overthrust belt

One of the most promising areas on land is the so-called Western Overthrust Belt in the rugged, mountainous area from southern Colorado to the Canadian border.

The fields are part of what geologists call the Eastern Overthrust Belt, a corridor of convoluted limestone, sand and shale that stretches 1,200 miles along the slopes of America's Appalachian Mountains, from the Adirondacks to Alabama.

One reason that oil-and gasmen are intrigued with the Eastern Overthrust Belt is its proximity to the energy-starved Northeast.

As with the Western Overthrust Belt, which stretches through the Intermountain West from Canada to the Rio Grande, the Eastern strip takes its name from the geological folding and overlapping that occur when mountain ranges are forced upward through sedimentary rock.

A most exciting strike was made in 1975 when a drilling crew hit oil and gas deep in northern Utah's Pineview Field in what is known as the "Overthrust Belt."