The Silurian and Devonian formations near Big Stone Gap were studied and paleontologic collections obtained from them by E. O. Ulrich, assisted by T. E. Williard. Paleozoic invertebrate fossils were collected near Wytheville and Mount Sidney by R. D. Mesler. A report on the Tertiary invertebrates of the State is almost complete. The Miocene flora at Richmond is described by E. W. Berry in Professional Paper 98-F. WASHINGTON. A reconnaissance report on the Conconully and Ruby mining districts, Wash., by E. L. Jones, jr., has been issued as Bulletin 640-B. Mr. Jones also prepared and submitted classification reports on lands in contest between homestead and mining claimants in T. 40 N., Rs. 29 and 30 E. Willamette meridian. The manuscript for a bulletin entitled "The mineral deposits of the Colville Indian Reservation," begun in the preceding year, was completed by J. T. Pardee. Text to accompany the map of Mount Rainier National Park was submitted by F. E. Matthes. WEST VIRGINIA. Office work on the maps and description of the Williamsport quadrangle, in West Virgina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, has been advanced by G. W. Stose for the Williamsport-Hagerstown folio. The work is being done in cooperation with the State of Maryland. WISCONSIN. A folio for the Wausau and Marathon quadrangles, Wis., is now being prepared by Dr. Samuel Weidman under agreement, the field examinations of these quadrangles having been made, in cooperation, by the State Geological and Natural History Survey. WYOMING. Field work in the Bighorn Basin, Wyo., which was begun in June, 1914, was continued by C. T. Lupton in 1915. Mr. Lupton was assisted, in part or all of the field work, by M. W. Ball, R. H. Wood, E. M. Parks, W. B. Emery, and C. J. Hares. The work consisted in the examination of all the anticlines in the basin, in order to determine which have most promise of containing oil or gas. The territory surveyed embraced an area of about 680 square miles. This work, together with that done by Mr. Lupton the previous year and by D. F. Hewett, covered the entire southern two-thirds of the Bighorn Basin. Upon Mr. Lupton's return to the office it was decided to combine all the reports on anticlines in the basin into one paper, of which he is principal author. This report, in which the descriptions of the anticlines in the Oregon Basin and the Ilo and Meeteetse quadrangles are contributed by Mr. Hewett, has been submitted and is undergoing critical examination. Areal geologic work in the Hanna coal field was continued by C. F. Bowen, who, with the assistance of H. M. Robinson and C. J. Hares, mapped in great detail the Saddleback Hills quadrangle and a part of the Hanna quadrangle, an area of about 500 square miles. In addition, Mr. Bowen made a special examintion of T. 19 N., R. 77 W., to classify the land. In the office Mr. Bowen has been engaged in preparing geologic folios and economic reports on the Walcott, Hanna, and Saddleback Hills quadrangles and in preparing data for the classification and valuation of the lands. Mr. Hares prepared a preliminary report on anticlines in central Wyoming, which is now in press as Bulletin 641-I. A general report on the same region, which will describe fully the formations and discuss their probable correlations with formations in adjacent fields, will be ready for publication early in the following year. A report on prospects for oil and gas near Basin, Big Horn County, by Mr. Lupton, has been published as Bulletin 621-L. The examination of the Powder River coal field, which was begun. in June, 1915, was continued by C. H. Wegemann, assisted by R. W. Howell, and extended to include the Salt Creek oil field. Mr. Howell assumed general charge of the coal work, and Mr. Wegemann of the oil work. The area of the coal field examined is 1,900 square miles. The parts where coal beds were found were examined in great detail, but other parts were surveyed only in reconnaissance. Mr. Howell spent the winter in preparing data for land classification and valuation and in writing an economic report for publication. This work is well advanced. Mr. Wegemann made a very detailed reexamination of the Salt Creek oil field, and his report on it is now nearly ready for critical review. Phosphate beds at several localities in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah were examined by A. R. Schultz, who made a preliminary study of the geology and structure of the Uinta Range. Fourteen township reports and a general report on the phosphate of the Owl Creek Mountains region have been completed by D. D. Condit and transmitted to the land-classification board. A report on the flora of the Frontier formation by F. H. Knowlton has been submitted for publication, and a "Note on the discovery of fossil plants in the Morrison formation" of the Bighorn Basin, by the same paleontologist, has been published unofficially. A study of the Bighorn limestone and its fauna was continued by Edwin Kirk both in the field and in the laboratory. The Cretaceous and Tertiary section of the Hanna and Saddleback Hills quadrangles was reviewed by T. W. Stanton under the guidance of C. F. Bowen. Reports on reconnaissance examinations of ore deposits in the Atlantic gold district and the North Laramie Mountains, by A. C. Spencer, were published during the year as Bulletin 626. To this bulletin N. H. Darton contributed a chapter on the sedimentary formations and a geologic map of part of central Wyoming. Some progress was made by Arnold Hague in the description of the geology of the Yellowstone National Park. Office work was continued by G. R. Mansfield on the Montpelier, Slug Creek-Crow Creek, and Lanes Creek-Freedom folios, covering quadrangles in Wyoming and Idaho. The results of chemical experiments by R. C. Wells relating to the extraction of potash from the wyomingite of the Leucite Hills are described in Professional Paper 98-D. CANAL ZONE. A bulletin entitled "Some engineering problems of the Panama Canal," by D. F. MacDonald, was completed and published as Bulletin 86 of the Bureau of Mines. Progress was made in the preparation of a report on the geography and geology of Panama by Mr. MacDonald, who also cooperated with the committee from the National Academy of Sciences appointed at the request of the President to study and report on the Panama Canal slide problem. Whitman Cross and G. F. Becker, geologists, were members of this committee. Mr. Becker submitted a short paper entitled "Mechanics of the Panama Canal slides," to be published as Professional Paper 98-N. A report upon the Foraminifera of the Canal Zone, exclusive of the orbitoids and nummulitids, was completed and submitted by J. A. Cushman, who is now making a special study of the larger orbitoid species and genera from that area. WEST INDIES. A report on some Cenozoic Mollusca of the West Indies was completed by C. W. Cooke. This paper will be published by the Carnegie Institution. Other reports on Antillean paleontology completed during the year discuss the calcareous algae, by M. A. Howe; the Bryozoa, by R. S. Bassler and F. Canu; and the Crustacea, by Miss M. J. Rathbun. Reports on the geology and geologic history of Cuba, by T. W. Vaughan, O. E. Meinzer, and others, and on the geology and geologic history of the Windward Islands, by R. T. Hill and Mr. Vaughan, are almost complete. The Survey has been at no expense for the work of Messrs. Howe, Bassler, Canu, and Hill and Miss Rathbun. Papers on the shore-line features and the corals and coral reefs by T. W. Vaughan were published unofficially during the year. DIVISION OF ALASKAN MINERAL RESOURCES. APPROPRIATION AND CLASSES OF WORK. Under the appropriation of $100,000 made for the continuation of the investigation of the mineral resources of Alaska, as in previous years, work of the following classes was carried on: Reconnaissance and detailed geologic surveys, special investigations of mineral resources, reconnaissance and detailed topographic surveys, investigations of water resources, and collection of statistics on mineral production. PERSONNEL. On July 1, 1915, the personnel of the division consisted of 1 geologist in charge, 11 geologists, 4 topographers, 1 engineer, 3 clerks, and 1 draftsman on annual salaries, 1 clerk on monthly salary, 2 geologists on per diem salary, 1 field assistant, and 28 camp hands and recorders. On June 30, 1916, the personnel included 1 geologist in charge, 11 geologists, 4 topographic engineers, 1 hydraulic engineer, 3 clerks, and 1 draftsman on annual salaries. The field force also included 1 assistant and 31 camp hands and recorders. FIELD WORK DURING THE SEASON OF 1915. Areas covered and allotments.-Twelve parties were engaged in surveys and investigations during 1915. The area covered by reconnaissance geologic surveys, on a scale of 1:250,000 (4 miles to the inch), amounts to 10,700 square miles; by detailed geologic surveys, on a scale of 1: 62,500 (1 mile to the inch), 200 square miles. Much of the time of the geologists was devoted to the investigation of special field problems in the important mining districts, the results of which can not be presented in terms of area. About 10,400 square miles was covered by reconnaissance topographic surveys on a scale of 1:250,000, and 12.5 square miles on a scale of 1:24,000 (2.64 inches to 1 mile). The following table shows the allotment, including both field and office expenses, of the total appropriation to the districts investigated. In addition to this, a balance of about $11,000 from last year's appropriation was expended in equipping the parties for the season's field work. In preparing this table the general office expenses were divided among the districts in a proportion determined by the cost of the surveys in each district, allowance being made for variations in the character of the work. The results are expressed in round 62656°- -INT 1916-VOL 1-29 numbers. The "general investigations" include the cost of special studies of geology and mineral resources which were not of an areal character. The balance has been used for equipment of field parties and expenses of the season of 1916. In the following table the approximate amount of money devoted to each class of investigations and surveys is indicated. It is not possible to give the exact figures, as the same party or even the same men may have carried on different kinds of work, but this statement will serve to elucidate a later table, which will summarize the complete areal surveys. Approximate allotments to different kinds of surveys and investigations, 1915–16. cal salaries, office supplies and equipment, and map com Clerical and other office and miscellaneous expenses_. 15,750 6, 000 100, 000 The following table exhibits the progress of investigations in Alaska and the annual appropriations since systematic surveys were begun in 1898. It should be noted that a varying amount is spent |