Atlas Coal Mine
Encyclopedia
The Atlas Coal Mine is a former 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...
mine in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Located in East Coulee
East Coulee, Alberta
East Coulee is a former hamlet, now unincorporated community, in Drumheller, Alberta. Its hamlet status ceased when the Municipal District of Badlands No...
, it is home to the last standing wooden tipple
Tipple
Tipple can mean:* Coal tipple, a structure used for loading coal into railroad cars* Tipple * Tipple a Welsh surname.* Slang term for alcoholic beverage* Tipple App is an iPhone app designed to help moderate drinking...
in Canada. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989.
History
The mines in the Drumheller area provided sub-bituminous coalSub-bituminous coal
Sub-bituminous coal is a type of coal whose properties range from those of lignite to those of bituminous coal and are used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation.- Properties:...
, chiefly used for home heating and cooking. The flat-lying seams were easier to mine than those found in more mountainous areas, with lower levels of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
gas. The coal-mining era lasted from 1911 to 1979, when the Atlas No. 3 and 4 mines closed. The Atlas No. 3 Mine structures were preserved and form the basis of the National Historic Site, administered by the Atlas Mine Historical Society.
The mine features the last wooden coal tipple in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Built in 1936, the tipple is a coal loading and sorting machine. At over 40 feet tall the tipple now serves as a reminder of the rich mining history of the Drumheller
Drumheller, Alberta
Drumheller is a town within the Red Deer River valley in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Calgary...
Valley. Old mining equipment, including a working 1936 battery powered locomotive and several buildings including the wash house, supply house, lamp house, and mine office still stand at the site. The site preserves the stories and artifacts of the men who once mined the black. The Atlas is the last of 139 mines that once ruled the valley.