36 THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



taches to the Survey's topographic maps of Alaska, because of 

 the undeveloped state of the country. Demands for them 

 come from prospectors, engineers, capitalists, and school 

 teachers, and they form one of the most essential prelimina- 

 ries to any form of development of the country. They indi- 

 cate routes of travel to the prospector and explorer, railway 

 and wagon routes to the locating engineer, and possible sources 

 of water power to the mine operator. 



Cost and Progress. The cost of the surveys first made, on 

 the scale of 4 miles to the inch, averaged $1.75 a square mile. 

 Those made later, on the scale of about 2 miles to the inch, 

 averaged in cost $4 a square mile, and those made on the 

 scale of approximately 1 mile to the inch, averaged in cost 

 $10 a square mile. During the field season of 1884 a single 

 party mapped over 1 1,000 square miles on the scale of 4 miles 

 to the inch. A few years later the output of a single party, 

 on the scale of 2 miles to the inch, was about 3,000 square 

 miles in a season. Today the more refined and detailed maps, 

 on the scale of about 2 miles to the inch, with a contour in- 

 terval of 100 feet, cost from $7 to $11 a square mile, accord- 

 ing to the country, and a single party can rarely map over 

 600 to 1 ,000 square miles in a season. On the scale of 1 mile 

 to the inch, a party rarely maps more than 500 square miles 

 in a season, and the cost of this work varies between $12 and 

 $30 a square mile, according to the nature of the country. 



It would be difficult to compute with accuracy the total cost 

 of the topographic surveys and of the topographic maps to 

 date. As already stated, the Survey inherited from the sev- 

 eral western surveys which preceded it a large body of ma- 

 terial which it was able to utilize in the preparation of its early 

 topographic maps. Again, it was not until eight years after 

 the Survey began topographic surveys that specific appropria- 

 tion was made for them by Congress. The state contributions 

 to topographic work, amounting to nearly two and one-half 

 million dollars, must also be taken into account. The total spe- 

 cific appropriations for topographic surveys to date have been 



