The Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel was a geological survey made by order of the Secretary of War according to acts of Congress of March 2, 1867, and March 3, 1869, under the direction of Brig. and Bvt. Major General A. A. Humphreys, Chief of Engineers, by
Clarence King
Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer, and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. ...
, U. S. geologist. More commonly known as the Fortieth Parallel Survey, the survey conducted field work from 1867 to 1872, exploring the area along the fortieth parallel north from northeastern
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, through
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, to eastern
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
.
Results
The results of the survey were published in eight volumes of the Fortieth Parallel Survey: Vol. I. Systematic geology by Clarence King, U. S. Geologist. 1878. xii, 803 pp., and atlas of 12 sheets.
Vol. II. Descriptive geology by
Arnold Hague
Arnold Hague (December 3, 1840 – May 14, 1917) was an American geologist who did many geological surveys in the U.S., of which the best known was that for Yellowstone National Park. He also had assignments in China and Guatemala. He became a m ...
James Duncan Hague
James Duncan Hague (18361908) was an American mining engineer, mineralogist, and geologist.
Early years
Hague was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to the Rev. William Hague and Mary Bowditch Moriarty.Vol. IV Part I, Palaeontology. by F. B. Meek. Part II, Palaeontology, by James Hall and R. P. Whitfield Part III, Ornithology by
Robert Ridgway
Robert Ridgway (July 2, 1850 – March 25, 1929) was an American ornithologist specializing in systematics. He was appointed in 1880 by Spencer Fullerton Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be the first full-time curator of birds ...
Sereno Watson
Sereno Watson (December 1, 1826 – March 9, 1892) was an American botanist.
Life
Watson was born on December 1, 1826, in East Windsor Hill, Connecticut.
Graduating from Yale in 1847 in biology, he drifted through various occupations unt ...
Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of paleontology. A prolific fossil collector, Marsh was one of the preeminent paleontologists of the nineteenth century. Among his legacies are the discovery or ...
. 1880. xv, 201 pp.
* Special Publication List of plants collected in Nevada and Utah, 1867-69 numbered as distributed. Sereno Watson, collector.
Atlases:
* Atlas accompanying the report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel. by Clarence King, U. S. geologist-in-charge. 1876. Julius Bien, Lithographer. Folio, 2 11., (title and legend), 1 single and 11 double folio sheets (1 single folio map, 10 double folio maps, 1 double folio section).
Atlas accompanying Volume III on Mining Industry ist of plates.Engraved and printed by Julius Bien, New York. Folio, 11. (title page), 14 plates.