4 
SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST. 
that this additional work is of importance, and that an appropriation 
for the purpose would be well applied. 
But whatever may be the determination of Congress on this point, in 
view of the valuable results already obtained at a comparatively small 
expense, 1 would respectfully and earnestly recommend that a suffi- 
cient appropriation bo made to prepare a detailed report of the whole 
work. Unless this be done, the labor and money already expended 
will be of little or no avail to the Government or the public generally. 
L have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
JOSlJ^jpOT;mtY, 
Secretary Sjtiipifmrim -institution. 
Hon. J. (t. Blaine, f.y/ \v \ 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, * < ’( )&) 
V' 
\ 
~~‘ J s f- 
Washington, D. 0., April 30, 1874. 
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following statement of the prog- 
ress made in the survey of the Colorado River of the West and its 
tributaries. Tt is a summary of all the work which has been per- 
formed from the date of beginning to the present time. 
TOPOGRAPHY. 
The Colorado River is formed by the junction of the Grand and Green. 
These streams unite in latitude 38° IP 21" and longitude 110° V 48", 
approximately. 
The mouth of the Colorado River, as determined by Lieutenant Ives, 
is in latitude 31° 53' and longitude 115°. The course of the river from 
its head, the junction of the above-mentioned streams, to the mouth of 
the Colorado Chiquito, is south 40° west. 
From the mouth of the Little Colorado to the junction of the Rio 
Virgen with the main stream, the general course of the river is to the 
west. From this point its course is to the south, until it empties into 
the Gulf of California. This lower part of the river was explored by 
Lieutenant Ives in the winter of 1857- ? 58 ; and the district of coun- 
try to the east between the river and the Rio Grande del Norte, and to 
the west between the Colorado and the Pacific, has been crossed by 
various exploring parties and military expeditions. 
The maps made by these several parties, when compiled, give a gen- 
eral sketch of the country of great value in determining many of the im- 
portant features, but unreliable in details, contradictory, and confusing. 
That portion of the Colorado between the mouth of the Rio Virgen 
and the junction of the Grand and Green had never been mapped before 
the one made by the parties under my charge was constructed. The 
river had been crossed at two points by Lieutenant I ves, and at another by 
Father Escalante, and such points approximately determined. Nor had 
