Roaming the Rocky Mountains and Environs: Geological Field Trips

Prepared following the 2007 GSA Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, these 15 guides illustrate the latest geological and archeological thinking on a variety of current research themes. Regional-scale topics include landscape responses to dynamic processes of volcanism and uplift in Yellowstone and western Colorado, geomorphic evolution along the Front Range of Colorado and on the High Plains of South Dakota, and geoarchaeological research in central Colorado and western Nebraska. A series of papers illustrates tectonic and stratigraphic processes through time and space, with discussions of Precambrian structures in western Colorado, Jurassic deposition in south-central Colorado, and near-shore stratigraphic patterns in the Cretaceous strata of the Book Cliffs. One paper reviews potential seismic signatures in Cretaceous and Early Tertiary strata in northern Wyoming and Montana, and another discusses patterns of extension in southern Nevada and adjacent portions of California. Other topics in this well-rounded volume include the history of volcanism and gold mineralization at Cripple Creek, development of coalbed methane resources in the Powder River Basin, and a long-lived subsurface coal fire in western Colorado. Follow in the footsteps of these field trips, and see for yourself the patterns and evidence discussed.
Cornucopia of coal and coalbed gas in the Powder River Basin: From mining and utilization to methane and methanogens
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Published:January 01, 2008
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CiteCitation
Romeo M. Flores, Gary D. Stricker, Michael E. Brownfield, Margaret S. Ellis, Edward L. Heffern, Jason D. Putnam, 2008. "Cornucopia of coal and coalbed gas in the Powder River Basin: From mining and utilization to methane and methanogens", Roaming the Rocky Mountains and Environs: Geological Field Trips, Robert G. Raynolds
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Abstract
The Powder River Basin of northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana contains coal resources larger than those of any other basin of comparable size in the United States. These coal resources are developed in 16 strip mines for coal-fired power plants and for coalbed methane in more than 20,000 wells for distribution throughout the country.
During this field trip, strip mining methodology and technology at the Wyodak coal mine, and operations at the nearby Wyodak power plant and in coalbed methane fields will be observed and discussed. The power plant utilizes feed coal from the mine and supplies electricity for the City of Gillette and surrounding areas. Coalbed methane development in the basin has coexisted with coal mining since the early 1980s. The same coal beds that are being mined yield gas in the subsurface, which is produced, collected, and moved to pipelines to access the interstate pipeline grid to serve the Rocky Mountains, Midwest, and California customers.
Keywords: Powder River Basin, Wyoming, coal, coalbed methane, gas.
- aliphatic hydrocarbons
- alkanes
- Basin and Range Province
- Cenozoic
- coal deposits
- coal mines
- coalbed methane
- field trips
- Fort Union Formation
- geochemistry
- hydrocarbons
- methane
- mineral composition
- mines
- mining
- Montana
- natural gas
- North America
- organic compounds
- Paleogene
- petroleum
- Powder River basin
- production
- resources
- road log
- Tertiary
- United States
- Wasatch Formation
- Wyoming
- southeastern Montana
- northeastern Wyoming
- Wyodak Mine