• "How Coal Is Formed" - Kentucky Educational Television and the American Coal Foundation
  This site contains a brief overview of how coal is formed.
• "How is coal formed?" - Kentucky Geological Survey
  This site explains the processes associated with the formation of coal. Includes an illustration.
• "Identification of Coal Components" - Kentucky Geological Survey
  This site explains how sedimentary rocks that form coal reflect the environments in which they were originally deposited.

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• "Classification and Rank of Coal" - Kentucky Educational Television and the American Coal Foundation
  This site explains how coal "rank" is determined and defines the different types of coal.
• "Coal Resource Classification System of the U.S. Geological Survey - Specific Instructions" - Wood et al., USGS Circular 891
  Excerpt from online circular explains how the USGS classifies and tracks coal resources in the United States, including rank of coal, thickness of beds, distribution, etc. Includes maps and data.

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• Geologic map of your state or community
• Internet access. To view your state’s “Energy, Consumption, Prices, and Expenditures” profile:
  1. Visit the Energy Information Administration page.
  2. Click on your state to open a new page.
  3. Under the heading "Total Energy", click on the "Prices & Consumption" link.
  4. Students can then use the side-bar menu on this page to find the needed information.

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• "Plant Fossils" - Illinois Geological Survey
  Site briefly reviews the plants that were found in Illinois during the "Coal Age".
• "Plant Fossils of West Virginia"
  This site lists common fossil plants from West Virginia, which are the same plant fossils found in all bituminous coal fields of the eastern United States.

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