Where our coal comes from

Facts and data for each coal-producing region for 2018

Appalachian coal region

The Appalachian coal region includes Alabama, Eastern Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

About 26% of the coal produced in the United States came from the Appalachian coal region.

West Virginia is the largest coal-producing state in the region and the second-largest coal-producing state in the United States.

Underground mines supplied 77% of the coal produced in the Appalachian region.

Underground mines in the Appalachian region produced 56% of U.S. total underground coal mine production.

Interior coal region

The Interior coal region includes Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Western Kentucky.

About 18% of total U.S. coal was mined in the Interior coal region.

Illinois was the largest coal producer in the Interior coal region, accounting for 36% of the region's coal production and 7% of total U.S. coal production.

Underground mines supplied 63% of the region's coal production, and surface mines supplied 37%.

Western coal region

The Western coal region includes Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

About 55% of total U.S. coal production was mined in the Western coal region.

Wyoming, the largest coal-producing state in the United States, produced 40% of total U.S. coal production and 73% of the coal mined in the Western coal region.

Six of the top ten U.S. coal-producing mines were in Wyoming, and all of those mines are surface mines.

Surface mines produced 92% of the coal in the Western coal region.