Lead:
As one of the world's most important coal production bases, the Appalachian coalfields in the United States produce almost half of the total coal production in the United States, becoming an important pillar of the American economy.
But not only that, but as one of the largest coalfields in the world, the Appalachian Coalfield contains an unimaginably large amount of energy underneath.
The coal seams of the Appalachian coalfields are not laid flat and stacked in the subsurface of the region, but are intertwined with each other, and when the total thickness of these seams is calculated, it reaches a height of nearly 1,000 meters, and the coal extends for thousands of kilometers.
In the process of mining coal, the locals also found the "patterns" on the coal, which were spontaneously created by the miners, and what kind of culture and stories were contained between them?
1. An important pillar of the U.S. economy.
The Appalachian Coalfield is located in the eastern part of the United States, spanning four states, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky, which are also one of the main regions for coal mining in the United States and are known as the "coal capital" of the United States.
The Appalachian coalfields produce a wide variety of coals, including a very hot coking coal that is widely used in the smelting and chemical industries due to its unique characteristics.
At the beginning of the 20th century, with the rapid development of industry, the steel smelting industry was even more vigorous, and the demand for coking coal, as an important raw material for steel smelting, also rose sharply, almost in short supply.
Iron and steel smelting is not only an important industry of modern industry, but also an important symbol of the strength of a country's industry.
The United States has always been proud of its strong industrial strength, and steel production has repeatedly set new records, but due to the continuous expansion and upgrading of the steel industry, the demand for coking coal has also increased, and these valuable mineral resources under the coal field have also become an important pillar of the American economy and provide a strong guarantee for the development of the United States.
The Appalachian Coalfield accounts for almost half of the total coal production in the United States, and it can be said that without these coal resources in the Appalachian Coalfield, the industrial development of the United States would not be so rapid, so why is the coal produced in the Appalachian Coalfield so attractive?
2. The peculiarities of the Appalachian coalfield.
The Appalachian coalfield is exceptionally rich in coking coal resources, including 4 billion tons of coking coal, accounting for one-third of the coalfield's total coal reserves, and can be said to be a major supplier of coking coal to the United States.
Coking coal is a kind of coal with low ash combustion value and high combustion value, its heat production is very sufficient, the high temperature after combustion can reach 1200 degrees Celsius, and the gas in coking coal can effectively burn the high temperature, this high temperature coal fuel will play a very big role in the steel smelting process.
Smelting steel requires special conditions, and a high temperature of 2200 degrees Celsius must be obtained in order to fully mix the components in the molten iron to achieve the purpose of smelting, and this high temperature condition is just met by coking coal.
Coking coal can also burn high-temperature gas at the same time, so in the process of smelting steel, coking coal is used to burn and smelt high-temperature conditions, and at the same time, some useful by-products will be refined in the process, so coking coal is also called "industrial diamonds".
The abundance of coking coal resources also provides conditions for chemical enterprises in the United States, because the heat production of coking coal is very high, in the process of chemical production, it is widely used, can be used to produce coal tar, synthetic ammonia, synthetic oil, methanol and other petrochemical products, so the use of coking coal is very wide.
The coking coal produced in the Appalachian Coalfield is widely used in steel smelting and the production of chemical products, so the Appalachian Coalfield is a source of wealth that fuels the U.S. economy.
The order of the coal seams in this area is indeed intricate, and there is not only one layer, but hundreds of layers of coal seams are intertwined, and the thickness of the coal seams in the coal field is also very thick, stretching for thousands of kilometers, due to the intricacy of the coal seams, the process of coal mining is extremely difficult.
3. Coalfields are the backbone of the economy and a treasure house of culture.
It is the intricate characteristics of these coal seams that make the coal reserves very abundant, which can store about 1.8 trillion tons of coal, and the annual output of these coals has reached 550 million tons, which is a huge output and makes a huge contribution to the coal industry in the United States.
Not only that, but the Appalachian coalfields are rich in culture and history, and the Appalachian region was one of the first places in the United States to mine coal, dating back to the 18th century, during the American Revolution.
In the course of their hard work, the miners found that the underground coal resources were abundant, and the value of these coal resources was very expensive, which could bring rich returns to the miners.
As a result, more and more miners came here to mine, and people also established many mining villages and towns here, forming a unique corporate culture and multiculturalism, and these miners have harvested rich material wealth while not forgetting to pass on this beautiful cultural tradition.
The Appalachian region is rich in culture, and the miners have also incorporated their own life experiences into their own culture, and the miners have used their imagination to create many unique cultural heritages, including a unique art form called coal carving, which has been integrated into the local culture to form a unique culture and landscape.
The coal carvings in the Appalachian coalfields are very distinctive, it can be said to be a kind of "underground art", when the miners are doing mining work, they will see some granite in the ground, and these granites are extremely hard and very difficult to mine, but because the miners want to ease the working environment, they want to use these granite for carving.
In the process of coal mining, miners use the tools in their hands to carve these granite stones, carve simple patterns to entertain themselves and their companions, and also bring their creations to their families, showing the results of their work in a unique way.
With the passage of time, the miners created more and more, showing rich diversity and beauty, and were collected by the locals to express their emotions, so in the hearts of the locals, these coal carvings are like a picture scroll, recording the imprint of time, local culture and customs, and inheriting this beautiful cultural tradition.
4. The Past and Present of the Appalachian Coalfield.
The formation of the Appalachian coalfield has a long history, dating back to more than 300 million years ago, when the earth had a humid climate and lush vegetation, and here it happens to be a large swamp, the marshland is covered with dense vegetation, which absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide in the process of growth, and the local oxygen is also very abundant, and these vegetation can easily form forests during the growth process.
Over millions of years of sedimentation in the area, the greenhouse effect has waned, the climate has become drier, and the vegetation in the marshes has gradually died, but after hundreds of millions of years of sedimentation, it has gradually become coal seams and buried underground.
As the plates moved through the earth's crust, coal seams were squeezed underground, forming the coalfields that were buried underground for millions of years to form today's Appalachian coalfields.
In the process of developing the Appalachian coalfields, not only did it bring wealth and jobs, but it also brought some negative impacts, such as environmental pollution and labor disputes, which also promoted the development and progress of the local society.
Therefore, while exploring the past and present life of coalfields, it is also necessary to explore the impact of coal mining, the advantages and disadvantages of coal, and how to balance the relationship between economic development and environmental protection to promote sustainable development.
V. Conclusion
As one of the largest coalfields in the world, the Appalachian coalfield has contributed greatly to coal production, so how will the coalfields develop?
It is hoped that in the future development, the coal production of the coalfield can continue to increase, and can be balanced development, bringing more wealth to the United States.