GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS OF THE FAR WEST: THE ROLE OF SURVEYS AND GEOLOGISTS IN THE CREATION OF AN AMERICAN IDENTITY – 1850-1903

This essay examines the role that geological surveys and geologists played in the creation of an American national identity. During the “Era of Great Surveys” (1850-1900) many surveys were completed throughout the United States, but here I focus on surveys of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon (1857-1875), and the Geological Survey of California (1860 – 1874). The reports of the Colorado Exploring Expedition (1857-58), also known as the Ives’ Expedition, focused on the natural history and dramatic landscapes of the canyon and surrounding areas. The geological report of John Strong Newberry included the first true stratigraphic column of the canyon, and was the first to recognize the fluvial actions of the Colorado River in the formation of the canyon. The Ives’ expedition prompted further surveys led by John Wesley Powell in the late 1860s and early 1870s. It was Powell’s publication of his expedition journals, with stories of wild rivers, descriptions of wilderness, and Native Americans, rather than the published official survey reports, that intrigued and captured the imaginations of the American Victorian middle-class society. The focus of the California State Geological Survey was mapping and inventorying natural resources in the state of California. During the survey, State Geologist Josiah Dwight Whitney recognized the importance of the outstanding scenic qualities of the Yosemite Valley, the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the unique Mariposa “Big Trees” grove. Realizing that these areas could be lost to development, Whitney and others petitioned the federal government to turn Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove into a state-owned park that would be “held for public use, resort, and recreation for all time.” In 1869, Whitney published The Yosemite Guide-Book, which included useful travel information for visitors to the park, photographs, essays, and paintings. For an emerging and expanding nation, the surveys of the Far West not only revealed areas for potential natural resources development, but they also uncovered landscapes unfamiliar to American society. The Far West provided the Victorian middle-class with opportunities to create a new national identity - one based on the wilderness and scenic, rugged landscapes - that was detached from European influences.