The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-09-12
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WORK.
Extremely Slow and Complicated Meth
DDS of the SurxeyorA


For two seasons now the United States
geological survey has been at work In
Maine. having gone over most Of York,
Cumberland and tagadahoc counties
It's task is the making Of accurate topo-
graphic maps Of this region, which, when
completed, are TO be used by the geologistS
AS this bureau Of the government has been
organized but ten years the scope OF the
work is not understood by many people.
The chief feature Of these maps IL their
accuracy-nothing is done by gussSwork.
They also, besides giving the exact lines Of
roads, rivers aud sea coast, show thu elevR-
ton OF the land above the sea at all points.
| The scale is a trihe less than one and n
half inches To a mile, or in other words,
the area is really a, 0o0 times longer than
the map shows it. The government cares
little about state, county or town bound
aries. and instead Of these the lines used
are the meridians and parallals- Each
map is bounded on two sides by Is min Of
latitude and on the other two by ID min.
of longitude.
At the latitude Of Maine one Of these u
min sheets Is about seventeen miles long,
while the width Of the area from sase To
west is about thirteen miles This gives
an area of pol square milsg, which de-
creases very slowly as We go nGrthwGrd.
Each sheet is named from ths most prom
inent town or body OF water failing witAin
/ its limits Those already completed In
Maine are York, Berwick, Kennsbunk,
| Biddeford, Newield, Buxton, Portland,
| Casco bay, Freeport and bath shsstA The
| Augusta sheet embraces parts Of the t0w3s
of Augusta Sidney. Belgrade. Nj. Vernon
| Readfeld. Manchester and Winthrop
The contents Of these maps are shown by
various colors. The roads and houses aud
the necessary lettering are in black Ey-
erythinE pertaining 70 water, such a.
streams, cogst lines and ponds, is shown
/ in blue. The contour lines arc traced In
| brown The distribution Of forests IL noted
| in executing the =. ID work. end whsn this
I feature is added 20 the map. as IL r. in spe-
cial editions, is represented in green Thia
shows one where 90 look for the woods.
ASA the contour lines, which 10 ono who
knows how to read them tell at a glance
the elevation above the sSa Of given point,
the following explanation IL givsnt Detaoh
q spider web carefully and lay IL down fat
on "A sheet Of paper. DisreEsrding tho
webs running radically from tho center We
have in the remaining concentric curved
lines n very iAiT t1eA q new - vii - NHpTr-
scented by contours. Surprising the map II
that Of a small Island running up too con-
siderable height The Outside eob-~eb rep
resents the shore line. whiehnf coarse Ia
always az the same elevation.
Now start at this sea level and walk mp
hill on the island Lill you rsa<tna hsight OF
twenty feet Then wDtk ar1und thsisiand.
always keeping ~ the sSzls elevation
when you yet back 20 the starting poinh
you have Traction thsgrnand a contour
line Twenty miles higher. Rnnthsr walk
would trace otIt "a tlird ons. and 10 on by
counting the lines from tLs.ssaslsvel and
noticing thc4r distances Hpalrb one cao tell
at once whether ttin country isnat or billy,
and II the LATER, bow step tbs bills are.
To make these uulps - slow work. hftY
square miles month bring very good
progress for one man tn hilly-hsw King
land. The winters arc spent in Washing
ton. where the maps arr finally drawn ia
ink. and then handed over 20 the sngrav-
erz.-W. II. Beaman Ia Portland Express.