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Where can I find historical photographs from the Great Surveys of the American West?

A number of images from the "Great Surveys of the American West" can be downloaded through the online USGS Photographic Library.

Before the USGS was established by Congress as a part of the Department of Interior, four surveys of the western United States took place between 1867 and 1879. Surveys led by Ferdinand Hayden and John Wesley Powell were sponsored by the Interior Department, and Surveys led by Clarence King and Lt. George M. Wheeler were sponsored by the War Department.

A convenient way to find images from the surveys is to search on the names of the photographers. You can also search on terms like "Wheeler Survey" and "King Survey".

The 1867 King Survey

  • Known as the "U.S. Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel"
  • Led by Clarence King (later the first Director of the USGS)
  • Photographers: Timothy O'Sullivan (who was also part of the Wheeler Survey) and C. E. Watkins.

The 1867 Hayden Survey

  • Known as the "U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories"
  • Led by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden
  • Photographer: William Henry Jackson.

The 1872 Wheeler Survey

  • Known as the "U.S. Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian"
  • Led by George Montague Wheeler
  • Photographer: Timothy O'Sullivan (who was also part of the King Survey).

The 1869 Powell Survey

  • Known as the "U.S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region"
  • Led by John Wesley Powell (later the second Director of the USGS)  
  • Photographers: J. K. Hillers and E. O. Beaman 

Photographs from these expeditions are also available through the Library of Congress.

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PubTalk 3/2004 — Mapping the American West
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PubTalk 3/2004 — Mapping the American West

PubTalk 3/2004 — Mapping the American West

Clarence King and the 40th Parallel Survey

By James G. Moore, Geologist

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PubTalk 3/2004 — Mapping the American West

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Clarence King and the 40th Parallel Survey

By James G. Moore, Geologist

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Men sitting around a table beside a wagon in 1870 Wyoming
Hayden Survey 1870 Wyoming in camp at Red Buttes
Hayden Survey 1870 Wyoming in camp at Red Buttes
Men sitting around a table beside a wagon in 1870 Wyoming

Hayden Survey 1870 Wyoming in camp at Red Buttes

Hayden Survey 1870 Wyoming in camp at Red Buttes

U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (Hayden Survey). Group of all the members of the Survey, made while in camp at Red Buttes at the junction of the North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers. Natrona County, Wyoming, 1870. Standing left to right: John "Potato John" Raymond and "Val," cooks; Sanford R. Gifford, landscape painter; Henry W.

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Men sitting around a table beside a wagon in 1870 Wyoming

Hayden Survey 1870 Wyoming in camp at Red Buttes

Hayden Survey 1870 Wyoming in camp at Red Buttes

U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (Hayden Survey). Group of all the members of the Survey, made while in camp at Red Buttes at the junction of the North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers. Natrona County, Wyoming, 1870. Standing left to right: John "Potato John" Raymond and "Val," cooks; Sanford R. Gifford, landscape painter; Henry W.

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formal portrait of caucasian man with full beard, wearing a 19th century suit and bow tie
Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870
Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870
formal portrait of caucasian man with full beard, wearing a 19th century suit and bow tie

Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870

Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870

Portrait of Ferdinand V. Hayden, about the time of his directorship of the Geological Survey of the Territories. c. 1870. The Hayden Survey was a predecessor to the USGS.

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formal portrait of caucasian man with full beard, wearing a 19th century suit and bow tie

Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870

Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870

Portrait of Ferdinand V. Hayden, about the time of his directorship of the Geological Survey of the Territories. c. 1870. The Hayden Survey was a predecessor to the USGS.

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Thirty men posed around a canvas tent
Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Paral
Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Paral
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Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Paral

Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Paral

Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (King Survey). Plate 80: Camp scene. n.d.
(Photo by T.H. O'Sullivan.)

Thirty men posed around a canvas tent

Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Paral

Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Paral

Camp scene. United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (King Survey). Plate 80: Camp scene. n.d.
(Photo by T.H. O'Sullivan.)

Three men posed under a canvas tent
Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah
Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah
Three men posed under a canvas tent

Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah

Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah

Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah. United StatesGeological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (King Survey). 1868. Plate 96: Clarence King in camp, near Salt Lake City, Utah. October 1868.
(Photo by T.H. O'Sullivan.) 

Three men posed under a canvas tent

Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah

Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah

Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah. United StatesGeological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (King Survey). 1868. Plate 96: Clarence King in camp, near Salt Lake City, Utah. October 1868.
(Photo by T.H. O'Sullivan.) 

Filter Total Items: 24

Star crossings and stone monuments-Field astronomy by the Wheeler Survey in 1870s Colorado

The decade of the 1870s was a time of extensive exploration and surveying in the American West. The nation needed knowledge of the cultural features, topography, natural resources, and geology of this land to promote and aid the 'rapid development of an empire.' The need was particularly acute in the region that still was known in the early 1870s as Colorado Territory. There, cities and towns were
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King of the 40th parallel - Discovery in the American West

This book recounts the life and achievements of Clarence King, widely recognized as one of America’s most gifted intellectuals of the nineteenth century, and a legendary figure in the American West. King’s genius, singular accomplishments, and near-death adventures unfold in a narrative centered on his personal relationship with his lifelong friend and colleague, James Gardner. The two, upon compl
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Digital archive : previously unpublished expedition sketches by Henry W. Elliott united with the Preliminary field report of the United States Geological Survey of Colorado and New Mexico, 1869, by F.V. Hayden

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Lewis and Clark's observations and measurements of geomorphology and hydrology, and changes with time

Two VERY different men, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, joined to J, ~ake the first recorded set of scientific observations and measurements of geomorphology and hydrology west of the Mississippi River. They did not limit themselves to these two scientific topics but were true naturalists, making observations and measurements related to astronomy (Large, 1979; Bedini, 1984; Plamondon, 1991; Be
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The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989

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Minerals, lands, and geology for the common defence and general welfare, Volume 1, Before 1879 : A history of public lands, federal science and mapping policy, and development of mineral resources in the United States

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John Wesley Powell's exploration of the Colorado River

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Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden and the founding of the Yellowstone National Park

Following the Civil War, the United States intensified the exploration of her western frontiers to gain a measure of the vast lands and natural resources in the region now occupied by our Rocky Mountain States. As part of this effort, the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories was formed and staffed under the leadership of geologist Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden. Originally organi
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John Wesley Powell: Pioneer statesman of federal science: Chapter A in The Colorado River region and John Wesley Powell (Professional Paper 669)

In the middle decades of the 19th century, American science matured rather rapidly. The general scholar with an interest in natural history gave place to the specialist in a particular science, and the various sciences themselves became distinct from each other and from the general body of knowledge. The geological sciences made especially rapid progress in America because of the opportunity and t
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The Colorado River region and John Wesley Powell

A century ago John Wesley Powell-teacher, scientist, and veteran of the Civil War-set out to explore the unknown reaches of the Colorado River. He emerged from the forbidding canyons with a compelling interest in the nature of the western lands and how they could be developed for the greatest benefit to the Nation. A man gifted with imagination, yet always tempered by the scientist's appreciation
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John Wesley Powell and the anthropology of the Canyon Country

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Don D. Fowler, Robert C. Euler, Catherine S. Fowler

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Laurence Frederick Schmeckebier
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