Iditarod pioneer., 1914-06-20
SURVEYS IN ALASKA

The Geological Survey has just completed its preparations for the annual campaign of Investigating the mineral resources ot Alaska, the field plans for the year havng been approved by Secretary Lane. The parties have been made up, and some of the horses and other equipment Durcha 'ed Prosecuting surveys in the isolated parts ot the territory requires preparation long In advance and part of the supplies are shipped in over the winter trails on ac- count of the difficulties of summer trans. portation For this seasons work supplies were started inland from the coast last January and are now cached at convenient points located POO to 300 miles inland for the use of the parties during the working season, which lasts from June through Sep tember Eleven parties will be put m the field this year, and as i'll the past, special heed will be given to the Investigation ot the resources of those districts which are tributary to the several routes that have been advocated for the proposed govern ment railways.
 A party under the leadership of J W. Ba9ey and Theodore Chapn will under take the exploration of the region trl5u- tary to the TaIkeetna river and will con meet with the surveys of the Broad pass region made last year. This party, con sisting of seven men and fifteen horses, will go up the Matanuska river early jA June and start work near the scene Of the new gold discovery on Albert creek. It will penetrate a region now but little known, lying in the hcadwater country oi Talkcetna river, On returning the party will survey the region between the head waters of the Matanuska and Copper rivers that has been advocated as a railway route.
 An exploration of the region lying be tween Lake Clark on the east and the Idlt arod district on the west will be undertaken by E. H. Sargent and Philip s. Smith. Here there IS belt of country over 100 miles in width which is almost an entire blank on the map. The party, made up ot seven men, with twenty horses, will foIicW a route that has been suggested for railway into the great kuskokwim basin.
 A. G. Maddren will investigate the gold bearing placer districts tributary to the lower kuskokwim. He wll ascerd the 'dt arod river by canoe, portage across the dl- vide to reach the kuskoI<wln, and Vi>lt
  placer districts.
 Stephen R. Capps and <. {. Giltln w'Il carry geologic and topographic surveys across Sllolai pass into the White rver basin and thence to the international bound ary This is also q reglon where railway building has been considered MT. Napps will also give special attention to the in vestgation of the newly discovered gold dis | trict in the Chisana basin ThlS work is an extension of previous reconnol sance surveys i in this field
 A detailed base map will De made of part of the Juneau district, now the most nn- portant gold lodge camp in Alaska and | promising to become one of the most i'm portant on the continent The purpose of the base map is to make possible an ex haustive study of the occurrence of the | gold stores D c. Witherspoon will under ake the making of the base map, which will be on scale of three inches to the .ilc
 A detailed survey of the kotsiua copper bearing area was undertaken in 1912, but unfortunately the delay in the appropra- | ton during the last two years has prevented is completion. IL is planned that F. II. i Mytfit and J. B. Mertlc now complete this work R. L. Johnson, with one assistant, ! will undertake the detailed geological sur vey of the Port Valdez gold and copper dis trict. The base map necessary for this work was completed in 1913.
 To coordinate and cOrrelate the various | geologic surveys in Alaska il is necessary to continue the studies of general geology | and mineral resources. Three geolOgists will be engaged in this work during 1914. George c. Martin, assisted by R. M. Over beck will continue his studies of the Neso- 7oic stratigraphy. He will visit important | localities in Southeastern Alaska, in the ChIrlna valley, and along the lukon. | H. Nj Eahin will undertake supplement | tary investigations of the tin deposits of | Alaska He will examine some of the oc l currcnces of tin in the York region of i Seward peninsula and in the Hot Springs 1 district of the Panama valley. MT. Eakin will also undertake some general studies of the occurrence of mineral deposits and min ing development in the Nome, Fairbanks and Juneau districts.
 Alfred H. Brooks, the geologst in charge of the Alaska surveys and investigations | expects to leave for Alaska as soon as office i work permits, probably about the middle of 1 June He will devote special attention to the problems of Quaternary geology, in cluding the genesis and occurrence of placer ] deposits He will visit the Idtarod and Fairbanks districts and, time permitting, the Nome district MT. Brooks VIII also join the Moffitt party in the kotsina district and the Johnson party in the Valdez district for brief periods of time,