It is made up of organic components; specifically, plant matter that has been buried in an anoxic, or non-oxygenated, environment and compressed over millions of years. Over time layers of rock and other materials built up over the peat. ; It was formed around 300 million years ago when the earth was covered with swampy forests. Water and dirt began to … When these giant plants and ferns died, they formed layers at the bottom of the swamps. Stage one in coal production is peat. Each of these stages must be completed for coal to form. The formation of coal occurs over millions of years via a process known as carbonation. The formation of coal takes millions of years, which is why it is an exhaustible and non-renewable natural resource. The Kentucky Coal Education Forum website can be accessed via the link below. The coal used today began forming about 300 million years ago. The energy in coal comes from energy that was stored in giant plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago in swamp forests, even before the dinosaurs! The four stages in coal formation are peat, lignite, bituminous and anthracite. When a plant dies, and stays under water, it builds up an accumulation of peat. When plants in these forests- mainly trees, mosses, ferns, and reeds died, they fell into the swamps. Heat and pressure hardened the peat into coal. How is Coal Formed? When these plants died, they sank in the water. At that time swamps with giant ferns and other plants were common on Earth. Peat is a fibrous substance that is oxidized by water and carbon dioxide. Coal is fossil fuel or fuel that comes from the remains of prehistoric plants or animals. Coal is an enormously valuable fossil fuel that has been used for hundreds of years in the industry. Coal is formed from plant life buried in the Earth millions of years ago. Like Petroleum and natural gas, it is a carbon-based fossil fuel. Instead they formed a substance called peat. In this process, dead vegetation is converted into carbon-rich coal under very high temperature and pressure. How is Coal Formed? They did not completely decay, or break down. The site has a number of FAQs that are well worth perusing if you are interested in coal.