Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-06-22
THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
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When the Northern Pacific Railway
was selecting coal lands in the dense
~ forested regions Of Washington,
says the Booklovers' Magazine, the ge-
ologist in charge, having measured and
calculated the dip Of the strata, said
to his assistant, Jim, take your drill
crew over to section 13 and see If you
don't find coal about the middle Of the
section"
Jim, who knew that the geologist
had never visited section ID, went off
On what he considered a wild-goose
chase. When he arrived on 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 cloud now 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 can be done with
sufficient frequency and certainty to
render valuable the mapping Of soil
and rock strata which is being carried
out alfover the country by the Nation
al Geological Survey. This work, first
systematized in 1879, has progressed
SO far that a third Of the area Of the
United States, or about a million
square miles, has been plotted 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-
litical 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 feld-work
into three chief divisions. The first
to cover the ground is the Topographic
cal, which, after laying out the coun-
try into Quadrangles Of a square de-
gree each, surveys infinitely 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 "con-
tour" map in which points Of equal
elevation above sea-level are connect
ed by line. The presence or absence
of many lines in small area indicates
a steep slope or gentle descent or a
level plain.
Following the typographical workers
come the biologists, who examine soil
and rocks, sink drills, examine behring's,
measure the dip Of strata and study
the geological formation of the whole
region. On the typographical map they
plot the colors which by international
agreement represent the various min
erals.
Last Of all come the photographers,
who study the rainfall, the capacity Of
watercourses, 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 route for railway
or a canal, or to locate the best site
for storage reservoir. 1t is on this
account, and because Of the excellence
Of the corps, that Congress has en-
trusted the Geological Survey with the
carrying out Of the new reclamation
law, by which arid lands are to be
made fertile through irrigation. AL
though the law is very young, the en-
gineers have already been able to be-
gin six dams for reservoirs, and to
project a six-mile tunnel to divert a
river in Colorado.