Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/761

Rh of travel and emigration. The so-called lignitic formations were first noticed in Lewis and Clarke's expedition to the Rocky mountains while ascending the Missouri river in 1804. The coal was observed by them at various points from above the Mandan village in ascending the river for a distance of 990 m., and along the Yellowstone river in descending it from about lat. 45° to its mouth, lat. 48° 20′. More recent expeditions in the same country, especially the surveys of Profs. Meek and Hayden, have recorded the same wide extent of area of the N. W. lignitic field and the richness of its coal products. Dr. Hayden in 1857 published a map with sections of the country bordering the Missouri river, accompanied by explanations and documents of the highest scientific interest. This work embodies the results of three years' explorations by the author in the northwest. It marks the outlines of the northern lignitic basin on both sides of the Missouri from below Fort Clark to the Muscleshell river, the northern limit marked by British America and the southern by the head waters of Cherry creek and the Black Hills, narrowing between the Black Hills and the Big Horn mountains, and descending further south to the North fork of the Nebraska river. The author estimates the area of this basin at 400 m. in length and 150 m. in width, or about 60,000 sq. m., which estimate however he rightly considers too low. The most important localities on the Pacific coast where lignitic coal has been produced are Mount Diablo near San Francisco, Coos bay in southern Oregon, Seattle on Puget sound, Bellingham bay in Washington territory, and Vancouver island. It is also found in Alaska and elsewhere, and there is anthracite on Queen Charlotte's island.—Measured by the amount of their annual production, the most important coal fields out of the United States are those of Great Britain, which produce about one half of all the coal mined in

the world. The whole quantity of coal produced in the kingdom since it was first used in the country is estimated at 4,672,090,988 tons, of which the production of the year 1873 was 127,016,747 tons; 86 per cent. of the production of that year was from England, and the anthracite was less than 1,000,000 tons. The quantity of available unmined coal has been ascertained by a royal commission. The resources of coal in the kingdom, amounting to 90,207,000,000 tons in 1871 according to this report, are generally thought to be exaggerated by including the small seams down to one foot in thickness and those below 3,000 ft. in depth, which is probably as deep as coal can be mined, instead of 4,000 ft., as given in the report. The South Wales coal basin has the largest area and much the largest quantity of unmined coal, about 36 per cent. of the whole, but the largest production is from Durham and Northumberland, or the Newcastle coal field. The quantity of coal in Scotland is comparatively small, and in Ireland unimportant. Great Britain exports about 13,000,000 tons annually, and has for many years supplied the world with vast quantities of manufactured articles made with the aid of her coal. The following tabular statements contain much important, useful, and accurate information. The coal produced in 1873 was used and disposed of as follows: