GECM.KAIMIK '.\ I. EXPLORATIONS AND DI8COVKi:ii:s IN 1870. 



323 



; .reM-ntation of the sun, may intimate 



K-ction with tho Assyrian or other Meso- 



lian nations, all of whom nndcr one name 



i ..th'-r (l>;i.il. Apollo, Chamos, Helios, or 



\ orshipped the sun-god, and the gigantic 



s-e. of tho skeletons would agree, with what 



we know of tho early Hainito or Himyuritic 



The Corps of Topographical Engineers of tho 

 ! States Army have been engaged since 

 ii- in tho preparation of careful and very 

 complete maps of all tho battle-fields of that 

 j:rcat conflict. Those east of the Alloghanies 

 wcrv published in 1870, and are worthy of 

 notice as tho best illustrations of tho regions 

 fought over which 'have been or probably will 

 be made. There have been also careftilly-pre- 

 p.uvil geological maps of some of the Eastern 

 States, and notably that of New Jersey by 

 Prof. Cook, published within tho year. The 

 i'.-ul survey of Ohio now in progress, 

 of which the first official report made its ap- 

 pearance in December, 1870, though mostly 

 occupied with facts and investigations apper- 

 taining rather to geology than geography, has 

 yet some statements of geographical interest. 

 The Geological Corps consisting of 'Profs. 

 Xewberry, Orton, Andrews, and Wormeloy, and 

 lion. J. H. Klippart, with their assistants, have 

 found abundant and conclusive evidence that 

 nearly the whole surface of Ohio, the beds of its 

 rivers and lakes, and its plains, valleys, and 

 hills, were once from a hundred to a hundred 

 and fifty feet below their present level ; and 

 that the lakes occupied a much wider area than 

 now, and that Lake Erie, which formerly was 

 connected with Lake Huron by a broad though 

 not very deep channel, formerly extended 

 southward through the State in a long valley, 

 excavated by the glaciers of that early period. 

 The productive coal area is estimated at 

 about 10,000 square miles, or about the same 

 as Great Britain, but as yet produces annually 

 only about three million tons. It is all of a bi- 

 tuminous character. 



West of the Mississippi there has been an 

 unusual amount of geographical and geological 

 exploration, in part by government commis- 

 sions, and in part by private companies and 

 individuals. Tho careful preliminary surveys 

 for the Northern Pacific Railway ; the North- 

 western Boundary Commission's survey of the 

 49th parallel from the Rocky Mountains to the 

 Pacific Ocean; the geological and geographical 

 surveys of the United States geologist Hayden, 

 and his corps, in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, 

 Wyoming, and partial surveys in Idaho, Mon- 

 tana, and Dakota, especially to the sources of 

 the Yellow Stone, the visit of Langford and 

 others to the Geysers of Montana, the private 

 expedition of Prof. Marsh and his twelve com- 

 panions from Yale College, in Nebraska, Wy- 

 oming, and Colorado, and along the upper 

 tributaries of the Colorado of the West ; the 

 full results of the Powell expedition, and of 

 Prof. Newberry's expedition, both of which 



though made in previous years, were for tho 

 first time fully given to tlio public during tho 

 year 1870; nn<l yet I'arth \u work of 



tho California Geological Survey, vigorously 

 and steadily prosecuted during the year; tho 

 I'nited States survey of the 40th parallel iuil.-r 

 Clarenco King; tin- researches of I'arrj. 

 Etitrleman, and of Whitney and Iln-w. r on the 

 peaks and parks of Colorado, and the survey of 

 tin- Harvard mining school party of the lofty 

 Hiiinmit region of Colorado, form together a 

 HIM--; of geographical labor and exploration 

 which has rarely been equalled in any one 

 country in a single year. 



Wo have space for only a glance at a few of 

 the more extraordinary discoveries made by 

 these numerous explorers. The most remarka- 

 ble sections visited by any of tho exploring par- 

 tics were tho regions around the headwaters 

 of the Yellowstone, and tho Madison, Jeffer- 

 son, and Gallatin, the primal sources of the 

 Missouri in Montana. The Langford expedi- 

 tion which visited this region consisted of 

 nineteen persons, and tho Hon. N. P. Lang- 

 ford, who has resided in Montana since 1862, 

 and was appointed, by President Johnson, Gov- 

 ernor of the Territory, was its leader. The party 

 ascended the Belt Range from Fort Ellis, and 

 found the ascent exceedingly tedious and diffi- 

 cult, leading through narrow defiles, up sharp 

 acclivities, and over numerous peaks, before 

 the summit was attained, at an elevation of 

 8,000 feet. From this point an amphitheatre 

 of mountains, 400 miles in circumference, en- 

 closing a valley as large as New Hampshire, 

 with all its detail of pinnacle, peak, dome, 

 rock, and river, was comprehended at a glance. 

 Following the range to the right for forty 

 miles, the eye rested upon the singular depres- 

 sion where, formed by the confluent streams 

 of Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin, the Mis- 

 souri began its meanderings to the Gulf. At 

 the left were the towering peaks of the Yellow- 

 stone, their summits half enveloped in cloud, 

 or glittering with perpetual snow. In front, 

 carpeted with verdure, was the magnificent val- 

 ley of the Gallatin. 



The explorers were much impressed by tho 

 beauty and grandeur of the valley of the Yel- 

 lowstone River, in which they found canons 

 rivalling those of the Colorado. They pro- 

 ceeded directly up the valley, encountering 

 many wonders on the way, such as immense 

 water-falls, columns of pillar basalt, like the 

 " Giant's Causeway," and hot, cold, and sul- 

 phur springs, until, in a few days, they reached 

 the summit, from which they obtained a fine 

 t iew of Yellowstone Lake, and to visit it left 

 tho well-definod Indian trail and passed through 

 a region never before traversed by civilized 

 men. 



The Yellowstone Lake was reached twelve 

 miles beyond the mud-volcano, and many days 

 were spent in exploring the country in its vi- 

 cinity. The lake was ascertained to be 8,330 

 feet above the level of the sea. It is an ex- 



