ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 91 



observed in the Rocky Mountains. It was named Mount Harvard, and found 

 to be 14,270 feet in heiglit. The next highest points are: Gray's Peak, which 

 was ascertained to be 14,145 feet in elevation ; Mount Lincoln, 14,123 feet ; 

 and Mounr Yale, 14,078 feet. Many other points were measured, but these 

 were the only ones that were found to be over 14,000 feet high. 



Dr. Parry is the only other explorer who has published any measurements of 

 the peaks of this region. Having, ho\vever, no station barometer nearer than 

 St. Louis, his results are liable to considerable uncertainty, as is shown by the 

 fact that his elevation of Denver was found by the spirit-level sur\!^ys of the 

 Central Pacific and Denver roads to be 282 feet ^po great, a result closely cor- 

 roborated by the Kansas Pacific RailroMd surveys. Dr. Parry also obtained 

 for the height of Gray's Peak a result one hundred feet greater than ours. In 

 every other instance where observations were taken by the Harvard Mining 

 School party at stations previously occupied by Dr. Parry, the results of the 

 latter are found somewhat too high, the discrepancy varying from 50 to 450 

 feet. This would indicate that the elevation of Pike's Peak, given by Dr. 

 Parry at 14,216, may also be a little too high. But, to obtain the necessary 

 data for working up to the last degree of accuracy the barometrical observa- 

 tions taken in this region', it will be necessary that stations be made on the 

 plains at the base of the mountains — say at Denver— and at some point as high 

 up as possible — as, for instance, Georgetown or Montgomery — and the observa- 

 tions continued for at least one year synchronously at' the two stations. 



In the meantime, it will be convenient to have the approximate heights of all 

 the points in the Rocky Mountains yet measured, and which exceed 14,000 

 feet in elevation. They are as follows : 



FEET. 



Mount Harvard 14,270 



Grav's Peak [a) 14,245 (Parry) 



Pike's Peak -. 14,21() (Parry) 



Mount Lincoln .■ 14,123 



Mount Yale 14,078 



Long's Peak (6) 14,050 (?) 



(a.) This result is 100 feet greater than that obtained by the Harvard party. 



(6.) This is an estimate based on a barometrical observation by Messrs. Pow- 

 ell and Byers, without any corresponding base observation. The barometer 

 stood at 18.100 inches. 



From the above it will be seen that no point has yet been found in the 

 Rocky Mountains as high as several in the Sierra Nevada. It will also be 

 noticed as a remarkable coincidence how little the highest points ditFer from 

 each otherln elevation. 



It is*thonght by some that there are still higher peaks than any yet measured, 

 to the southwest of Mount Harvard and Mount Yale, in the yet unexplored 

 regions lying between the Arkansas and the Grand. This party was unable to 

 carry its work so far in that direction as would have been necessary in order to 

 decide that point. 



Thfe other results of this expedition will be worked out and published in due 

 time. 



