Wildcat Cove Earth Cache EarthCache
Hidden : 1/29/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: large (large)

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Geocache Description:

Placed with PNWbrat!!!

COAL IN WHATCOM COUNTY

Coal mining has been a major industry since the early days of Washington State.

Interest in coal subsided in the early 1900's as the use of fuel oil for industrial and domestic heating increased but then it was realized that oil supplies were not unlimited. Debates are occurring now as to the role coal will play in the future as it pertains to the transport and the cleanliness of burning coal to supply our countries energy needs. Coal has always had a strategic position in industrial development. Washington mines are primarily located near densely populated areas. The coal deposits are chiefly distributed along the west slope of the Cascade Mountains including Whatcom County.

The various ranks of coal are to a large extent segregated as to location; the anthracite, bituminous and coking coals are confined to the more mountainous areas, while the subbituminous and lignite ranks are found in regions of less relief.

Anthracite occurs in Whatcom County. It is the highest rank of coal. It is a harder, glossy black coal that is used primarily for residential and commercial space heating. It is a hard coal that is almost pure carbon. Although considerable prospecting has been done, no commercial development has been done, no commercial development has taken place.

In 1852 coal was discovered in Whatcom County, on Bellingham Bay, and in the fall of 1853 the first coal mine in the state was opened here by Captain Howard, Sam Brannan, and others. In 1853 another seam of coal at Sehome (now part of Bellingham) was discovered by two men, Hewitt and Brown. In 1878 the Sehome mine was eventually closed due to fires and flooding.

Anthracite coal was discovered in the Glacier area in 1907. A mining engineer gave very favorable review of the coal as being bright in appearance and ignites freely and of the best quality, being hard and brittle and free from smut and in fracture. In time it was realized that many of the coal field pockets did not develop enough coal to warrant the expectation that the field would produce coal in commercial quantity.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, as well as one of the largest worldwide anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide releases.

Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, either underground by shaft mining, or at ground level by open pit mining extraction.

Coal is a non-renewable energy as it takes millions of years to create. It is considered a fossil fuel because it has energy from once-living plants. These plants lived between 100 - 400 million years ago.

As of 2010 at least 40% of the world's electricity comes from coal and 33% of the United States electricity was generated from coal.

HOW COAL IS FORMED

University of Kentucky Geological Survey, http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coalform.htm

Coal is formed when peat is altered physically and chemically. This process is called "coalification." During coalification, peat undergoes several changes as a result of bacterial decay, compaction, heat, and time. Peat deposits are varied and may contain a range of various plant parts (roots, bark, spores, etc.) to decayed plants, decay products. Peat deposits typically form in a waterlogged environment where plant debris accumulated; peat swamps and peat bogs are two examples. In these environments, accumulation of plant debris exceeds the rate of bacterial decay of the debris. The bacterial decay rate is reduced due to the available oxygen in organic-rich water that is completely used up by the decaying process. Anaerobic (without oxygen) decay is much slower than aerobic decay.

Peat must be buried by sediment to become coal. Burial compacts the peat and water is squeezed out during the first stages of burial. Continued burial plus heat and time cause the complex hydrocarbon compounds in the peat to break down. The gaseous alteration products (methane is one) are expelled from the deposit, and the deposit becomes more and more carbon-rich as the other elements disperse. The stages of this trend proceed from plant debris through peat, lignite, sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, anthracite coal, to graphite (a pure carbon mineral).

Due to the amount of squeezing and water loss during compaction of peat after burial, it is estimated to take 10 vertical feet of original peat material to produce 1 vertical foot of bituminous coal. The peat to coal ratio is variable and dependent on the original type of peat the coal came from and the rank of the coal.


Community Action Science Guide, http://www.fi.edu/guide/dukerich/coal.html

If peat at the bottom of a swamp is buried and compressed, coal may be formed.

Peat is the initial stage in coal formation is material composed of about 75 to 90 percent water plus twigs, leaves, branches, and other plant debris. Although peat itself is not coal, it is an important fuel used in Ireland and the Soviet Union.

The next stage in the formation of coal is when peat is subjected to increased pressure from accumulating sediments. This results in Lignite being formed.

The next stage in coal formation is the formation of bituminous coal. This is a result of added pressure that has compacted and resulted in the virtual disappearance of all plant life. It is also known as "soft coal" and is greatly used in industry as a source of heat energy. It is the most plentiful form of coal in the United States.

The last stage of coal formation is the formation of anthracite, sometimes called "hard coal". Lignite coal and bituminous coal are sedimentary rocks. Anthracite is a metamorphic rock. It is found only in areas of mountain building where heat and pressure were great. Anthracite is the cleanest of all coals with the least impurities because it is mostly carbon. It does not produce as much heat as bituminous coal, but it is preferred because it burns cleaner and longer. Anthracite fields occur in northeastern Pennsylvania, Great Britain, and parts of the Soviet Union.

WILDCAT COVE MINING SHAFT

An unknown man lived in the Clayton Bay area in the 1850's who is known to have mined coal. A short mine shaft is located on the beach at Wildcat Cove located in Larrabee State Park. This possibly could have been the mine. When the railroad was being built through rock cuts and tunnels in the Chuckanut area, numerous coal pockets were found. The coal is of very poor grade, being hardly more than a form of peat. It has been stated by some amateur geologists that it will take the forces of nature another hundred thousand years before the coal becomes of any value.

As stated in a 1923 bulletin, here are a number of thin seams of coal and lignite which were exposed along the bluffs that were cut by Chuckanut Drive construction.

DO NOT attempt access to the actual mine shaft. You can locate the cache location at any tide level. Be sure to wear appropriate footwear for wet conditions.

LOGGING REQUIREMENTS

Please send me an email with the text "GC4542X Wildcat Cove Earth Cache" on the first line and the answers to the following questions (please do not post answers in your log): At the posted coordinates:

1. Estimate the height of the mine shaft above the beach level in feet.
2. Estimate the width of the mine shaft in feet as it appears from beach level.
3. What abundant, natural item is present below the mine shaft? This item is commonly found on beaches.
4. Feel/touch and observe the cliff side and tell me what type of geologic sediment you think the cliff is comprised of.

Email the answers and log the Earth Cache. You do NOT have to wait for my response.

REFERENCES

1. University of Kentucky Geological Survey. http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coalform.htm

2. Community Action Science Guide, http://www.fi.edu/guide/dukerich/coal.html

3. Cape Breton Miners' Museum, www.minersmuseum.com

4. Electronic Field Trip to a Coal Mine: www.ket.org

5. State of Washington, Division of Geology, "Geological Investigation of the Coal Fields of Western Whatcom County, Bulletin # 28, 1923

  1. This cache has an approved Permit to be placed at this location on property managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Visitors are responsible for acquainting themselves with policies and rules pertaining to State Park areas.
  2. The following items may not be placed in the cache: food; illegal substances; medications; personal hygiene products, pornographic materials; hazardous materials; or weapons of any type.
  3. By searching for the cache, visitors agree that they are responsible for their own actions, and acknowledge that neither the State of Washington nor the cache owner is responsible for any loss or injury that may occur in relation to such search.
  4. Report any incident, problem, or violation to State Parks staff.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Va n fznyy nypbir whfg (J) bs 2 ynetr snyyra sve gerrf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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