Williams news., 1903-10-17
NEW MAP OF
 GRAND CANYON
Data Concerning the Work Now Being Carried on By the
 Topographic Survey

The U. s. geological survey has been making good progress during the last three months with its new topographic map of the Grand Canyon.
 The mapping parties, under F. E. Matthes, have extended their work on the south side eastward and northward as far as to mouth of the Little Colorado; from which locality they have just returned. Numerous marks of their occupan- cy are left about the region, stone cairns and tripod signals having been erected on most of the prom ontories of the rim. Among others there is one at Navaho Point, inn mediately south of the mouth of the Little Colorado. By it, set in the rock with cement, is an elevation tablet or benchmark, so-calied. The altitude stamped upon it is 6,152 feet above sea level. Inasmuch as the place is one of which visitors are naturally bound to inquire the elevation, it was deemed advisable to leave an authoritive figure for ready reference. Later in the sea- son careful determination of the junction of the Little Colorado with the main stream will be made, and we shall then no longer need to trust to any of the "careful esti- mates" of which there are so many. Powells figures for the depth of the Canyon at this point $500 feet are probably very near the actual amount.
 It is usually the sad duty of the members of the geological survey to disillusion the settlers regarding the dimensions of their pet noun tain, famous lake or other local at traction. A very fine lake in north ern Montana, which was being ad- vertised as a summer resort and stated to be sixteen miles long was thus most inconsiderately reduced to nine miles by our topograpic corps, few years ago. It was shock to the community, as this not only made the size of the lake trivial compared with others in the neigborhood, but it established the fact that the much vaunted steamer plying on it's waters moved at the hazordous speed of six miles per hour, instead of ten, as had been firmly believed by everybody. It / is not more than fair to state here, however, that our last efforts at re- ducing the size of the Grand Can yon have been unsuccessful and that for once we have struck a nat ural wonder which comes up to its reputation. Indeed in some re- spects it exceeds its advertised di- mensions.
 It is twelve miles wide in several places, though averaging less than ten. The depth through the Kai- bab Section, measured vertically, is a mile, ou an average. From the south rim it averages only 4,4O0 feet; but from many points of the north rim the total drop to the riv- CT amounts to 6,OOO feet. Even the Little Colorado canyon, insignif- cant as it may seem compared with the Grand Canyon, astonishes us by it's dimensions. For several miles above its junction it exceeds 5000 feet in depth. It's width from rim to rim at it's mouth amounts to two and one-half miles.
 Beginning with October, MT. Matthes will work on the Kaibab Plateau. He expects to cross the river at the mouth of Bright Angel Canyon and follow the latter to it's head with his pack-train. His par ty came back this same way last November. The trail-what there is of it-is extremely rough and tiresome but is in many respects preferable to the trail up Shinumo