Download or read book Mineral Production in Illinois in 1960 (Classic Reprint) written by Willis L. Busch and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2018-01-07 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Mineral Production in Illinois in 1960 The material well-being and industrial stability of Illinois is founded in the remote past when vast beds of coal were formed; extensive layers of limestone, dolomite, clay and shale, and sandstone were laid down; deposits of fluorspar, zinc, and lead filled cracks and crevices; and oil and gas accumulated in porous rocks The great ice sheets that covered most of Illinois thousands of years ago left behind a blanket of unconsolidated rock material from which developed the state's rich soils. Glacial debris also filled preglacial stream valleys with sand and gravel that now holds abundant resources of ground water. New watersheds and stream patterns were formed, and some of the new stream valleys became our present lines of travel and transport. The Great Lakes, as finally formed, and broad navigable rivers put Illinois into ready communication with Canada, the Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico. Today, Illinois is essentially a prairie and it presents few physiographic contrasts. The mean elevation is about 600 feet above sea level, and the total relief of the state is 973 feet. The highest point, Charles Mound in the northwest corner of the state, is l, 241 feet above sea level, and the lowest point, the junc tion of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, is 268 feet above sea level. The fact that Illinois, long known as the Prairie State, has been well eh dowed with useful rocks and mineral materials often is overlooked. Illinois ranks eighth among states of the nation in the production of mineral products and has produced more than 600 million dollars worth of such materials annually since 1956. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.