DEVILS FORK ROADLESS AREA, VIRGINIA.

The Devils Fork Roadless Area occupies a tract of mountainous terrain in the Jefferson National Forest in southwestern Virginia. A mineral-resource survey indicated that coal is the principal mineral resource of the area, but its distribution, thickness, quantity and quality are conjectural because of the lack of exploratory drilling in the roadless area. However, several coal beds observed in adjacent areas are thick enough and persistent enough to warrant projection into the roadless area. Therefore the area has a probable resource potential and preliminary estimates show 55 million tons of coal resources to be present. Rocks underlying the area have a probable resource potential for gas. There is little promise for the occurrence of metallic mineral or oil resources.