Where can coal be found?

Coal deposits are found in virtually every country around the world. Derived from fossil fuels, coal is a brown or black sedimentary rock composed of organic carbon and is found below or above ground. The biggest known coal reserves are found in the United States, Russia, China and India.

Coal originated from a tangle of plant matter that was compressed beneath sediments, sands and rocks before it decomposed. The compressed vegetation created a layer of peat, a soft spongy fossil fuel that forms when plants decompose in wet or marshy areas. Over million of years, the peat is exposed to pressure and high temperature, eventually converting trapped carbon from the decaying plants into coal.