USGS - science for a changing world

USGS Geoscience Data Catalog

Additional USGS Geoscience data can be found by geographic location or by publication series.

Mined areas of Fire Clay coal zone in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia

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

Frequently-anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Mined areas of Fire Clay coal zone in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia
Abstract:
This dataset is a polygon coverage of the mined areas of the Fire Clay coal zone. The polygons are subdivided into 2 categories: areas where coal has been mined and areas where coal is not mined.
This map is one of many Geographic Information System (GIS) products of the National Coal Assessment that is being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with State geological surveys and other Federal and State agencies. The Middle Pennsylvanian Pottsville Group Fire Clay coal is an important resource in the Central Appalachian Basin coal region and has been mined for the last one hundred years. The Fire Clay coal is most commonly referred to as the Fire Clay (Hazard No. 4) in Kentucky, the Phillips in Virginia, and the Fire Clay in West Virginia. This resource model for the Fire Clay coal zone must be considered provisional, because the correlation of the zone continues to be evaluated in West Virginia.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Tewalt, Susan J. , 2000, Mined areas of Fire Clay coal zone in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia:.

    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: -84.114
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -81.533
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.099
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.599

  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 (572)

    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.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    c9125mo.pat
    polygon attribute table for C9125MO coverage (Source: ARC/INFO)

    MINE
    A unique code that describes whether coal has been mined or is remaining. (Source: this study)

    ValueDefinition
    101NOT MINED; indicates Fire Clay is not mined
    102MINED; indicates Fire Clay IS mined
    999no coal therfore no mining

    c9125mo.aat
    arc attribute table for C9125MO coverage (Source: ARC/INFO)

    EDIT
    A unique code that describes whether arc was part of source map or added for closure of polygons. (Source: this study)

    ValueDefinition
    1line added for closure, not original source
    0line digitized from source map


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 the most recent coal maps and have provided the USGS with the data necessary to complete the assessment. Primary contacts at the State surveys for this product include: KY- G. Weisenfluh; WV- B.M. Blake, Jr.; VA- R. Sites. Kentucky information can be found online at: <http://www.uky.edu/KGS/home.htm>.

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

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

    703-648-6437 (voice)


Why was the data set created?

The purpose of Professional Paper 1625 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. The purpose of this cover was to determine remaining resources in this assessment.


How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    VA-1 (source 1 of 4)
    Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 1998, Mined Portion and Extent of the Phillips Coalbed in Southwest Virginia.

    Type_of_Source_Media: disc
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 100000
    Source_Contribution:
    The files on this disc were the mined areas for the Fire Clay coal zone in Virginia. This original source distinguished between mining methods (surface vs underground).

    KY-1 (source 2 of 4)
    Survey, Kentucky Geological , 1993, fcl_mo.e00; ARC/INFO cover in export format of Kentucky mines for Fire Clay coal zone.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 100000
    Source_Contribution:
    This file contains generalized mine boundaries for the Fire Clay coal zone in Kentucky.

    WV-1 (source 3 of 4)
    West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, 1997, Working map of Fire Clay coal resources by 7.5-minute quadrangle..

    Type_of_Source_Media: transparency
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 48000
    Source_Contribution:
    These maps gave the mine boundary and mined out areas in the following 7.5- minute quadrangles: Sylvester, Amherstdale and Logan.

    WV-2 (source 4 of 4)
    West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, 1998, Working map of Fire Clay coal resources by 7.5-minute quadrangle..

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 24000
    Source_Contribution:
    These maps gave the mined areas in the following 7.5-minute quadrangles: Henlawson and Clothier

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

    Date: 1998 (process 1 of 7)
    1. Mined areas are compiled by the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals on 1:24000 base maps. The currentness of these maps is approximately 1993. Generalized outlines of mined areas were transferred to 1:100,000-scale base maps according to coal-bed designation. Precise boundaries between adjacent mines were not documented by KGS. 2. Seam sections were collected from some mine maps and compared to nearby drill hole and point data to verify coal bed correlation. 3. Vector polygons of mined areas were digitized from the 1:100,000-scale maps in ARC/INFO and encoded with attributes to identify local coal bed names to create data source KY-1. Contributions by : G. Weisenfluh, E. Thacker, and J. Hiett.

    Date: 1998 (process 2 of 7)
    DXF files (VA-1) were converted to ARC/INFO line covers. In Arcedit, lines were connected for closure and mined areas were edited to remove barrier walls and pillars.

    Date: 1998 (process 3 of 7)
    All maps (WV-1 and WV-2) were manually digitized on a tablet using ARC/INFO. Polygons were created through manual labelling and editing in order to create topology. Polygons of mined areas were constrained to Fire Clay coal outcrop with ARC identity command.

    Date: 1998 (process 4 of 7)
    Generalized outlines of mined-out areas (KY-1) were collected from the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals (KDMM) and transferred to 1:100,000 base maps by Kentucky Geological Survey staff. Individual mine boundaries were not documented. The boundaries were digitized and provided by KGS as an ARC/INFO export file, which was imported by USGS staff. Note: subsequent to the completion of this resource assessment, the KGS has updated and improved the mined area coverage of the Fire Clay coal zone in Kentucky.

    Date: 1999 (process 5 of 7)
    Attributes were made the same for all covers, adding where necessary. All digital data were then appended into one data set. This data set was edited to resolve inconsistencies between maps and to incorporate revisions. Polygon topology was built and a cleaning function was performed. Polygons were attributed using the codes described within this document.

    Date: 1999 (process 6 of 7)
    Projected UTM coverage to Albers to use in resource calculations. Also projected to geographic.

    Date: 2000 (process 7 of 7)
    Dissolved mined areas with codes denoting type of mining.

  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?

    Deductive_Estimate: The mined areas in Kentucky are generalized and encompass lost-in-mining coal. The mined areas in Virginia and West Virginia include more detailed information on remaining coal in the ground within mined areas. Accuracy varies according to source of information, as well as the currency of available data.

  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 Fire Clay coal. The source maps are believed to be the most up to date at the time of collection, although the KGS has updated and revised the Kentucky part of this regional coverage. State agencies reviewed the existing data set for completeness. In Kentucky, most pre-1948 mines are not plotted, as well as those areas mined after 1993; minor areas updated from other data sources. Newer information should be obtained from the Kentucky Geological Survey. The State of Tennessee is not included in this coverage.

  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 7.2.1. 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)

    Susan J. Tewalt
    U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Energy Resources Team
    MS 956 National Center
    Reston, Virginia 20192
    USA

    703-648-6437 (voice)

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

    USGS Professional Paper 1625-C: Chapter F; c9125mo.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 these data 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. 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: 04-Apr-2000
Metadata author:
Susan J. Tewalt (compiler)
U.S.Geological Survey, Eastern Energy Resources Team
MS 956 National Center
Reston, Virginia 20192
USA

703-648-6437 (voice)

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


This page is <http://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/metadata/professional-paper/1625/c/fire_clay/c9125mo.faq.html>
How other people discovered this page

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/metadata/professional-paper/1625/c/fire_clay/c9125mo.faq.html
Page Contact Information: Peter Schweitzer
Page Last Modified: Monday, 10-Nov-2008 12:20:33 EST

Generated by mp version 2.9.8 on Mon Nov 10 12:20:33 2008