March 10, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



395 



REPORT OF THE COAST AND GEODETIC 

 SURVEY FOR 190J,. 



The report of the Coast and Geodetic Sur- 

 vey for l'J04 is a record of manifold labors 

 and results which have for their theater of 

 action an area practically coterminous with 

 that of the United States and all its island 

 possessions. The main body of the report con- 

 tains a detailed account of the wide range of 

 important duties devolving upon this bureau, 

 and in the appendices we have a presentation 

 of discussions and results which must prove 

 of great economical value and interest to sur- 

 veyors, engineers, navigators and physicists. 



The resurveys and developments impera- 

 tively required to show the changes in harbors 

 and approaches, due to works of improvement 

 or the ceaseless action of natural causes along 

 the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts of the 

 United States, and to meet the ever-increasing 

 demands of our commerce and navy for up-to- 

 date charts, particularly of the waters of 

 Alaska, Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philip- 

 pines, gave constant employment to the eleven 

 vessels available for these duties. The hy- 

 drography was prosecuted within the limits of 

 the waters of sixteen states and territories and 

 the topography was carried on in nine. 



In Alaska the work included the continua- 

 tion of the survey of Prince William Sound, 

 the survey of Controller Bay and a deep-sea 

 examination from the Strait of Juan de Fuca 

 to Prince William Sound, preliminary to the 

 laying of a deep-sea cable from Seattle to 

 Valdez. The Porto Rico work was continued 

 in certain bays and harbors as well as in the 

 development of the conditions in the off-shore 

 waters. In the Philippine Archipelago the 

 survey has secured the cooperation of the 

 insular government and a detailed resume 

 shows a most satisfactory progress of the tri- 

 angulation, hydrographic, topographic, mag- 

 netic and astronomical operations. By utiliz- 

 ing native assistance in the Manila sub-office 

 twenty-one charts were prepared for publica- 

 tion during the year, and the outcome of the 

 experience with Filipinos as draftsmen, com- 

 puters and engravers is the gratifying demon- 

 stration that they will prove equally as com- 

 petent as the Hindoos have been found in the 



British Indian operations and the Malagassys 

 have proved themselves in the French sur- 

 veying work in Madagascar. 



The reconnaissance for the primary triangu- 

 lation along the 98th meridian was completed 

 to the Canadian border and a scheme was ex- 

 tended eastward connecting this work with 

 the triangulation of the Mississippi River 

 Commission. The execution of the primary 

 triangulation in the Dakotas and Texas was 

 prosecuted at a rate which surpassed even the 

 notable record which had already secured an 

 enviable reputation for the geodetic operations 

 along the 98th meridian, the total extension 

 amounting to 300 miles (500 kilometers). An 

 equal distinction must be accredited to similar 

 work in California and Oregon whereon re- 

 markable progress has been made in connect- 

 ing the transcontinental arc work with Puget 

 Sound. 



The progress of the magnetic work is shown 

 in detail in Appendix No. 3, which includes a 

 table of results of the magnetic declinations, 

 dip and intensity of force observed on land 

 and sea during the year, this being supple- 

 mented with full descriptions of the magnetic 

 stations occupied and meridian lines observed. 

 A new feature is the inclusion of the observa- 

 tions of the three magnetic elements at sea 

 by the Coast and Geodetic Survey vessels in 

 the course of their regular surveying opera- 

 tions. The paper is replete with matters of 

 interest to the surveyor, the mariner, the 

 geographer and the geologist. Thus compre- 

 hensive examination has been made of certain 

 locally disturbed areas, as for example, in 

 Douglas Island, Alaska, in the region of the 

 local magnetic pole found in 1900; and the 

 completion of the magnetic survey of Louis- 

 iana in cooperation with the state geological 

 survey revealed interesting and important re- 

 sults as regards both the magnetic distribution 

 and the secular variation. 



The table contains the magnetic results at 

 384 land stations distributed over 24 states and 

 territories and 2 foreign countries. The table 

 of sea results contains 52 entries of magnetic 

 declination, 34 dips and 32 values of the 

 total intensity of the magnetic force in the 

 Atlantic and in the Pacific Oceans. The 



