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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Star crossings and stone monuments-Field astronomy by the Wheeler Survey in 1870s Colorado
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King of the 40th parallel - Discovery in the American West
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Lewis and Clark's observations and measurements of geomorphology and hydrology, and changes with time
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Digital archive : previously unpublished expedition sketches by Henry W. Elliott united with the Preliminary field report of the United States Geological Survey of Colorado and New Mexico, 1869, by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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John Wesley Powell's exploration of the Colorado River
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Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden and the founding of the Yellowstone National Park
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John Wesley Powell and the anthropology of the Canyon Country
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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,...
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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)
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Catalogue and index of the publications of the Hayden, King, Powell, and Wheeler surveys
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Clarence King and the 40th Parallel Survey
By James G. Moore, Geologist
- After completing a geology degree at Yale and coming West in a wagon train, Clarence King worked with the California Geological Survey and was in the field party that discovered Mount Whitney
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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. Elliott, artist;
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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.
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.)
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.)
J. W. Powell's Appointment as USGS Director
J. W. Powell's Appointment as Director, U.S.Geological Survey This single-page document, signed in Washington, D.C., on 21, March 1881, is the appointment of John Wesley Powell (1834-1902) as Director of the United States Geological Survey (1881-1894). It is signed by President James A. Garfield and countersigned by Interior Secretary S.J. Kirkwood. It is blind-stamped
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John Wesley Powell's Swivel Chair
This swivel chair is an original and is believed to have been used by John Wesley Powell. Object ID: USGS-575126
John Wesley Powell
This is an oil portrait of John Wesley Powell painted by N.H. Busey. Powell served as the director of the Geological Survey from 1881 to 1894. Although he was the second director of the survey, he is perhaps the most famous. He participated in several mapping and exploration expeditions to the southwestern United States, and the national center in Reston is named after him
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Clarence King, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1879-1881
Clarence King, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1879-1881.
Clarence King
This portrait of Clarence King was painted by George Howland in 1902. King was the first director of the Geological Survey. He served from 1879 to 1881. Object ID: USGS-575110