GEOLOGY and COAL RESOURCES of NORTHERN TETON COUNTY, MONTANA. by EUGENE STEBINGER. the Paper Here Presented Describes the Coal R
GEOLOGY AND COAL RESOURCES OF NORTHERN TETON COUNTY, MONTANA. By EUGENE STEBINGER. INTRODUCTION. The paper here presented describes the coal resources of a large area in Teton County,1 northwestern Montana, including the Black- feet Indian Eeservation and a considerable area of the country lying to the east. The scope of the paper is limited to a consideration only of those features having a bearing on the value and quantity of the coal present. The geology of the region is briefly described, the aim being to give a general understanding of the geologic setting in which the coals occur. Nearly all the rocks in northern Teton County belong to formations that are of the same age as others which, elsewhere in Montana, con tain almost all the coal found in the State. This fact led to several generous estimates as to the extent of the coal-bearing areas likely to be found in this region. Weed 2 and Rowe 3 have published maps on which the valuable bituminous coal area of the Great Falls field is shown as extending northward entirely across Teton County to the Canadian boundary. Similarly, the presence of an extensive coal field, long actively developed at Lethridge, Alberta, 50 miles north of the boundary, gave rise to forecasts that a southward extension of that field, following the strike of the geologic formations, would be found on the line of the Great Northern Railway in northern Teton County. The result of the present work shows that although the coal-bearing formation of the Great Falls field, the Kootenai forma tion, is present in the area here described, the only coal in it is a bed 6 or 8 inches thick in Marias Pass, also that although the horizon of the coal mined at Lethbridge is traceable entirely across this area, it shows only thin coal beds, nowhere over 18 inches thick.
[Show full text]