Geology and Natural History. 



n-u Us of the survey m special departments. Meantime, the field- 

 uuik, and the elaboration of the geological and topo-rnphioal 

 data collected, are going on rapidly under his direction. 



The necessity of preparing maps for the accurate dtliiu-itioii of 

 the geology of a vast state of almost unknown geo.Mnphv lia. 

 led to an expansion of the topographical work far excecdinu- what 

 was anticipated, and constituting a step of very great iiniinrtaiice 

 in the history of American geography. Accurate detail,,! m-Au^ 

 from actual surveys, of extensive inland regions, inclu.liu- uran.l 

 mountam features, had not been produced before in the c.iintrv 

 at least on anything like the same scale. Nor has the Lim, ti<iai 

 activity of the survey in this direction been limited to falifoniia • 

 the survey of the 40th Parallel is to be accounted one of its fruits' 

 the two heads of the latter, Messrs. King and Ganlner haviii<r 

 iH'LMin their Western work in California under Prof. Whitney, and 

 undertaken their survey in continuation and completion of his ' ( )f 

 the maps of the California survey, there have appeared liitherto 

 hose of the Yosemite valley and of the High Sierra in its vicinity 

 (m the Yosemite Guide Book), and that of the region adjacent to 

 the Bay of San Francisco, the last on a scale of two miles to the 

 mch ; a much larger map, including about 60,000 square miles of 

 the central part of the State (occupied by more than nine-tenths 

 oMts population), is far advanced, one of its four sheets (the 

 - \v . comer) being already engraved, and a second (the S.E. one, 

 eontaming the highest part of the SieiTa) in the engravers' hands, 

 inis 18 on a scale of six miles to the inch ; it will be issued in 

 upiicate, as geological and as a topographical map. Another, of 

 ntP 1 i^ ^*^^'' ^* ^^^^^^^^ miles to the inch, is finished, and is 

 Llv tl '^""''^ ^' ^ preliminary geological map, and to accom- 

 P ny tiie second volume of geology, of which the printing mAW be 

 »e un next summer. Among the regions which have been re- 

 chan /^''^^^^^g particular attention is that of the ancient river- 

 fnr «T ' °^ *^^ western slopes of the Sierra, which a party has 

 which Tf fr^ ^^"^"^ ^r,g2.ge^ in exploring and mapping, and on 

 Tanf f^ ^^P"""^ ^^ ^««» to ^e made ; also, the White and Inyo 

 an/fk • ^o'lntains, east of the Sierra and of Owen's valley ; 



V^^ vicmity of Clear Lake, in the northern coast ranges. 

 this s ^^^^^^ express too strongly our sense of the importance of 

 as wpl^^^^^i- ^^^ ^^ ^*^ value to the people of the whole country 

 its t ^^ ^^^ ^^^*^ which it particularly concerns. That, after 

 viaorT^?^^^^ suspension (1868-70), it was taken up again and 

 Criifn?-^ pushed, is highly creditable to the enlightenment of the 

 falter r'?i.^^^P^^' ^°^ '* ^^ "^^ **^ ^^ believed that they will again 

 honor fl siipport of a work which is bringing them so much 

 for tL f°"^^®"t *^e world, and helping to lay a sure foundation 

 State ^^"^^^ successful development of the resources of the 



Vol Tv''^''??'''*^ ^^'^"^y of lUinois: A. H. Worthen, Director. 



THEN- ; 7^^f^^^y ^'^^ -Paleontology. Geology, by A. H. Woe- 



««/h A i''^^f<:"its H. M. Bannister, Fkaxk H. Bradley 



• A. Green: Paleontology, Section 1, Descriptions of 



