United States Survey of the West. 



89 



Camp Mojave to the mouth of Diamond Crook, in the 

 Grand Cufion. The area covered was over 80,000 square 

 miles, a wart of this being the moat desert, difficult, and 

 dangerous of any like area within the United States. 



EXPLORING THE DEATH VALLEY. 

 This was especially the case with tue great Death 



Valley in South-Western Nevada, wrinkled witli many 

 mountain elevations, between which lie elongated val- 

 leys or detrital plains, where the familiar alkali of this 

 peculiar region everywhere meets the eye. The expe- 

 dition crossed the Death Valley of California along four 

 separate lines, enduring much hardship and many pri- 

 vations from heat and thirst. This peculiar basin in- 

 terior, being at its greatest depression below the level 

 of the sea, is most remarkable from the f net that the 

 range of mountains lying to the west rises nearly 10,oon 

 feet. Here are found, besides the precious minerals, 

 bodies of timber, springs and running streams, and a 

 peculiar climate ; here arise sickly vapors that, in the 

 light of the sun reflected upon the alkaline plains, might 

 be supposed to be sulphurous fumes born of the infernal 

 regions. 



The season was particularly fruitful in unraveling the 

 variety of topographical forms in and around the Grand 

 Cafion of the Colorado, along the edges of the great 

 plateau system, in the valley of the Colorado, that occu- 

 pies large portions of territory in Arizona, Colorado, 

 Utah and New-Mexico. It was proposed this year by 

 the leader of the expedition to name this entire section 

 the " Colorado Plateau," to be divided hereafter into sub- 

 plateaus and mesa-systems. This expedition was fully 

 eight months iu the field, and left the Territory of Ari- 

 zona in the middle of December, 1871. The boat party 

 leaving Camp Mojave on Sept. 13, reached the mouth 

 Of Diamond Creek on Oct. 19. The ascent of he river 

 was comparatively easy from the Black and Bowlder 

 Canons, until reaching the point of crossing to the 

 southward, when, not having fully anticipated the in- 

 creasing obstacles to entering the jaws of the Grand 

 Canon, the dangers of the trip were suddenly realized ; 

 and only after nii.ch privation and severe labor, with a 

 scarcity of food, did the party, hemmed iu by frowning 

 walls, reach the rnouch of Diamond Creek, where relict 

 awaited them. The exciting scenes and thrilling ad- 

 ventures connected with this trip, will form one of the 

 entertaining features of the published reports. The 

 most easterly point reached this year was Camp Apache, 

 A. T., near the head-waters of the Salt River. 



Death Valley in California is a detrital sink of unique 

 physical characteristics, and differs entirely from what 

 it was supposed to be in 18G9 by the majority of the in- 

 habitants of Nevada living near a line leading from 

 Camp Halleck via White Pine to Pahrauagat Valley. 

 The country thus denominated was really the great 

 "Death Valley "of South-Western Nevada, and covers 

 a large space in the system of Interior Basins that have 

 the Wasatch Range as an eastern and the Sierra Nevada 

 as a western limit. This whole region presents a series 

 of valleys or detrital plains, each entirel3 T inclosed by 

 the ridges of Cordilleras that are more or less distinct as 

 a series of mountain masses. The " Death Valley " 

 proper is one of the most remarkable of all known inte- 

 rior continental depressions, and has portions near the 

 center of its axial line below the level of the sea, al- 

 though far inland, and lying much to the north of the 

 lower border of the great Interior Basin. It is the sink 

 of the Amargosa River, which has its source in the areas 

 of drainage formed to the south and east of Belmout, 

 Nev., traverses the desert of that name while pas.sing 

 southward, until, reaching lat. 35 41' 5", it makes an ab- 



rupt angle to the west, and thence, at right ngUs to the 

 north, roaches tne point of greatest dopre:.Mt>n, ;i little 

 less than 300 foot below sea level, m the heart of Death 

 Valloy proper. This valley, of the ordinary oval form, 

 is fully 7C miles in length, varying from 6 to 15 milos In 

 width, surrounded by frowning mountains of volcanic 

 and setlimeutarv origin, the Telescope Range, rising 

 higher tnau 10,000 feet. The lino, crossing this dismal area 

 from the montu of Death Valley Canon to the thermal 

 springs in Furnace Creek, presenting alabyrlnihlau maze 

 of efflorescent, saline forms, creates at the level of vision 

 a miniature ocean, the vibrations of whose contorted 

 waves has a sickening effect upon the senses. The lurid 

 glare, horizoned by the bluish liazo radiated from the 

 mountain sides, appears focussod to this pit, though 

 broad iu expanse. It seems, coupled with the exu-omo 

 heat, to call for the utmost powers of mental and phys- 

 ical endurance. 



The journey through the Valley of Death occasioned 

 the utmost apprehension evinced through the entire 

 season. To this was added the effuct of the fearful cloud- 

 burst experienced while among the Telescope Mountain, 

 to the west, and the absence of the guide who had ven- 

 tured toward the north-western arm of the Valley, it 

 was feared, to return no more. The transit of 48 hours 

 iu a temperature that remaincdat 117 F. at midnight, so 

 exhausted both men and animals that further travel was 

 rendered precarious. 



A PATHLESS FOREST. 



San Francisco forest, through wuich Lieut. Ives con- 

 ducted his laud explorations, was traversed for a dis- 

 tance, of nearly 200 miles from San Francisco Mountain 

 to the Sierra Blanca range. Tue subsequent expedition 

 of 1873 extended its limits far into New-Mexico, proving 

 it to be probably the largest continuous forest area in 

 the United ^States south of the fortieth parallel. The 

 expedition returned to Washington in December, and at 

 once began the preparation of maps,|. which will be 

 pushed rapidly to completion iu pursuance of the pro- 

 posed atlas scteme. Much of the data was late in being 

 received from the field, and some delay was experienced ; 

 still, satisfactory progress is making. In the Spring of 

 1872, with a larger appropriation, the Survey entered 

 upon its duties with a more completely organ- 

 ized force, having for its field portions of Utah, 

 Nevada and Arizona. The piiiit of departure and re- 

 turn was Salt Lake City. The experience gathered by 

 the topographical assistants aud the addition of new 

 skilled labor made the Topographical Corps of this year 

 quite efficient, and permitted the elaboration of methods 

 to meet the growing wants of this class of survey, 

 aided by improved and perfected instruments. The 

 area covered by the topographical work for this year is 

 not so large in extent, but the result is fully as valuable, 

 as more details were gathered. In 1873 the Topographi- 

 cal Corps was still further enlarged, experienced per- 

 sons being retained and others added. The instruments 

 and methods were also further perfected, and the work 

 of exploration for this year fully elaborated into an 

 entire survey of the new and interesting regions visited. 

 The parties, six in number, took the field troni Salt 

 Lake City, Denver, and Santa Fe. The locali- 

 ties of the prominent natural objects, such 

 as mountain peaks, mesa edges, buttes, &c. t 

 are determined by a species of secondary triaugulation. 

 Each belt of triangles is checked at distances not ex- 

 i ceding 20ti miles by bases that now or hereafter will bo 

 turther checked by the primary astronomical positions. 

 Minor details are gathered by the topographers, 

 using ordinary trigonometric methods lor uorizoutal 



