coal measures

American  

plural noun

Geology.

1. coal-bearing strata.

2. (initial capital letters) in Europe, a portion of the Carboniferous System, characterized by widespread coal deposits.

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Coal Measures British  

plural noun

1. a series of coal-bearing rocks formed in the upper Carboniferous period; the uppermost series of the Carboniferous system

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Etymology

Origin of coal measures

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

Fresh-water animals succeeded those of salt water in the swamps that formed the coal measures.

From Earth and Sky Every Child Should Know Easy studies of the earth and the stars for any time and place by Rogers, Julia Ellen

Triassic red beds of the Bunter fill the Clwyd valley and appear again on the coal measures S.E. of Chester.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various

From the position that the coal measures occupy, being entirely under the Secondary and Tertiary formations, it will be observed that they are very old.

From Nature's Miracles, Volume 1 Familiar Talks on Science—World-Building and Life. Earth, Air and Water. by Gray, Elisha

The remains of these ancient forests have formed the coal measures, which tell of the most widespread and longest enduring growth of vegetation the world has seen.

From The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight by Hughes, J. Cecil

The coniferous trees of the coal measures show annual rings of growth.

From The Origin of the World According to Revelation and Science by Dawson, John William