182 G. 0. Smith — Government Geological Surveys. 



petrography in the United States may be said to have 

 begnn with the visit of Professor Zirkel to this country as 

 a member of this Survey in 1875, and the report of J. D. 

 Hague on "Mining Industry " was the fitting expression 

 of the emphasis then put on the study of the mineral 

 resources of this newly opened territory, a subject of 

 investigation that was in large part the true basis of 

 King's project rather than simply "the immediate 

 excuse for the Survey. ' ' An earlier influence in the sci- 

 entific study of ore deposits had come from Von Richt- 

 hofen's investigation of the Comstock Lode in 1865 and 

 his subsequent work with Whitney in California. The 

 incident of King's relation to the diamond fraud in Ari- 

 zona in 1872 furnished a precedent for public servants of 

 a later day ; he investigated the reported find from scien- 

 tific interest but exposed it with all the zeal of a publicist 

 and truth lover. In a word, the Fortieth Parallel Sur- 

 vey commands our admiration for its brilliant plan, 

 thoroughgoing work in field and office, and high quality 

 of personnel. 



Major J. W. Powell began his large contribution to 

 Government surveys with his exploration of the Grand 

 Canyon in 1869, the Congressional recognition of his 

 expedition being limited to an authorization for the issue 

 of rations by the War Department. Small appropria- 

 tions were made in the following years, and in 1874 full 

 authorization was given for the continuance of his survey 

 in Utah under the Secretary of the Interior and was 

 followed by the adoption of the name "United States 

 Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Moun- 

 tain Region." This organization was the least preten- 

 tious of the four operating during this period — it covered 

 less area, expended less public money, and published much 

 less — but its contribution to American geology is not to be 

 measured by miles or pages but by ideas. Its physical 

 environment favored this survey, and in the work of 

 Powell, Dutton, and Gilbert can be seen the beginnings of 

 physiography on the heroic scale exemplified in the 

 Grand Canyon and the High Plateaus. The first use of 

 terms like "base level of erosion," "consequent and 

 antecedent drainage," and "laccolith" marked the intro- 

 duction of new ideas in the interpretation of land sculp- 

 ture and geologic structure. The daring boat trip of 



