Show New Shale Oil Report I Washington Dispatch A number of reports containing information concerning the great oil shale de deposits in the Rocky mountain region have been Issued by the department department department de de- de- de of ot the Interior through the geological survey but the continued continued continued con con- demand for tor such information has exhausted the supply of or these reports even though some of them were reprinted several severa times In bull bulletin Un of the geological survey survey sur sur- vey just vey-just just JOust Issued Dean E. E Winchester has incorporated all the material contained in the earlier reports ana ana- has addel the results of oC later investigations investigations Ug made by himself and ers ersT It In his studies of oil shale Mr 11 Winchester Win Win- chester er found great need for tor a light p portable ri ble outfit for making quantitative tive tests In the field For this purpose purpose pur pur- pose he devised a distilling stilling apparatus us which takes a charge of eight and aud j is a half ounces of crushed shale and In which the yield or of crude oil oilIn oilin oilin in g gallops per short ton is indicated ed d' d directly by the number of cubic centimeters of condensed oil on in a glassy glass glas 1 graduate Rough estimates of or orthe the richness of the shale may also he be It made de with a glass test tube and amI anda amIa a sn small all alco alcohol ol torch These methods a are e briefly described in the report j Detailed Study Made The Green River formation of Eocene age contains by far the rich richest st and most extensive deposits of oil ii shale in the Rocky mountain region but carbonaceous matter from which oil may be distilled Is found in r rocks of ot ne nearly every geologic geologic geologic geo geo- logic period from the tile Devonian to the Quaternary The Green River RITer formation Includes nearly all an tile the oil on shale or of of Colorado d which is fo found nd in four Conr different areas In the northwestern northwestern northwestern north north- western part of or the state Three of these areas the Creek basin basin basin ba ba- ba- ba sin Battlement Mesa and Grand Mesa form parts of the great Uintah basin of ot Colorado and Utah The shale in these areas has been studied in considerable detail and the richness and outcrop of several beds are fairly well Known The fourth area an extension of at the southern Red Dese Desert t basin of southwestern southwestern southwestern south south- western Wyoming in general contains contains contains con con- oil shale of at tower grade than the other three The richest oil in Colorado are those exposed In the Parachute cliffs cUtts near Grand Gran Valley Vattey and De Beque towns on the main line tine of the Denver Rio Grande Western Wester railroad These are particularly valuable because because because be be- cause of their thickness richness flatness and proximity to railroads In Utah also the Green River for- for contains the most extensive deposits of oil all shale although other formations ranging In age from MIs- MIs to Eocene Include rocks that will wilt yield some oil on upon distil lation lying Flat Green river beds are present in the Uintah basin in northeastern Utah and In general the oil oft are richest and thick thick- thickest est ne near near r the east line Une of the state The Green River RiTer formation is well exposed In the Roan cuds c along the southern margin of the basin Although Although Although Al Al- though the main line lino of the Denver Donver Rio Grande Grand Western estern railroad skirts the Roan toan dike on on the south the shale oil beds are accessible from the railroad only by roundabout roundabout roundabout round round- about routes except in the western part of the fields In Wyoming oil shale is Id confined almost wholly to the G Green River Rh-er formation form which occurs la in the Green River RITer and Red Desert basins In the southwestern part of the tile state Detailed Detailed Detailed De De- tailed studies have haTe been m made only In the Green River basin south of lf the Union Pacific railroad but available available available avail avail- able data indicate te that the oil ell shale in southwestern Wyoming is h In thin beds and that the area underlain by byrich byrich rich deposits is comparatively small Elko Eiko Rich RichIn In the vicinity of ot Elko Nov Nev on the Southern Pacific railroad there are several small deposits of oil oft shale of Miocene age These have been studied In considerable detail and and- anda a number of ot beds of oil shale ranging In thickness from two to six feet or more and yielding from fifty to seventy gallons to the theton theton theton ton have been recognized These beds are not only faulted and In places Inclined 30 degrees from the horizontal but they also show great lateral variations s in richness Oil shale from these deposits Is being mined and retorted and the product Is ts being refined but as yet the plant plantIs Is operating only on an experimental tal basis In west-central west Montana oil shale occurs In formations of ot Tertiary Permian Pennsylvanian and Devonian Devonian Devon Devon- ian lim age ige Samples show that most of the shale beds which are not very persistent are perry frery grade now oil and only of scientific Interest In the he area around Dillon and Dell however the formation Permian contains fifty to seventy- seventy five feet of black of which a few beds will yield twenty to thirty gallons of oil to the ton A distillation retort installed at this lo locality lo- lo Js is said to have haTe a capacity of ot fifty tons of shale per day In the we western tern part off art this area there Js a abelt abelt abelt belt of Tertiary oil oft shale about ty-eight ty miles mites long tong Some of these which occur In beds as much muchas as five the feet thick will yield about twenty four gallons of oil all to the ton The report Includes many detailed detail detail- ed s sections and results of distillation tests of oil on shale from all the Important deposits In the Rocky mountain region and from some of less importance estimates of the possible yield ic principal principal principal prin prin- cipal deposits geologic notes on on oil the of ot oil shale a section on the regulations that govern the leasing of shale oil lands a bibliography co comprising more than 1000 references references refer refer- cn es on oil shale many illustrations illustrations and several maps It may be ob obtained from the director geological cal survey Washington D D. C. C I I |