Swamps, Trees and Ferns

• During the Carboniferous Period, trees were much bigger than today and the Earth was covered with a swampy landscape full of over sized ferns, shrubs and large clumps of algae. The abundant algae also covered the oceans of the planet.
  
  

From Peat to Coal

• When plants and trees died, they sank to the swamp bottoms to create layers of peat. Over millions of years, the water was squeezed out of this peat and turned into coal.
  
  

Diatoms

• Tiny sea creatures no bigger than a pinhead, diatoms had the ability to take sunlight and convert it to stored energy. When the diatoms died, they were compressed by the ocean's depths, turning to carbon and then oil.
  
  

Fuel Pockets

• The Earth is constantly moving and changing. As pockets formed in the Earth's underground layers, oil and gas became trapped in the newly formed spaces.
  
  

Natural Gas

• Natural gas is made primarily of methane and is lighter than air. In its raw state, natural gas has no odor; a distinctive smell is added to it before it is sent to storage or the pipeline system, making it easier to detect gas leaks.