When white men first explored the Appalachian Mountains, their Indian guides had a strange sight to show them. In places there were fires that burned day and night on bare slopes where there seemed to be nothing to burn. No wonder the Indians thought the fires were mysterious! The fuel that was burning was one that no one can see. It was natural gas.
More than 150 years ago the people of a small city in western New York discovered natural gas coming out of cracks in the rock along the banks of a nearby creek. Some of the people piped the gas into their houses and burned it for light. The idea spread. A German scientist who saw gas lights in America called them the eighth wonder of the world.
Soon afterward, when people began to dig wells to get oil, natural gas came from many of the wells. It was a nuisance. Sometimes it caused explosions. Sometimes it caught on fire and set fire to the oil. To get rid of it, the oilmen piped it away and burned it.
It is not surprising that men found natural gas when they were digging for oil. For natural gas and oil were both made from tiny plants and animals that lived in the seas many, many millions of years ago. They are found in the same traps in the rocks deep underground.
After a while the oilmen realized that the gas ought not to be wasted. Pipelines were built to carry it to places where fuel was needed. Now the United States has more than 200,000 miles of such pipeline. Natural gas is a very important fuel.
Texas produces more natural gas than any other state. California is second, and West Virginia third. From some gas wells no oil comes. The gas from these wells is "dry." The gas from oil wells is "wet." It has gasoline mixed with it. The gasoline is taken out of it before the gas is pumped into the pipelines.
Natural gas is clean. People like to use it in their homes. Gas stoves, gas furnaces, and gas refrigerators are common.
Some gas that comes from oil wells is not used. Some of it is pumped back into the ground to help force up the oil.
Natural gas may become much more than one of our best fuels. Scientists are discovering that many different things can be made from it.
