Database of historical anthracite coal-mining infrastructure at the northern end of the Lackawanna syncline, Wayne, Susquehanna, and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania
Description
Abandoned railroads and infrastructure from the anthracite coal mining industry are significant features in abandoned mine lands and are an important part of history; however, these features are often lost and masked by the passage of time and the regrowth of forests. The application of modern light detection and ranging (lidar) topographic analysis, combined with ground-truthing "boots on the ground" mapping, enable recovery of the location of these historical features. Waste rock piles and abandoned mine lands from historical mining locally appear as distinct features on the landscape depicted on the percent slope map. Abandoned, and in many places demolished, infrastructure such as breakers, turntables, rail beds, water tanks, tram piers, and bridge abutments, to name a few, were confirmed in the field and located with a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. This map captures the locations of many of the abandoned features from the coal mining industry near Forest City, Pennsylvania, and preserves a time that was an important part of the industrial revolution and a way of life that has been quiet for over half a century. The data layers should be used in conjunction with lidar data available separately at https://www.pasda.psu.edu.