Anthracite Coal
Anthracite, or "hard" coal, has been slightly metamorphosed and thus undergone a bit more heat and pressure than "soft" bituminous coal. Anthracite coal is more clean-burning than bituminous coal, but is not as common or as easily dug as the more readily available soft coal. In the days of coal-burning steam ships, anthracite was in high demand, especially by the U.S. Navy. Because the fuel did not produce dense clouds of black smoke as did bituminous coal, a warship out of sight of its enemy would not give away its position by a plume of black smoke rising over the horizon.
These samples came from a mine dump near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Anthracite Coal
Anthracite, or "hard" coal, has been slightly metamorphosed and thus undergone a bit more heat and pressure than "soft" bituminous coal. Anthracite coal is more clean-burning than bituminous coal, but is not as common or as easily dug as the more readily available soft coal. In the days of coal-burning steam ships, anthracite was in high demand, especially by the U.S. Navy. Because the fuel did not produce dense clouds of black smoke as did bituminous coal, a warship out of sight of its enemy would not give away its position by a plume of black smoke rising over the horizon.
These samples came from a mine dump near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.