Coal deposits have the primary shapes of sedimentary beds. They are ordinarily thin and tabular, and broadly lenticular,—on true scale being like sheets of thin paper. At a maximum they seldom run over 100 feet in thickness, and they average less than 10 feet. Seldom is a workable coal bed entirely alone; there are likely to be several superposed and overlapping seams of coal, separated by sandstones, shales, or other rocks. In Illinois and Indiana there are nine workable coal seams, in Pennsylvania in some places about twenty, and in Wales there are over one hundred, many of which are worked. Some of the seams are of very limited extent; others are remarkably persistent, one seam in Pennsylvania having an average thickness of 6 to 10 feet over about 6,000 square miles of its area. Only 2 per cent of the coal-bearing measures of the eastern United States is actually coal.
Even where not subsequently disturbed by deformation, coal beds are not free from structural irregularity. They are originally deposited in variable thicknesses on irregular surfaces. During their consolidation there is a great reduction of volume, resulting in minor faults and folds. Subsequent deformation by earth forces may develop further faults and folds, with the result that the convolutions of a coal bed may be very complex. The beds of a coal-bearing series are usually of differing thickness and competency, and as a consequence they do not take the same forms under folding. Shearing between the beds may result in an intricate outline for one bed, while the beds above and below may have much more simple outlines. In short, the following of a coal seam requires at almost every stage the application of principles of structural geology. It is obvious, also, that the identification and location of sedimentary geologic horizons are essential, and hence the application of principles of stratigraphy.
The folios of the United States Geological Survey on coal-bearing areas present highly developed methods of mapping and representing the geologic features of coal beds. On the surface map are indicated the topography, the geologic horizons, and the lines of outcrop of the coal seams. In addition, there are indicated the sub-surface contours of one or more of the coal seams which are selected as datum horizons. The sub-surface structure, even though complex, can be readily read from one of these surface maps. With the addition of suitable cross sections and comparative columnar sections, the story is made complete. In the study of the occurrence of coal seams, the reader cannot do better than familiarize himself with one or more of the Geological Survey folios.
The high-grade coals of the eastern and central United States are found in rocks of Carboniferous age. The very name Carboniferous originated in the fact that the rocks of this geologic period contain productive coal beds in so many parts of the world. The coal measures of Great Britain, of Germany, Belgium, and northern France, of Russia, and the largest coal beds of China are all of Carboniferous age. Deposits of this period include the bulk of the world's anthracite and high-grade bituminous coal. Coal deposits of more recent age are numerous, but in general they have had less time in which to undergo the processes of condensation and refinement, and hence their general grade is lower. In the western United States there are great quantities of subbituminous coal of Cretaceous age, and of Tertiary lignites which have locally been converted by mountain upbuilding into bituminous and semibituminous coals. Jurassic coals are known in many parts of the world outside of North America, and lignites of Tertiary age are widely distributed through Asia and Europe.
PETROLEUM
Economic Features
Petroleum is second only to coal as an energy resource. The rapid acceleration in demand from the automobile industry and in the use of fuel oil for power seems to be limited only by the amounts of raw material available.
Production and reserves. The distribution by countries of the present annual production of petroleum, the past total production, and the estimated reserves, is indicated in terms of percentages of the world's total in the table[19] on the opposite page.
This table indicates the great dominance of the United States both in present and past production of petroleum, as well as the concentration of the industry in a few countries. In addition the United States controls much of the Mexican production as well as production in other parts of the world, making its total control of production at least 70 per cent. of the world's total. Notwithstanding its large domestic production, the United States has recently consumed more oil than it produces. Imports of crude oil are about balanced by exports of kerosene, fuel oils, lubricants, etc. The per capita consumption of petroleum in the United States is said to be twenty times greater than in England. On the other hand, the remaining principal producers consume far less than they produce, the excess being exported.
The oil from the United States, Russia, the Dutch East Indies, India, Roumania, and Galicia is for the most part treated at refineries near the source of supply or at tidewater, and exports consist of refined products. The Mexican oil is largely exported in crude form to the United States though increasing quantities are being refined within Mexico.