Primary Sources: American West

Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel 

Clarence King led the survey along the 40th Parallel, covering parts of Northern Colorado, Southern Wyoming, Northern Utah, Southeastern Idaho, and Northern Nevada. The survey also included a small eastern portion of Northern California. King's expedition pioneered scientific methods later adopted by the other surveys. King became the first leader of the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Report upon United States Geographical surveys west of the one hundredth meridian

George M. Wheeler supervised the series of expeditions that comprise the 100th Meridian Survey. The Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers laid out the general plan for the surveys. The survey covered a huge portion of the Southwestern portion of the modern United States, including parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, South and Central Utah, Southern Nevada and Eastern California. The survey also included a small portion of south-central Oregon. Surveys were conducted from 1872 to 1879.

Hayden Surveys

Ferdinand Hayden led surveys of northwestern Wyoming, in the area now known as Yellowstone National Park in the early 1870s. In 1873, he continued surveys in Colorado. A final report of five volumes was published as Report of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories; however, numerous annual reports and bulletin publications document the survey's findings as well. The surveys lasted from 1871-1878. Thomas Moran, a noted Western landscape artist, was a guest on the 1871 expedition. 

Powell Surveys - Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region

John Wesley Powell led a series of explorations from 1869 to 1879. His groups explored the geology, watersheds, and native peoples of large areas of land along the Green and Colorado Rivers, taking them from Wyoming, through Utah, Arizona, and into Nevada. Powell's 1869 expedition was notable for being the first Americans to navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Powell published three major reports from his expeditions. Powell's work helped form two new federal agencies: the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE, formerly the Bureau of Ethnology). He served as the second director of USGS (following Clarence King) and the first director of BAE; he served in the posts concurrently for 13 years. 

Information about the Four Great Surveys

Utah Surveys

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-1806)

Fremont Surveys (1842, 1843, & 1845)

United States and Mexico Boundary Survey (1857-1859)

Transcontinental Railroad Survey

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