Past Lode-Gold Production from Alaska (open access)

Past Lode-Gold Production from Alaska

From abstract: This report presents an analysis of the statistical records of the Geological Survey regarding the production of lode gold from the Territory of Alaska for the period 1882 to 1937, inclusive. During that time lode gold to the value of $172,368,000 had been mined. The history of the discovery of lode gold and the early developments in lode-gold mining in each of the various districts is outlined briefly, and the production of lode gold in each of the geographic subdivisions is tabulated fully for each year, as far as the records and the practices of the Geological Survey permit.
Date: 1941
Creator: Smith, Philip S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Occurrences of Molybdenum Minerals in Alaska (open access)

Occurrences of Molybdenum Minerals in Alaska

Abstract: In the accompanying report reference is made to all of the deposits in Alaska in which molybdenum minerals have been definitely recognized and reported. None of the deposits have been mined commercially, and none of them have been prospected thoroughly enough to afford quantitative estimates as to their tenor and potential reserves ; in fact, at only a few of the localities has there been more than surficial testing. Forty-one separate and distinct localities where molybdenum minerals occur are listed, and the available information on factors of geologic significance regarding each occurrence is given. A small-scale map of Alaska on which the various localities are indicated forms part of the bulletin, and in the text are extensive references to the various published reports and records of the Survey upon which the statements are based. In spite of the widespread distribution of molybdenum mineralization in Alaska, the remoteness of many of the localities, their handicap through dearth of transportation facilities and labor supplies, and the already wellsupplied condition of the American market for molybdenum ores discourage the early development of any of the known deposits or search for them in unsurveyed areas. These draw-backs will doubtless become -less important factors …
Date: 1942
Creator: Smith, Philip S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology of the Portage Pass Area, Alaska (open access)

Geology of the Portage Pass Area, Alaska

Abstract: The Portage Pass area is in south-central Alaska, and includes part of the narrow neck of land that joins the Kenai Peninsula with the mainland to the north. This region is in general mountainous, elevations ranging from sea level to more than 4,000 feet on the peaks bordering the area. Several glaciers, all of which are apparently receding, extend into the area. Vegetation, chiefly alder and cottonwood on the valley lowlands and some spruce and hemlock on the lower slopes, extends to an elevation of about 1,000 feet, above which the slopes are bare except for occasional clumps of brush. The bedrock of the entire area is slate, argillite, and graywacke, apparently part of the same great series that extends from the Kenai Peninsula into the Prince William Sound region and is at least in part of Cretaceous age. The only igneous rocks recognized in the area are a few acidic dikes and a small diabase dike. Small, irregular quartz veinlets are widespread. The structure is not only complex but, owing to extensive metamorphism, is in many places obscure. A general northeast strike and steep to vertical dips of both bedding and cleavage planes are the rule, but there …
Date: 1943
Creator: Barnes, Farrell F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology of the Mount McKinley Quadrangle, Alaska (open access)

Geology of the Mount McKinley Quadrangle, Alaska

From abstract: The Mount McKinley quadrangle, in south-central Alaska, includes parts of the Alaska Range, the Tanana and Kuskokwim lowlands, and the Kuskokwim Mountains. Schists of Precambrian age crop out in the northern foothills of the Alaska Range. Sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age are exposed in the Kuskokwim Mountains, where little is known of their distribution and character, and in the Alaska Range, where they occupy the axial part and northern limb of a great synclinorium. Granitic batholiths, largely of Mesozoic age, intrude the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks in the Alaska Range.
Date: 1961
Creator: Reed, John Calvin, Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology of the Craig Quadrangle, Alaska (open access)

Geology of the Craig Quadrangle, Alaska

From abstract: The Craig quadrangle, in southeastern Alaska, lies entirely within the Tongass National Forest and includes a large part of Prince of Wales Island, the largest island of the Alexander Archipelago. Sedimentary, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age are exposed as complexly folded and faulted sequences. Paleozoic rocks occupy a broad geanticlinal area comprising Prince of Wales Island and the islands to the west. Metamorphosed Mesozoic rocks form a geosynclinal area along and east of Clarence Strait. Granitic and dioritic stocks and masses, mainly of Mesozoic age, intrude the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks. Remnants of volcanic rocks of Tertiary age exist on Suemez Island, and scattered areas of Tertiary clastic rocks and volcanic rocks are exposed near Clarence Strait. Deposits of Quaternary age are mainly thin glacial deposits and narrow bands of stream alluvium.
Date: 1961
Creator: Condon, W. H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology of the North Bradfield River Iron Prospect, Southeastern Alaska (open access)

Geology of the North Bradfield River Iron Prospect, Southeastern Alaska

From abstract: The North Bradfield River iron prospect is in southeastern Alaska in rugged terrain about 8 miles southwest of the Canadian boundary and about 15 miles northeast of the head of Bradfield Canal. The prospect includes several magnetite-rich ore bodies of pyrometasomatic origin that are localized in skarn. The skarn forms a small part of a northwestward-trending roof pendant that is enclosed in the composite Coast Range batholith. The dominant rocks of the roof pendant are gneiss, granulite, schist, and marble. The ore, which consists almost entirely of magnetite, contains subordinate amounts of hematite, hydrous iron sesquioxides, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and malachite. The ore bodies are crudely stratiform and apparently discontinuous. The largest ore body exposed is traceable for about 350 feet along its strike and averages about 25 feet in thickness. An accurate appraisal of the economic potential of the prospect was precluded by poor outcrops, local snow cover, and inadequate subsurface data.
Date: 1963
Creator: MacKevett, E. M., Jr. & Blake, M. Clark, Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology of the Sumdum Copper-Zinc Prospect, Southeastern Alaska (open access)

Geology of the Sumdum Copper-Zinc Prospect, Southeastern Alaska

From abstract: The Sumdum copper-zinc prospect is in an alpine region on the mainland of southeastern Alaska, about 50 miles southeast of Juneau and about 25 miles west of the Canadian boundary. The ore-bearing outcrops at the prospect were discovered by the Alaska Helicopter Syndicate during the summer of 1958. The prospect is within a few thousand feet of the western margin of the . Coast Range batholith in regionally metamorphosed rocks that locally -have -been contact: metamorphosed. Most of the known ore deposits are -in the intermediate unit of three metamorphic-rock units that were mapped.
Date: 1964
Creator: MacKevett, E. M., Jr. & Blake, M. Clark, Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Kodiak and Vicinity Alaska (open access)

Kodiak and Vicinity Alaska

From abstract: Kodiak Island, although the site of the earliest white settlement in Alaska and the center of a vigorous fishing industry, is still largely unexplored, except for a strip immediately adjacent to the shores. The heavy growth of vegetation makes access to the interior of the island difficult, and few trails penetrate far from the coast. Mining activity in the past has been confined to somewhat desultory exploitation of beach sands, which in places carry gold, though some gold-bearing lodes have been staked, and a few unsuccessful attempts at lode mining have been made.
Date: 1937
Creator: Capps, Stephen R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Upper Copper and Tanana Rivers, Alaska (open access)

Upper Copper and Tanana Rivers, Alaska

From introduction: Two field parties, one topographic, the other geologic, were engaged in making surveys in the section of the Alaska Range between the Nabesna and Big Tok Rivers in 1934. Most of the area surveyed was on the northeast side of the range, within a drainage area that is tributary to the Nabesna and Tanana Rivers, but it also included a small part of the Copper River Basin.
Date: 1934
Creator: Moffit, Fred H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Kaiyuh Hills, Alaska (open access)

The Kaiyuh Hills, Alaska

From introduction: The present report states the results of an exploratory survey of the Kaiyuh Hills during the summer of 1934.
Date: 1937
Creator: Mertie, John Beaver, Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mineral Industry of Alaska in 1935 (open access)

Mineral Industry of Alaska in 1935

From introduction: The record of the Alaska mineral industry for 1935, here presented, is supplemented by records for earlier years, because in that way certain trends may be recognized which are not only of historical significance but are also useful in suggesting the course that the industry is likely to take in the future. This is a continuing service that has been rendered by the Geological Survey from almost the earliest years of active mining in Alaska, and the present report is the thirty-second of the series.
Date: 1937
Creator: Smith, Philip S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Kodiak and Adjacent Islands, Alaska (open access)

Kodiak and Adjacent Islands, Alaska

From abstract: The Kodiak group of islands, having an area of 4,900 square miles, lie on the Pacific Ocean side of the base of the Alaska Peninsula. Although the town of Kodiak is the oldest continuously occupied white settlement in Alaska, the interior of many of the islands is still little explored and unmapped, for the heavy growth of vegetation makes inland travel difficult, and few trails penetrate far from the coast.
Date: 1937
Creator: Capps, Stephen Reid
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Eska Creek Coal Deposits Matanuska Valley, Alaska (open access)

The Eska Creek Coal Deposits Matanuska Valley, Alaska

The coal deposits in the vicinity of Eska Creek, a small tributary from the north to the Matanuska River, are a part of the Matanuska coal field. One of the two commercial coal-producing districts in Alaska, this field is in the southcentral part of the Territory, at the head of Cook Inlet. It is 170 miles from Seward, the ocean terminus of the Government-owned and -operated Alaska Railroad, and is served by a branch line of that railroad.
Date: 1937
Creator: Tuck, Ralph
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology and Ore Deposits of Northwestern Chichagof Island, Alaska (open access)

Geology and Ore Deposits of Northwestern Chichagof Island, Alaska

From introduction: The area of this report is in the northern part of southeastern Alaska (fig. 39). It includes about 400 square miles on northwestern Chichagof Island, latitude 5747' to 58*15' N. and longitude 135 57' to 136 35' W. It is covered by U. S. Geological Survey Mount Fairweather A-1, A-2, and Sitka D--7 and D-8 topographic quadrangle maps. The writer's geologic investigation was started in 1946 as a continuation of earlier work on the west coast of Chichagof Island by J. C. Reed and R. R. Coats (1941) of the U. S. Geological Survey.
Date: 1959
Creator: Rossman, Darwin Lucian
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology and Coal Resources of the Homer District, Kenai Coal Field, Alaska (open access)

Geology and Coal Resources of the Homer District, Kenai Coal Field, Alaska

From abstract: The Homer district of the Kenai coal field is about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, in south-central Alaska. It covers an area of about 1,100 square miles on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, between Tustumena Lake and Kachemak Bay. The principal settlement is Homer, at the southern end of the district, which is connected by the gravel-surfaced Sterling Highway with the Alaska highway system and The Alaska Railroad, and is also served by ocean transportation and one airline.
Date: 1959
Creator: Barnes, Farrell F. & Cobb, Edward H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geology of the Mount Katmai Area, Alaska (open access)

Geology of the Mount Katmai Area, Alaska

From abstract: The Mount Katmai area is on the Alaska Peninsula and comprises the Mount Katmai quadrangle, the Cape Douglas area of the adjoining Afognak quadrangle, and parts of the Karluk and Naknek quadrangles. The area, which includes nearly all the Katmai National Monument, is one of high relief and is drained by streams of preglacial origin. At least two ice advances are indicated by the moraine configuration. Present-day glaciation is restricted to numerous alpine glaciers in the mountain areas. Fifteen recently active volcanoes roughly form a line from Mount Douglas to Martin Mountain.
Date: 1959
Creator: Keller, A. Samuel & Reiser, Hillard N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Past Placer-Gold Production from Alaska (open access)

Past Placer-Gold Production from Alaska

"To the end of 1930 Alaska, according to the records of the Geological Survey, had produced placer gold to the value of $258,962,000 from mines widely scattered throughout its length and breadth. The distribution of the placers from which the gold was recovered has been stated in more or less detail in the annual summaries published by the Geological Survey on the mineral industry of Alaska and also in its more complete reports on many of the individual mining districts. Although these summaries and reports have furnished information regarding the larger regions, they have not always given specific details regarding the smaller districts. Furthermore, there has been no recent attempt to assemble and publish in one place the scattered statistics regarding the placer-gold production by years and by regions and districts. The purpose of the present report is to set forth in condensed but comprehensive form a summary of the placer-gold production of Alaska so far as it can be determined from the available official records."
Date: 1933
Creator: Smith, Philip S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Curry District, Alaska (open access)

The Curry District, Alaska

From abstract: The Curry district lies on the south flank of the Alaska Range, on the southeast side of Mount McKinley. Most of it is west of the Alaska Railroad. The eastern portion can be easily reached from several points along the railroad route, but the western portion is much more difficult of access, owing to the numerous glacial streams and the rugged topography. The relief of the area is great, the elevation ranging from 500 feet along the Chulitna River to 20,300 feet at Mount McKinley. The Chulitna River, a tributary of the Susitna River, drains the larger part of the area described. It flows in a broad valley in the eastern part of the district, and here the maximum relief is about 3,000 feet. The western part of the district is very rugged, with numerous peaks over 6,000 feet in elevation which have sheer slopes and almost unscalable pinnacles. Winding down through this maze of rugged mountains are four major valley glaciers-Eldridge, Buckskin, Ruth, and Tokichitna-and many tributary and smaller glaciers. Practically the entire district, with the exception of the higher peaks and ridges, has been glaciated. Timber grows along the main streams and extends to an elevation …
Date: 1934
Creator: Tuck, Ralph
System: The UNT Digital Library
Notes on the Geology of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands (open access)

Notes on the Geology of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands

Abstract: During the spring of 1932 an opportunity was offered by the United States Navy for a geologist to accompany an expedition organized to make a reconnaissance of the western part of Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. This expedition visited several localities the geology of which was little known. It was found, as had already been expected, that the islands west of Unimak Pass are composed mainly of basic volcanic lavas and fragmental materials, into which have later been injected dikes, sills, and considerable masses of intrusive rocks, some of which are of acidic types and of granitic texture. These westward islands are bordered both to the north and south by depressions 2,000 fathoms or more in depth, and the islands have apparently been built up from that depth by the ejection and extrusion of volcanic materials since early Tertiary time. No rocks of proved pre-Tertiary age were seen, and the only sedimentary materials present may well have been derived from the erosion of the volcanic islands after they were built up above sea level. On the Alaska Peninsula pre-Tertiary sediments through which the volcanic materials broke to the surface are abundantly present. There is evidence that all the …
Date: 1934
Creator: Capps, Stephen R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mineral industry of Alaska in 1934 (open access)

Mineral industry of Alaska in 1934

From Introduction: "The value of its mineral resources has long been recognized as a matter of concern in the welfare of every nation, and all wise governments almost from time immemorial have taken steps to find out about, utilize, and safeguard such of these natural resources as lie within their own boundaries or to acquire rights in those they need that lie outside those boundaries. Obviously one of these lines concerns itself with the record of present performance-how much of the different mineral commodities is the country at present producing, where does this production come from and what are the facts as to the current developments in the industry? To answer some of these questions authoritatively is part of the work of the Alaskan branch of the Geological Survey, and answers to those questions for the year 1934 are given in the accompanying report."
Date: 1936
Creator: Smith, Philip S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gypsum Deposits near Iyoukeen Cove, Chicagof Island, Southeastern Alaska (open access)

Gypsum Deposits near Iyoukeen Cove, Chicagof Island, Southeastern Alaska

From abstract: Two deposits of high-grade gypsum are located near tidewater at Iyoukeen Cove, on the northeastern part of Chichagof Island, southeastern Alaska. A group of claims, formerly operated by the Pacific Coast Gypsum Co., was acquired by the Kaiser Gypsum Division of Kaiser Industries, Inc., during World War II. Claims at the other deposit are held by Dave Housel of Juneau and Seattle, Washington, in the name of the Gypsum-Camel group.
Date: 1953
Creator: Flint, G. M., Jr. & Cobb, E. H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gypsiferous Deposits on Sheep Mountain, Alaska (open access)

Gypsiferous Deposits on Sheep Mountain, Alaska

From abstract: Gypsum-bearing rocks crop out in Gypsum and Yellow Jacket Gulches, on Sheep Mountain, which is about 90 miles northeast of Anchorage, Alaska. The gypsiferous rock occurs in deposits of irregular shape in the greenstone. Both the gypsiferous rock and the greenstone are hydrothermal alteration products of the volcanic rocks of Jurassic age which comprise the bulk of the mountain. Near-surface samples of the gypsiferous rock contained an average of 25 to 30 percent gypsum ; some contained as much as 50 percent. Quartz, alunite, clay, sericite, and pyrite are contaminating constituents of the ore. Six of the largest and most accessible of the gypsum deposits were mapped and calculations show that three of the deposits contain an aggregate of approximately 311,000 short tons of indicated gypsiferous rock and four of the deposits contain 348,000 short tons of inferred gypsiferous rock.
Date: 1951
Creator: Eckhart, Richard A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Radioactivity Investigations at Ear Mountain, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 1945 (open access)

Radioactivity Investigations at Ear Mountain, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 1945

From abstract: Radioactive material in apparently significant amounts was recognized in heavy-mineral concentrates from the gravels of four streams that head in Ear Mountain, Alaska, when collections of the United States Geological Survey were examined for radioactivity in the winter of 1944-45. This area, on the north side of the Seward Peninsula, attracted attention in 1901-02 when cassiterite was discovered in the streams. Subsequent attempts were made to develop copper- and tin-bearing lode deposits.
Date: 1955
Creator: Killeen, P. L. & Ordway, Richard J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Reconnaissance for Radioactive Deposits in Southeastern Alaska, 1952 (open access)

Reconnaissance for Radioactive Deposits in Southeastern Alaska, 1952

From abstract: Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in southeastern Alaska in 1952 was centered in three localities: the northern part of Prince of Wales Island and parts of adjacent islands, the Taku Harbor-Point Astley district, and the Hyder area. Significant concentrations of radioactive minerals were found only in the vicinity of Salmon Bay on the northeastern shore of Prince of Wales Island. In this area radioactive carbonate-hematite veins occur along the coast for about 8 miles. The veins are generally short, irregular, and lenticular, but a few can be traced for more than 300 feet between the low-tide line and the forest cover. The width of the veins normally ranges from less than 1 inch to 2.5 feet; several, however, are 5 to 10 feet wide.
Date: 1958
Creator: Houston, Joseph R.; Bates, Robert Glenn; Velikanje, Robert S. & Wedow, Helmuth, Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library