Geology and coal resources of the eastern part of the lower Matanuska Valley coal field, Alaska

The lower Matanuska Valley coal field is in south-central Alaska near the head of Cook Inlet, about 60 miles by railroad northeast of Anchorage (fig. 1). It occupies an area roughly 7 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide that trends northeastward parallel to the front of the Talkeetna Mountains to the north. The eastern part of the field is considered in this report. The western part has recently been described.

The two operating coal mines in the area, the Government-owned Eska mine and the privately owned Evan Jones mine, are served by a 23-mile branch line of the Alaska Railroad. The Glenn Highway, a year-round gravel-surfaced road connecting Anchorage with the Richardson Highway and the interior of Alaska, passes about 2 miles south of the mines.