Peter Franklin - 200102090 - Geography 355 Final Project
The Illinois Coal Basin is a vast tract of land just south of Lake Michigan. Consisting of coalfields in Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky the basin is among the largest bituminous coal reserves in the US- with reserves estimated in excess of 100 billion tons. Mining in the basin has contributed significantly to the global coal market for over a century, and if it's formidible output (121 million tons in 1994) is to continue both surface and subsurface mining operations must be expanded. The purpose of my project is to examine the variables in the basin, and perform an MCE to determine ideal spots for future mines. I will also gauge the accuracy of my analysis by overlaying existing and historical mines, to see if they lie in suitable regions of the basin.