18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE WASHINGTON MEETtNG 



em edge of Salt Lake Desert, In 1869 field work was mainly confined 

 to the desert country bordering the lake and the strongly contrasted 

 Wasatch Mountains. The year was signalized by the coming together 

 of the two railway systems, one from the Missouri, the other from the 

 Sacramento, the connecting rail, with its silver spike, being laid just 

 north of Great Salt Lake. In a sense it was an inspiration, as the prac- 

 tical reasons for our work were to make known the resources of a country 

 to be opened by railway communication. At all events, it greatly facil- 

 itated the operations of the survey. From the Wasatch eastward the 

 belt of exploration traversed the elevated Mesozoic and Tertiary areas of 

 Utah and Wyoming, crossed the relatively low divide separating the 

 drainage of Green Eiver from that of the I^orth Platte, and, continuing 

 eastward, included the Laramie plains and the northern extension of the 

 Front Eange. Mr. Emmons gave his attention mainly to geological 

 problems connected with Green Eiver Basin and to Uinta Eange and its 

 dependencies. The field work was finally completed in the autumn of 

 1872. 



The first winter was spent in Virginia City, in a study of the Corn- 

 stock Lode and the geology of Mount Davidson and the adjacent coun- 

 try, situated just south of the southern line of the area of exploration. 

 In successive 3^ears winter quarters were established either in San Fran- 

 cisco, Washington, or New Haven. After the completion of field work 

 the ofi&ces for the final preparation of the report, with its accompanying 

 atlas, were located in N"ew York. Here Mr. King and his two colleagues 

 worked together and lived together in ties of closest friendship. 



In the first volume of the report issued, but volume in of the pub- 

 lished series, will be found a chapter by Mr. Emmons on the "Geology 

 of the Toyabe Eange," accompanied by a map of those isolated moun- 

 tains which extend in a north and south direction for over 60 miles, and 

 at that time already well known for their silver deposits. The same 

 volume contained a shorter paper entitled "Geology of the Egan Canyon 

 District." Both are of interest as being his first scientific publications. 

 In his field work he endeavored to visit every locality where ore was re- 

 ported, yet it was characteristic of the man that he invariably began his 

 examination of such localities by a study of their geological features 

 before taking up the occurrence of any ore bodies. 



Emmons' great work, so far as the exploration of the Fortieth Parallel 

 is concerned, will be found in the report on the Descriptive Geology, 

 volume II of its publications. The entire report is the work of the two 

 assistant geologists. It was presented to Mr. King in January, 1877, 

 and by him transmitted, the same month, to Gen. A. A. Humphreys. 



