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USGS Geoscience Data Catalog

Coal Fields of the Conterminous United States: National Coal Resource Assessment Updated Version

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Frequently anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Coal Fields of the Conterminous United States: National Coal Resource Assessment Updated Version
Abstract:
This dataset is a polygon shapefile representing the most recent update of the coal fields of the conterminous United States. Scale of data is 1:5,000,000. This publication is based on a USGS paper map that was a representation of the coal fields and major regions of the time (Trumbull, 1960). Trumbull's 1960 map was digitized and coal fields from the Gulf Coast were added to create USGS OFR 96-92, Coal Fields of the Conterminous United States (Tully, 1996). Tully's (1996) publication consisted of a map in pdf format that could be printed, and an ArcInfo coverage of the coal fields, attributed with rank and potential economic use (minability) of the coal. This new dataset includes a pdf showing updated coal fields and a shapefile that contains attributes on coal rank (without regard to outdated economic standards), province, name, and age. The data used to update Tully's (1996) digital map was collected from the National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) regional Professional Papers produced by the USGS and from AAPG Discovery Series 14/Studies in Geology 62, all of which were conducted by USGS geologists and professional staff. A small number of field names were added and or updated in the western states of Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico using additional coal resource literature.
Supplemental_Information:
Sources cited in the abstract and purpose:
 Trumbull, J., 1960, Coal Fields of the United States (sheet 1): U.S. Geological Survey map, Scale 1:5,000,000.
 Tully, J., 1996, Coal Fields of the Conterminous United States: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 96-92, Scale 1:5,000,000.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    East, J.A., 2012, Coal Fields of the Conterminous United States: National Coal Resource Assessment Updated Version: Open File Report 2012-1205, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.363472
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.149513
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.001785
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 26.034014

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Calendar_Date: 2013
    Currentness_Reference: publication date

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • G-polygon (602)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Coal_Fields
    Coal Bearing geologic unit polygons. (Source: text)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    PROVINCE
    Province that Coal polygon falls within (Source: Tully, J. (1996))

    ValueDefinition
    EasternEastern Province
    Gulf CoastGulf Coast Province
    InteriorInterior Province
    Northern Great PlainsNorthern Great Plains Province
    Pacific CoastPacific Coast Province
    Rocky MountainRocky Mountain Province

    NAME
    Name of Region, Area or Field of coal polygon (Source: Tully, J. (1996),Coal Age A (2010),Coal Age B (2010),Coal Age C (2010),Coal Age D (2010),Hildebrand (1978),Mason and Erwin (1955))

    ValueDefinition
    Alberhill FieldAlberhill Field
    Appalachian RegionAppalachian Region
    Atlantic Coast RegionAtlantic Coast Region
    Big Bar FieldBig Bar Field
    Big Horn Basin RegionBig Horn Basin Region
    Black Diamond AreaBlack Diamond Area
    Black Hills RegionBlack Hills Region
    Black Mesa FieldBlack Mesa Field
    Blackfeet-Valier RegionBlackfeet-Valier Region
    Broad Top Coal FieldBroad Top Coal Field
    Bull Mountain FieldBull Mountain Field
    Camas Valley AreaCamas Valley Area
    Canon City FieldCanon City Field
    Carthage FieldCarthage Field
    Cavitt Creek AreaCavitt Creek Area
    Centralia-Chehalis FieldCentralia-Chehalis Field
    Cerrillos FieldCerrillos Field
    Coaldale FieldCoaldale Field
    Comstock AreaComstock Area
    Coos Bay FieldCoos Bay Field
    Corral Hollow FieldCorral Hollow Field
    Covelo FieldCovelo Field
    Cretaceous Lignite AreaCretaceous Lignite Area
    Datil Mountains FieldDatil Mountains Field
    Deer Creek FieldDeer Creek Field
    Denver RegionDenver Region
    Eagle Springs FieldEagle Springs Field
    Eastern RegionEastern Region
    Eden Ridge FieldEden Ridge Field
    Electric FieldElectric Field
    Engle FieldEngle Field
    Flathead FieldFlathead Field
    Fort Union RegionFort Union Region
    Garfield County FieldGarfield County Field
    Glacier FieldGlacier Field
    Goose Creek FieldGoose Creek Field
    Goshen Hole FieldGoshen Hole Field
    Great Falls FieldGreat Falls Field
    Green River FieldGreen River Field
    Green River RegionGreen River Region
    Hams Fork RegionHams Fork Region
    Hanna FieldHanna Field
    Harmony FieldHarmony Field
    Hay Fork Valley FieldHay Fork Valley Field
    Horseshoe Bend FieldHorseshoe Bend Field
    Hyampom Valley FieldHyampom Valley Field
    Ione FieldIone Field
    Issaquah-Grand Ridge FieldIssaquah-Grand Ridge Field
    Jackson Hole FieldJackson Hole Field
    Jornada del Muerto FieldJornada del Muerto Field
    Kelso-Castle Rock AreaKelso-Castle Rock Area
    Lewistown FieldLewistown Field
    Lincoln FieldLincoln Field
    Livingston-Trail Creek FieldLivingston-Trail Creek Field
    Lombard FieldLombard Field
    Lookingglass AreaLookingglass Area
    Lower NehalemLower Nehalem
    Lower Nehalem AreaLower Nehalem Area
    Mississippi RegionMississippi Region
    Missoula FieldMissoula Field
    Monero FieldMonero Field
    Montgomery Creek FieldMontgomery Creek Field
    Morton FieldMorton Field
    Mount Diablo FieldMount Diablo Field
    North Central FieldsNorth Central Fields
    North Park FieldNorth Park Field
    North Park RegionNorth Park Region
    North-Central RegionNorth-Central Region
    Northern RegionNorthern Region
    Orofino FieldOrofino Field
    Pagosa Springs FieldPagosa Springs Field
    Pennsylvania Anthracite RegionPennsylvania Anthracite Region
    Pinedale FieldPinedale Field
    Powder River RegionPowder River Region
    Raton Mesa RegionRaton Mesa Region
    Rhode Island Meta-Anthracite RegionRhode Island Meta-Anthracite Region
    Rio Puerco FieldRio Puerco Field
    Rock Creek FieldRock Creek Field
    Rogue River FieldRogue River Field
    Roslyn Cleelum FieldRoslyn Cleelum Field
    S.E.Douglas City FieldS.E.Douglas City Field
    San Carlos FieldSan Carlos Field
    San Juan River RegionSan Juan River Region
    Sierra Blanca FieldSierra Blanca Field
    Skagit County AreaSkagit County Area
    South Park FieldSouth Park Field
    Southwestern RegionSouthwestern Region
    Stewart Ranch AreaStewart Ranch Area
    Stillwater FieldStillwater Field
    Stone Canyon FieldStone Canyon Field
    Summit Creek FieldSummit Creek Field
    SW Utah RegionSW Utah Region
    Terlingua FieldTerlingua Field
    Tertiary Lake Beds RegionTertiary Lake Beds Region
    Texas or Mississippi RegionsTexas or Mississippi Regions
    Texas RegionTexas Region
    Tijeras FieldTijeras Field
    Tongue Mesa FieldTongue Mesa Field
    Uinta RegionUinta Region
    Una del Gato Field (Hagen Field)Una del Gato Field (Hagen Field)
    Unnamed Region or FieldUnnamed Region or Field
    Waldo Hills AreaWaldo Hills Area
    Western RegionWestern Region
    Whatcom County AreaWhatcom County Area
    Wilkeson-Carbonado FieldWilkeson-Carbonado Field
    Willow Creek AreaWillow Creek Area
    Wind River RegionWind River Region
    Yaquina AreaYaquina Area

    AGE
    Geologic Age of formations that contain coal. (Source: Tully, J. (1996))

    ValueDefinition
    Cretaceous145.5 +/- 4.0 to 65.5 +/- 0.3 MA
    Jurassic199.6 +/- 0.6 to 145.5 +/- 4.0 MA
    Mississippian359.2 +/- 2.5 to 318.1 +/- 1.3
    Pennsylvanian-Permian318.1 +/- 1.3 to 251.0 +/- 0.4 MA
    Tertiary65.5 +/- 0.3 to 2.588 MA
    Tertiary-Cretaceous145.5 +/- 4.0 to 2.588 MA
    Triassic251.0 +/- 0.4 to 199.6 +/- 0.6 MA

    RANK
    Predominant Rank Classification of Coal (Source: Tully, J. (1996))

    ValueDefinition
    AnthraciteAnthracite Coal
    LigniteLignite Coal
    Low Volatile BituminousLow Volatile Bituminous Coal
    Medium and High Volatile BituminousMedium and High Volatile Bituminous Coal
    SubbituminousSubbituminous Coal


Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

    Technical reviews for this publication were provided by Leslie Ruppert, Christopher Garrity, Susan Tewalt, Lee Osmonson, James Luppens and James Coleman.

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Joseph East
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    MS 956 National Center
    Reston, VA 20192
    USA

    703-648-6450 (voice)
    703-648-6419 (FAX)
    jeast@usgs.gov


Why was the data set created?

This dataset was compiled to update the Coal Fields Map of the Conterminous United States OFR 96-92, using new data provided by the USGS Energy Program NCRA assessments. The pdf and shapefiles were updated with the intent to remove outdated economic information that was rendered obsolete due to changes in technology. New attributes for regional or area names, provinces, and the geologic age of the coal were added as well as in other miscellaneous graphic products for demonstration purposes with other Federal agencies and Congress.


How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    Trumbull, J. (1960) (source 1 of 15)
    Trumbull, J., 1960, Coal Fields of the United States (sheet 1): U.S. Geological Survey Map (none).

    Type_of_Source_Media: Paper map
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 5000000
    Source_Contribution: Original Paper Map of the Coal Fields

    Tully, J. (1996) (source 2 of 15)
    Tully, J., 1996, Coal Fields of the Conterminous United States. U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 96-092.: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-092.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: PDF of map, and Arc Info Coverage.
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 5000000
    Source_Contribution: Digital update of Trumbull 1960 used as base GIS for project

    Schruben and others (1998) (source 3 of 15)
    Schruben, P., Arndt, R., and Bawiec, W., 1998, Geology of the Conterminous United States at 1:2,500,000 Scale--A Digital Representation of the 1974 P.B. King and H.M. Beikman Map.: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS-11.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Arc Info Coverage
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2500000
    Source_Contribution:
    Provided updated outlines for coal bearing units not included in NCRA assessment.

    Fort Union Coal Assessment Team (1999) (source 4 of 15)
    Fort Union Coal Assessment Team, 1999, 1999 Resource Assessment of Selected Tertiary Coal Beds and Zones in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains Region.: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-A.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: ESRI shapefiles
    Source_Contribution:
    Provided areas that were updated in the NCRA Assessment of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains

    Kirschbaum and others (2000) (source 5 of 15)
    Kirschbaum, M., Roberts, L., and Biewick, L., 2000, Geologic Assessment of Coal in the Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: ESRI shapefiles
    Source_Contribution:
    Provided areas that were updated in the NCRA Assessment of the Colorado Plateau

    Northern and Central Appalachian Basin Coal Regions Assessment Team (2001) (source 6 of 15)
    Northern and Central Appalachian Basin Coal Regions Assessment Team, 2001, 2000 Resource Assessment of Selected Coal Beds and Zones in the Northern and Central Appalachian Basin Coal Regions.: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-C.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: ESRI coverages
    Source_Contribution:
    Provided areas that were updated in the NCRA Assessment of the Appalachian Basin

    Hatch and Affolter (2002) (source 7 of 15)
    Hatch, J., and Affolter, R., 2002, Resource Assessment of the Springfield, Herrin, Danville, and Baker Coals in the Illinois Basin.: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-D.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: ESRI shapefiles
    Source_Contribution:
    Provided areas that were updated in the NCRA Assessment of the Illinois Basin

    ASTM International (2005) (source 8 of 15)
    International, ASTM, 2005, Standard Classification of Coals by Rank (Designation D388-05): 2005 Annual Book of ASTM Standards, V 5.05 D388-05, V 5.05, P. 168-171.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution:
    Provided ranges of carbon and calorific values for grades of coal

    Warwick and others (2011) (source 9 of 15)
    AAPG, Warwick, P., Karlsen, A., Merrill, M., and Valentine, B., 2011, Geologic assessment of coal in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain, USA: AAPG Discovery Series/Studies in Geology DS 14/SIG 62.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: ESRI shapefile
    Source_Contribution:
    Provided areas that were updated in the NCRA Assessment of the Gulf Coast

    Coal Age A (source 10 of 15)
    Age, Coal, and International, Mining Media, 2010, Keystone Coal Industry Manual--Coal Geology of New Mexico: Keystone Coal Industry Manual 2010 p 517-527.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution: Provided supplemental areas of New Mexico coal fields

    Coal Age B (source 11 of 15)
    Age, Coal, and International, Mining Media, 2010, Keystone Coal Industry Manual--Coal Geology of Colorado: Keystone Coal Industry Manual 2010 p 443-455.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Paper Map
    Source_Contribution: Provided supplemental areas of Colorado coal fields

    Coal Age C (source 12 of 15)
    Age, Coal, and International, Mining Media, 2010, Keystone Coal Industry Manual--Coal Geology of Utah: Keystone Coal Industry Manual 2010 p 577-585.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution: Provided supplemental areas of Utah coal fields

    Coal Age D (source 13 of 15)
    Age, Coal, and International, Mining Media, 2010, Keystone Coal Industry Manual -- Coal Geology of Washington: Keystone Coal Industry Manual 2010 p 592-599.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution: Provided supplemental areas of Washington coal fields

    Hildebrand (1978) (source 14 of 15)
    Survey, California Geological, and Hildebrand, R., 1978, Coal Deposits of California -- A selected Annotated Bibliography: California Geology Vol 31, No 12.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution: Provided supplemental areas of California coal fields

    Mason and Erwin (1955) (source 15 of 15)
    Mason, R., and Erwin, M., 1955, Coal Resources of Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 362.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Paper Map
    Source_Contribution: Provided supplemental areas of Oregon coal fields

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: 01-Sep-2011 (process 1 of 1)
    The coal_fields shapefile is based on the coverage for the USGS OFR 96-092 Coalfields of the Conterminous United States. The attributed polygon portion of the coverage was exported as a shapefile and the projection was defined as Geographic, NAD27. The shapefile was reprojected to NAD83 using the ESRI NADCON datum conversion. Polygon shapefiles from the NCRA assessments and the digital Geological Map of the United States were added to the project. Areas where the field and or basin outline were updated during the NCRA assessments were incorporated into the coalfields shapefile (predominantly in the western basins). Areas that were not assessed by the NCRA teams, and had implied boundaries, were updated using the maximum extent of the coal bearing formation taken from the digital Geological Map of the United States, Schruben and others (1998). These polygons were then merged together to form the updated boundaries. The original shapefile for OFR 96-092 (Tully, 1996) was modified to remove the economic factor of minability from the rank (DESCRIPTIO) attribute. Polygon boundaries with economic information were merged so that they only contained rank. These polygons were then attributed as Anthracite, Low Volatile Bituminous, Medium and High Volatile Bituminous, Subbituminous, and Lignite. A new attribute for the Province was created. The attribute was populated based on where individual polygons fell in certain provinces, as defined in USGS OFR 96-092 (Tully, 1996). The province lines fell in between the basins and fields, and did not require any splitting or merging of polygons. The Name attribute was not populated in the USGS OFR 96-092 (Tully, 1996) coverage. The field was populated by comparison with the printed report, and individual polygons were attributed with a Region, Area, or Field name. Some of the polygons did not have name information attached. The Age attribute was not populated in the USGS OFR 96-092 (Tully, 1996) coverage. Age was determined by comparison with the printed report, and the digital Geological Map of the United States, and the field was populated. A small amount of field names and points were added and or updated in the western states of Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico using additional coal resource literature.

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?


How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    Attribute accuracy was tested by manual comparison of the source with georeferenced digital printouts of the original USGS OFR 96-092, shapefiles from the digital Geological Map of the United States, and the shapefiles from the NCRA assessments.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    The digital file and shapefile is based on the Tully (1996) map, which does not have an entry for Positional Accuracy in its metadata. That file was primarily digitized off of Trumbull's (1960) map, which was based on existing mapping techniques. Potential exists for errors during the data collection phase and the digitization phase of the maps that this report uses.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    Data set complete. No data were intentionally omitted from the hard copy and digital source maps.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    Map elements were visually checked for overshoots, undershoots, duplicates, polygon closure and proper attribution. All polygons were created from existing shapefiles or coverages that had already gone through the USGS publications process.


How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints: None

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    USGS Information Services
    Box 25286
    Denver, CO 80225
    U.S.A.

    1-888-ASK-USGS (voice)
    ask@usgs.gov

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    USGS OFR 2012-1205

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    This digital publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data published in this Open-File Report have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and related materials and/or the functioning of the software. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data, software, or related materials. Graphical map depictions are intended to be used within the map scale limits applicable to the source data. Although software enables the user to view data at various scales, the user is cautioned to refer to the source documentation for the appropriate map scale limitations.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    ArcGIS Desktop 9.X is required to open the map document


Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 10-Jul-2013
Metadata author:
Joseph A. East
U.S. Geological Survey
Geologist
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Mail Stop 956
Reston, VA 20192
U.S.A

703-648-6450 (voice)
703-648-6419 (FAX)
jeast@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)


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