Fossil Fuels - a more detailed look The most common fossil fuels
are coal, oil, and natural gas. Peat, a very young form of coal,
and oil shale are types of fossil fuel. These fuels were formed
millions of years ago from plants and animals that died and
decomposed beneath tons of soil and rock. These fossil fuels are
not fossils like the bones of prehistoric creatures. Prehistoric
fossils are hard and made of stone. Stone cannot burn. Fossil
fuels contain the remains of dead plants and animals, not stone,
and can burn. The different fossil fuels formed in different
ways. Peat is formed the partially decomposed remains of plants,
which has grown in a swamp or marsh. Over a long period of time,
peat will form coal. Coal was formed from plant debris. It is
thought that 10 feet of plant material is needed to form 1 foot
of coal. Natural gas and oil were formed from tiny organisms
that settled to the bottom of ancient seas and rivers. Oil and
gas need special conditions to prevent them escaping to the
surface. A '