A coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological. A coalfield often groups the seams of coal, railroad companies, cultural groups, and watersheds and other geographical considerations.
At one time the coalfield designation was an important category in business and industrial discussions. The terminology declined into unimportance as the 20th Century progressed, and was probably only referred to by a few small railroads and history buffs by the 1980s. Renewed interest in industrial heritage and coal mining history has brought the old names of the coalfields before a larger audience.

Canada

May also refer to the Rural Municipality of Coalfields No. 4, Saskatchewan

Coalfields No. 4, Saskatchewan

Coalfields No. 4 is a rural municipality in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in southeastern Saskatchewan and is within SARM Division No. 1 and Census Division No. 1. Its population was 396 as of the 2006 Census.-Statistics:...

• Sydney Coalfield
• Inverness Coalfield
• Mabou Coalfield
• Pictou Coalfield
• Spring Hill Coalfield
• Joggins River Herbert Coalfield
• St Rose-Chimney Corner Coalfield
• Beersville Coalfield
• Minto Coalfield
• St. George Coalfield
• Howley Coalfield
• Onakawana Coalfield
• Estevan Coalfield
• Willow Bunch Coalfield
• Wood Mountain Coalfield
• Cypress Coalfield
• Taber Coalfield
• Flathead Coalfield
• Crowsnest Coalfield
• Elk Valley Coalfield
• Princeton Coalfield
• Tulameen Coalfield
• Merritt Coalfield
• Hat Creek Coalfield
• Nanaimo Coalfield
• Comox Coalfield

Germany

• Ibbenbüren Coalfield (Middle Ages - present)
• Ruhr Coalfield (Middle Ages - present)
• Aachen Coalfield
• Erkelenz Coalfield (1914-1997)
• Inde Coalfield  (middle ages - 1944)
• Wurm Coalfield (middle ages - 1992)
• Saar Coalfield (Middle Ages - present)
• Zwickau Coalfield (Middle Ages - 1979)
• Lugau-Oelsnitz Coalfield (1844–1971)

Belgium

• Campine Coalfield (1917–1992)
• Liege Coalfield (Middle Ages - 1980)
• Charleroi Coalfield  (Middle Ages - 1984)
• Centre Coalfield  (Middle Ages - 1973)
• Borinage Coalfield  (Middle Ages - 1973)

France

• Nord-Pas-de-Calais Coalfield (1852–1990)
• Lorraine Coalfield (1820–2004)
• Aumance Coalfield
• Blanzy Coalfield
• Brassac Coalfield
• Carmaux Coalfield
• Champagnac Coalfield
• Dauphiné Coalfield
• Decazeville Coalfield
• Epinac Coalfield
• Gard Coalfield
• Hérault Coalfield
• La Machine Coalfield
• Loire Coalfield
• Messeix Coalfield
• Provence Coalfield
• St Eloi Coalfield

England

• Bristol and Somerset Coalfield
• Bristol Coalfield
  Bristol Coalfield
  The Bristol Coalfield is a geologically complex coalfield in the west of England. Comprising the coal-bearing rocks arranged around the Coalpit Heath Syncline and Kingsdown Anticline, it extends beneath the eastern parts of the city of Bristol and northwards through southern Gloucestershire...
  
  
• Cheadle Coalfield
  Cheadle Coalfield
  The Cheadle Coalfield is a coalfield in the United Kingdom. Centred around the town of Cheadle, Staffordshire and its outlying villages it lies to the east of Stoke-on-Trent and the much larger North Staffordshire Coalfield...
  
  
• Clee Hills Coalfield
• Coalbrookdale Coalfield
  Coalbrookdale Coalfield
  The Coalbrookdale Coalfield is a coalfield in Shropshire in the English Midlands. It extends from Linley in the south, northwards to the Boundary Fault which runs northeastwards from the vicinity of The Wrekin. Coal-bearing strata are to be found across three synclines; the Donnington, Madeley...
  
  
• Cumberland Coalfield
  Cumberland Coalfield
  The Cumberland Coalfield is a coalfield in Cumbria, north-west England. It extends from Whitehaven in the south to Maryport and Aspatria in the north.The following coal seams occur within the Coal Measures Group in this coalfield...
  
  
• Durham Coalfield
  Durham Coalfield
  The Durham Coalfield is a coalfield in north-east England. It is continuous with the Northumberland Coalfield to its north. It extends from Bishop Auckland in the south to the boundary with the county of Northumberland along the River Tyne in the north, beyond which is the Northumberland...
  
  
• East Staffordshire Coalfield
• Forest of Dean Coalfield
  Forest of Dean Coalfield
  The Forest of Dean Coalfield, lying under the Forest of Dean, in northwest Gloucestershire, is one of the smaller coalfields in the British Isles, although intensive mining during the 19th and 20th centuries has had enormous influence on the landscape, history, culture and economy of the area.For...
  
  
• Ingleton Coalfield
  Ingleton Coalfield
  The Ingleton Coalfield is a coalfield in North Yorkshire, close to its border with Lancashire in north-west England. Isolated from other coal-producing areas, it is one of the smallest coalfields in Great Britain....
  
  
• Kent Coalfield
  Kent coalfield
  The Kent Coalfield was a coalfield located in the eastern part of the English county of Kent.Coal was discovered in the area in 1890 while borings for an early Channel Tunnel project were taking place and the resultant Shakespeare colliery lasted until 1915...
  
  
• Lancashire Coalfield
  Lancashire Coalfield
  The Lancashire Coalfield in north-west England was one of the most important British coalfields.-Geography and geology:The geology of the coalfield consists of the coal seams of the Upper, Middle and Lower Coal Measures, layers of sandstones, shales and coal of varying thickness, which were laid...
  
  
• Burnley Coalfield
• South Lancashire Coalfield

• Manchester Coalfield
  Manchester Coalfield
  The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South East Lancashire Coalfield. Its coal seams were laid down in the Carboniferous period and some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages and extensively from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th...
  
  
• Oldham Coalfield
• St Helens Coalfield
• Wigan Coalfield
  • Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield
    Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield
    The Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield in the English Midlands is one of the smaller British coalfields. The two areas are sometimes separately referred to as the South Derbyshire Coalfield and the Leicestershire Coalfield...
    
    
  • Midgeholme Coalfield
    Midgeholme Coalfield
    The Midgeholme Coalfield is a coalfield in Midgeholme, on the border of Cumbria with Northumberland in northern England. It is the largest of a series of small coalfields along the south side of the Tyne Valley and which are intermediate between the Northumberland and Durham Coalfields to the east...
    
    
  • Newent Coalfield
  • Oxfordshire-Berkshire Coalfield
  • North Staffordshire Coalfield
    North Staffordshire Coalfield
    - Introduction :The North Staffordshire Coalfield is an historic coalfield in the County of Staffordshire, England. The Coalfield emcompasses an area of nearly and that area is virtually wholly contained within the boundaries of the city of Stoke on Trent and the borough of Newcastle under Lyme...
    
    
  • Northumberland Coalfield
    Northumberland Coalfield
    The Northumberland Coalfield is a coalfield in north-east England. It is continuous with the Durham Coalfield to its south. It extends from Amble in the north to the boundary with County Durham along the River Tyne in the south, beyond which is the Durham Coalfield.The two contiguous coalfield...
    
    
  • Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield
  • Oswestry Coalfield
  • Shrewsbury Coalfield
  • Shropshire Coalfield
  • Somerset Coalfield
    Somerset coalfield
    The Somerset Coalfield included pits in the North Somerset, England, area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973.It is part of a wider coalfield which covered northern Somerset and southern Gloucestershire. It stretched from Cromhall in the north to the Mendip Hills in the south, and...
    
    
  • South Staffordshire Coalfield
    South Staffordshire Coalfield
    The South Staffordshire Coalfield is one of several coalfields in the English Midlands. It stretches for 25 miles / 40km from the Lickey Hills in the south to Rugeley in the north. The coalfield is around 10 miles / 16km wide; its eastern and western margins are fault-bounded...
    
    
  • Yorkshire Coalfield
  • South Yorkshire Coalfield
    South Yorkshire Coalfield
    The South Yorkshire Coalfield is defined by a triangle lying between Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield, though a few mines within the coalfield lie outside this area. It is part of the larger Midland coal field which stretches from Nottingham in the south to Bradford and Leeds in the north...
    
    
  • Warwickshire Coalfield
    Warwickshire Coalfield
    The Warwickshire Coalfield extends between Warwick and Tamworth in the English Midlands. It is about 40km / 25 miles from north to south and its width is around half that distance. Its western margin is defined by the 'Western Boundary Fault'. In the northeast it abuts against steeply dipping...
    
    
  • Wyre Forest Coalfield

Scotland

• Ayrshire Coalfield
• South Ayrshire Coalfield
• Central Ayrshire Coalfield
• Brora Coalfield
  Brora Coalfield
  The Brora Coalfield is a coalfield on the east coast of Sutherland in northern Scotland. The 'Brora Main' is a 1m to 1.5m thick seam which has been mined in the Brora area. It is unusual amongst British coalfields in being of Jurassic age rather than Carboniferous...
  
  
• Canonbie Coalfield
  Canonbie Coalfield
  The Canonbie Coalfield is a small and largely concealed coalfield at Canonbie in the south of Scotland. Survey work in recent years revealed potentially economically workable reserves beneath a cover of New Red Sandstone rocks...
  
  
• Central Coalfield
• Clackmannan Coalfield
• Dailly Coalfield
• Douglas Coalfield
• Fife Coalfield
  Fife Coalfield
  The Fife Coalfield was one of the principal coalfields in Scotland. Over fifty collieries were in operation at various times between the middle of the nineteenth century and the closure of the last pit in 1988...
  
  
• Central Fife Coalfield
• East Fife Coalfield
• West Fife Coalfield
• Lanarkshire Coalfield
• Lothians Coalfield
• Machrihanish Coalfield
  Machrihanish Coalfield
  The Machrihanish Coalfield is a coalfield on the Kintyre peninsula in southwest Scotland. It is one of the smallest British coalfields. The coal-bearing strata contain numerous seams of which the Main Coal is the principal one being some 3 to 4m thick...
  
  
• Midlothian Coalfield
  Midlothian Coalfield
  The Midlothian Coalfield is a coalfield in southwest Scotland situated immediately to the east and southeast of Edinburgh. It is geologically continuous with the East Fife Coalfield beneath the Firth of Forth though the undersea coal reserves have only been partly exploited. There were undersea...
  
  
• Northeast Stirlingshire Coalfield
• Sanquhar Coalfield
• Scremerston Coalfield

Wales

• Anglesey Coalfield
  Anglesey Coalfield
  The Anglesey Coalfield is a minor British coalfield. Situated in north-west Wales, it is not usually considered to form a part of the North Wales Coalfield which lies in Flintshire and Denbighshire in north-east Wales. Stretching from the Gaerwen area to Malltraeth, it is around 9 miles long....
  
  
• North Wales Coalfield
  North Wales Coalfield
  The North Wales Coalfield comprises the Flintshire Coalfield in the north and the Denbighshire Coalfield in the south. It extends from Point of Ayr in the north, through the Wrexham area to Oswestry in Shropshire in the south....
  
  
• Denbighshire Coalfield
  Denbighshire Coalfield
  The Denbighshire Coalfield in north-east Wales is one of the smaller British coalfields. It extends from near Caergwrle in the north, southwards through Wrexham, Ruabon and Rhosllanerchrugog to Chirk in the south. A small part extends into Shropshire around Oswestry...
  
  
• Flintshire Coalfield
  Flintshire Coalfield
  The Flintshire Coalfield in north-east Wales is one of the smaller British coalfields. It extends from the Point of Ayr in the north, along the Dee Estuary through Connah's Quay to Caergwrle in the south. A small part extends onto the Wirral i.e. English coast of the estuary at Neston which was the...
  
  
• Pembrokeshire Coalfield
  Pembrokeshire Coalfield
  The Pembrokeshire Coalfield in West Wales is one of the smallest British coalfields. The main coalfield extends from Saundersfoot on Carmarthen Bay westwards to Broad Haven on St Brides Bay...
  
  
• South Wales Coalfield
  South Wales Coalfield
  The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
  
  

India

• South Karanpura Coalfield
  South Karanpura Coalfield
  South Karanpura Coalfield is located in Ramgarh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.-Overview:In 1917, L.S.S.O’Malley described the coalfields in the upper reaches of the Damodar as follows: "Near the western boundary of Jharia field is that of Bokaro, covering , with an estimated content of...
  
  
• North Karanpura Coalfield
  North Karanpura Coalfield
  North Karanpura Coalfield is located in Hazaribagh, Ramgarh and Chatra districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The coalfield spreads over to Palamu district.-Overview:...
  
  
• Ramgarh Coalfield
  Ramgarh Coalfield
  Ramgarh Coalfield are located in Ramgarh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.-Overview:In 1917, L.S.S.O’Malley described the coalfields in the upper reaches of the Damodar as follows: “Near the western boundary of Jharia field is that of Bokaro, covering , with an estimated content of 1,500...
  
  
• West Bokaro Coalfield
  West Bokaro Coalfield
  West Bokaro Coalfield is located in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.-Overview:In 1917, L.S.S.O’Malley described the coalfields in the upper reaches of the Damodar as follows: "Near the western boundary of Jharia field is that of Bokaro, covering" , "with an estimated content...
  
  
• East Bokaro Coalfield
  East Bokaro Coalfield
  East Bokaro Coalfield is located in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.-Overview:In 1917, L.S.S.O’Malley described the coalfields in the upper reaches of the Damodar as follows: “Near the western boundary of Jharia field is that of Bokaro, covering , with an estimated content of...
  
  
• Raniganj Coalfield
  Raniganj Coalfield
  Raniganj Coalfield is primarily located in the Asansol and Durgapur subdivisions of Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It spreads over to the neighbouring districts of Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and Dhanbad.-History:...
  
  

South Africa

• Waterberg Coalfield
• Highveld Coalfield
• Witbank Coalfield
• Ermelo Coalfield
• Utrecht Coalfield
• Klip River Coalfield

Alabama

• Warrior Coalfield
• Cahaba Coalfield
• Coosa Coalfield
• Sand Mountain Coalfield
• Lookout Mountain Coalfield

Colorado

• Trinidad Coalfield
• Pagosa Springs Coalfield
• Durango Coalfield
• Nucla Naturita Coalfield
• Canyon City Coalfield
• Grand Mesa Coalfield
• Somerset Colorado Coalfield
• Crested Butte Coalfield
• Grand Hogback Coalfield
• Book Cliffs Coalfield
• Colorado Springs Coalfield
• South Park Coalfield
• Boulder-Weld Coalfield
• North Park Coalfield
• Yampa Coalfield
• Dan Forth Hills Coalfield

Iowa

• Appanoose-Wayne Coalfield
• Walnut Creek Coalfield
• Fort Dodge Coalfield
• Eldora Coalfield

Kentucky

• East Kentucky Coalfield
• West Kentucky Coalfield

These are geologic terms, as opposed to the largely economic definition that appears to be used for most of the other sub-entries in this entry. Kentucky is the only state with two separate and distinct bituminous coalfields of the geologic definition: They contain many seams of coal that underlie a large area and form a continuous region where coal is found (except around the edges, where eriosion and faults have created outlying areas of coal). In other states and nations with more complex geology, coalfields are often smaller and more discontinuous, and thus are identified as separate fields though they may have the same geologic origin. In Kentucky, both coalfields are of Pennsylvanian geologic age, but coal in Western Kentucky, part of the Illinois Basin, tends to have higher sulfur content than coals in the east, part of the greater Central Appalachian coalfield. In some cases the state's two fields are referred to as Eastern and Western and "coal field," two words rather than one.

Maryland

• Georges Creek Coalfield
• Upper Potomac Coalfield
• Cassellman Coalfield
• Upper Youghiogheny Coalfield
• Lower Youghiogheny Coalfield

Ohio

• Pittsburgh No. 8 Coalfield
• Cambridge Coalfield
• Coshocton Coalfield
• Crooksville Coalfield
• Hocking Coalfield
• Jackson Coalfield
• Pomeroy Coalfield
• Ironton Coalfield
• Goshen Coalfield
• Amsterdam-Salineville Coalfield
• Lisbon Coalfield
• Massillion Coalfield
• Palmyra Coalfield
• Federal Creek Coalfield
• Meigs Creek Coalfield

Pennsylvania

• Anthracite Coalfield (Coal Region
  Coal Region
  The Coal Region is a term used to refer to an area of Northeastern Pennsylvania in the central Appalachian Mountains comprising Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Schuylkill, Northumberland, and the extreme northeast corner of Dauphin counties....
  
  )
• Connellsville Coalfield
  Connellsville coalfield
  The Connellsville Coalfield is located in Fayette County and Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, between the city of Latrobe and the small borough of Smithfield, and is sometimes known as the Connellsville Coke Field. This is because the section of the Pittsburgh coal seam here was famous as one of...
  
  
• Klondike Coalfield
• Pittsburgh Coalfield
  Pittsburgh Coalfield
  The Pittsburgh Coalfield is the largest of the Western Pennsylvania coalfields. It includes all or part of Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania. Coal has been mined in Pittsburgh since the 18th century. U.S. Steel and Bethlehem Steel owned Karen, Maple...
  
  
• Irwin Gas Coalfield
• Indian Valley Coalfield
• Ligonier Coalfield
• Westmoreland Coalfield
• Somerset Pennsylvania Coalfield
• Meyersdale Coalfield
• Windber Coalfield
• Black Lick Coalfield (aka Nanto Glo Coalfield)
• Mountain Coalfield
• Snowshoe Coalfield
• Moshannon Coalfield
• Clearfield Coalfield
  Clearfield Coalfield
  The Clearfield Coalfield is a bituminous coal mining area in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, USA. The coal seams are found in most parts of Clearfield County, with the notable exception of the northern part of the county.-Mining history:...
  
  
• Bennetts Branch Coalfield
• Shawmut Coalfield
• Punxsutawney Coalfield
• Indiana Coalfield
• Freeport Coalfield
• Kittanning Coalfield
• Low Grade Division Coalfield
• Butler Coalfield
• Mercer Coalfield
• Clarion Coalfield
• Beaver Coalfield
• Broad Top Coalfield
• Georges Creek Coalfield
• Bernice Coalfield
  Bernice Coalfield
  The Bernice Coalfield is in Cherry and Colley Townships of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. The villages of Mildred, Lopez, Murraytown and Bernice surround the Coalfields. Primarily bituminous coal was mined here. Both strip mining and deep mining was done....
  
  
• Blossburg Coalfield
• Ralston Coalfield
• Keating Coalfield
• Cameron Coalfield

Tennessee

• Cumberland Gap Coalfield
• Jellico Coalfield
• Lafollette Coalfield
• Wartburg Coalfield
• Rockwood Coalfield
• Soddy Coalfield

Utah

• Coalville Coalfield
• Blacktail Coalfield
• Vernal Coalfield
• Sunnyside Coalfield
• Castlegate Coalfield
• Wasatch Plateau
• Emery Coalfield
• Book Cliffs Coalfield
• Henry Mountains Coalfield
• Teton Basin Coalfield
• Kaiporonitis Plateau Coalfield
• Harmony Coalfield
• Kolob Plateau Coalfield

West Virginia

• Pocahontas Coalfield
  Pocahontas coalfield
  Pocahontas Coalfield, which is also known as the Flat Top-Pocahontas Coalfield, is located in Mercer County/McDowell County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia. The coal seams—Pocahontas No. 3, No. 4, No. 6, and No...
  
  
• Winding Gulf Coalfield
  Winding Gulf Coalfield
  The Winding Gulf Coalfield is located in western Raleigh County and eastern Wyoming County, in southern West Virginia. The Winding Gulf coalfield is named after Winding Gulf Creek, a tributary of the Guyandotte River...
  
  
• New River Coalfield
  New River Coalfield
  The New River Coalfield is located in northeastern Raleigh County and southern Fayette County, West Virginia. Commercial mining of coal began in the 1870s and thrived into the 20th century. The coal in this field is a low volatile coal, and the seams of coal that have been mined include Sewell,...
  
  
• Greenbrier Coalfield
• Logan Coalfield
  Logan Coalfield
  The Logan Coalfield is a coalfield located in Logan County and Wyoming County, West Virginia, in the United States. It has been a large source of high-quality, high-volatile bituminous coal since the field was opened by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1905. The railroad C&O maintained a rail...
  
  
• Williamson Coalfield
• Kanawha Coalfield
• Elkins Coalfield
• Fairmont Coalfield
• Upper Potomac Coalfield
• Panhandle Coalfield
  Panhandle Coalfield
  The Panhandle Coalfield is a coalfield located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel. Mining is primarily in the Pittsburgh coal seam, sometimes called the No. 8 seam, which is of a steam rather than metallurgical nature in this region...
  
  
• Meadow Branch Coalfield
  Meadow Branch Coalfield
  The Meadow Branch Coalfield is a coalfield located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia along the Berkeley and Morgan county lines.It is the only anthracite coalfield in West Virginia, unlike the bituminous coal found in the rest of the state. It has not seen any active mining in many decades...
  
   (Anthracite)

Virginia

• Pocahontas Coalfield
  Pocahontas coalfield
  Pocahontas Coalfield, which is also known as the Flat Top-Pocahontas Coalfield, is located in Mercer County/McDowell County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia. The coal seams—Pocahontas No. 3, No. 4, No. 6, and No...
  
  
• Clinch Valley Coalfield
• Buchanan Coalfield
• Southwestern Coalfield (Big Stone Gap Coalfield)
• Richmond Coalfield
• Valley Coalfield (Anthracite)

Wyoming

• Hanna Coalfield
• Rock Creek Coalfield
• Black Hills Coalfield
• Powder River Coalfield (aka Gillette Coalfield)
• Bighorn Coalfield
• Jackson Hole Coalfield
• Hams Fork Coalfield
• Wind River Coalfield
• Green River Coalfield
• Goshen Hole Coalfield

External links

• Coal Camp USA: Coalfields of the Appalachian Mountains