- LIST OF MAP SYMBOLS

The symbols listed here alphabetically are typical, but not standard, symbols
for use on mine ventilation maps. Because standards do not exist, the reader
should be careful in interpreting symbols on any given ventilation map.
Variations in practice are common. First, many companies use color-coded
maps to help in identifying ventilation airflows. For example, intake air can
be denoted by blue arrows, return air by red arrows, escapeways by green
arrows, and belt air by yellow arrows. The color scheme differs from mine
to mine. Second, the style of the air directional arrows differs from mine
to mine with different types of arrows used to denote intake and return
airstreams.

Symbol Description
Airflow (intake)
Airflow (return)
Airlock; a double-door system to allow equipment to
pass through without disrupting the ventilation circuit
Auxiliary fan and vent pipe or tubing (flow direction
may be indicated by an arrow)
Brattice (also called a line bruttice); a curtain of
plastic or plastic-covered fabric hung from the roof to
direct air to or from a working face
Box check; a stopping with a hole in it to allow a
conveyor or other equipment to pass through while
limiting the airflow quantity
Check curtain; a barrier of plastic or plastic-covered
fabric hung across an opening from the roof to block
the flow of air
Door

Escapeway with direction of escape in the direction of

airflow
Escapeway with the direction of escape in the
direction opposite to the airflow direction
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Fan (flow direction may be indicated by an arrow)

Fire door (normally open)

Main fan (the dotted lines show the location of the

weak wall)
Overcast or air crossing; an area where roof material
is taken to allow one airflow to pass over another
without mixing (the parallel lines indicate the airway
that goes straight through the overcast); may also be
constructed as an undercast or sidecast crossing
Overcast with a built-in regulator

Pipe overcast; a method of using pipes to pass a small

quantity of return air through an intake airflow
without mixing the two airflows; generally used for
taking belt air directly to the return in a coal mine
Regulator

Seal

Self-contained self-rescuer cache location

Shaft with a downcast flow of air (alternately, this

symbol may represent an undercast)
Shaft with an upcast flow of air (note that this symbol
could also represent a gas well or a borehole location
on some mine maps)
Stopping (permanent); an impermeable stopping made
of masonry, steel, or other flame-resistant material to
block the flow of air through an opening
Stopping (temporary); a quickly erected and movable
stopping normally made of brattice material to
temporarily block the flow of air through an opening
Stopping with small door to allow the passage of
personnel