Mineral resources of the McCullough Peaks Wilderness Study Area, Park County, Wyoming

Abstract

This paper reports on the McCullough Peaks Wilderness Study Area (WY-010-335) located near the western edge of the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming. There has been neither mining activity nor oil and gas production within the study area. Total identified (sum of measured, indicated, and inferred) and undiscovered (hypothetical) subbituminous coal resources beneath the study area are estimated to be 805 million tons and 275 tons, respectively. There are no other identified resources within the study area. Mineral resource assessment of this study area defines a low potential for metals, sand and gravel, bentonite and glass sand, a low potential for oil and geothermal sources, a low potential for gas in Paleozoic rocks, lower Mesozoic rocks, and some conventional sandstone reservoirs of Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary age, a moderate potential for gas in some conventional sandstone reservoirs of Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary age, and a high potential for gas in low-permeability sandstone reservoirs of Cretaceous and early Tertiary age and coal (by subsurface analysis). The study area also has a high potential for undiscovered paleontological resources.