Atlas Coal Mine EarthCache EarthCache

Welcome to Atlas Coal Mine, a National Historic Site near Highway 10 that provides tours between Apr 30 and Oct 10th.

In the early 20th century, coal was king. It was the main fuel source for heating homes, powering locomotives and generating electricity. Coal dramatically affected settlement as towns sprang up around mines to supply the sites. The river valley around Drumheller saw 139 mines open and close over the years. Atlas was the last of these to cease operation.

Primarily, coal consists of carbon, mixed with hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Coal-bearing formations underlie about 300,000 sq. km or about 48 per cent of the province's land area.

Coal is formed from the accumulation of decomposing plants in swamps over thousands of years. As the vegetation starts to decompose peat bogs are formed. Over time the peat is buried under increasing amounts of sand, silt, and mud, the pressure of the piled-up sediments squeezes the water from the peat and it begins to coalify. With this increased pressure and temperature, the plant material is gradually changed as the moisture content is decreased and carbon content is increased.

If conditions are right, the peat may change progressively to lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite. The energy content, or heat value, of the coal is concentrated progressively too.

Alberta's coal is geologically young so it might be expected that its rank would be quite low. However, as we head west into the foothills and mountains, the rank increases. This is due to the pressure applied to the coal during the creation of the Rocky Mountains. The downside though, this higher rank coal is more expensive to mine because the seams are faulted, folded and often steeply dipping. In contrast, the coal of the plains (sub-bituminous) underwent little disruption and the seams are flat-lying with only soft sedimentary cover. Many of the seams in the Drumheller area were mined underground (as opposed to strip mined) and can be seen in several locations along the river valley. In fact in certain areas the coal was so close to the surface, some home owners could go to their basement (root cellar) and pick coal basically right from their floor. There were also experiences where you could hear the miners working just below the surface.

Alberta contains 70 per cent of Canada's coal reserves and is the country's largest producer and its second-largest coal exporter. Some of that coal is currently used to produce electricity at one of several generating stations in Alberta.

In order to log this EarthCache, please send me an email (through my geocaching profile, kindly do not post in your log) the answers to the following questions:

On the first line of the email, please include the text “GC2ZP1X - Atlas Coal Mine EarthCache"
1. What was the production (in tons) of Atlas Coal Mine #3?
2. What year did the valley become one of the largest coal producers in Canada?
3. What is the owner's surname of Atlas Coal Mine #4?
4. Photos at the cache site are always appreciated but no longer a requirement to log an EarthCache.

References:

1. A Traveller's Guide to Geological Wonders in Alberta by Ron Mussieux and Marilyn Nelson
2. Atlas Coal Mine NHS http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca/history.html
3. Alberta Environment http://environment.alberta.ca/02251.html
4. Drumheller Rotary Club signage