On the formation of coal

Coal is a carbon-rich mineral resource often found within mountains and is a heavily used fuel source for most of the Western world (1). Most of the coal that is mined today has been in formation since the Carboniferous Period, around 300 million years; deriving from organic matter, such as forests and land animals, that were rapidly buried under sand and shallow water before beginning to decompose and undergo geologic processes (2). The geologic processes involved include tectonic plate collision creating immense heat and pressure, thus crushing the sediment into more and more compacted forms of carbon-rich deposit (2). The longer this process, the higher the carbon content, and the lower the water content and volatile matter (2). Image (3).