Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1913-10-17
RESOURCES OF NATION BEING
STUDIED


ent place In the public thought These
days. Among such questions are
those relating to the location or de,
yelopment OF gold and silver deposits
or oil wells, or artesian water sup.
plies; 10 the value Of coal lands; tC
the possibilities OF developing the
water power on rivers; to the use oi
land for dry farming; and to the
proper location OF transmission lines
or interurban railways. On all these
questions and others relating TO the
earth's surface, Its rock and minerals
and ores, to water and It's best use
the United States Geological Survey
Ia the court OF last resort. In an
swering these inquiries the survey
distributes over a million printed
reports and maps each year and an
swers thousands OF letters concerning
areas not covered by printed reports.
Some $4,000 inquiries are received
by the survey every year from the
general land Office as to the charac-
ter OF lands-w whether these lands are
valuable for coal, mineral deposits,
or agricultural use, or have any pos
sibilitles for the development of
water power or reservoirs or for ir-
rigation, as the classification OF the
public lands is by law made one OF
the primary functions OF the geo.
logical survey.
To prepare these maps and reports
and to answer these letters OF inquiry
requires an intimate, frst-hand know
ledge OF the questions involved that
can be had only In the field, 80 that
at this season OF the year the Wash
ington ONCE OF the survey is almost
deserted and the men are scattered
from Maine to California-from the
lava slopes OF Hawaii to the snow
fields OF northern Alaska.
The work is carried on in three
lines:
The topographic branch makes
maps showing the surface of the
earth, with its streams, rivers, lakes,
roads, houses, towns-maps that are
being used by the geologists as base
maps, by engineers to locate rail
roads, roads, canals, sewers or drain
sge ditches, water power and irriga-
lion projects, by automobilists and
'rampers as road maps, and for a
hundred other purposes. The demand
for these maps may be judged from
that the fact that many states have
appropriated or are appropriating
money to help pay Tor them, the
states paying one-half or more OF the
cost and by the further fact that,
though The maps are sold, over half
million OF them are distributed
each year
The geologic branch is studying
the earths rocks. their history and
contents, and, with this foundation,
is mapping the whole United States
so as to show, ultimately, just where
gold and silver and the other precious
and useful metals do or may occur;
where coal, oil, gas phosphate. pot
ash and other salts lie; where clays.
building stones, and other structural
materials OF the highest grade can
be found A large share OF the work
is in the west, where the public lands
are being examined for classification
at the rate OF 10 million acres a
year, so that the government may
know which are coal, phosphate. oil
and mineral lands, and thus dispose
OF them under the proper provisions
Of law
The water-resources branch studies
the underground waters for the pur.
pose of determining their availability
for domestic use or for irrigation:
the surface waters to determine their