Surveying the American West
From Scienticity
JNShaumeyer (Talk | contribs) |
JNShaumeyer (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
== The Great Surveys == | == The Great Surveys == | ||
| + | [[image:Grandcanyonmap-powell-1873.jpg|right|thumb|180 px|Survey map of the Grand Canyon, produced by John Wesley Powell, published in 1873. Source: [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?gmd:2:./temp/~ammem_Zb62:: Library of Congress].]] | ||
The mapping of the new continent was interrupted by the Civil War (1861--65). After the war, the federal government undertook further surveys of the West that were to set new standards of mapping and result in the formation of the United States Geological Survey. Four large surveys were funded by Congress and are commonly named after their principal leaders (King, Wheeler, Hayden, and Powell). The journalistic reporting and artistic illustration of these great surveys were reproduced in the expanding magazine and book trade, and greatly influenced Americans' perception of the West. | The mapping of the new continent was interrupted by the Civil War (1861--65). After the war, the federal government undertook further surveys of the West that were to set new standards of mapping and result in the formation of the United States Geological Survey. Four large surveys were funded by Congress and are commonly named after their principal leaders (King, Wheeler, Hayden, and Powell). The journalistic reporting and artistic illustration of these great surveys were reproduced in the expanding magazine and book trade, and greatly influenced Americans' perception of the West. | ||
