The Canadian cordillera is estimated to contain 87 billion tons of coal categorized as measured, indicated, and inferred and all ranks of coal are represented. The most important coal deposits are within a narrow belt, not exceeding 35 mi in width, that extends along the extreme eastern edge of the cordillera from lat. 49°00^prime northwestward for 600 mi to approximately lat. 56°00^prime.

The coal-bearing formations are Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous in age and have been subjected to severe tectonism so that the seams are inclined at all angles, folded, contorted, and displaced by faults, some of which involve lateral movements of up to 30 mi. Much of the coal in this belt is a high-quality metallurgical type and currently some 8 million tons of this type of coal are produced and shipped annually to Japan.

Other coal deposits are in widely distributed areas throughout the cordillera. They generally are confined to small areas, the more accessible of which mainly are mined out and the remainder have undergone little or no exploration. The coals range in age from Late Jurassic to Tertiary and vary in rank from lignitic to anthracitic but none are known to be of metallurgic quality. The more important of these deposits appear to be the Hat Creek coalfield of south-central British Columbia and the Groundhog coalfield of north-central British Columbia. The Hat Creek deposit is of Tertiary age and contains at least five lignitic seams having a total aggregate thickness in excess of 2,000 ft. The Groundhog coalfield contains low-volatile bituminous and anthracitic coal of Late Jurassic-Early C etaceous age. Limited exploration of the southern part has shown it to be structurally complex and the coal is generally high in ash. The northern part is believed to be disturbed and seems to offer better opportunity for exploration of which there is none to date. No significant coal deposits are known in the immediate coastal area of the cordillera.

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