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Coal Resource Areas of the Pocahontas No. 3 Coal Bed

Metadata also available as - [Outline] - [Parseable text] - [DIF]

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Coal Resource Areas of the Pocahontas No. 3 Coal Bed
Abstract:
This dataset is a polygon coverage of the Pocahontas No. 3 coal outcrop. The polygons are subdivided into 2 categories: areas inside the outcrop and areas outside the outcrop.
This map is one of many Geographic Information System (GIS) products of the National Coal Assessment that was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with State geological surveys and other Federal and State agencies (1995 -2000). The Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed occurs within the Pocahontas Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian) and underlies all or parts of Wyoming, McDowell, Raleigh, Summers, Mercer, Greenbrier, Logan, and Mingo counties in West Virginia, and parts of Wise, Dickinson, Buchanan, and Tazewell counties in adjacent Virginia, an area within the central part of the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province. The eastern limit of the coal bed is along the Allegheny structural front, where the bed is either folded to vertical, overturned to the northwest, or covered by thrust sheets in the western part of the Valley and Ridge Province. The western limit of mineable coal is in the subsurface and was selected at the 14-inch isoline. Geologically, the extent of the Pocahontas Formation defines the Pocahontas basin, which is a local depocenter, or sub-basin, within the east-central part of the Appalachian basin. The Pocahontas consists mostly of sandstone, siltstone, and shale. Several significant coal beds, named Pocahontas No. 1 to Pocahontas No. 7, occur within the formation. Of these, the Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed contains the greatest resources of high quality coking coal. In general, the Pocahontas Formation accumulated as a series of northwestward prograding delta lobes that are fringed on the west (seaward) by quartzose sandstone sand bodies (orthoquartzites) interpreted as bars or barriers. Structurally, the Pocahontas basin lies at the western margin of the folded and faulted Appalachians.
This map is the first in a series on the Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed, which will include geologic structure, coal bed isopach, and coal quality maps.
This metadata file deals exclusively with the 'Outcrop' coverage of the Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed. The data set is officially known as C9104OC.
The extent of the coal bed was compiled from three different sources, depending upon the region. In Virginia, the Va. Division of Mineral Resources provided computer-aided design files in DXF format (1997). In West Virginia, 7.5 minute quad unpublished manuscript maps from the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (released 1990) were digitized.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Freeman, Philip, 2000, Coal Resource Areas of the Pocahontas No. 3 Coal Bed:.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Northern and Central Appalachian Basin Coal Regions Assessment Team, 2000, 2000 Resource Assessment of Selected Coal Beds and Zones in the Northern and Central Appalachian Basin Coal Regions: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper PP1625-C, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -82.565
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -80.738
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.964
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.842

  3. What does it look like?

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

    Calendar_Date: 2000
    Currentness_Reference: data collection and collation period

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

  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):

      • GT-polygon composed of chains (92)

    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 0.0001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal Degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1927.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.4.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.98.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    C9104OC.PAT
    polygon attribute table for C9104OC coverage (Source: ARC/INFO)

    COAL
    A unique code that describes whether the polygon is inside or outside the outcrop. (Source: this study)

    ValueDefinition
    101COAL; indicates polygon is inside outcrop
    102NO COAL; indicates polygon is outside outcrop

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?

    State Geological Surveys maintain coal maps and have provided the USGS with the best available data at the time of the assessment. Primary contacts at the State surveys for this product include: WV- B. M. Blake, Jr. VA- J. Nolde.

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

    Philip Freeman (compiler)
    U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Energy Resources Team
    MS 956 National Center
    Reston, Virginia 20192
    USA

    703-648-6447 (voice)

Why was the data set created?

The purpose of PP 1625-C is to release the interpretation of assessment and modeling data for the the top-producing coal beds in the northern and central Appalachian Basin coal region.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    VA DMR MOD - 1 (source 1 of 23)
    Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 1997, Mined Portion and Extent of the Pocahontas No. 3 Coalbed in Southwest Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: disc
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 100000
    Source_Contribution: The files on this disc gave the crop in Virginia.

    WV-1 (source 2 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 Coal Map of Amonate quadrangle, McDowell County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-2 (source 3 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 Coal Map of Anawalt quadrangle, McDowell County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-3 (source 4 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Beckley quadrangle, Raleigh County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-4 (source 5 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Bramwell quadrangle, McDowell and Mercer Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-5 (source 6 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Crab Orchard quadrangle, Raleigh County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-6 (source 7 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Crumpler quadrangle, McDowell and Mercer Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-7 (source 8 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Gary quadrangle, McDowell County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-8 (source 9 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Keystone quadrangle, McDowell and Wyoming Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-9 (source 10 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Lester quadrangle, Raleigh and Wyoming Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-10 (source 11 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Matoaka quadrangle, Mercer County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-11 (source 12 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for McGraws quadrangle, Raleigh and Wyoming Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-12 (source 13 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Mullens quadrangle, Wyoming County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-13 (source 14 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Odd quadrangle, Mercer, Raleigh and Wyoming Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-14 (source 15 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Pineville quadrangle, MeDowell and Wyoming Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-15 (source 16 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Rhodell quadrangle, Raleigh and Wyoming Counties, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-16 (source 17 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for Tazewell North quadrangle, McDowell County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-17 (source 18 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey, 1990, Unpublished manuscript map of Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed for War quadrangle, McDowell County, West Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this quadrangle.

    WV-Fay (source 19 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic Survey, 1919, Map of Fayette County showing General and Economic Geology.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 62500
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this county east of -81° 7' 30".

    WV-Ral (source 20 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic Survey, 1916, Map of Raleigh County showing General and Economic Geology.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 62500
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this county east of -81° 7' 30".

    WV-Mer (source 21 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic Survey, 1916, Map of Mercer County showing General and Economic Geology.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 62500
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this county east of -81° 7' 30".

    WV-Sum (source 22 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic Survey, 1916, Map of Summers County showing General and Economic Geology.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 62500
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this county.

    WV-Gre (source 23 of 23)
    West Virginia Geologic Survey, 1916, Map of Greenbrier County showing General and Economic Geology.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 62500
    Source_Contribution: This map gave the outcrop for this county.

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

    Date: 1997 (process 1 of 5)
    In WV west of -81° 7' 30", 7.5 minute quad maps (WV-1 through WV-17) were tiled together, and the coal crop lines and the mined-out areas were drafted onto mylar at the same scale (48K) and projection (Universal Transverse Mercator, zone 17). The mylar was scanned on an Ideal 36" wide scanner. The scanned image was registered to the projection and converted to a line cover in ARC/INFO.

    Date: 1997 (process 2 of 5)
    In VA, DXF files were converted to ARC/INFO line covers. In Arcedit, lines were connected for closure and mined-out areas were edited to remove barrier walls and pillars.

    Date: 1998 (process 3 of 5)
    In WV east of -81° 7' 30", Pocahontas No. 3 outcrop was digitized from county geology maps (WV-Fay, WV-Ral, WV-Mer, WV-Sum, WV-Gre.) The geology was compared to the 30 minute DEM and adjusted to fit drainage.

    Date: 1998 (process 4 of 5)
    A 14" coal thickness isoline was derived from coal bed thickness data obtained from the drill data points. A raster computer model of the coal bed thickness (isopach) was developed in Earthvision software, version 5.0. The isopach was tied to selected fault lines present in Virginia. Earthvision produced a contour line map based on a thickness interval of 14". This 14" thick isoline defined the western and northern extent of the coal bed.

    Date: 1997 (process 5 of 5)
    All data was then appended into one data set. This data set was edited to resolve inconsistencies between maps and to incorporate revisions. In a few places where the 14" isoline is discontinuous along the fault line, the fault line substituted as a limiting boundary of the coal bed. Polygon topology was built and a cleaning function was performed. Polygons were attributed using the codes described within this document.

  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?

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    This data set is a representation of the mined out areas of the Pocahontas No. 3 coal seam, specifically surface or subsurface mined areas. The source maps are believed to be the most up-to-date at the time of collection. State agencies reviewed the data set for completeness.

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

    Topology for this data set was built using the CLEAN command within ARC/INFO, version 7.1.1. This command eliminates dangling nodes, calculates intersections of arcs, eliminates redundant arcs, and creates a polygon attribute table. This data set does not contain dangles or redundant arcs.

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: To be used for regional analysis only.

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

    Philip Freeman
    U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Energy Resources Team
    MS 956 National Center
    Reston, Virginia 20192
    USA

    703-648-6447 (voice)

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

    USGS Professional Paper 1625-C: Chapter H: c9104oc.e00

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this data has 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. 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.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 23-Aug-2000
Metadata author:
Philip Freeman (compiler)
U.S.Geological Survey, Eastern Energy Resources Team
MS 956 National Center
Reston, Virginia 20192
USA

703-648-6447 (voice)

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

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