G. 0. Smith — Government Geological Surveys. ITT 



on the Wilkes Exploring Expedition, the disaster to 

 which compelled his return from the Pacific Coast over- 

 land and resulted in his geologic observations on Oregon 

 and northern California. 



The military expeditions during the decade 1850-60 

 and the earlier expeditions of Fremont added to the 

 geographic knowledge of the Western country and also 

 contributed to geologic science, largely through collec- 

 tions of rocks and fossils, usually reported on by the 

 specialists of the day. Thus the names of Hall, Con- 

 rad, Hitchcock, and Meek appear in the published 

 reports on these explorations, while Marcou, Blake, 

 Xewberry, Gibbs, Evans, Hayden, Parry, Shumard, 

 Schiel, Antisell, and Engelmann were geologists attached 

 to the field expeditions. In 1852 geologic investigation 

 was seemingly so popular as to necessitate the statutory 

 prohibition "there shall be no further geological survey 

 by the Government unless hereafter authorized by law. ' ' 



Certain of these explorations had a specific pur- 

 pose: several of them sought a practical route for 

 a transcontinental railroad; another a new wagon 

 road across Utah and Nevada; and one under 

 Colonel Pope, with G. G. Shumard as geologist, was 

 sent out "for boring Artesian Wells along the line 

 of the 32d Parallel" in New Mexico. The pub- 

 lished reports varied greatly in scientific value and in 

 carefulness of preparation, while the publication of at 

 least two reports was delayed until long after the war, 

 and the manuscript of another was lost. The report of 

 the expedition of Major Emory contained a colored 

 geologic map of the western half of the country, a pioneer 

 publication, for the map prepared by Marcou extended 

 only to the 106th meridian. 



Thus in the first period of Government surveys, cover- 

 ing about forty years, the great West, with its wealth of 

 public lands, was well traversed by exploratory surveys, 

 which furnished, however, only general outlines for a 

 comprehension of the stratigraphy and structure of 

 mountain and valley, plain and plateau. To an even less 

 degree was there any realization of the economic possi- 

 bilities of the vast territory west of the Mississippi. 

 President Jefferson, in planning the Lewis and Clark 

 expedition, had stated his special interest in the mineral 

 resources of the region to be traversed. Xearlv fortv 



