^>. //A i^S^ '^^'v> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^/. ^ /> #^^'' 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^128 |2.5 |50 "^™ MBB i^ lis IIIIIM L4 1.6 cry o^ # k<;>' f^ <^ :\ \ LN^ ^V Wk\ ^>. Q '9)^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Coliection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The lnstit)jte has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilieur exemplaire qu'il lui a «t6 possible de se procurer. Certains d^fauts susceptibles de nuire k la qualitd de la reproduction sont not6s ci-dessous. 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The original copy was borrowed from, and filmed with, the kind consent of the following institution: National Library of Canada Maps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper l«ft hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de I'exemplaire filmd, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la der- nidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas- le symbols — ► signifie "A SUiVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de l'6tciblissement prdteur suivant : Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un soul clich6 sont filmdes d partir de I'angle sup6rieure gauche, de gauche d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la m6thode : 1 2 3 4 5 6 ON THE , / ^^ Ok 1^,^ COALS AND LIGNITES OP THE CANADIAN NORTH-WEST, ^ CHIEFLY DBklVED PROM THE REPORTS OF THE GEOLOGICAL i SURVEY OF CANADA, • , BT GEORGE M. DAWSON, D.S., F.G.S., Assoc. RS.M. Assistant Director Geological Survey. I ^ I CDONTF^BAL: PRINTED BY THE HERALD PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO. 1884. ^ '-J NOTES ON THE COALS AND LIGNITES OF THE CANADIAN NORTH-WEST, CHIEFLY DERIVED FROM THE REPORTS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA, BY GEORGE M. DAWSON, D.S., F.G.S., ASSOC. E.S.M. ASST. DIRECTOR GEOL. SURVEY. The coals and lignites of the North-west Territory and British Columbia are entii y of Cretaceous and Tertiary age, and differ, in this respect, from the fuels of the Eastern Provinces and States, and of Great Britain, which are included in the Carboniferous system. The district of the JSTorth-west Territory which, so far as yet known, affords the most abundant and valuable deposits of mineral * fuel, is that in proximity to the Bow and Belly Eivers and their tributaries, extending eastward from the base of the mountains to about the 111th meridian. This district is, however, the only one which has, up to the present time, been made the subject of careful and appi-oximately complete observation by the Geological Survey, and it is thus quite possible that the country holding the same relation to the l>aso of the Kocky Mountains further north, may yet prove throughout equally valuable as a source of fuel. Some of the more important coal discoveries already made in the northern region are mentioned on a succeeding page. In my preliminary report on the Bow and Belly River coal region, the principal points in connection with its workable coal seams are 8ummarii;ed. A detailed map and complete report on the disti'ict are at present in course of preparation. From the preliminary report above referred to the following particulars for this region are extracted : — Notes on the more Important Coal Seams of the Bow and Belly Kiver District. The fuels embraced in this district vary from lignites, but slightly superior in quality to those of the Souris region, to coals containing a very small percentage of watei-, forming a strong coke on heating, yielding abundance of highly luminous hydrocarbons, and precisely resembling ordinary bituminous coals, though of Cretaceous or Laramie age. In describing them the general term coal will be used, as it is impossible to draw a definite line between the two classes among the numerous inter- mediate varieties. A coal seam, which occurs on the lower Bow and Belly Rivers, is seen in the banks for many miles at a varying height above the water, due to the light undulating dips by which it is affected. It is generally not more than a foot or eighteen, inches in thickness though persistent in extent, but at one point on the Belly Eiver it thickens to three feet, forming a workable seam, which appears to be of good quality throughout. This locality is thirty-two miles in a direct line from "Coal Banks." (Range XVI, Township 10.) No analysis has yet been made of this fuel. The locality just referred to as "Coal Banks" is at the crossing of the Belly River by the trail to Benton. The coal occurring at this place is in shale of the Cretaceous formation at the base of the Pierre. It is one of the best in the district, and has been worked to a small exent for some years at this point by Mr. N. Sheran. A second mine has lately been opened on ihe opposite side of the river, and a considerable quantity of coal is being extracted. The outcrop of this seam is now known to extend, in workable thickness, from a point about six miles up the St. Mary River to that part of the Belly near and below Coal Banks, and thence northward to the Bow River, a distance of seventy miles. ►d e > •H t-* o u ti o •p >> o iH © r " -p •p to CO w Pi o •H •H "^ n 1 ^ 1 to / 10 r^ -Tj •H ■P •> (H o Srd- •§ t; £3 • ^ g a • "^ 3 CX5P4 fl •H Rj 'd «H • <9 o o tp F o n 3 >a TO •H o .O CQ 43 © ^* ^hS 1 w «H iH . izJ o cJ o iH o • (S 03 •H ft^ u » rt CD O 'ri •» O IP • C(^ O o ^^^ . > ^ © So iH 00 •P U ^i/r H *CJ Ol 0) o g^5/. o !^ • tD^h CD 4^ ra _ >> O O CO © n W r H ;|| r^ •P O o ■ O J25 C iK 3 1 lundred feet in thick- md it is consequently, G iiirgci' coul<5e.s which n be seen. The Belly t 300 feet deep, and re cuts about 200 feet ne sections of these, d cottl seams; one of Iheran, I may, for the It is more or less irt of the Belly for a he woi-kings at Coal )ve Co.il Banks the well which brings up he west, appearing on iry. At the furthest ars (about seven miles following section, the > first at a spot about ^ V ft in 1 1 6 3 2 }al . . . 4 9. ' 1 ale . . ile(to water). 1 4 4 V^ 0^ • the disti'ict are at present in course ( preliminary report above referred to tt this region are extracted : — I Notes on the more Important Coal Belly Eiver Dii The fuels embraced in this distr: slightly superior in quality to those coals containing a very small perc a strong coke on heating, yielding abu hydrocarbons, and precisely resembling though of Cretaceous or Laramie agi general term coal will be used, as i definite line between the two classes ; mediate varieties. A coal seam, which occurs on Eivers, is seen in the banks for manj above the water, due to the light i it is affected. It is generally not mc inches in thickness though persistent on the Belly Eiver it thickens to thj seam, which appears to be of good locality is thirty-two miles in a dire( (Eange XYI, Township 10.) No ana this fuel. The locality just referred to a crossing of the Belly Eiver by the occurring at this place is in shale c at the base of the Pierre. It is on and has been worked to a small exent by Mr. N. Sheran. A second mine h opposite side of the river, and a con being extracted. The outcrop of extend, in workable thickness, from the St. Mary Eiver to that part of th Banks, and thence northward to th seventy miles. ; : ^ it ■■i'^Ml^ - - -'^ Tlie drift deposits avei-age about one hundred feet in thick- iicsH over tlie plains near the Belly Eiver, and it is consecjiiently, in gerei-al, only in the river valleys, or in tlie larger coul<5os which flow into them, that the Cretaceous rocks can be seen. The Belly Valley in this part of its course is about 300 feet dee]), and uvei'ages nearly a mile in width. It therefore cuts about 200 feet into the Cretaceous rocks, and displays fine sections of these. There are in this vicinity several associated coal seams; one of these, that which has been opened by Mr. Sheran, I may, for the sake of clearness, refer to as the "main seam." It is more or less ]jerfectly exposed at intervals along this part of the Belly for a distance of about twelve miles, or from the workings at Coal Banks to Big Island of the map. Above Coal Banks the measui-es are aftected by a light anticlinal swell which brings up older rocks, and the outcrop runs round to the west, appearing on the river again at the mouth of the St. Mary. At the furthest point up the St. Mary, at which the coal appears (about seven milea from the mouth of the river), it shows the following section, the second column being a continuation of the first at a spot about 100 yards further down stream :— ft. Rusty ironstone layer Blackish and rusty shale 5 Coal Blackish shale 6 Coal Soft carbonaceous shale Coal ^ Soft, thin shale, highly car- bonaceous in upper part. ... Ironstone shale Blackish shale 3 Coal Carbonaceous shale (some coal) 1 Coal (partly below water) 1 m. 8 • 3 6 4 8 6 6 8 Coal ft 1 in 6 Shaly coal . . , 6 6 Coal 1 3 Shale Coal 2 9 Grey shale . . 4 Coal I A Grey shale (to water). 4 6 About two miles further down the St. Mary the coala are again aeen, with the following development: — ft. in. Cua! (ratiier shaly) 1 o Coal » 1 4 Shale i Coal 9 Shale , 10 1 Coal • • • : 3 8 Shale (with obscure plant impressions) 6 At the mouth of the St. Mary the main seam has a thickness of 3 feet 6 inches, but about 18 inches at the top is rather shaly. On comparing these sections on the St. Mar}' with those at Coal Banks and on the Belly Elver to the north, it will be found that the coal at the first-mentioned locality is more divided by shales and less favourably situated for working. On the part of the Bell}'^ Kiver near Coal Banks the measures have, as a whole, a light westerly dip, while that part of the outcrop between Coal Banks and Big Island forms a minor synclinal hollow in its edge, across which the river cuts in a dli'ection nearly coinciding with the main sti'ike of the measures, and gives rise to a great display of coal on this part of the valley. The coal-bearing horizon, as above mentioned, lies at the base of the Pierre, and its position between the dark shales of this formation and the pale sandy beds of that undei'lying it, renders it easy to define the situation of the coals, even where their actual outcrop is concealed. For a distance of five miles north of the Coal Banks exposures, the dark shales just I'eferred to occupy the river valley, while the outcrop of the co^l is carried eastward to an uncertain distance by the light synclinal undulation above referred to. The gentle inclination of the measures shows that the coal might be reached at a moderate depth by shafts sunk through the dark shales in this part of the valle}^, from which it might, with facilit}', be worked up its slope to the eastward. The undulating character of the dips i-enders it impossible to estimate the exact depth at which the seam would be found, but it is probably not over 500 feet below the river, midway between its southern and northern outcrops in the valley. It may also be worked on a smaller scale, but Avith great facility, by levels driven into the actual outcrops in the river banks. Having thu8 briefly clescriboJ the general mode of occun-enco of the coal on tliin part of the Belly River, the following more detailed notes on the outcrops which occur will serve to siiow the actual character of the seam. At Coal Banks, the coal was at fi xtracted chiefly by qua/'rying along the natural outcrop. Dui'ing the summer of 1881 the tirst level was opened. The outcrop is situated in the front of a steep scarped bank facing the river, and the seam, which at the southern end of the bank is about 30 feet above the water, dips away below the water at the northern. The following section sljows the mode of occurrence and association of the coal in the bank, but does not extend upwai-d to the base of the drift deposits. ft. in. Finely laminated grey Hhale 8 Coal (shaly beloM') , . i ti Urey, thin-bedded shale 12 Ironstone hha Ccoi Grey shale 1 Coal Grey shale and nodular sandstone, carbonaceous below V Coal 1 ly parting (often almost absent) 3 9 8 Coal 4 Carbonaceous shale 2 Grey shale 2 Ironstone G reyish and brow uish shale 3 Carbonaceous shale 3 Coaly shale Gi-ey shale 2 Coal Carbonac^ "ms shale (to water) 1 1 Coal, 5' 4" The dip at tl.is place is about N. 83° W. (mag.) at an angle of 5 to 8 degrees. On the opposite side of the river, at its next bend, the coal seam is again well shown. It is here that the second mine above referred to has been opened. The seam is slightly undu- lating, and dips gi'adually away below the water level at the 8 northern end of the bank. The part of the section designated above as the main seam is here as follows : — ft. in. Coal I Q Shaly parting (1 to 3 inches) 2 ^««' 3 3 Total coal 4 9 About four inches in thickness at the base of the seam is here laminated in texture, but appears, nevertheless, to be of good quality. The general dip is about N. 50° W. (mag.), at an angle of less than 5 degrees. From this point for a distance of five miles down the valley, the dark shales overlying the coal are alone seen. When it again appears, on the west bank of the river, the main seam shows the following section : — Coal Shale ...*.'.*..... Coal .,,....[...,... Shale !...*.............!! Coal ft in ] 6 3 4 6 1 6 2 9 Total coal 8 9 Tlie lowest division of the seam at this place is apparently not repi-osented in the sections previously described, The coal in it is somewhat laminated, but seems to be of good quality. The dip is herf about S. 70° W. (mag.), at an angle of 5 degrees. About three miles further north, extensive exposures of the coal are again found in the scarped bank or clilT facing the river, at a height of about 100 feet above the water level. The dip is light and undulating, but, on the whole, westward, or away from the river. The main seam is here composed as follows: — ft. in. Coal 2 6 Carbonaceous shale 7 Coal 2 2 Carbonaceous shale 1 Coal 1 3 Total co'^I 5 11 9 The coal here appearR to be of good qualit}'^ throughout. North of this point ou the river the main seuni is not again found well exposed, though in several places the associated rocks are shown in such a way as to indicate that it outcrops below the drift a short distance east of the river valley. At the point at which the base of (lie Pierre should cross the Little Bow River, a seam of coal a few inches tiiick was observed hy Mr. McOmnell, but the exposures did not bring the Main Seam into view. This coal-bearing horizon a])])ears again on the Bow River at Gi'assy Island, about thirty-three miles in a direct line below the Blackfoot Crossing, in iat. 50° 25' 15" (Range XVIT, Townsiiip IV.) In their general appearance, arrangement and thickness, the seams h(^-e exposed closely correspond with those on the Belly River. The subj(Mned section exhibits the relations of the coal at this place: — ft. in. Lead grey shale 25 Coal 1 6 Soft f^rcy and yellowish-grey shaly sandstone 13 (-'arbonaceous shale, coaly streaks 2 3 Coal (good and sound throughout) 4 (i Dark grey shale and shaly clay 7 Coal...'. 1 Carboimccous shale 1 Coal 8 Soft shale and tlay 8 Coal and carbonaceous shale (to water) I G The scams dip westward at a very light and constant angle. The seam, 4 feet C inches in thickness, probably represents the main seam of the Belly River. It is ])robably this seam which has been ])assed through at a depth of 2G2 feet in the boring, at No. 8 siding on the railway. Some general iacts regarding the composition of the coal ot this horizon in the Cretaceous may be given. The analysis by Prof. Haanel, quoted in my report on the Geology and Resources of the 49th Parallel (p. 1V9, No. 111., in table), is'of coal from this seam, but probably from that part of the outcrop near the mouth of the St. Mary River. The same remark applies to a specimen which was analyzed by Dr. Harrington. (Report of Progress, 10 IStl-TS, p. 49 C.) Prof. Haanel'a analyeie shows 6*69 per cent, of moisture and 6-36 per cent. ash. Dr. Han-ington's specin^en contained 5'79 per cent, water and 2*05 ash. A specimen from Ml'. Sheran's mine, collected and examined by myself, yielded the following result : — Water 6-52 Volatile combustible matter 3103 Fixed carbon 56-54 Ash 5-91 100 -00 The coal is compact, does not easily break up by handling or exposure, and is in every respect a very excellent fuel, but does not yield a coherent coke. In correspondence with the increased didtance from the mountains of the outcrop of the same seam on the Bow River, and probable inferior degree of alteration to which it has been subjected, the coal is thei-e found to contain more water, approxi- mating in this respect to some of the Souris River lignites. From these, however, it still ditfers in its more compact textui-e and resistance to weathering and the regular vertical cleat or jointage planes by which it is traversed, which cause it to assume cuboidal instead of conchoidal forms on fracture. A preliminary examin- ation of an outcrop specimen from this locality gave the following result : — Water 12-37 Volatile combustible matter 32 • 33 Fixed carbon 46-39 Ash 8-91 100-00 A seam occurring at the summit of the dark Pierre shales on the Bow River, at the point which I have designated as Horse- shoe Bend, (Range XIX, Township 20) has a very light westerly or north westerly dip, and is not certainly known to be repre- sented elsewhere. The outcrop at Horse-shoe Bend is situated about fifteen miles east-north-east of the Blackfoot Crossing. The seam appears at a height of 135 feet above the water in a steep scarped bank on the south-east side of the river, and is exposed for nearly half a mile. It is 4 feet 4 inches in thickness, compact and hard where not long weathered and in physical 11 chai-acter resembles that last described. A preliminary exami- nation of an outcrop specimen showed the following composition : Water 13.87 Volatile combustible matter 37-16 Fixed carbon , ^ 40-50 Ash (reddish) 8-67 100-00 Still fcjllowing an ascending order in the series, the seam which has been known for some yeai-s at Blackfoot Ci-ossin^ next claims attention. Tiiis is sevej-al hundred feet hiifher in the section than the last, and is distinctly included in the Laramie. Coal occurs in several places on the Bow River a few miles above the Bhickfoot Crossing. The seams are too thin to work, but are probably on the same horizon with that described below. Throughout this region the beds ai-e affected by gentle undulating dips, and though they have besides u very light geneml inclina- tion westward, they may be considei-ed as practically horizontid. The outcrop from which a small quantity of coal has been extracted, and which has been i-eferred to by several travellers, is situated six and a hall' miles eastwai-d from the Blackfoot Agency buildings, on a coule'e which I'uns northward to the Bow. The deposit hei'e consists of two seams, the upper averaging 1 foot 8 inches in thickness, the lower 3 feet. They are separated by about a foot of cai'bonaceous shale. At this spot the bed may be traced about 500 feet in natural exposures, and is atfected by variable dips, which do not exceed 5° in amount. The thickness of the seams continues neai-ly uniform, and they would attbrd, say, 4 feet C inches of clean coal, the whole of which could be worked at once. The immediate banks of the coulde ai-e about 80 feet high at this place, the upper two-thirds being composed of drift deposits, which rest on a worn undulating surface of the rocks below. The general level of the surrounding prairie is about 110 feet above the horizon of the coal, and no exposures of the coal or associated rocks are found except in the river banks or coulees, which cut deeply into the sui-face of the plain. In following the coulee northward from the spot just described, the coal is frequently seen on the right or east bank for about a mile, after which the coulee opens into a wider valley with 12 sloping grassy sides, and exposures cease. Owing to the slope of the bottom of the coulee towju*<.l the river, the beds are cut into moj'o deeply near its mouth, and at the last exposure the seam is about thii'ty feet u]) in the bank. The upper seam is here not well shown, but the lower exhibits a few inches over 4 feet of good coal. In an exposuce intermediate between this and the tirst, the upper seam is 8 inches thick, the shales 1 foot, and the lower seam 4 feet 4 inches. The seams are underlaid h) iit least twenty feet of Moft whitish sandstone. 'Between the Blackfoot Cross...g and the coulee above des- cribed, the same coal-bearing horizon appears in several places in the banks of Bow Eivei*. The seams are here more favourably, situated for working, and of greater thickness than in the coulee The subjoined section shows their mode of occurrence at one point : — ft. in. Coal I 8 Black carbonaceous shale i 4 Coal 1 8 Shale 3 Coal 9 Shale 3 Coal 3 Shale 1 Coal , ... 1 10 Total U 9 Total coal 8 11 The coal is here again underlaid by whitish sandstone for about 30 feet, or to the water's edge. Nearly opposite this exposure, on the south side of the river, the seam appears at intervals in the bank, at a height of about 40 feet above the water, for at least a quarter of a mile. It is affected by a series of light undulations. On Crowfoot Creek, about four miles from the Bow, the same coal-bearing horizon occurs, but the exposure of the seams ir^ not suffi lent to enable their thickness to be determined. Exploration by boring is now in progress. The natural exposures serve to prove the continuity in good workable thickness of this coal deposit over a tract of country several miles in extent, and its nearly horizontal attitude and moderate depth below the surface of the plains, would enable it to be proved by boring, at a small expense, over any desired area. In texture this coal is not so firm or well adapted for transport as those of the localities previously described, but in composition appears closely to resemble that of Horse-shoo Bojid, The following are analyses of the fuel from this place, the first, from a specimen obtained by Prof. Macoun ; tKe second, from one collected by myself, and probably not subjected to such prolonged desiccation : — I. II. Water 10-72 13-20 Volatile combustible matter 29-26 33-80 Fixed carbon 46-09 48 10 Ash 13-93 4-90 100-00 10000 Four coal-bearing localities on the head waters of the Old- Man Eiver appear to be of sufficient importance to obtain notice at the present time, but as the country toward the base of the mountains becomes more fully known, it is probable that nume- rous additional outcrops will be discovered. At the Government Indian Farm, south of Pincher Creek, a seam of coal occurs about one mile from the farm buildings, up the valley of the small stream on which they are situated. The rocks in the lower part of the valley belong to the St. Mary Eiver subdivision of the Laramie, and dip north-north-east (mag.) Their angle gradually increases from about 20° till the bods become nearly vertical where the coal occurs. Beyond this ])()int the rocks are concealed, but the coal probably occupies a position very near ilie base of the ^aramie. Near the coal vseam the beds have been much disturbed, and the coal itself is slickonsided and broken throughout in such a way as to cause it to crumble easily by handling. The seam is two feet in thickness where exposed, but is said to have been considerably thicker where followed into the bank. The opening made on the coal has, however, since been filled in. This seam should re-appear on Pincher Creek above the crossing place of the road, but the horizon at which it should occur appears to be covered. . . 14 An analysis of the coal from this seam by Mr. Hoffmann is given in the Eeport of Progress for 1878-79, p. 12 h. It may be quoted here for comparison with those of the otlier ceams, and illusti'ates the improvement in quality of the coals on their approach to the base of the mountains : — Water 6-26 Volatile combustible matter 29-31 Fixed carbon 55-70 Ash 8-73 100-00 On the middle fork of the Old Man Kiver, a few miles below the Falls, and nearly north of the mill on Mill Creek, two scams . of good coal occur in a scarped bank on the north side of the I stream. The beds are each about three feet in thickness, and are I folded in a very remarkable manner, illustrating the intensity of the force which has acted in crumpling the rocks near the base of ; the mountains. It is probable that those beds occupy a horizon ; near the base of the Laramie. They approximate in character to ' true bituminous coals, and would yield coherent cokes, but no j analysis has yet been made of them. i • The section in which these coal seams occur is as follows. ; The order appears to be descending, but the whole may not improbably be overturned : — Grey to black, very fine shale, with occasional small fish scales and bones, becoming sandy and yellowish at ' base 6 Ferruginous sandstone 6 Greyish soft sandstone or arenaceous clay, with some thin ironstone layers 10 Harder greyish and ferruginous sandstone, with some obscure plant fragments , . . . . 6 Hard, flaggy, yellowish sandstone 2 ; Grey sandy shale and shaly sandstone 3 I Coal 3 Soft black carbonaceous shale 9 ! Grey sandy shale ^ ^ \ Grey sandy shale and sandstone 4 6 Grey flaggy sandstone, weathering riiety 2 6 Grey sandy shale and shaly sandstone 5 \ Coal. Imperfectlybeen, but at least 3 feet of good quality 3 6 15 Carbonaceous shale 1 Grey sandy shale 4 Ferruginous sandstone 6 Greenish-grey sandstone 10 o Grey and blackish carbonaceous shnle 4 o Greenish-grey soft sandstone 6 Sandstone and arenaceous and carbonaceous shale, with general greenish-grey tints, (about) 80 155 9 On Mill Creek, about four miles above the mill, a seam of coal outcrops. The measures are somewhat broken, and the seam appears to be rather inconstant in thickness. The coal is of excellent quality, and yields a firm coke. It has been used to a small extent in blacksmith work at the mill. The following are sections of the seam on opposite sides of a break or fault which traverses the measures at the outcrop :— ft. in. Coal (rather shaly) 3 ^ ^o«^ •••• 2 Shale , Y 4 ^o«^ 2 Shale 2 . Coal ,, 2 Total coal 9 ^ ft. in. Coal (rather shaly) 2 o Shale J Q Coal (apparently good throughout with the exception a few shaly partings not equalling 4 inches in all.) 6 o Total coal 8 Ab6ut a mile and a half from the first limestone range on the north fork of the Old Man is a seam of excellent coal about five feet thick, dipping westward at an angle of thirty-five degrees. The occurrence of workable coal seams at several different horizons, and the proved continuity of some of them over ,reat areas, guarantees an abundant supply of fuel in this district, a matter of great importance in a country which, over wide tracts, is almost entirely destitute of wood. The quality of some of the fuels is such as to render them suitable for transport to a distance 16 and it is doubtless on this belt of coal-bearing rocks in the vicinity of the mountains that the railways of the North-west will depend chiefly for their supply. The qiumtity of coal already proved to exist is very great. The distant js for which the outci-ops of certain seams have been traced have been mentioned. Approximate estimates of the quantity of coal underlying a square mile of country in several localities have been nii'de. with the following results : — Main Seam, in vicinity of Coal Banks, Belly River. Coal under- lying one square mile, 5,500,000 tons. Grassy Island, Bow River. (Continuation of Belly River Main Seam.) Coal underlying one square mile, over 5,000,000 tons. Horse-shoe Bend, Bow River. Coal underlying one square mile, 4,900,000 tons. Blackfoot Crossing. Workable coal seam as exposed on Bow River. Underlying one square mile, 0,000,000 tons, Coal in the Rocky Mountains. During the summer of 1883, anthracite coal has been dis- covered on Cascade River, near its confluence with the Bow, in immediate proximity to the line of the Canadian Pacitic Railway. The Cretaceous coal-bearing rocks, with a width of about two miles and undetermined length here occu])y a valley. They are much disturbed and folded ogcther, and it is doubtless owing to the motamorphism occasioned by this disturbance that the coal contained in the rocks has passed into the slate of anthracite. 1' is not yet known whether the various outcrops of coal in this district indicate several seams, or merely represent the same seam folded upon itself. The high angles at which the coal lies will render it more difficult to work than that of the plains, but its more valuable character will probably compensate for this. The only point at which the scam had been properly uncovered last autumn, showed it to be about three feet in thickness and of very promising appearance. A preliminary analysis of this fuel (fast coking), yielded the following result : — 17 Water 134 Volatile combustible N'.>,ttfr 8 57 Fixed carbon 86 27 Ash (light grey) 3 82 100 00 The anthracite-producing area of (>!iscade River, is, hc*vover, merely a Hpecial case of the in^^'hiHion of Cretacious coal-bearing rocks in the niountains. My exploration south of the Bow Pass during the past summer has proved the existence of large areas of these rocks in that part of the mountains : — on the head watei's of the North Fork of the Old Man, on the Crow Nest and North Kootanie Passes and on Elk River. These rocks contain in some places excellent seams of coal. In the event of the discovery of metalliferous deposits in this purt of the range, these coals would be of great immediate utility for smelting purposes. Extension op Coal-bea^incj Region to the North and West. As above stated, the coal-bearing rocks developed so exten- sively on the Bow and Belly Rivers and their tributaries, are known to extend far to the north and west, though up to the present time it has been impossible to examine them at more than a few points. On the North Saskatchewan several soams of lignite-coal, resembling those of the Soui'is River region, outcrop at Edmonton. The most important is about six feet in thickness, and has been worked to some extent for local purposes. Thirty miles above Edmonton a much more important coal seam occui-s. This, as described by Dr. Selwyn (Report of Progress 1873-74), has a thickness of eighteen to twenty feet. It is of excellent quality, and much resembles the " Coal Banks " coal from the Bow River. It has the following composition : — Water 7-82 Volatile combustible luiitter 31-35 Fixed carbon . . , 64 • 97 A8h 5-86 100-00 Large seams are exposed at many other places in this part of the country. Several are reported of considerable thickness on 18 tho B;'iuoaii, a tributary of the SiiHUjitrlunvan. On the North Pembina Eivei', a tributary of the Athabawca, al)out lifty-six miles west of Edmonton, a soam eight feet thick in Haid to outcrop. From specimens received, the composition of this coal has been detei'mined as follows : — Water 11-8S Volatile combustible matte 28 • 66 Fixed carbon HT • 25 Ash 2-21 . 100-00 Still further north, on the Athabasca Eiver, several seams of lignite-coal are found, and may be traced for many miles in the scarped banks of the valley. The most important observed seam is ten feet in thickness, and is underlaid in tho same section, by a second seam of thi-ee feet thick. Of these the following ai-e analyses, No. I. being the up{)or, and No. II. the lower seam : — I. If. Water 11-47 10-58 Volatile combustible matter 28-96 29 • 2t> Fixed carbon , 50-92 53-69 Ash r. 8-65 6-44 100-00 100-00 1 That portion of the Athabasca Eiver and its tributaries, which lies nearer the mountains than the district examined, may be expected to yield yet better fuels. i ■ The Peace Eiver and some of its tributaries have been ! examined geologically, but in a manner necessarily more or less i cursory. Coal has been observed in a number of localities, but in I most of those so far discovered it is too thin to be considered as of econonuc value. There can, however, in my opinion, be very little doubt that this district also will eventually be found to be i well supplied with mineral fuels. Just as is the case further ■ ' south, the coals nearest the base of the Eocky Mountains are : superior to those lying further out from them. A specimen j from a seam two feet in thickness, in the canon of the Mountain of Eocks, on Peace Eiver, yielded the following result on analysis : — 19 W.it.«r 2-10 Volatili' t"inhii.stibl(( ninttcr 21 -T)* Fixed ciirbon 71 -6:1 Ahh 4-73 100-00 Eeuion Kast of Bow and Belt-y River District. Souris District. The intci'ior continental trough or hasin of coal-bearing Cretaceous and Tertiaiy rocks is widest in the vicinity of the 49th parallel, in which region therefore, we find the coals and lignites extending much further cf.st than they do on the North Saskatchewan, Athabasca and Peace Rivers. Eastwai'd from the Bow and Belly dintrict, the first known important locality is in the vicinity of Medicine Hat, on the South Saskatchewan. Exposures of the Medicine ITat seam are found to occur on nearly every bend of the river from a point about thirty miles be- low the junction of the Bow and Belly to Medicine Hat. The seam is, however, more variable in thickness and character than many in this part of the North-west, and at two places on the river, scarcely a mile apart, changed from two feet in thickness of shaly, impure lignite, to six feet of very good lignite-coal. An exposure about ten miles above Medicine Hat showed two seams 4 feet 6 inches and 4 feet respectively in thickness. Three miles above Medicine Hat the coal is again well shown in the side of the river valley at a height of about eighty feet above the water level, with a thickncHS of 4 feet. Since the nbove paragraph was written, the advance of the railway has lead to the opening of a mine at a point about six miles above Medicine Hat, on the noi'th bank of the river, the seam worked hero Ijcing from 4 feet G inches to 5 feet 4 inches in thickness. The mine has been connected by a branch line of about a mile in length with the railway, and the daily output has ali'cady surpassed a hundred tons. Other pre- liminary openings have been made in this vicinity, and the quantity of fuel which can be obtained is practically unlimited. In quality it is distincly lignitic, resembling in composition, though not m texture, the better class of Souris Lignites. Actual 20 U ' ii. !i Slow OokiriK. 17 70 KttHt Coklii)j. 17 7) *2s «;{ 21) 90 49 HU 48 56 3 84 3 84 100 00 100 00 practical to>iH have, however, proved its value m a fuel for all ordinai'y purposes, and it is already largely in use iti Winnipeg. Mr. Jr>rt'iua!nrrt umilysis of the fuel from this seam, is as follows : — Water Vohitile coinbustiblc matter Fixed carbon AhU Tn the Cypre.-s Hills several outcrops of lignite-coal have been known for some years. It was found by Mr. McConnell during the past summer that one of these is continuous over almost the entire area of the hills, and shows in places about five feet of fair lignite. In quality, however, this fuel is inferior to- that of Medicine Hat. East of this point, and south of the line of the Canadian Pacific Eailway, beds of lignite of varying thickness and quality, but likely, in several instances, to become important as sources of supply of fuel for local purposes, occur. Most of these are described in my report on the Geology and Eesources of the 49th Parallel (1875), and the Keport of Progress of the Geological Survey, 1879-80. Of this district the portion situated nearest to Manitoba, and therefore likely to be of the greatest immediate importance, is that on the Souris Eiver. The measures are hero almost perfectly horizontal, and the valley having been cut out to a great depth, the lignite seams are exposed very favourably for working. The thickest bed here found is a little over seven feet. In 1880 Dr. Selwyn effected a series of borings in this region for the purpose of more fully defining the extent of the seams. In his report the following general statement is made : — "It may be assumed that there are in this region, above the level of the Souris River, at least eight feet of available lignite-coal for an area of not less than 128 square miles. This would give 7,136,864 tons to the square mile, calculating the cubic foot at only 64 lbs." On the southern escarpment of Turtle Mountain, in Dakota, in th« valleys of small streams flowing to the Souris, seams of 21 lignile-cojil have boon found. Oiio of these five feet in thicknosH htts been exumiriod l»y Dv. Selwyn. The northern nlopes of Turtle Mountain are tliicUly covered with drift (' ponitH, but lii^niie- coal luiH boon reported from woIIh in one or two piacoK between Ranges XVIII and XXIV, in Townnhips 1 and 2 and elHOwhero. Dr. Selwyn conHidorH it pi'obabjo that the whole of the higher country about Turtle Mountain conntitutes an outlyer of the SourJH lignite- bearing rocks. Workable tseams lOHombling thoHO of the Souris (useful a^ least for local purposes), may thus not improbably be discovere . "n this district. A largo number of analyses of the Souris lignite-coals have been made ; they show a remarkable general constancy, and it may be sufficient to quote the following average statement by Dr. B. J. Harrington, arrived at from the examination ot twenty-one analyses of lignites from the region east of the 108th Meridian: — Water 15-46 Volatile combustible matter 37 • U7 Fixed carbon 41 -21 Ash 5-36 100-00 While, therefore, these fuels of the Souris hold a distinctly inferior place to those which have been previously described as occurring nearer to the Eocky Mountains, they closely resemble those of the Saatz-Teplitz basin of Bohemia, and other places in Europe, where similar fuels have given rise to considerable industrial centres ; and they must have at least a great local value as fuels for those settlements which are growing up in their immediate vicinity.