Bulletin No. 326 Series { J' fjCOD°T ^"p 10?9« \ B, Descriptive Geology, 128 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOK THE ARKANSAS COAL FIELD By ARTHUR J. COLLIER WITH REPORTS ON THE PALEONTOLOGY By DAVID WHITE and G. H. GIRTY WASHINGTON G OVEKNMENT P It I N T I N G O F F I C E 1907 CONTENTS. Page. Introduction ............................................................... 1 Need of investigation ............... ^...........:..................... 1 Personnel............................................................ 1 Itinerary ............................................................. 2 Acknowledgments.................................................... 2 Oieneral conclusions .............-..----------------------.------------ -4 Geography. .............................................................. 4 Position and extent of the coal field ................'........... ........ 4 Maps of the coal field................................................. 5 Commercial relations ................................................. 7 Towns and villages ................................................... 8 Drainage.............................................................. 8 Topographic provinces................................................ 9 General geology............................................................ 10 Stratigraphy ......................................................... 1.0 General description and correlation ................................. 1.0 A toka formation ................................................. 13 Hartshorne sandstone .......................I.................... 1.5 Spadra shale.............'........................................ 17 Fort Smith formation............................................. 18 Paris shale.................................................J..... 20 Savanna formation :............... ................................ 21 Surficial deposits................................................. 22 Paleontology......................................................... 23 Conclusions drawn from studies of the fossils....................... 23 Eeport on fossil plants, by David White ........................... 24 Extent and character of the collections ......................... 24 Flora of the Coal Hill coal.................................... 25 Flora of the Spadra coal ...................................... 26 Flora of the Coal Ridge or Charleston coal ...................... 27 The Paris flora............................................... 28 Lots of doubtful age.....................1..................... 28 The Van Buren flora ......................................... 30 Other collections..................................... .-. ...... 31. Report on marine Carboniferous fossils from the coal field of Arkan­ sas,- by George H. Girty ........................ .:..i.......... 31 Structure ............................................................ 35 General features................................................... 35 Anticlines........................................................ 36 Backbone anticline ............................................ 37 Biswell Hill anticline......................................... 37 Massard Prairie anticline...................................... 38 Montreal anticline............................................ 38 Hartford anticline.............................................. 38 IV , CONTENTS. General geology Continued. Structure Continued. Anticlines Continued. Page. Mill Creek Ridge anticline .................................... 38 Game Hill anticline............................................ 38 Prairie View anticline ........................................ 38 Coal Hill anticline..... T ........................................ 39 Russellville anticline.......................................... 39 Synclines ........................................................ 39 Fort Smith syncline...................................'........ 39 Central syncline...... * ........................................ 39 Greenwood syncline .......................................... 39 Sugarloaf syncline............................................ 39 Poteau syncline ................. .f ............................ 39 Paris syncline................................................. 40 Prairie View syncline......................................... 40 Cabin Creek syncline ......................................... 40 London basin ................................................ 40 Ouita and Shinn basins ....................................... 40 Faults..................................._............,.......... 40 General types ................................................ 40 Backbone Ridge fault......................................... 41 Devils Backbone and Pine Ridge faults ...........__,..;....... 42 Caulksville fault.............................................. 42 Prairie View fault............................................ 42 Clarksville fault.............................................. 42 Big Danger fault ............................................. 43 Spadra fault...-......................................,...'...... 44 Hartman fault............................................... 44 Coal Hill fault................................................ 45 Altus fault. .................................................. 45 Mill Creek fault. ............................................... 45 Massard fault ................................................. 46 Mulberry fault............................................... 46 Minor structural features. .......................................... 47 Joints ....................................................... 47 Miniature folds............................................... 48 Economic geology................--...................................'... 49 The coal beds..............................................'.......... 49 Distribution ..................................................... 49 Coals of the Hartshorne horizon................................... 50 Character and distribution ..............;..................... 50 Bonanza and Jenny Lind district.............................. 51 Greenwood and Huntington district........................... 56 Location and extent..-......--....--...--.--....-- ------ 56 Character and thickness o.f the coal........................ 56 Hackett region........................................... 57 Greenwood region..............'.........-....-..-.-..-... 59 Montreal, Burma, and Midland regions .................... 60 Huntington region........................................ 61 Depths to the coal.... ........--....-...----......---. ---. G2 Bates and Coaldale district'................................... 62 Charleston and Paris district.....'...................---.-.--.. 63 VanBuren and Alma district.__......__.............---.-.---. 65 Coal Hill and Denning district................................. 66 CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. V Economic geology Continued. The coal beds Continued. Coals of the Hartshorne horizon Continued. Page. Spadra district ............................................... ' 68 Prairie View district.......................................... 72 Russellville district........................................... 74 Ouita basin ................................ 1............. 74 Shinn basin.............................................. 75 Philpott district.............................................. 75 Other localities............................................... 76 Coals of the Coal Ridge or Charleston horizon ...................... 77 Charleston district............................................ 77 Bonanza and Jenny Lincl district.............................. 78 Van Buren and Alma district................................. 79 Huntington district...............:...............-........... 79 Paris district.................................................. 79 Spadra district ............................................... 80 Philpott district............................!....-.----------- 80 Coals of the Paris horizon ^........................................ 80 Coals in the Atoka formation........................................ 81 Character of the coal ................................................. 83 Physical characteristics ............... ............................ 83 Classification of the coal.......................................... 84 Efficiency of the coal.......... 1.................................. 86 Special tests and analyses ............................................. 87 Analyses made by Arkansas Geological Survey ..................... 87 Fuel-testing plant samples ........................................ 88 Chemical analyses................................................ 95 Coking tests ..................................................... 99 Briquetting tests ................................................. 100 Boiler tests ....................................................... 101 Conditions of mining and development................................ 103 Production ...................................................... 103 Methods of mining.........................................'...... 105 System of working coal....................................... 105 Mining....................................................... 105 Haulage, ventilation, and drainage ............................ 106 . Minimum limit of thickness................................... 106 Preparation of the coal