Montana East of the Rocky Noun
tains; Area of Hundred Thousand
Square Miles Is Being Surveyed
and Mapped.

That the survey of the oil and
gas formations of the state of Mon
tana now being carried on by the
state bureau of mines and metal
lurgy is progressing rapidly and
will be completed early in Septem-
Der as far as the field work is con-
cerned, is the word just received
from President C. H. Clapp of the
School of Mines, who is in charge
of the survey and who is now in the
eastern part of Montana. This
work was undertaken last spring
because of the deep interest now
being shown in these natural re-
sources and because the maps of
the United States geological sur
vey completed some years ago,
left many. gaps in listing possible
oil and gas formations.
The territory being covered is
very large, comprising all of that
part of the state from the eastern
side of the mountain wall in the
west to the Dakota boundaries and
from the southern tier of counties
in the headwaters of the Missouri
river and along the valley of the
Yellowstone river to the Canadian
boundary. This has been divided
into 80 sections following approx
mately the lines of latitude and
longitude in the state and each sec
ton is being mapped as fast as it
is surveyed. At present the CEN
trail sections have been finished
and work is being done on the
southern ones.
Professor Arthur Bevan of the
of geology at the state
university at Missoula and Pro-
fessor Gerald S. Lambert of the
of geology at the
school of mines are covering the
sections extending from the noun
tain wall to the junction of the Big
Horn river with the Yellowstone
while President Clapp with Ralph
Wade of the junior class at the
school of mines as his assistant is
studying the territory east of the
Big Horn to the state line. Wherf
this is done there will remain to be
covered some territory in the north
eastern part of the state.
All in all the survey will include
about one hundred thousand square
niles nearly seventy thousand of
which are now done. Considering
he extent of the territory covered
he work is being we'll and accur-
tely completed and the maps
which will result will be very re-
liable. Of course they will be lack
ng in much detailed information &
which can be obtained only by /,
ong and careful study of limited :
reas, but they will be the basis for
II such detailed studies which de- t
elopment companies and others
lay wish to make. The bureau is :
with the United d
tates geological survey and with u
lany private concerns which in = =
estigated sections of the state in V
lie effort to gain as much infor- Ii
ation as possible. Since coal for Ii
lations usually are found along :.
18th oil and gas formations the Ct
APPS when finished will also show cl
Ieir locations in general way. IL
After the field work is completed a. q,
ere will be considerable work to p
, in compiling and comparing re- m
,rts before the results of the sur tie
y will be ready for publication. OF OF
owever it is hoped that this work =
n be pushed along rapidly so that ia
e people in the state who are in 70
rested in this information may 10 10
we it at an early date. Sc