The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1920-06-04
ASPHALT IN UNITED STATES.

ASPHALT IN UNITED STATES.
Few mineral deposits in America
are more promising to the prospector
or more interesting to the scientist
than the asphalt deposits of Califor-
mia, Kentucky, and the Rocky Noun
tain and Md-Continent States, ac-
cording to a report just issued by the
United States Geological Survey. De
partment of the Interior. There are
no deposits in the United States equal
in size and purity to the mysterious
pitch lake of Trinidad, from which
asphalt has been taken for paving
the famous thoroughfares of the
world for many years, without ma
terally lowering its surface. but there
is a great quantity of btuminous
rock that could be used locally in sur
facing our vast mileage of unimprov-
ed highways. Native asphalt. al
though one of our great undeveloped
natural resources, has not been eX-
tensively mined because of our large
imports, but now btuminous prod
ucas Of many varieties obtained from
domestic deposits could adequately
supply the requirements in several
parts of the country.
As asphalt is formed from petro
leum and is a remarkable preserve
tive, it has long been subject of alb
sorbng interest to the oil geologist
and the paleontologist Many of the
surface deposits throughout the coun
try, like that near Los Angeles, Calf.
which yielded remains of the extinct
saber-toothed tiger were formed in
recent or Pleistocene time, but some
are much older. The asphalt forma-
tons range in thickness from few
inches to many feet, and as they are
associated with petroleum both
geographically and stratigraphcally
and are of like origin and compost
ton, they may be roughly assigned
to the same fields.
Abundance of Native Asphalt.
Deposits of asphalt and allied sub
stances are found in Kentucky, West
Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, Okl1-
homa, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, T.
tab, and California. The richest and
most extensive beds are in Oklaho
ma, but Utah cantains the largest va
riety of bitumnous substances. The
stratigraphic range of the beds is rs
wide as the geographic deposits be
ing found in strata of all ages from
the Ordovician to the Recent The
oldest asphaltic formations have
been observed in Oklahoma, and the
youngest, which consist of recently
formed sands impregnated with BIZ
tumen, occur near Carpinteria, Calf,
though small superficial deposits If
brea are well distributed throughout
the country. The largest deposits oc-
cur as impregnated rock and veins.
Numerous and Varied Uses.
Desite its wide distribution and it,,
suitability for many commercial pur-
poses, native asphalt has not been
produced in great quantities in tn
United States. The demand for as
phaltic material has been largely m, t
by imports and by petroleum a.
phalt manufactured from the low
gravity oils of California and the
Gulf coastal fields. Both material
have been satisfactory and are well
known wherever asphalt products are
used, but petroleum asphalt is pro
duced from oil of grade suitable
for fuel, for which there is a rapidly
| increasing demand for use in oil
burning ships. The large demand TO
asphaltic material might be met in
part by bituminous rick, which could
be used for paving both country
highways and city streets, and if
carefully laid and maintained the
pavements would be durable and
clean and would produce relatively
little noise and dust.
European countries use large guam
titles of bituminous rock in building
roads, and if the United States would
adopt the same practice much oil
that is greatly needed for use as fuel
and other purposes would be releas-
ed. Although good pavements of hi
luminous rock have been laid in Kan
sas City, Kans., Oklahoma City
Okla, and few other cities, many
rock asphalt pavements constructed