The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, did a linear analysis for a new underground coal mine in Grant County, West Virginia, through the interpretation of landsat imagery and high-altitude, color-infrared aerial photography, to identify areas of potentially unstable roof in advance of mining. The Bureau of Mines included this mine in its ongoing study of the correlation between geologic features and linears. Three years after the analysis, after mining had progressed through the plotted linears, a cooperative Bureau-MSHA study evaluated the effectiveness of the linear plot in predicting areas of unstable roof and defined the geology associated with the linears. Adverse roof conditions at this mine include roof falls, potted-out roof, water inflow, and local areas requiring supplemental support. At the time of this study, 34 pct of the mine workings were within 200 ft of a plotted linear. Fifty percent of the adverse roof area in the mine occurred within this same area. The primary geologic anomaly associated with the linears is an increased frequency of jointing. The majority of the plotted linears coincide with the prominent joint orientations.