BUREAU OF GEOLOGY


 WETLAND ENVIRONMENT
ABUNDANT VEGETATION ADAPTED TO SWAMPY CONDITIONS


 Plant litter accumulates at
 the surface

 Buried plant litter decays
 partially and is compacted
 forming peat

Underlying sediments in Florida
 typically consist of limestone
 clay and unconsolidated sand.


 i OVERLYING SEDIMENTARY ROCKS.:***

 BROWN COAL

= UNDERLYING SEDIMENTARY ROCKS






 ; HUNDREDS TO THOUSANDS---
 -OF METE 0 F ........ ......
 :_-OVERLYING SEDIMENTARY ROCKS_

 --- ----- ---Bi iriiriril~O~ ~i~


Figure 1. The process of coal formation. (Modified from Press

 and Siever, 1974, Figure 13- 18, p. 468).


With shallow burial peat is
compressed to form brown
coal,













Additional burial transforms
the brown coal to lignite if
burial is comparatively shallow
and bituminous coal if depth of
burial is greater.










Coal is metamorphosed to anthracite
or graphite with continuing burial
and metamorphism.