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Property of the United States Government DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR THE YAMPA COAL FIELD, ROUTT COUNTY, COLORADO BY N. M. FENNEMAN AND HOYT S. GALE WITH A CHAPTER ON THE CHARACTER AND DSE OF THE YAMPA COALS BY MAR1US R. CAMPBELL WASHINGTON QOVEKNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1900 CONTENTS. Page. THE YAMPA COAL FIELD, BY N. M. FENNEMAN AND HOYT S. GALE. .............. 7 Introduction .......................................................... 7 Location ...................... i.................................. 7 Geography........................................................ 8 Field work........................................................ 9 Topographic maps................................................. 9 Literature........................................................ 11 Acknowledgments................................................. 11 Structure............................................................. 12 Major features.................................................... 12 Minor folds....................................................... 13 ~ Distribution.................................................. 13 Tow Creek anticline............................................ 14 Twentymile basin............................................. 14 Sage Creek anticline........................................... 15 Folds west of Hayden.......................................... 15 Faults ...................................................... ^.... 16 Rocks...:...........................................,................ 17 Previous study.................................................... 17 Stratigraphy...................................................... 20 Description of formations........................................... 20 Archean...................................................... 20 Pre-Cretaceous................................................ 21 Cretaceous.................................................... 21 Dakota formation.......................................... 21 Mancos shale............................................... 22 Mesaverde formation....................................... 22 General description.................................... 22 Lower coal group...................................... 24 Trout Creek sandstone member.......................... 26 Middle coal group..................................... 26 Twentymile sandstone member............... ; .......... 27 Upper coal group...................................... 27 Lewis shale................................................ 28 Laramie formation........................................ 29 Tertiary or later gravels......................................... 31 Recent igneous rocks........................................... 32 Coal................................................................. 33 Colorado coal fields...;............................................ 33 Area.. .............................................;.........- 33 Distribution.................................................. 33 Character..................................................... 33 Markets ...................................................... 36 4 ' CONTENTS. THE YAMPA COAL FIELD, BY N. M. FENNEMAN AND HOYT S. GALE Continued. Page. Coal Continued. Yampa field. ..................................................... 36 Twentymile basin............................................. 37 Structure and subdivisions.................................. 37 Twentymile Park district................................... 38 Dunldey Canyon district................................... 40 Oak Creek district......................................... 41 Occurrence........................................... 41 James mine........................................... 41 Shuster mine.......................................... 42 Steamboat Springs Electric Company mine............... 43 Miscellaneous prospects................................ 44 Trout Creek Canyon district................................ 45 Eddy district............................................. 47 General description ...................................... 48 Lower group........................................:. 48 Middle group.......................................... 50 Upper group.......................................... 50 Pool district............................................. 51 General description.........................:.........__ 51 Middle group......................................... 51 Lower group.......................................... 52 Prospects north of Pool................................ 53 Williams Fork Mountains....................................... 53. General description........................................ 53 Sage Creek Canyon........................................ 54 Lower group.......................................... 55 Dry Creek district......................................... 56 Hayden Gulch............................................ 57 Other gulches north of Williams Fork........................ 57 Hamilton district.......................................... 58 -Deer Creek district........................................ 59 Yampa Valley below Craig................................. 60 Lower group.......................................... 60 Middle group......................................... 61 Upper group.......................................... 62 Middle coals at Big Bottom............ r ................. 62 Yampa Valley near Craig................................... 62 Lay district................................................ 63 Wolf Creek district and Anthracite Range........................ 63 General description........................................ 63 Yampa Canyon and Wolf Creek district...................... 64 Upper group.......................................... 64 Middle group......................................... 64 Lower group.......................................... 65 Butcherknife Creek.................................... 66 Wolf Creek Valley I....'................................ 66 Anthracite Range......................................... 68 Volcanic phenomena................................... 68 Crawford tract........................................ 69 Morgan tract.......................................... 70 School-section mine.................................... 71 Miller and tributary gulches............................ 71 , CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 5 THE YAMPA COAL FIELD, BY N. M. FENNEMAN AND HOYT S. GALE Continued. page. Coal Coutinued. Yampa field Continued. Wolf Creek district and Anthracite Range Continued. Anthracite Range Continued. Shelton tract.......................................... 72 Slope of sand mountain................................ 73 Area of anthracite field................................. 73 Elkhead and Quaker Mountain district........................... 74 General description........................................ 74 Coal beds................................................. 74 Hayderi openings....................................... 74 California Park........................................ 75 "The Potholes" on Elkhead Creel:....................... 76 . Quaker Mountain...................................... 77 Mouth of Elkhead Creek................................ 78 Fortification Creek.............. '. ...................... 78 Petroleum............................................................ 79 Vicinity of Pool................................................... 79 Oil springs.................................................... 79 Wells...............................'......................... 80 Structure...................................................... 80 Vicinity of Hayden ................................................ 81 Vicinity of Lay. ................................................... 8.1 CHARACTER AND USE OF THE YAMPA COALS, BY MARIIJS R. CAMPBELL.' ........... 82 Chemical composition.................................................. 82 Classification.......................................................... 87 Utilization............................................................ 90 INDEX ................................................................... 93 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. PLATE I. Map of Yampa coal field, Colorado ............................. Pocket. II. General stratigraphic section for Yampa field...................:.. 18 III. Geologic map of Yampa field and vicinity ........................ 20' IV. A, Yampa Valley and volcanic stocks north of town of Yampa; B, Ledges of the Twentymile sandstone at northern end of Twenty- mile basin................................................... 22 V. Williams Park and the lower "barren hogbacks" of the Mesaverde' formation, taken from Dunkley post-office...................... 24 VI. Trout Creek sandstone in Yampa Canyon......................... 26 VII. Twentymile sandstone at Wadge ranch, Yampa Canyon ............ 28 VIII. Structure and topography of Mesaverde formation at Dunkley Can yon ......................................................... 40 I.. A, Anthracite coal seam and the overlying igneous sheet at "The Pot holes" on Elkhead Creek; B, Columnar coal seam on upper Wolf Creek....................................................... 66 FIG. 1. Map showing structure in the Yampa field ........................ 12 2. Index map of Colorado coal fields................................ 34 ERRATA. [Bulletin No. 297 of the United States Geological Survey.] Page 62. Line 20 from bottom should read: