xt7h9w08wt0d https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7h9w08wt0d/data/mets.xml Crandall, A. R. (Albert Rogers), 1840-1926. 1880 books b96-13-34924561 English Stereotyped for the Survey by Major, Johnston & Barrett, Yeoman Press, : Frankfort, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Geology Kentucky. Coal Kentucky. Preliminary report on the geology of Morgan, Johnson, Magoffin, and Floyd counties : with map / by A.R. Crandall. text Preliminary report on the geology of Morgan, Johnson, Magoffin, and Floyd counties : with map / by A.R. Crandall. 1880 2002 true xt7h9w08wt0d section xt7h9w08wt0d
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KENTUCKY.
JOHN R. PROCTER I)IREC-OR,
PRELIMINARY REPORT
)"N I HE
GEOLOGY OF MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN,
AND FLOYD COUNTIES,
WITH MAP.
BY A. R. CRANDALL.
PART V. VOL. V1. SECOND SERIES.
ST'l- 'E - ' I 'H - St RV bY MAJOR, JOHNSTON a -BA TA E -AS . ,
This page in the original text is blank.
INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
J. R. PROCTER, Director Kentucky Geolcogical Szurzey.
DEAR SIR: The report transmitted herewith is based on
work inadequate for a final geological report. But the results
of study in this field are sufficient to make the general stra-
tography of this extensive region reasonably clear; and this,
with the sections that have been made somewhat in detail at
various points, will be a sufficient showing for an intelligent
view of the possibilities of this region, and so will serve as
a key to the development of its mineral resources. At the
same time, should appropriations be made warranting more
detailed work at typical points in these counties, by drilling
or by excavation, it would, doubtless, by confirming much that
is now necessarily left to be inferred, aid very much in bring-
ing this field into favorable notice.
The accompanying map is made up from such railroad and
river surveys as could be obtained, with additions, made under
the direction of the Survey, to fill out and complete the map
so far as possible. The parts of the map not made up from
actual surveys are distinguished by the absence of names of
residents, and are based on sketches made in connection with
the geological work, or on inquiry.
The following surveys have been placed at my disposal,
and have been used in the preparation of the map: The
Portsmouth and Pound Gap Railroad Survey, two lines; the
Eastern Kentucky Survey to Paintsville; the United States
Improvement Survey of the Big Sandy River, by Captain
Merrill, and the United States Improvement Survey of the
Licking River, above Hammond's Mill-site, by C. Shenck.
The survey of the western outcrop of the coal-measures, by
Lesley, has also contributed considerably; but the greater
part has been done under the direction of the Geological Sur-
317
INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
vey by C. Shenck, Prof. J. G. White, of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College, C. G. Blakeley, and myself, with assist-
ants. Compiled from so many sources, there must necessarily
be some inaccuracies; but the geography of this country is
represented with sufficient accuracy for all present require-
ments.
The attention of Professor Shaler was called to the original
name of the Big Sandy river soon after the Survey was placed
under his directorship, and the desirability of preserving it
was recognized by the use of the original name of the main
river in the various reports on that region. In the map of
this region, and in my report, I have continued to use the
name Chattarawha, as being the original Indian name, in
preference to the name "Big Sandy." It is hardly probable
that the former will supersede the latter in the popular mind;
but the need of preserving so much of the history of this
river as is embodied in its name will be conceded by nearly
every one. It may be objected that the name Chattaroi has
come into common use in connection with the railroad of that
name. As to this, it may be granted that the sanction of
custom, if that should be given to this name, would settle the
matter so far as the popular designation is concerned; but it
would not satisfy the claim of the original uncorrupted name
for recognition, nor would it preserve one of the links to the
chain of charming Indian names that will be prized the more
as time advances.
And in respect to the West Fork of the Chattarawha or
Big Sandy river, there has for some time been a complaint
that the published maps and reports incorrectly designate this
Fork. The best information I have been able to obtain,
through the late Judge Ferguson, who had taken a special
interest in all that pertains to the valley of this river, is to the
effect that the name, as known by all the older inhabitants, is
Levisa Fork; that the name was derived from Levice, a word
found by early settlers carved on a tree towards the head of
the Fork-a French name probably, which was pronounced by
the settlers Levisee, and finally Levisa.
318
INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 5
The founding of Louisa Court House at the forks of the
river has caused this stream to be known outside as the Lou-
isa Fork, and this name has crept into use in maps, reports,
&c. In this report, and the accompanying map, I have used
the name Levisa Fork, in conformity with the usage of the
older inhabitants of this valley.
Yours,
A. R. CRANDALL.
319
PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF
MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN, AND
FLOYD COUNTIES, WITH MAP.
All the territory comprising the counties included in this
report is within the coal-field of Eastern Kentucky, the west-
ern boundary of Morgan falling within the general outline of
the coal-measures as determined by Lesley (volume IV, Old
Series of Reports on Geology of Kentucky).
In any report on the resources of this region the coal-beds
are of central importance. Along with these the minor min-
eral deposits, the rock formations, as giving character to the
soil and supplying building materials, and finally the timber
and other products of the soil, are subjects of interest, and
altogether constitute no inconsiderable part of the natural
wealth of the country, as will be found in any well-directed
effort to develop the resources of these counties.
The stratigraphical geology of this section forms the basis
for the study of all the features that fall within the province
of this report. There are, so far as known, no true vein
deposits of value, nor are there antecedent reasons for sup-
posing that mineral deposits occur otherwise than conform-
ably with the stratification of the inclosing rocks.
The topography of this region is closely related to the
stratigraphical geology. The dip to the southeast along the
western border causes a succession of rocks of widely different
character in that direction from line of outcrop of the coal-
measures. The same is true in the opposite direction of the
formations below; the Lower Carboniferous, Devonian, Upper
and Lower Silurian rocks following in their order with charac-
teristic surface features. The western part of Morgan shows
See report on the proposed line of the Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big Sandy
Rajiroad.
320
MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN, AND FLOYD COUNTIES.
something of the characteristic topography of the Lower
Carboniferous formations, the valleys being excavated in part
out of the Waverly group of sandstones and shales, the Sub-
carboniferous formation forming a bench upon its limestone
walls above. But the massive Conglomerate sandstone from
merely capping the hills on the western outcrop rapidly be-
comes the predominating rock to the eastward, where it is
exposed in cliffs and ragged escarpments, which in turn give
place to the characteristic topography of the shales and sand-
stones of the coal-measures proper; the Conglomerate for-
mation falling below, the drainage. About two hundred feet
thickness of the Waverly formation is shown in the Lick-
ing Valley at the western border of Morgan county. The
Sub-carboniferous limestone which rests upon the Waverly,
without any considerable thickness of transition rocks inter-
vening, has an average thickness of about fifty feet. The
Conglomerate formation has a maximum thickness of two
hundred feet, and is separated from the limestone below by
from ten to fifty feet of shale, including a thin bed of coal.
The belt of country in which these rocks are exposed is com-
paratively narrow. The dip to the southeast is from thirty to
fifty feet to the mile, and the Conglomerate sand-rock disap-
pears below the drainage of the Licking Valley half a mile
below the mouth of the Elk Fork. An axis of upthrow
extending from the border of Elliott county into Johnson,
nearly at right angles to the ordinary outcrop line, brings the
Conglomerate rocks into prominence further to the eastward,
and extends the characteristic topography of this formation in
a narrow belt across to within a few miles of Paintsville. This
wave-like elevation was not so sharply drawn as to become
also a well-defined water-shed. On the other hand, it falls
across the head-waters of Big Blaine, and extends into the
valley of Big Paint Creek, and the Conglomerate cliffs are
exposed in valleys cutting across the axis of upheaval. On
Keaton's Fork of Blaine thirty feet of Conglomerate is shown,
on the Laurel Creeks one hundred and twenty-five feet, Hood
Creek cuts through this axis exposing ninety feet, while Big
VOL. VI.-21 321
7
8 PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF
and Little Paint Creeks have cut through one hundred and
fifty feet or more of this rock.
The northward dip described in the report on the geology
of Lawrence county, and also represented on map diagram of
dips in Greenup, Carter, Boyd, and Lawrence counties, will be
more readily understood by its relation to this axis of upthrow.
To the southward the dip is not so well marked, and it is soon
lost with the relatively greater elevation of the whole series
in that direction.
East and south from the Conglomerate sand-rock belt, the
shales and sandstones of the series above the Conglomerate
make up the whole height of the hills, which vary from
three hundred to seven hundred feet. As the latter falls
considerably below the drainage at points where the hills
are the highest, the whole thickness of the productive series
above may be placed at about eight hundred feet, or about
the same as is exposed in the block of counties to the north.
(See general section, report on three counties.) The dip of
the rocks in all this region is slight, and the topography is
such as should be expected from like conditions-crooked
streams-dividing ridges of great complexity with minor
ridges and spurs, completing an elaborate and tortuous sys-
temn of drainage. The height of the hills in the eastern part
of Morgan and in Magoffin is from 300 to 450 feet. To the
westward they reach 550 feet. and to the eastward, in the
valley of the Levisa Fork of the Chattarawha or Big Sandy
river 7oo feet. The increased height in either case is in
the direction of the drainage, so that the water-shed between
the Licking and Sandy waters is not a prominent feature in
the profile of the country. The accompanying profile section
from the North Fork of Licking River to West Liberty,
Salyersville, and Prestonsburg, will serve to represent such
facts respecting the topography and its relation to the strat-
igraphical geology as may be shown diagramatically. It will
also, in a general way, show the relation of the coal-beds to
the drainage.
322
MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN, AND FLOYD COUNTIES. 9
COALS, ORES, &C.
Beginning at the base of the Carboniferous series, the
first coal-bed is found in the shales between the Sub-carbon-
iferous limestone and the Conglomerate sandstone-the great
cliff-forming member of the coal-measures. This is the Sub-
conglomerate coal of previous reports on portions of the coal-
field of Eastern Kentucky, which include the western outcrop.
(Lesley's Report on the Western Margin of the Eastern
Coal-field, volume IV, Old Series; Report on the Geology
of Greenup, Carter, &c., volume I, part I, Second Series;
Report on the Proposed Line of the E., L. & B. S. R. R.,
volume I, part lo; Report on the Geology of Menifee County,
volume IV, part 2.)
This coal is not known at any place in Morgan county as a
workable bed for more than local purposes-for blacksmiths'
use, &c. It is in quality an excellent coal, and will be found
nearly always, where the Sub-conglomerate shales are ex-
posed, in thickness varying from a few inches to two feet.
Section 3, plate i, near the mouth of Greasy Creek, shows
this coal below high-water mark, accompanied by another thin
seam. Eastward from here it falls below the drainage, and is
not again seen in this region. The whole thickness of the
Conglomerate formation near the mouth of Greasy Creek is
less than two hundred feet, mostly made up of coarse thick-
bedded, somewhat conglomeratic sand-rock, with prominent
illustration of cross-bedding. having slant lines to the south-
east, as usual in this region. On Mine Fork of Little Paint
Creek, in Johnson county, near the house of Gilbert Penix,
a twenty - inch coal seam is exposed in a rock-house, under
one hundred feet or more of Conglomerate rock, and fiftv
feet above the bed of the creek. A considerable thickness
of shale is exposed below at a number of points on this
creek, and at one point, nearer the mouth, a dark slaty shale
has embedded in it an unusual abundance of claystone iron
ore. At other points a coarse sand-rock appears to occupy
most of the space from the base of the main cliff to the
creek bed. It is reasonable to suppose that these rocks,
323
IO PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF
including the coal, are a part of the Conglomerate forma-
tion; and also that the Conglomerate, as a whole, is very
much thickened in this direction, as it is known to have a
thickness very much exceeding i,ooo feet along the Cum-
berland and the Pine Mountain escarpments. Several beds
of coal, with accompanying shale, are included in this thick-
ness. It is not probable that the maximum thickness, as
exposed along these mountains, is attained by an abrupt
increase in the thickness of the deposits that go to make
up this formation. On the other hand, evidences from drilled
wells indicate a gradual thickening from the outcrop line
southeastward. But this subject will be discussed more fully
in a report on the salt-producing portions of Eastern Ken-
tucky.
The next coal in the series, as found in this region, is above
the Conglomerate formation. Section 2, plate , near the
head of Yocum Creek, and section 5, plate i, on the Licking
river, show the position and surroundings of this bed along
the western border. It is the No. I of the Greenup and Car-
ter region, and, as in these counties, it is found in the shales
above the Conglomerate at a vertical distance, varying with
the thickness of these beds. The vertical section, in which
shale very largely predominates, varies from one hundred to
two hundred feet or more, and includes clay shale, slaty bitu-
minous beds, with thin beds of coal, sandy shales merging
,into shaly and slaty sandstone, and in some localities thick-
bedded sandstone forming ledges and cliffs. The clay shales
generally contain kidneys of limonite iron ore, when of a buff
color, and of carbonate ore where darker and somewhat bitu-
minous. The sandy beds are more prominent above Coal I,
and appear in their relation to the shales below, and the pre-
dominating sand-rock above Coal 2, as transition beds. The
shales of this horizon are not so constant in character as to
be readily recognized, wherever exposed, in a definite order
of the kinds of rock described; but, as a whole, they may
generally be recognized in the characters as given; and a
further aid may be found in calcareous bands and lenticular
324
MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN, AND FLOYD COUNTIES. II
limestone masses, which, though not always present, are often
prominent features, and, in a general way, good horizon
marks. These calcareous rocks vary from a calcareous sand-
stone to a limestone, containing more or less clayey and
silicious matter; and they appear in continuous layers, or in
jointed bands or in lenticular masses imbedded in shale,
according as they have the appearance of sandstone, or ap-
proach more nearly to a true limestone. Jointed layers and
lenticular concretions occur somewhat at random in the shaly
rocks below, and sometimes above Coal No. I. The more
sandy calcareous layers occur near the top of the shale series
up to, and sometimes above Coal 2. These features are
wanting, or so obscure as not to have been noticed in some
localities where the including rocks are exposed; but they
extend from Lawrence county to the Kentucky river, and
have been observed at so many points in Morgan, Breathitt,
Magoffin, Perry, Johnson, Floyd, and Letcher counties, that
they may be regarded as characteristics of the horizon of
Coals I and 2.
From its place in the series Coal I is below the drainage in
a large part of the eastern portion of M\Iorgan, and also in a
considerable part of Magoffin. It is exposed along the river
at West Liberty at a maximum thickness of three feet, with
a thin bed lower down. It would doubtless be found in all the
valleys west of Caney Creek, rising to the westward, as indi-
cated by the profile section. It is under the drainage on the
head of North Fork of Licking river, as also at the head of
Fannin Fork of Elk, and of all the tributaries of Elk Fork
from the west. The larger branches of North Fork, from
the west and north, doubtless expose this bed, rising to the
tops of the hills beyond the county line, though it has not
been traced definitely in this direction. It is exposed along
the Open Fork of Paint Creek. rising from the bed of the
creek towards the head, to nearly 150 feet above where the
Some beds of calcareous sandstone, and also layers more nearly approaching lime-
stone, have been observed at wide intervals higher up in the series. So far as known,
they do not occur in any regular relation to the coal-beds of the region. It seems most
likely, howsever, that some of these beds at least are representatives of the limestone
layers described in the counties to the north, and which are still more prominent il Ohio.
Sufficient data for the discussion of this point r-c tot yet in hand. ;25
1 2 PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF
Conglomerate rises above the drainage. Where opened, as
on Meeting-house Branch and Smith's Branch, and on the
main creek at Mr. Hill's, a thickness of thirty inches without
parting is shown under a sandstone ledge. (See section 7,
plate 2.)
In Johnson and Floyd counties this bed has a thickness
varying from thirty inches to five feet. On George's Creek,
near Lomansville, it is opened in many places near the bed
of the creek, having an average thickness of thirty-six inches.
On Tom's Creek, rising from the bed near the head to sev-
enty-five feet above, near the mouth, it shows from thirty-six
to forty-two inches. Around Paintsville, averaging a little
more than ioo feet above the bed of the river, a thickness
of from thirty-six to sixty inches is shown, the greatest thick-
ness being found in Wheeler's bank on the Levisa Fork
of Sandy, one mile below the mouth of Paint Creek, fifty-
four inches being about the average in openings, which show
a maximum of five feet. Turner's bank, two miles above
Paintsville, on Paint Creek, shows forty-eight inches. Two
miles above the mouth of Paint Creek, on the Levisa Fork,
opposite Hager's Mlill, the thickness is thirty-six inches. In
this locality a thin cannel coal crops out about fifty feet lower
down, and sandstone replaces a considerable part of the shales
of this horizon. (See section 17, plate 4.)
Towards the head of Jenny's Creek, at the mill of A. J.
Rice, this coal is thirty-six inches thick, and it shows about
the same at the bed of the creek near the Narrows, still
further up. A greater thickness is found on Lick Fork of
Jenny's Creek and on Sandy Little Paint Creek, and also
on John's Creek, east of Levisa Fork, where it ranges from
thirty-six to forty-eight inches, and is near high-water mark.
Harris' bank, near Prestonsburg, shows forty-four inches, and
is one hundred feet above the river bed. Fitzpatrick's bank,
three miles further up Middle Creek, shows thirty-six inches
near the creek bed. (See sections 20 and 21, plate IV.)
Openings on Abbott's Creek show the same decrease in
thickness westward from the river, and in Magoffin county
326
MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN, AND FLOYD COUNTIES. 13
this coal will probably be found less reliable as a workable
bed than in the Chattarawha or Big Sandy Valley. For that
reason it is not so readily recognized, and it is opened in a
few places only to show its thickness and quality. It is prob-
able that the coal near the mouth of Elk Creek, below Sal-
yersville, and just above the river bottom, is No. I. The
thickness is twenty-four inches of coal closely resembling that
of No. I, and with similar surroundings. Coal X is distinctly
traceable from Floyd into Perry and Letcher counties. It is
above the drainage in Breathitt and Wolfe counties, rising to
the westward in the latter as in Morgan. It is almost uni-
formly without parting, and is separated from the Conglom-
erate sand-rock by an increasing thickness of shales and shaly
sandstone eastward, and it is often accompanied by one or
more thin beds of coal below, especially to the eastward, but
so irregularly that these beds are of little value as indications
of the place of the main coal.
There appears to be no regular bed or horizon of iron ore
with anything like a definite relation to Coal I, either below
or above; though wherever the ferruginous shales appear they
usually carry segregations of iron as kidney ore, and occa-
sionally a rough block ore is seen in the shAly rock of this
series.
The following analysis of Coal X by Dr. Peter, from average
samples carefully made by the writer, will no doubt interest
those who care to know something of the quality of this coal:
TABLE OF ANALYSFA OF COAL 1.
Moisture..... ..... 2.90 2.66 3.10 2.50 24.50
Volatile combustible matter. 39.10 38.04 38.68 38.56 40.80
Fixed carbon....... . 51.34 56.30 53450 53.44 53.463
Ash.. .. .. . .. .. .. 6.66 3.00 4.80 5.50 3.24
Total.. . . .. . 100.00 100.00 100.08 100.00 100.00
Specific gravity ....... . 1.358 1.281 1.294 1.307 1.274
Sulphur.... .... 4 527 1.291 1.735 1.915 1.895
3Z7
14 PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF
It will be seen that Coal I occupies a place not only at the
base of the series above the Conglomerate sand-rock, but it
is found at the foot of the hills of the main valleys over an
area that includes most of the region under consideration,
as also the adjoining counties to the south. This fact is of
no small importance when it is remembered that seven hun-
dred feet of rock includes Coal I, and nearly all the other
valuable coal-beds, six or seven in number, of Eastern Ken-
tucky. With the place of Coal I established, the few sections
that it has been possible to work up in the brief time allotted
to this field, will go very far towards indicating the number
and character of the beds in the various localities, the height
of the hills being known.
The next one hundred to one hundred and thirty feet of the
vertical section includes the main cannel coal beds of this
region. It will be remembered that the main cannel coal
of the Greenup and Carter region is No. 4, having below
it No. 3 (in places 2A), No. 2, and No. I, all common bitu-
minous coal, with a few exceptions in the case of No. 2, to-
wards the head-waters of the Little Sandy, and also in the
valley of the Levisa Fork of the Chattarawha River, in the
southern part of Lawrence county. Southward from these
localities, as has already been intimated, Coal 2 becomes a
prominent, and, so far as its general extension is concerned,
a reliable cannel coal. In some localities Coal 2A shares in
the change to cannel, while Coal 4, so far as it is known, loses
its prominence as a workable cannel seam, being largely or in
places wholly splint or common bituminous coal. The pres-
ence of two cannel beds so near together in the vertical
section, and the varying intervals between the beds in gen-
eral, make it difficult in some exposures where but one is
found to determine which bed is represented. It is probable,
however, that No. 2 continues to be the main bed in these
counties, and that it is represented by the Pierat cannel bed
on Blackwater Creek, by the Rush Branch cannel, and its
extension on to the head-waters of the North Fork, and to the
328
MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN, AND FLOYD COUNTIES. 15
adjacent tributaries of Elk Fork, by the Buck Branch cannel
coal in Elliott county and by Lykens and Prater's cannel, near
the head of Caney Creek, and probably by Cox's coal, near
West Liberty. It seems likely that the Spaw's Creek cannel,
the Lyken's cannel, on the Licking near the mouth of Pricy
Creek, and Colvin's cannel in Magoffin county, represent No.
2A, but this is by no means certain.
Eastward in the valley of the Levisa Fork Coal 2 is not
so thick where opened, but it is generally present, and will
doubtless be found in some localities a workable bed. It is
the cannel of the Open Fork of Paint Creek, of George's
and Tom's Creeks, of Lick Branch, ten miles above Peach
Orchard, near the Levisa Fork, also of Daniel's Creek, and of
Jenny's Creek, in Johnson county, of Abbott Creek, in Floyd,
and of the Rockhouse Branch of Burning Fork, in Magoffin
county.
The following descriptive table of these cannel beds will
serve to show the place, thickness, and quality in some of the
localities where it has been seen:
8.2r
Pierat Cannel, Black1 ater Creek ... .... 36ih -. 6 49.64 43.20 5. 0.955
R hBranch Cannel .0....... ,fee inch ches.l 1.332 .6 4.0 38.846 15-54 o.g6t
Adkin'-coal on Worh Fork .... 5 feet 4oinches.- 1.348 4.26 42.48 33.76 19.50 1.535
Mord-ci crek Ca..nel .... bed- 36inohe --573 3.90 39.30 38.80 8.o, _.on
MayBhai's Bank, Elk Fork . ; fet .6inohes. 1:33, 23.30 42.60 44.780 1.40 2.071
con's Cannel, near Went Ukery ., . 8ofret. ,4inches. .. . .
Sna-'s Creek Cannel....... ... . inche.... .. .
Caey Cr'k, at Walnut Groe (No. ) bed ofbr. 4 inches -.194 2.20 4o. 5 0 -3 7.oo .85
Lyke-,' Canl, on Lick'g rMag. o ,6. fi. , .inche . ... .... .... .... .... .... . .
Colein.' Bank, Magoffin county. 7f. 36inhe. l 2135 2.30 5.90 37.56 8.24 1.415
Saly-eseillebed .. . . ..... ..l. Soft f t4ihkn.2..275 ,.So 45.60 43.40 9.20 n.688
George's Creek, Johnson county. S feet.
Tom's Creek, Johnson county... et . ..... ............... ... .
Lick Branch, hoesoe coonty....7 5 fee27 inches.9 .20 C.c o 8.80 .g6
Daniel's Creek, Johnson county, , , fet .22 inchen.
Jenny's Creek, Johnson county . 4feet olinchen
Akott Creek. Floyd county . too feet. a6inch e . . . . . . . . ... ... ...
Above the Licking river.
Section 6, plate I, shows both cannel coals No. 2 and 2A,
separated by an unusual thickness of intervening rock. The
following section, as seen at Walnut Grove, near the head of
329
i6 PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF
Caney Creek, also shows both seams
3 and 4:
TOP OF HILL
Covered space.......... . ......
Coarse Sandstone....... . ......
Shale and Shaly Sandstone, with Kidney Iron Ore.
Covered. .
in their relation to Nos.
.... .. .... . 10 feet.
.. .. . ......... 10 -
.. . .. . .. . .. 20 11
.. . .. . .. . .. 50 -e
Cannel Coal (No. 4) .
Coal. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . . .
Under Clay-thickness not seen.
Mostly covered Sandstone and Shale....... . .. . . .. . . ..
Coal stain (No. 3).
Covered space... ...................... ..
Sandstone ledge....... . ....................
Covered.
Sandstone . .
Shale .
Coal .
Slate parting ..........................
Cannel Coal (No. 2A) ............... ...... .. . .
Impure Coal and Clay, with thin Iron Ore . . .........
Under Clay............. .... ... ... . . . .
Shaly rock and covered surface... ................
Coal.. . . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . .. . .. . . . .
Cannel Coal (No. 2). .. ... .
Clay Shale .............. ....... ....... . .
Coal .
1 . .
i
42 "
23 "
18 is
20 -
20 "
5 "
10 inches.
1&
24 ' '
20 " '
.18 ''1
50 feet
5 inches
24 "
24 "
6 ,,
Clayey Sandstone, containing ferruginous nodules and abundant stigmarixe, 18 - I
Clay Shale, with Limestone concretions . .... . . ........ . 30 feet
Sandstone and Shaly Sandstone................. . . 20
Coal in bed of Creek-thickness not known. (Possibly No. 1.) ......
A comparison of this section with that part of the general
section of Greenup and Carter which includes the first four
coals, does not show many points of agreement. This want
of similarity misled Dr. Owen as to the equivalency of these
Morgan county beds. (See vol. III, page 29.) A study of
sections 8 and I I, plate 2, makes it reasonably certain that
the two lower cannel beds are below Coal 3. This order is
indicated especially by the position of the limestone ore in
the latter section, which has been distinctly traced across
Elliott county t into Carter, where its relation to the beds
below is well known. Coal 3 is also readily traceable across
Elliott into Morgan. It is in fact the great common bitumin-
Reported nearly two feet on the white oak side of the hill.
t See forthcoming Resort on the Geology of Elliott County.
330
MORGAN, JOHNSON, MAGOFFIN, AND FLOYD COUNTIES. 17
OuA coal of both counties, and, though it shows a wide range
of variation in the thickness and character of the coal, it is
one of the most persistent beds in that part of Eastern Ken-
tucky which has been studied thoroughly enough to make the
extension and relation of coal-beds more than a matter of
opinion. The upper part of the section at Walnut Grove
reaches the place of the limestone ore, and the fragments of
ore on the surface, near the top of the hill, probably represent
that bed. Iron ore, having the distinctive character of the
gray limestone ore, has not been noted south of the Licking
river, though readily and certainly recognized on Elk Fork,
where, in several places, as at the head of Mordecai Creek
and on Rush Branch, it is associated with a considerable body
of the characteristic gray limestone, as known northward in
Kentucky and Ohio. The presence of the limestone ore is
of greatest importance as extending the Greenup, Carter, and
Elliott iron-making region into Morgan. But also as relates
to the descriptive geology of this region, it serves to make
the identification of Coal 3 reasonably certain, so far as it
extends; and as No. 3 is the most prominent common bitu-
minous coal of this region, its identification South and East-
as the " Big Bed" in the hill south of West Liberty, as the
"Davis Coal," and "judge Day's Coal," up the Licking river,
carries the key to this series across the valley of the Licking,
and the two cannel seams below must, in a general way, at
least, be regarded as No. 2 and 2A, though they are rather
irregularly disposed in their relation to Coals I and 3. The
upper cannel bed at Walnut Grove becomes No. 4, the equiv-
alent of the Chinn's Branch, Indian Run, Hunnewell, and
Stinson Creek cannel coals in Greenup and Carter counties,
while Cox's cannel, of necessity, becomes No. 2 or 2A from
its place below Coal 3. The Rush Branch cannel, as seen at
many points in the valley of Elk Fork, and on the head of
North Fork, is definitely Coal 2, being readily traced from
Carter across Elliott into Morgan, along with the beds above.
The identification of these beds of coal as to equivalency
is not of very great import