The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-07-20
THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
dade by n well-Trained and Disciplined
Scientific Corps.

3aoS Dy q
Scientific Corps.
When the Northern Pacific Railway
Vas selecting coal lands III the dense
Y forested regions of Washington, says
he Booklover's Magazine, tue seolo-
list in charge. having measured and
calculated the dip Of the strata. said
% his assistant, lin, take your drill
rev over to section thirteen and see
f YOU don't find coal about the middle
If the section"
Jim, who knew that the geOlogist
aad never visited section thirteen,
went off on what lie considered a Wild
goose chase. When lie arrived OH the
ground the deep cover of underground
and soil prevented examination of the
rocks. But he went to work. and in
a short time sent his drill into a good
bed of coal. great quantities of which
have since been used to haul trains
across the mountains. Jim would drill
into a cloud o if the geologist told
him there was coal in it.
Although it is not always possible
thus accurately to predict the discov-
cry of minerals, it a be done with
sufficient frequency and certainty to
render valuable the mapping OF soil
and rock strata which is being carried
out all over the country by the Nation
IL Geological Survey. This work. first
systemized in 1879. has progressed SO
far that a. third Of the area of the
United States, or about 100000
square miles, has been plott>d, exam
ined and mapped. The maps describe
the contour or changes in elevation OF
the surface. the rainfall and drainage,
and the geological formation, as we'll
as the railways. roads, rivers and po-
itical divisions.
There is no better trained or disci'
plined scientific corps in the world
than that which has this task in
charge. 1t is divided for field work
into three chief divisions. The first
to cover the ground is the Topographic
cal, which, after laying out the coun.
try in quadrangles Of q square degree
each, surveys minutely everything
within those boundaries, measuring
the height of every hill and mountain,
the depth of every valley, and the
course, direction and exact location OF
every watercourse or other feature
This provides the now familiar contour
map in which points Of equal eleva.
ton above sea level are connected by
a line. The presence or abs c OF
many lines in a small area indicates a
steep slope CT a gentle descent or a
level plain.
Following the Typographical workers
come the biologists, who examine soil
and rocks, sink drills, examine Dor,
ings, measure the dip of strata and
study the geological formation of the
whole region. On the Typographical
map they plot the colors. which by in
%ternational agreement represent the
various minerals.
Last of all come the photographers
who study the rainfall, the capacity OF
w~atercourses, the current and volume
of rivers at all stages, the capacity OF
lakes and ponds-all that pertains to
drainage.
An engineer having these facts pro
vided for him is able almost at a glance
to select a route for a railway or a
canal, or to locate the best site for a
storage reservoir. 1t is on this account
and because of the excellence of the
corps that Congress has intrusted the
Geological Survey with the carrying
out of the new reclamation law, by
which arid lands are to be made fer
tile through irrigation. Although the
law is very young, the engineers have
already been able to begin six dams
for reservoirs, and to project a six
mile tunnel to divert q river in Col
orado.