Memorial to Paul Averitt 1908-1991

S. W A RR EN H OBBS U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80225

Paul Averitt, whose long career with the U.S. Geological Survey was devoted almost entirely to the geology of coal, died on June 22,1991, in Lakewood, Colorado. Paul is sur­vived by his wife, Bettyjean; a son, Neil; a daughter, Edith; and five grandchildren.

Paul was bom in Lexington, Kentucky, and spent his formative years there. The University of Kentucky granted him a B.S. degree in geology in 1930, and his M.S. degree, also in geology, in 1931. Further studies in his chosen field included two years at Northwestern University and a year at Johns Hopkins. Summer field work with the Kentucky and Virginia Geological Surveys, the U.S. Geological Sur­vey, and as a field assistant at the Northwestern University field camp stimulated his interest in field geology.

Full-time employment with the U.S. Geological Sur­vey in 1938 led to more than 40 years o f very productive work in geologic investigations. For the most part, Paul focused on the geology of coal, its origin, and its occurrences throughout the United States and other parts o f the world. In his later years, Paul concentrated on the prepara­tion of definitive coal resource estimates. His studies resulted in a modern comprehensive evalu­ation of U.S. reserves and resources o f this very critical commodity.

In his early Geological Survey assignments, Paul was especially fortunate to work with C. B. Hunt in the Henry Mountains of Utah, and with T. A. Hendricks in the Ouachita Moun­tains o f Oklahoma. These outstanding geologists impressed upon him the importance of careful geologic mapping; that concept became an integral part of his geologic philosophy. Subse­quently, under the supervision o f H. D. Miser, Paul learned that the careful compilation of all available data, integrated with his own information, was essential to the development of mean­ingful geologic products. Paul became a perfectionist, and the high quality o f his products lent immense credibility to his later work on the evaluation of coal reserves and resources.

Paul’s approach to the study of organic fuels in the United States can be roughly divided into two major activities. The first was extensive and careful geologic mapping of coal-bearing areas o f the United States, especially those of Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and the northern Great Plains. The second was the integration of all available data, his and others, in the preparation of numerous useful publications that compose the work of a master craftsman.

Paul’s abiding interest in coal and related stratigraphy was interrupted in 1942, at the start of World War II, by the pressing need for information on certain critical and strategic minerals. After two years o f field work and report preparation on quicksilver deposits in California, a stepped-up oil and gas program gave him an opening for further studies in fossil fuels. He became involved in the investigation of tar-sand deposits, the compilation of oil and gas maps, and eventually in the administration o f coal resource work.

In 1951, Paul began a long-term study of the geology of the coal deposits in southwestern Utah. This resulted in the publication o f maps and reports on the geology, coal occurrences, reserves, and long-term resources of this very important area.

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In addition to Paul’s active field investigations, his innate ability to organize and guide major programs led to his appointment in 1947 to direct a large-scale program on the coal resources of the United States. This fit well with Paul’s plans, for his ultimate goal was the cal­culation of accurate and meaningful figures on the nation’s coal resources broken down into various categories of the commodity. This was a priority program of the Geological Survey that involved close cooperation with state geological surveys and federal agencies. The program continued at a high level until about 1955, when the main part of the work was completed and the essential reports prepared.

For the rest of his career, Paul pursued his abiding interest in coal, and he haunted the Geo­logical Survey’s library, checking over the new acquisitions, keeping his coal resource informa­tion up to date, and adding to his extensive bibliography on his favorite subject.

Although Paul’s major interest centered on the Geological Survey’s fossil-fuel program, he was repeatedly asked to help organize special projects, to guide general publication policy, to review critically many reports on subjects related to coal, and, as a member of numerous com­mittees, to coordinate diverse groups of specialists in the general field of fossil fuels.

Because of his breadth of knowledge concerning energy problems, and his acknowledged scientific competence, he served in 1958 as technical advisor to the U.S. State Department’s delegation to the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea held at Geneva, Switzerland. In this role he provided data and general information on possible coal, oil, and gas resources along our continental shelves.

Paul’s distinguished career was marked by numerous honors and awards. In 1957 and again in 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey acknowledged his contributions with Superior Per­formance Awards, and in 1972, the Department of the Interior bestowed on him its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. The Denver Coal Club acknowledged his contributions by granting him their Service Award and Honorary Membership, and in 1983 Paul was espe­cially honored with the Gilbert H. Cady Award, presented by the Coal Division of the Geologi­cal Society of America, for outstanding service in the field of coal geology.

Paul was an active and dedicated member of several national and local scientific societies. He served as council member and secretary of the Geological Society of Washington, D.C.; as council member of the Colorado Scientific Society; and from 1969 to 1971, as council member of the Society of Economic Geologists. He also served from 1968 to 1971 as a member of the Medal Award Committee of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. In 1977, he ably assisted the Geological Society of America by serving as interim science editor.

Paul Averitt’s long and productive career resulted in more than 65 publications of which he was either primary author or co-author. These products bespeak his energy and productivity dur­ing his many years of service with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Always, his primary objectives were to document the “where” and “how much” of coal and related fossil fuels that exist in the United States. To the best of his ability he recorded the loca­tion, depth, composition, and physical characteristics of all known coal occurrences in the United States. He continually strove to establish a significant and accurate estimate of our reserves and resources of these very important commodities. One of the most important and tangible results of this aspect of Paul’s career first appeared in 1950 as a landmark Geological Survey bulletin on coal resources of the United States. Paul updated that publication every five to six years until he retired in 1976. This monumental work, to which he contributed substantially by his own field investigations, is of fundamental value to all scientists engaged in the study of organic fuels and, more importantly, to those charged with the development of national energy policies.

The field work related to Paul’s primary objective of resource analysis led to the publica­tion of numerous regional geologic studies, geologic maps, special purpose maps and reports, and many USGS Circulars on various aspects in his field of interest.

MEMORIAL TO PAUL AVERITT 25

Paul’s life-long interest in books and the art of writing is reflected in the clarity of his pub­lications and in the many personal memoranda he sent to others guiding them in the efficient conduct of their work and in the clarity of the publications they produced.

A quiet person, Paul had many hidden facets of personality and talent not evident to casual acquaintances. His love and interest in the outdoors was a natural corollary of his extensive work as a field geologist. This love of nature carried over into his recreational activities, as attested to by the fact that when the Averitt family moved to Denver their activities soon included alpine skiing and hiking in the Rocky Mountains. Paul started skiing at the age of 50 and continued until close to his 80th birthday.

It was inevitable that his children and grandchildren would share the benefits of his love for books. He read to them extensively and provided numerous books as gifts for their own col­lections. He even tried his hand at writing children’s stories and, not surprisingly, succeeded in having one published as part of a collection of stories in book format. His talents as a wine con­noisseur and jazz dilettante were known to few.

Paul Averitt was a very talented, multifaceted individual who will never be forgotten by those who knew him well.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF P. AVERITT1941 The Early Grove gas field, Scott and Washington Counties, Virginia: Virginia Geological

Survey Bulletin 56, IX, 50 p.1942 Coal fields of the United States (Coal fields in Territories and Possessions are not shown):

U.S. Geological Survey Map, 2 sheets, scale 1:2,500,000.1945 Quicksilver deposits of the Knoxville district, Napa Yolo, and Lake Counties, California:

California Journal of Mines and Geology, v. 41, no. 2, p. 65-89.1947 (with Hendricks, T. A., Gardner, L. S., and Knechtel, M. M.) Geology of the western part

of the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey Oil and Gas Investiga­tion Preliminary Map 66, scale 1:42,240.

1950 (and Berryhill, L. R.) Coal Resources of the United States, A progress report, Novem­ber 1,1950: U.S. Geological Survey Circular C-0094,33 p.

1951 (with Berryhill, L. R.) Coking-coal deposits of the Western United States: U.S. Geologi­cal Survey Circular C-0090, 20 p.

1953 (and Berryhill, L. R., and Taylor, D. A.) Coal resources of the United States (a progress report, October 1,1953), U.S. Geological Survey Circular C-0293,49 p.

------ (with Hunt, C. B., and Miller, R. L.) Geology and geography of the Henry Mountainsregion, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 228, 234 p.

1955 (and Wilson, R. F., Detterman, J. S., Harshbarger, J. W., and Repenning, C. A.) Revisions in correlation and nomenclature of Triassic and Jurassic formations in southwestern Utah and northern Arizona: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 39, no. 12, p. 2515-2524.

1957 Sequence of Late Tertiary events on the Kolob Terrace, Iron County, Utah, as interpreted by elevated surficial deposits [abs.]: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 68, no. 12, p. 1857-1858.

1961 Coal reserves of the United States—A progress report, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin1136,116 p.

1962 Geology and coal resources of the Cedar Mountain Quadrangle, Iron County, Utah:U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 389,72 p.

1964 Table of post-Cretaceous geologic events along the Hurricane fault near Cedar City, Iron County, Utah: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 75, no. 9, p. 901-908.

1964 Upper Tertiary surficial deposits near Cedar City, Iron County, Utah: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 75, no. 1, p. 37-44.

1966 Coking coal deposits of the Western United States: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1222G, p. G1-G48.

------Coal deposits of eastern Montana, in Montana Coal Resources Symposium, 1st, 1964,Proceedings, Appendix B: Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 36, p. 69-80.

1967 Geologic map of the Kanarraville quadrangle, Iron County, Utah, U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle map GQ-694, scale 1:24,000.

1969 Coal resources of the United States, January 1,1967: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin1275,116 p.

1970 Stripping coal resources of the United States, January 1,1970: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1322, 34 p.

------ (and Carter, M. D.) Selected sources of information on United States and world energyresources; an annotated bibliography: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 641, 21 p.

1972 (and Lopez, Lorreda) Bibliography and index of U.S. Geological Survey Publications relating to coal, 1882-1970: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1377,173 p.

1973 (and Threet, R. L.) Geologic map of the Cedar City quadrangle, Iron County, Utah:U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map GQ-1120, scale 1:24,000.

1975 Coal resources of the United States, January 1,1974: U.S. Geological Survey Bul­letin 1275.

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