The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-12-21
HOW MAPS ARE MAbE.
United States Area Which Ean
Be Mapped Topographica ,.
THE WORK BEGUN IN THIS dry.
The Great Economic Value Of the Uh1tad
States Coast. Geological aue
Other Surveys.

Prof A. a. Thompson geographer IN charxe
OF the western division of the United ftaxes
geological survey, was in the city durinx the
week He came to inspect the preparations
made by Mr.. II. +. Mckee for starting aIfopo-
graphical survey Of Washington At thu city
next spring. A reporter met the profes6o4 and
Mr.. Mckee at the latter's Office in the ee0lre-
l-atimer building, and had most enterfafaine
chat with them.
"The work we are engaged in." said th4 pro-
fessor, "is that of making a complete Etcpo-
graphical map of the United States. u54er 4
comprehensive and weil-9efired plan. Nhezo
maps are made from original sources OF tnfof-
nation obtained By accurate surveys maen for
that purpose. In this respect they didsfI I1eom
ordinary geographic maps, which are usually
compiled from secondary sources of intakma-
tion. Many partial surveys have been m&de
under authority OF the United States gcsssu-
ment. but they were conducted by tnde-
pendent organizations without conformity TO
any general plan, they are OF varying degreos Of
accuracy.
''The most prominent organization. and: 9hat
which is executing the most accurate wosk, 10
the United States coast and Ceodesic survey,
which commenced work in 1882, since when
nearly the entire coag. line OF the AnAattc,
Gull and Pacific has been mapped. t0xseh9f
with strip OF inshore topography. The Uatfod
states military engineers have mapped she
shores OF the great lakes and OF The St
OF the lower Mississippi and Missouri r1lofs.
The war department has also carried on seSeral
explorations IN the western part OF tho eoun-
try These began with the famous expedittgn OF
Lewis and Clarke. which was followed By fnoao
OF Long. Pike and Fremont. Then followed the
Pacific railroad surveys. The surveying meth
ods of these expeditions were crHds and aeir
results fsr from accurate IN 1851 Cla13nce
King niade & survey OF tho country adjacent to
the Union and Central Pacific railways. Tho
war departments in 1859 undertook ext<n-
Eive surveys in the western aouEtaIn
region which were discontinued In
1872 The Hayden survey was Instituted IN
1s67, and did work in Montana, Idaho and iel-
lowstone park, and later in Colorado, Arizpna,
New Mexico. Utah aud wyoming. The Powell
survey originated iii 1857 in al explorations Of
the Colorado river. this being tha first survAy Of
that stream. In addition to these surveys have
been made merely for the purpose Of locssIng
state boundary lines. and also surveys Of the
public lands, which, though they serve adH1fr-
ably their purpose OF establishing lines for
property reference, possess Htto topogsaphtc
value The postofiice department also pub
fishes postal route maps. almost wholly thsfe-
suit of compilation Besides those carried on
by the general government, state surveys have
been carried on by the governments of New
Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Witeon-
tin. hinnesota, Kentucky, California and New
Jersey.
"The United States geological survey, With
which we are connected, is the only orgaIt8a-
tion which has undertaken to map the coua<xy
under a comprehensive plan, and has surveyed
n greater area than any other organization II
was formed In 1879. upon the dscontinuancoof
the three rival Western surveys conducted by
Hayden. Wheeler ana POWELL The wor- OF
Topographic surveying on q large scale NnA
commenced in 1882 and has been prosecuted ae-
lively since that time This survey has wo1ked
III cooperation with the states OF Mass6,shu-
sctts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New JeY~
sey, and has completed the surveys OF ts1o6e
states. 1t has also surveyed large areas in NV
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, virziniss SyR1es
Virginia. the southern Appalachian reSIen.
Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, t1is-
consin, Missouri, Kansas and the far WestNn
states and territories. Altogether an area Of
$4,000 square miles has been surveyed by shIa
organization.
"There are about 100000 square miles ID ihe
United States. and the government has on hand
enough data from various sources to map uN1y
1000 square miles on a scale of one mile tx3nu
inch. On scale OF two miles to an inch tf1neo
Is data on hand to map f6o, 600 square milas, nd
on scale of four miles 10 an inch the eov@6l1.
ment could produce maps OF 10000 square rniInn
OF its area. This latter area of small scale aak
includes the limited areas OF the larger scs1un
Our survey at first started to map areas on tho
smaller scale, but the demand for a larger sf11e
was such that we are now making them on 10
scale of one mile to an inch. except in the me{n-
tain regions where the other two scales aso
used, the four mile SCALE however, being nee1ay
obsolete.
'tThese maps are engraved on copper th5ae
plates being required, one to show the u.;5SY
courses. that are printed In light blue, onS1p
chow the contours of elevations printed N
brown. and tha other to show the artifSSl
features. such as roads. houses aiiwaye can n
boundary lines. etc. printed in black. III -
plates are about sixteen inches square and eSh
plate represents an area of fifteen minutes th.1ty
seconds. or one degree square, according 10 -
scale adopted.
"There is n great and growing demand lnf
these MAPS which arc valuable for MANY p6f.
poses, but the government has made no r,11pr
vision for publishing them Some 800 nrlaf
sheets of each map are printed when the nlc5es
are first proved and then the plates go into fhe
government vaults 10 hs printed from aa5n
when congress shall make tho necessary artfu-
priation- Many unayaiing efforts have So.
made to induce congress to publish these %
and sell them for the mere cost OF printing ~
Scents apiece. In many cases the field sy.9k
necessary for the preparation of one of thu
maps, fifteen miles square. ccsts the core~urrnf
as much as 5000. Private map publishers a
constantly represented at offices in Wa
tngton, aud appropriate without cost the wa
done by the government and charge the uuhSc
very high prices
'.i have been with Mai. Powell, who is nj -
head of this work. since 1871. 1 went with -
down the canyon OF the Columbia river Win
was the first Expedition 10 explore that re,uazft
able river. We did not see a white man Ior n.1o
moaths. aud many Of cur adventures wcra -
citing and often thrilling. Ny present work Il
that OF supervising the work west of u
Mississippi river We have parties in the & n
in Montana. South Dakota. Nebraska. Cogora Il
Kansas, Texas New Mexico. Idaho. South a
and Central California, oregon. and are .sas
making beginning II this state. The men nSt
In about half their time in the field aud hail d
Office work. Originally the men used 10 ret.f5a
TO " Washington city TO do the Office work h6f
lately change has been made in this resases
and the policy adopted of opening offiees in -
most prominent and most convenient GO
tcrs of the districts lii which the Wa
is being carried on. This was done II
the greater convenience o. the pune
that they could more readily have aecess 10 -
information possessed by our department He
want 10 make Mr.. Mekee's Office III this ci.rsa
distributing center for ali the gsograpde
knowledge we possess aud 4 library, nos only f
Our own maps and various Others published II
the government. but also of all the private -
state maps of this region which are obtaiuask
Hike all other scientific information. the yaah
oI maps depends upon their sccuraey aud =
want every one 10 know that they can here fSI
she most accurate information Of this eAarasi2r
that IS 10 lie obtained, as well as a proper unsk6
standing of the relative vaiue Of all the varies
Minds of maps. As for rayself. spend sbs1s
hall NY time in the field aud halls in Washisk
ton an now going to California. where 81
men ara doing field work, and from there sf5i
return TO Washington. arriving there about M
Years
Mr.. Mckee, who will have charge oi the yslk
IN this vicinity. very kindly explained The osf
acter Of the work and the method of making -
rnsr a: this place.
.'This is the first work cur survey Las uat4A
taken in this state" said he saad the ar.aEse