Iowa Coal Mine Maps

This collection-level metadata provides a general description of historic Iowa coal mine maps scanned and stored as color (24-bit) TIFF images. The maps were usually prepared by a mining engineer and show the details of the mine workings, updated every second year. Most are blue print copies, but a few original linen maps are included in the collection. The maps are currently housed at the Iowa Geological and Water Survey. Each mapped mine site is represented by one to thirty-one maps. Multiple maps are typically sequential with updates being added biennially through the operating life of the mine. In this case, the most recent map was selected for georeferencing unless the map was unusable for any reason. Maps from Des Moines and the surrounding area were georeferenced with world files for a project supported by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in 2011-2012.