Sulpher Deposits in Alaska
The known sulphur deposits ol
Alaska are ol \ol anie or gin and lie
, in llu- belt ol active volcanoes that
extends through the Aleut- islands
and Alaska peninsula Imnosits on
I'nalaska and Akun islands and near
Stepovak bay, on the Alaska penin
| snla. were examined in the summer of
P.H7 by A <;. Maddren. of the Pnlted
States geological survey, department
of the interior.
The examination showed that al
though there is some sulphur at each
place examined there is little proba
bility that any of the deposits can lx*
profitably mined at present or in the
immediate future, for they are not
of large area, most of them are prob
ably shallow and contain only dissem
inated sulphur, applies and labor are
not obtainable near the deposits, the
open season is short, the wori: nt
transporting the sulphur from the
mines to the ships would be difficult,
and the haul to the larger marke’s
would be long However, the*e do
posits form part of America's ul;m ir
p-s'-. ves. and similar deposits tin
doubetdlv occur at many other place;
in the vobunic belt of -out hwi sicrn
\laska When material and labor are
moie easily and i beaplv oldlin.-Pd \
when transportation is cheaper, and
when the demand for sulphur »»n 'h
Pacific coast is laraor, the ulpiiui do
posits in Alaska can doubtle--- b* *
mined profitably The area within
which workable deposits of llpliur
may be found in Alaska is larg • ami
most of it is unexplored, so the dace
at which sulphur can be fi st and most
profitably mim’d is not certainly
know n
Sulphur claims have been staked on
deposits in the (rater of Mukti.diin
volcano, on I’nalaska island; on Akun
island: and near Stepovak bay. No
sulphur has been marketed y.-t from
these deposits, but during Hie last
year they have attracted tic* aiicntion
of prospective investors with a view
to their exploitation. I’nalaska and
Akun islands are near tile east end
of the Aleutian islands, about 1.750
miles from Puget Sound. Stepovak
bay is on the south coast of the Alaska
imninunln nlwiiit 1 nun miles from
Puget Sound
The sulphur deposit at Makushln
Volcano is about 12 miles west of
Dutch harbor, or 5 or 6 miles north
of Makushln bay. It is about 5,500
feet above sea level, in the only part
<it' the crater that appears to be per
manently bare of snow and ice This
bare area covers 20 to lie acres. The
surface here consists of loose, porous
and disintegrated lava. In the Hour
of the crater there are many cracks,
pits and other openings from which
hot volcanic vapors issue constantly,
lit sex oral auger holes drilled in the
cooler | ;irts of the earth hot sulphur
ous vapor was tapped at depths of
\ to s feet. The ground is so hot that
deposits of sulphur are not at all likely
to In* formed except near tin* sur
face.
The deposit includes a richer stir
face zone. 1 to 2 feet thick, which
forms a crust, because of the sulphur
deposited in it. and a subsoil zone
which consi is in greater part of
moist, hot. porous decomposed mate
rial, in which a small quantity of sill
phur is disseminated as grain- and
plcbs to a depth at nine places of at
1, i-o i»: tcct
Till- sulphur is very irregularly dis
trihuted, even in the crusty surfm e
,.mic Although pure ulphur occurs
in masses in some of the dormant and
■ cviid'i’Unant len'v it does not extend
ven far down tl'eso oueoings Some
id tie -.- ma-se- ma> ite-iade • -.era!
<-iii.it- i.ci of apparently pure sulphur
that tumid la- mined by careful hand
methods, hut the aggregate space thus
occupied by sulphur ill the crevices
and vents is relatively small, for
although a few of the crevices are 10
to 12 inches wide, most of them are not
more than 2 or 2 inches wide. The
thickness of the sulphur-boaring crust
between the crevices averages about
12 inches, although in some places it
is. as much as 2 feet. This crust, how
ever, is not composed of solid sulphur,
although In some places the upper 6
inches of it is chiefly sulphur. In gen
eral the lower G inches of a 12-inch
section of the crust Includes a large
proportion of earth, and at many
places the upper 6 inches of the de
j posit is also decidedly earthy.
Of the 20 or 20 acres of bare ground
: described probably not more than 5
! acres, situated In its southern part,
| contains a good grade of sulphur-be ir
j ing material, and only a still smaller
area contains high-grade material,
even in the surface crust
The high-grade sulphur at the open
j vents is about 98 to 99 per cent pure
and includes about 5 per cent of the
hole the 0,1, hire m itei ial. Alt >ilr
7" per cent of tin* suriace material to
;• depth of 1 (<• j t«• • • t contains s.to
!* *• per tent oi sulphur, as shown l»y
analyses of lour sp*< imens. the aver
age content ot the specimens being
about flu per cent If the weight of
phur content of the surface material
to a depth of 1 to U feet is therefore
j about 60 per cent. I the weight of
the dried material is about 7‘> pounds
per cubic foot (the weight indicated
by the specific gravity of what was as
sumed to he a representative sample),
the 5 acres of better ground should
contain about l.snn tons of sulphur per
acre within u feet of the surface.
It is difficult to make even a rough
estimate of the sulphur content of teh
remainder ot the deposit, especially of
the earthy part beneath the surface
• rust. This material is not of uniform
thickness, ami the quantity of sulphur
that is disseminated through it is tin
known Five samples taken on the
southwestern Hank of the deposit,
from depths of about 4. S. 1". I u and
1 *. feet, contain 17 «», UTS. 1 1.7. ITS.
and per cent of sulphur, respec
tively, averaging about li'.\ per cent
li this average holds throughout the
deposit the zone from U to H; feet In*
low the surface should contain from
"16 toils oi sulphur per foot per acre,
' a de;.ili of t feet to Fir. tons per
loot per .K re at a depth o Hi feet, or
a total tor the entire 14 foot zone of
l.pou tons per acre
The sulphur-bearing area on Akim
inland, on which mining claims have
been located, is l.-K'u to l.aOO feet
above se i level and lies on the flanks
of a rugged ridge about U miles from
(he shore ot Lost harbor. The sul
phurhearing area includes 1 ”> to im
acres, but the best part of the deposit
includes only about a acres.
The sulphur in this deposit consists*
chiefly crystalline incrustations one- —
sixteenth to one-eighth ot an inch _
thick, oi. the walls of narrow crevices 2
and small cavities in the porous earthy ]
surface /one. Some sulphur is also ■
dissemii ited through the decomposed
material, hut there are practically no
bodies of solid sulphur in any part
of the deposit.
Must of the miluhiir in this rl.nnsif
occurs in the porous earthy mantle
within $ to 4 feet of the surface The
average thickness of this mantle is be
lieved to he about 2 feet. Two sam- J;
pies, one taken at the surface and the f
other at a depth of 4 feet, contained
aa.fi and 22k per c ent of sulphur, re
sepctiveh If the* average' thickness ..v.
of the sulphur-bearing surface mantle .T
is 2 feet and if its average* sulphur
i ontent i< 4<> per rent it should eon
tain 1.200 tons of sulphur per ac re.
Stepovak hay is on the south shore
of Alaska peninsula, in latitude* fa; ;X
degrees north. The* only large sul [y.
phur deposit reported in the virin :£
ity is about 7 miles northwest of the X;
head of the hay. at an altitude of ;¥
2.000 feet This deposit was not vis £:
iled. hut a glac ial moraine that » \ X*
tends coastward from the localit> < >n
largely of sulphur hearing rock. £•
which was probably derived from i:. ;X
The sulphur hearing roc k in the m - X;
rainic dcpo-dts consists of porous vol *:
catiic hre. < ia containing compact c r> *
tallim ulphur in its intersth » s and
in tie \esides of its constituent frag
i» • t*r Smiie specimen- of tlei hi -ccia
pro bald.- < out am 2" per cent o' -u!
■ imr i i o * one .ighth inch to in
He h ! u . Th sulphur is l inch d _
-emit' 'ted through much of the br< •
( ia. c • - hirh it probably forms ted
more ih. n ,*> or lo per cent I’att ot
tii- A i : the moraine ma> ont,.:n
i" pe cent of sulphur, but larger part -
if it arc practi a!l\ barren. The ma
terial in the moraine is probald
poorer in sulphur than the bed from
which it came. Some of the sulphur ___
bearing boulders arc* 2" to 4<> feet —
thick and thus indicate* the* minimum
thickness of the* bed or beds from
which they were derived. The abun
dance of the sulphur-bearing material
in the moraine also indicates that tin*
original deposit was large
-#
Measure Socks with Ruler
A ruler and not a tapemeasure
should be used In determining the
length of socks knitted to lied Cross
requirements.
l-’eet must be from eleven to eleven
! and a half inches long. Socks should
; not be larger than standard in one
: place and smaller than standard in
another. However, socks that are weli
| proportioned are accepted If they are
I slightly over or under the standard
-♦
The Northwestern Hardware Com
i pany has just received a shipment of
I “Desolvo" sewer and drain pipe clean
: era.
Take a Victrola
on your camping trip
A Victrola is looKed upon as a regular part of
a camping outfit nowadays.
It is always sure of a rousing welcome.
Its delightful music is one of the real joys of
camp life.
] Whether you are p -< ramping nr not, come in and get acquainted
j with th • V.ictrola. We’ j idly play any music you wish to hear. ■
Victrola* $15 to $160. Victors $10 to $100. Terms to suit yuut
convenience. ~ ‘ t '■
• v W.
Northern Drug Co.
CORDOVA
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New Patterns in Stock
PHONES 11 and 75
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D. C. WHITFORD. Proprietor
«»S» FORMERLY THE SLATER CAFE
Boxes And Tables Reserved For Private
Dinner Parties _
® OPEN DAY AND NIGHT
_
NORTHERN MEAT MARKET
Wholesale and Retail Dealers in
FRESH BEEF, PORK, VEAL, MUTTON AND PRO- 1
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Particular Attention and Prompt Service Given to Order* from
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in Stock When Available
SMITH & (JLASSBRENNER, Props.
When You Are In McCarthy
-STOP AT THE
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The Very Finest Rooms and Bath
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