Appendix B. 

 REPORT ON TOPOGRAPHIC WORK. 



BY MARK B. KERE. 



In addition to the ascent of Mount St. Elias, it was part of the original 

 plan of the expedition to make an accurate topographic map of the region 

 explored. It was not, however, for this purpose proposed to divide the 

 party or to deviate much from the most direct route to Mount St. Elias 

 from Yakutat bay. Triangulation of fair precision was provided for. 

 Details were to be filled in by approximate methods. 



Field-work began June 20 by the careful measurement of a base-line, 

 3,850 feet in length, near the point of landing, on the northern shore of 

 Yakutat bay. Expansion was readily carried to the foot-hills, and several 

 horizontal angles were taken to an astronomical station of the United 

 States Coast and Geodetic Survey at Port Mulgrave. In the region of 

 these initial triangles, work was done from a central camp ; and topo- 

 graphic details were fixed with considerable precision by intersection and 

 vertical angles. 



After the departure of the expedition from the Base Line camp, an acci- 

 dent to the transit made resort to an inferior instrument necessary, and, 

 furthermore, as the region traversed proved to be ill-adapted to, and the line 

 of travel too direct for, the proper development of a narrow belt of tri- 

 angles, the anticipation of a degree of precision in the triangulation which 

 would give high value to the determinations of position and altitude of 

 the several peaks was not realized ; but topographic map work, showing 

 the general features, altitudes and location of the mountain ranges, valleys 

 and glaciers, was extended over about 600 square miles. 



Within the approximate geometric control, stations were interpolated 

 by the three-point method, and minor locations were multiplied by inter- 

 section and connected by sketch. The best meander possible under the 

 circumstances was carried forward on the line of travel by compass direc- 

 tions and estimates of distance from time intervals. The work ceased 

 August 22 with the abandonment of the instruments in a snow-storm of 

 four days' duration on the eastern slope of Mount St. Elias. 



The accompanying map (a reduction of which forms plate 8, page 75) 

 shows the ice-streams and peculiar mountain topography of a region here- 

 tofore unvisited, and constitutes a considerable addition to the geography 

 of Alaska. 



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