The Cordova daily times., 1923-01-17
WORK OF COAST
 AND CEODETIC
 SURVEY ALASKA
(From Nome Nugget

Captain J. G. Watkins, Photographic engineer of the U. s. Coast & Geodetic Survey, who spent the summer of 1922 in Northwestern Alaska taking ob, servations for latitude, longitude, azi- muth and magnetic variation and in tensity at great number of stations from St. Michael to Demarcatlon Point has forwarded to John A. Will son extensive data of the observations taken. Captain Watkins was tire less worker covering a large territory in a short time A new monument was set close to 5th Ave. w. and C street, it's position being in Latitude 64-3O-13 N, Longitude 165-23-59 w. (11h. Inn. 36 sec. slower than Green wich,) with a mean magnetic varla- tion of the needle of IS degrees 33 minutes east.
 Among other stations determined are St. Michael, latitude 63-28-5S N-, longitude, 162-OO-41 w., variation 20 degrees, 42 minutes east
 Teller, latitude 65-1557 N, longi- longitude 156-5O-42 w.. variation P de- grees 56 minutes east.
 Point Barrow, latitude 71-1S-40 N., longiture 156-5O42 w., variation 2z de- grees 46 minutes east
 The Coast and Geodetic Survey IS carving on work of the greatest prac- tical value not only to navigators, put to engineers and scientists. In US scone of work is included the charting of the coast, bays and rivers, issuing Coast Pilot guides and marine charts deep sea sounding, prediction ot tides and tidal data, territorial magneCsm' geodesy, seismology, precise levehng' triangulation surveys, oceanography-
 The most exact and refined methods are in use by the c. & G. s. Time IS determined to O.02 part of a secono' latitude to 10 feet. longitude to 0.3 sec ond of arc la distance of 30 feet at the aouator). azimuth (the direction Of line, to inch in 10 miles. The tlde predicting machine in use, designed and built by men in the serVlce, IS marvel of ingenuity. After haVlhs been adjusted for a particular port the turning of a crank moves a sys- tenn of hands over dials which sho" accurately the time of high ana 10" water, the height of the tide at any time, and traces a curve of the tlue for each day of the year for that par ticular port Tidal phenomena are of very complex nature and preulc- tions cannot be based on theory alone, but must be supplemented by actual observations of the tides for a cer- tain period of time. To compute pre- dictions requires great deal ot tune and the results are not as accurate as those turned out by the tide pre- dieting machine.
 The magnetic survey undertaken by the c. & G. S. is of great aid to the surveyor and the navigator. The nee- dle of the compass points true north only in a few places and it's variation, or the angle the needle makes with the true north, is constantly changing At Nome easterly variation is de- creasing about one degree in 15 years
 Magnetic observatories are in oper- ation at Sitka, Cheltenham, Mo- Honolulu; Baldwin, Kansas, and other places. In spite of modern improve ments such as the radio direction finder, gyroscOpe compass, Wlreless time signals, accurate chronometers and sextants, the average mariner or today is as much dependent on his magnetic compass, when no land- marks are visible and the sky IS cloudy. as was Columbus when he set sail for America. To shape course correctly, he must know the variation of the needle at the place he is. Every chart issued by the survey shows the variation for certain year and the annual rate of change.
 All the early land surveys i'll the United States were made with the compass, and in order to retrace the lines of such a survey when the cor rore havo disanneared it is necessary to know the change of the needle be- tween the time of the original sur vey and the resurvey
 The Survey Bureau has records and data of the annual change in United States since the date of the earliest observations.
 Tho real OntimiSt is the hOuSe-hOld-