| 39, 6s/y : but 57 Bulletin No. 57 MHS 32, October 30, 1921. COMMON.:E..LTH OF PENNSYLVANT.. DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAD JFPEAIRS James IT, Woodward, Secretary BURE.LU OF TOPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY George H. Ashicy, State Geolorist COAL BEDS IN BEAVER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANTA By Je D. Sisler introduction, Beaver County is one of the smallest producers of bituminous coal in Pennsylvanians Although the county contains six conl becs that are locally valuable, they vary in thickness and quality, and their mineable areas are small. At least two beds of clay associated with the coal beds are so useful that they ereatly increase the value of the overlying coal, ‘In 1918 Beaver County produced 128 572 tons of coal, valued at $342,050. Of this amount 98,041 tons were londed 2t the mines for shipment; 29,567 tons were sola to local trade and used by employces; 964 tons were used at the mines for steam and heat. None of the coal was made into cole at the mines. Beaver County is on the west boundary of the State between Lawrence and Washington Baek iss Its createst width from north to south is 27% miles and from east to west is 204 miles. Its area is 429 square miles, The population in 1920 was 111,621. Beaver County has ample transportation facilities to any point for its coal and industrial products, The Pennsylvania Railroad and the Pittsbureh and Lake Erie Railroad follow the Beaver and Ohio rivers; the Baltimore and Ohio crosses the northeastern part of the county. The river valleys are densely BonEHERe, and have many miles of improved roads, over which much coal for loeal consumption is hauled. Barges on Ohio River annually transport larre quantities of coal from the southern part of the county, Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding trom University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates — httos://archive.org/details/coalbedsinbeaver00sisl_ 0 | Ohio and Beaver rivers, and their major tributaries flow throush @eep valleys. The slopes are abrupt at their base excent where meandering streams have worn back their valleys, and formed broad flood plains. The slopes are more sentle on the water sheds. The rivers flow on transported elacial drift. The larger valleys have a series of five terraces on their slopes. Numerous hills and ridges with steep slopes and deep gsulleys at their base are flat-topped and suggest the remnants of an old peneplain. A rise of about 500 feet to the northwest restricts the Pitisburch coal to 2 few hilltops in the southern part of the county, brings the .llecsheny coals to out- crop alone the Ohio, and even exposes the Pottsville formation alone the Beaver, STRATIGRAPHY. The Carmichaels formation, composed of clays, sands and eravels, occupies the old river channels. The Monongahela formation is restricted to a few hills in the southern part of the county. The upper part of the formation has been eroded until only 50 feet of sandstones and shales remain above the Pittsburgh coal. The Conemaugh formation is largely composed of shales, with a few thin limestones and sandstones. The coals are thin and unimport- ant. Its average thickness is about 625 feet. The Allegheny formation has a large area in the county and contains workable coals. It averages about 325 feet thick end is composed of sandstones, shales, limestones, and valuable coal and clay beds, The Pottsville is the lowest formation exposed in the county. It is composed chiefly of a massive sandstone and shales, and its coals are of little value, COAL BEDS. Brookville ("4") Coal. § This coal has a limited outcrop in the county, It has been mined at the mouth of Brady Run, where it is 33 inches thick, with only 6 inches of clean coal.’ Along Beaver River the bed is in two benches 14 and 7 inches thick, separated by 3 feet of shale. In other parts of the county the coal is either below @rainage or covered with glacial drift. Clarion ("A'") Coal. This coal is persistent in the county, but averages less than 6 inches thick. Scruberass Coal, This bed is thin but persistent. The maximum thickness is 18 inches on the Connoquenessing, but at all other localities it is much less, The coal has good quality. SFO RES Ort AVA. ‘. ny, vane Ae B. Ve Lor anivy| att Nh A Pera Sarr + FOG BR aa: : a A vier Ae + Ach igatt Lae heen ' batt hyn! F, ' i OES y CRO ay LW SO oe BN EP Nee 0) * ede y cams } eo AYO i 4 AS : bee 4 ae sme, hn RRS i “aN Nila dada Siig ee ae Ser Dat GE ee) ey Go 8 Ms at 8 ear aca A DR ty r cA) Pi , F. \ oe i AL : iv f ; DAL ENY ‘ ri y aii A epi inte? agate yy hee ne ae ee oO gil re: } ead 4 phar aaa " eran is } a ae er my rm OR aa t Ke 4 ey a ale wed Pr ae AN A yee | ri ets it , A ep yh ey a i N Ey Me elt ae any oe aw’ Gai | iin saan me 8 Riba «CO Ee RN a i ae TD Hy ah ! woes re Ne ht ny ity yf Ne aay AY. of J » isi Pahokee Lower Kittanning {"B") Coal. This bed ranges from 14 inches to 2 feet inches thick, averaging about 2 feet, It is lenticular and high in sulphur, particularly so east of Beaver River, where it is known as the "sulphur vein." The Lower Kittanning is 2 feet 6 inches thick on North Branch of Brady Run, where its quality is excellent and has been used for blacksmithing purposes, On Blockhouse Run the coal is 18 inches thick, and high’in sulphur, South of Phillis Island the bed is 2 feet 11 inches thick, including 2 inches of shale 6 inches above the bottom. At Monaca the bed is 2 feet thick, but the upper haif is very bony. A bed of excellent clay underlying the coal adds great commereial importance to that horizon, The coal can be mined profitably only in conjunction with the clay. Middle Kittanning ("C") Coal. This bed, lying about 35 feet above the wer Kittanning coal, although persistent, is exceedingly variable in thickness, In the area along Ohio River west of Dam No. 6 the bed is usually between 14 and 26 inches thick, free from partings © and apparently improves in quality and increases in thickness westward. On both sides of the river in the vicinity of Georgetown it is 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches thick, and is an excellent block coal. It has been opened for local fuel. The Middle Kittanning coal is 4 inches thick at Vanport; from 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet thick at the mouth of Mill Creek. On North Branch of Brady Run it is 16 inches thick, including 6 inches of shale 3 inches above the bottom; south of St. Clair the bed ranges from 14 to 20 inches thick. East of Beaver and Ohio rivers the coal is generally uniform in thickness, of fair quality, and free from partings. It ranges from 14 to 20 inches thick, Upper Kittanning ("C'") Coal. This bed is thin and unimportant in the county, seldom being over 6 to 8 inches’thick. On Brush Run, however, a coal, possibly the Upper Kittanning, has been mined lecally and is reported to be 4 feet thick, including 6 to 12 inches of parting. The Upper Kittanning in Beaver County is locally cannel coal, At Cannelton the bed-‘is almost entirely cannel coal, having a maximum thickness of 13 feet, and averaging 7:‘to 8 feet. It fills a race- track-like trough about 300 feet wide, extending around an oval 2 Miles long by 1 mile wide. Bituminous coal is 1 foot thick in the center of this basin, but thins to 4 inches at the edge. Lower Freeport ("DD") Coal, This bed, lying about 60 feet below the Upper Freeport coal, is thin in the county, having an average thiokness of 15 inches, Although locally it is much thicker, it is also lacking in many localities. It is bony and impure where mined. - In the vicinity of Baden it is 2 feet 6 inches thick. On Trough Run, opposite Beaver Falls the bed is an impure cannel-coal 4 feet thick. On Blockhouse, McKinley, Brady, and Two Mile Runs, Raccoon Creek, - 3e a (‘Parad kh t2 eat ea ee bas 7 De der tartent We A ues fad ea * bore ens HOmk O Sour SBE os watt: aesce oh ies 8 sao ah ss ooo ne % ‘SRST GRACE Do aOR. “3 areute Yo patone: | pit it abd ie. as sis heb & ae a aN ebay % gre | Lerainae dao chao € e aE Vian vider Lia, Donker of PANT RS aah woud bed ana RMN WR Be ha ah I hae ee er ahads i RE RN Sie oa ca SPS ot el AORe oH 4 agcbtund coh? gah ene habs Bodect as bad 3 KGET S A Be care ig wt Rope etod ah ive si that Sout & op VE meNPONTNAD To Vtlmtoke Ane th Se | + cae fel aaah Kat RA ce oe cee. a tah ae: ae ee wig iy 4) he a ‘denteals: # et Hd 40% HU eV pend PAE OS Raed ee, te 5 ees ch, o Seba v 4 soiae & Ba Ds nett iva ccan i itch vigil at seis ee ty: Ch) Rn ei bmnwiting: Be fens. ait ecard ita am ay ie nettod ¢ 5 he dninar< om. aid 1 ait et ane ita jeri Ae, d sXobty moons 8 ee Hy Cine en ig ah ” wodamt (OL odo. Sa eS vhwow Eating etnuned on wowed at eae aired Lege A ORISD Sites 3 a Sh iy ee OO a +t K rn ih gril we pena a) ON er ne mee. f A Rey Ra ie oe TO BA iy ghd re ae wk Oh wodeuts dow ; Wpeabar vyader piece me ieee’? O° 6 hota Bice! teak » Leo: sci Senne Island Riun-and Brush Run, the Goal is good and regular, Its thick- ness ranges from 1. to 30 inches. Upper Freeport ("NE") Coal, This bed is the most important te ee oo Ree UR en here than in adjoining counties, It is persistent, and ranges from 6 inches to 5 feet thick. Where thickest it has 6 to 8 inches of impure, shaly top coal, and the main bench of good coal is 2 feet 5 inches to 3 feet thick. Im the northern part of the county it is 4 to 5 feet thick where not removed by erosion, ‘The Upper Irreeport coal has been mined extensively in the western part of the county and shipped as a gas coal. It has a persistent thickness of 4 feet 6 inches, and is divided into four benches by thin shale partings. The bottom and top benches are impure and worthless, The main bench is good coal, averaging 3 feet thick. The areas of this thick coal in this vicinity are small, and the coal is high in sulphur, The thickness diminishes northward, but the coal is purer, In the region east of the Beaver and north of the Ohio, the bed is thin, averaging about 17 inches thick, and is separated by many partings. south of Ohio River and east of Raccoon Creek the coal locally is fairly thick but is much parted with bone and shale. Near the mouths of Logtown, Elkhorn, and Moon runs the coal is thin, but the bed has been opened at many places for domestic fuel on their head- waters, and averages 2 feet 2 inches thick, The Upper Freeport coal is lenticular south of Ohio River and west of Raccoon Creek, ranging from 16 inches to nearly 7 feet in thickness, It carries several bone partings, but the benches are thicker than in the region north,’and tend to overcome this dis- advantage, On Squirrel, Pish Pot, and Island runs, and Service Creek the coal is separated by partings thick:enough to make it a "split’ bed, On Raccoon Creek the coal’is thin, but clean and excellent, Its average thickness is 2 feet, but locally it is lenticular, and reaches a maximum of 3 feet. Brush Creek Coal, This ea lying about 95 feet above the Upper Freeport, is mined only for house coal. In few places it is more than 20 inches thick, and averages much less. It is generally represented by a few feet of bituminous shale, Pittsburgh Coal, A few hilltops in the southeastern part of the county contain this bed, ’and it has been opened on all of them. The coal is under thin cover, has been leached and weathered, and does:not have its usual good quality, It is 5 to 6 feet thick, and is divided into four distinct benches by shale partings. ~ 4 = ii AN 30112 077640701