Beach Coal

On the BIT page he talks of many of the locals down there coaming the beach at low tide. He describes sizes up to several hundred pounds and how it breaks up in layers.
If it was OIL then I would think (guess) it would be as large of quantities that he describes.

I never knew oil would get hard-like-rock.
Drujinin

Thanks to all for the responses.
As far as Hillary...no lookalikes so far, it's all been very attractive lookin coal.
I haven't seen any pieces floating, so they must just wash up with the tide and waves. I did some research and found his whole Kenai peninsula is full of coal veins. Alaska has half the coal reserves of the US but only 2 active mines next to each other and run by the same outfit. The coal is very low in Sulfur but high in moisture. I'm gonna go out today and maybe get some photos I can post. It's 55 and if the sun stays out should be warm on the beach.

That coal is local. It does float (barely). I would have to look it up for the lower Kenai Penninsula, but I believe that it is probably sub-bituminous. It is the same coal as ranges up through the Mat valley and ultimately becomes anthracite at its upper reaches due to the additional aging brought about by geologic pressures associated withthe formation of the Talkeetna Mountain range. I have burnt it both on the beach in bonfires and in a heavy duty wood stove. It stinks but it throws off good heat.

I salvaged some coal off a beach on Fishers Island, NY. It was in an area where there was a military base a 100 or so years ago. I believe it was coal that hurricanes had washed off the shore. In 1938 they had a BAD one. I brought home 100lbs more of less and tried it. It didn't burn well at all. I never went back for more. Wish I lived a little closer to Homer. You got a good thing gong there.

homerakguy
I envy you.
acesover

At about the close of the twelfth century, William the Lion whose reign terminated in
1214 AD granted the monks of Holyrood Abbey the tithe of the colliery of Carriden, near Black-
ness, along with the tithe of the harbour at the same place. This seems to be the first reliable
record in the history of coal mining. In the same reign (between 1210 and 1214), the monks of
Newbattle Abbey received the grant of a colliery and quarry on the sea shore at Preston, in the
lands of Tranent, a district from which that early period downward continued to be famous for its
production of coal.

beach coal
The coal on the beach comes from 2 sources. Some comes from sloughing off the bluff above the beach but most
come from submerged coal seams just offshore where it is broken loose by wave action during storms. It is best quality
right after the storms as it seems to deterioate with exposure to the sun. It also seems that there is less than 20 years ago. I used to be able to fill a 6x6 dump truck in an hour with 3 guys collecting with 5 gal buckets. It doesn't seem anywhere as good now. Once I was crab fishing in shallow water after a storm and I pulled a ton of coal from 50 pots..& still got crab too.(back when we had crab in the bay)