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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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The spelling of “gage” is part of our very rich USGS history. In 1888, USGS Director John Wesley Powell met a very forward-thinking graduate student named Frederick Haynes Newell. Powell was so impressed that he made Newell the first full-time appointee to the new Irrigation Survey, which was created to investigate the potential for dams and canals in the western United States.At that time, there...

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Why does the USGS use the spelling "gage" instead of "gauge"?

The spelling of “gage” is part of our very rich USGS history. In 1888, USGS Director John Wesley Powell met a very forward-thinking graduate student named Frederick Haynes Newell. Powell was so impressed that he made Newell the first full-time appointee to the new Irrigation Survey, which was created to investigate the potential for dams and canals in the western United States.At that time, there...

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Does the Geographic Names Information System database contain entries for obsolete names and geographic features that no longer exist?

Yes, The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) actively seeks names of features that no longer exist. The term "historical" as used in the GNIS specifically means that the feature no longer exists on the landscape. An abandoned ghost town, for example, still exists so it is not historical. Historical features have no reference to age, size, condition, extent of habitation, type of use, or any...

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Does the Geographic Names Information System database contain entries for obsolete names and geographic features that no longer exist?

Yes, The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) actively seeks names of features that no longer exist. The term "historical" as used in the GNIS specifically means that the feature no longer exists on the landscape. An abandoned ghost town, for example, still exists so it is not historical. Historical features have no reference to age, size, condition, extent of habitation, type of use, or any...

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Image: USGS Topographic Field Party

How can I find USGS historical photographs?

The USGS Photographic Library, located at our library in Denver, Colorado, is an archive of still photographs dating from the 1870s and taken by USGS scientists as part of their field studies. The works of pioneer photographers W.H. Jackson, T.H. O’Sullivan, Carleton Watkins, J.K. Hillers, Thomas Moran, A.J. Russell, E.O. Beaman, and William Bell are represented in the collection. Topics include...

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How can I find USGS historical photographs?

The USGS Photographic Library, located at our library in Denver, Colorado, is an archive of still photographs dating from the 1870s and taken by USGS scientists as part of their field studies. The works of pioneer photographers W.H. Jackson, T.H. O’Sullivan, Carleton Watkins, J.K. Hillers, Thomas Moran, A.J. Russell, E.O. Beaman, and William Bell are represented in the collection. Topics include...

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Image: Treasures of the USGS Library: Rare Book Room

How can I find publications of the USGS?

The USGS Publications Warehouse is an online catalog for searching all USGS publications and downloading free digital versions. USGS Libraries contain sets of all USGS publications plus many state geological survey publications. The public go in person to any USGS library to do research, but USGS library materials can only be borrowed by placing a request with your local library for Interlibrary...

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How can I find publications of the USGS?

The USGS Publications Warehouse is an online catalog for searching all USGS publications and downloading free digital versions. USGS Libraries contain sets of all USGS publications plus many state geological survey publications. The public go in person to any USGS library to do research, but USGS library materials can only be borrowed by placing a request with your local library for Interlibrary...

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How can I find out-of-print USGS publications?

Out-of-print USGS publications and maps, depending on series and date, can be obtained in various ways: Check the USGS Publications Warehouse for online availability. If the publication is listed but does not have a link to a digital version, contact the Publications Warehouse Team to request a digital copy. Borrow from your local public, academic, or corporate library through a request for...

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How can I find out-of-print USGS publications?

Out-of-print USGS publications and maps, depending on series and date, can be obtained in various ways: Check the USGS Publications Warehouse for online availability. If the publication is listed but does not have a link to a digital version, contact the Publications Warehouse Team to request a digital copy. Borrow from your local public, academic, or corporate library through a request for...

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Men sitting around a table beside a wagon in 1870 Wyoming
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formal portrait of caucasian man with full beard, wearing a 19th century suit and bow tie
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Thirty men posed around a canvas tent
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Three men posed under a canvas tent
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Image: John Wesley Powell
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Portrait of Clarence King
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Image: John Wesley Powell's Swivel Chair
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Image: Clarence King
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Image: J. W. Powell's Appointment as USGS Director
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Filter Total Items: 24

Descriptive catalogue of the photographs of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories for the years 1869 to 1873: Miscellaneous Publications - No. 5

Miscellaneous Publications of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories is comprised of No. 1-12, some with multiple editions.  A 1st and 2nd edition of No. 5 were published in 1874 and 1875 respectively.  Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden is the United States geologist in charge of this series.  List of publications, with contents of each, and author and subject index may b

Preliminary Field Report of the United States Geological Survey of Colorado and New Mexico

SIR : In accordance with your instructions dated Washington, April 1, 1869, I have the honor to transmit my preliminary field report of the United States geological survey of Colorado and New Mexico, conducted by me, under your direction, during the past season. A portion of your instructions is as follows :  “You will proceed to the field of your labors as soon as the necessary arrangements can b

Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Volume I: Systematic Geology

The Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel promised, first, a study and description of all the natural resources of the mountain country near the Union and Central Pacific railroads; secondly, the completion of a continuous geological section across the widest expansion of the great Cordilleran Mountain System.

Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Volume III: Mining industry

Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Volume V: Botany

The territory within which botanical collections have been nmade in connection with the United States Geological Survey of the 40th Parallel lies wholly within the limits of Northern Nevada and Utah. It forms a narrow tract at no point exceeding seventy miles in width, between the meridians of 111° and 120°, and extending frorn the parallel of 39° at the southwestern limit to that of 42° at the no

Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Volume VI: Microscopical petrography

This publication contains a report on crystalline rocks along the Fortieth Parallel in the Western United States.

Annual report upon the geological exploration of the fortieth parallel from the Sierra Nevada to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains: Being Appendix KK of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers to the Secretary of War for 1875

I have the honor herewith to present a brief annual report of the operations of the geological exploration of the fortieth parallel, under my charge, for the year ending June 30, 1875, and to state in explanation of its delay that, since the date when it should properly have been rendered, I have been severely ill, and confined to my bed more than half of the time. The entire year bas been spent i

Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Volume II: Descriptive geology

This publication contains descriptive geology of western regions examined between 1867 to 1873 as part of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel.

Annual Report upon the geographical explorations and surveys west of the one hundredth meridian, in California, Nevada, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana: Being Appendix LL of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers f

I have the honor to submit the following report upon geographical surveys west of the one hundredth meridian for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875. The States and Territories of California, Nevada, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana had been entered at the close of the season of 1874, during the several years' operations of the survey. Of the political divisions

Annual Report upon the geographical explorations and surveys west of the one hundredth meridian, in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana: Being Appendix FF of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1874

I [G.M. Wheeler] have the honor to submit the following annual report upon geographical explorations and surveys west of the one hundredth meridian, in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Toward the close of the last fiscal year, the expedition of 1873 had taken the field in three separate divisions from Salt Lake

Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its tributaries: Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

In the summer of 1867, with a small party of naturalists, students, and amateurs like myself, I visited the mountain region of Colorado Territory. While in Middle Park, I explored a little cañon, through which the Grand River runs, immediately below the well-known watering-place, "Middle Park Hot Springs." Later in the fall I passed through Cedar Cañon, the gorge by which the Grand leaves the park

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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