Louisville Historical Museum

The coal beds in the Northern Coal Fields of Colorado were deep underground. The location of coal affects the type of coal mining used. What are some of the pros and cons of different types of coal mining?

Types of Coal Mining

After reading about the different types of coal mining, reflect on the pros and cons of each type, either with this activity or in small discussion groups as directed by your teacher.

Types of Coal Mining Activity

Learn all about coal: the geological processes that create it, what it's made of, its different ranks, and what it's used for today.
Consider what effects lead to the changes in quality of coal. What do you think your town looked like in the Late Cretaceous period?

Creation of Coal

Using your knowledge of coalification, fill out the ranks of coal as well as what causes the changes in ranks. What could these answers have on the effect of your town overtime?

Fill in the Blank: Coal Creation

The type of coal mining and the location of the coal mines changed what type of town Louisville would be. Click the hot spots to learn more!

How Coal Changed Louisville

Louisville (pronounced Lewis-ville) is a small City in Boulder County, Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The primary industry from 1878 through 1955 was coal mining. Today it is a thriving community of 22,000 residents with a few clues about it's mining past.

Louisville Timeline

What was the name of the Louisville baseball team? Click around the Escape Room and use what you've learned to unscramble the letters to answer this question.

Coal's Impact on Louisville, Colorado

Louisville (pronounced Lewis-ville) is a small City in Boulder County, Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The primary industry from 1878 through 1955 was coal mining. Today it is a thriving community of 22,000 residents with a few hints to it's mining past. As you look through the timeline, think about how Louisville would have been different if coal wasn't found here. Who would have come here? What work would they have done?


Underground Coal Mining Impacts on a Small Town

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U.S. History

There are two main types of coal mining: 

. All mining in Louisville was Underground Mining.

When coal forms close to the surface, it can be mined using one of three surface mining methods: 

Strip Mining, Open Pit Mining, or Mountain Top Removal Mining

. These methods are less expensive than underground mining, but the effects on the environment are dramatic and entire ecosystems can be destroyed. In 2022, surface mining made up 63% of the U.S. coal production.

This photo shows a surface mine in Gillette, Wyoming in 2008, taken by Greg Goebel.

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Photograph, Surface Mining

When coal is very near the surface, it is strip mined. 

 to remove any grass, rock, or plants that are over the coal, and then

Strip mining in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
A strip mining operation is seen above Shamokin Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, in Shamokin, Pa., on Sept. 17, 2019. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

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Photograph, Strip Mining

One surface method used when coal is a little too deep for surface mining is open pit mining. In open pit mining, 

coal miners dig the coal out of the sides and bottom of quarries

Massive machinery at work in the open-pit Wyodak coal mine in the coal-rich Powder River Basin outside Gillette, Wyoming. Original image from Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress collection. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

Stunning image from Carol M. Highsmith's monumental Library of Congress Collection. For 38 years Carol has travelled America capturing beautiful moments in time, preserving them for future generations. By donating these images to the Library of Congress she has generously made these images available to the public domain for everyone to enjoy.

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Photograph, Open Pit Mining

the entire summit of a mountain is removed

. Mountain top removal mining drastically changes the landscape of the area, and can clog streams with rocks and dirt. Water in the valleys created by mountain top removal is so polluted it can harm animals and plants when it runs downstream.

Helicopter tour of Mountaintop Removal and Reclamation on Big Coal River watershed.
To learn more about the cultural dimensions of "mountaintop removal and reclamation" and the new landform complexes the coal industry is creating in the coal fields of central Appalachia, Lyntha Eiler and I visited the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection. There we interviewed Roger Hall, the assistant director, who invited us to view by helicopter the mountaintop removal and reclamation in progress on the Marsh and Clear Forks of the Big Coal River. Benny Campbell, a mining inspector from the Logan County office of the DEP, accompanied us on our helicopter tour.

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Photograph, Mountaintop Removal

All of the mining in Louisville was underground coal mining. There are two main types of underground coal mining: 

 Even though underground coal mining impacts the landscape less than other methods, it is used less because it is more expensive. Some of the risks are 

 which can kill workers or destroy buildings,

 from methane gas that occurs naturally with coal. 

This photograph shows miners at the Monarch Mine two miles south of Louisville. The are standing underground with two mules.

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Photograph, Miners at Monarch Mine

a long wall of coal is mined in single slices.

 This type of underground coal mining was not used in Louisville.

This digital photograph shows the method of underground coal mining known as longwall mining. A longwall shearer and armored face conveyor operates at the Twentymile underground coal mine in Oak Creek, Colorado.


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Photograph, Longwall Coal Mining

Room and Pillar is the type of coal mining done in Louisville. In this method, 

coal miners dig out an entire room underground

, leaving only a few pillar of coal to keep the ceiling from collapsing. They also used wood to support the ceiling.

Black and white photograph showing timbers and a sorting belt at the Monarch Mine in Broomfield, two miles south of Louisville.

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Photograph, Room and Pillar Mining at Monarch Mine

Retreat mining is one of the most dangerous types of coal mining! In this method, after digging out the coal underground, the 

coal miners pull out the supports, collapsing the tunnel behind them.

 One wrong move could be catastrophic for the coal miners expected to pull this off. Coal miners in Louisville practiced this dangerous form of coal mining.

Black and white photograph of the interior of the Hecla Mine (Rocky Mtn. Fuel Co. Mine) in Louisville, Colorado. Piles of coal are visible and two large ceiling supports.

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Underground Coal Mining Impacts on a Small Town

Types of Coal Mining

Two Types of Coal Mining