Pacific Railroad Surveys
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The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853–1855) consisted of a series of explorations of the American West to find possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and artists and resulted in an immense body of data covering at least 400,000 square miles (1,000,000 km2) on the American West. "These volumes... constitute probably the most important single contemporary source of knowledge on Western geography and history and their value is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of many beautiful plates in color of scenery, native inhabitants, fauna and flora of the Western country."[1] Published by the United States War Department from 1855 to 1860, the surveys contained significant material on natural history, including many illustrations of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. In addition to describing the route, these surveys also reported on the geology, zoology, botany, paleontology of the land as well as provided ethnographic descriptions of the Native peoples encountered during the surveys.
Background[edit]
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Starting in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans began a westward migration that would come to greatly influence the development of American history. However, water travel remained the most common and most efficient form of transit available. Soon, the development of the steam engine became an invaluable contribution to this westward expansion. As railroads gained popularity in the eastern United States during the 1830s, Americans felt an increased incentive to expand this new technology to the western frontier.
Beginning in the 1840s, several government sponsored expeditions hoped to find potential railroad routes across the west. However, no consensus route emerged due to the selfish economic motives of rival companies. In addition, cities and states competed for the route and terminus so no consensus was reached. Brigham Young, President of LDS Church, wrote, "We never went through the canyons or worked our way over the dividing ridges without asking where the rails could be laid."[2] On March 3, 1853, Congress appropriated $150,000 and authorized Secretary of War Jefferson Davis “to Ascertain the Most Practical and Economical Route for a Railroad From the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.” Davis ordered Brevet Captain George B. McClellan and the Corps of Topographical Engineers (TOPOGS), a division in the United States Army established to “discover, open up, and make accessible the American West,” to fulfill this obligation.
The most important concern for the United States Congress involved the location of where to build the railroad. With government involvement, lobbyistsattempted to influence the selected locations because of the important social, political, and economic consequences. In addition, a transcontinental railroad would become a very costly endeavor. In fact, “Even the least expensive proposed routes would equal the federal budget for one year.”[2]Despite these obstacles, a developing urgency clearly indicated the need for a transcontinental railroad. On August 16, 1856, Mr. Denver of the House Select Committee on the Pacific Railroad and Telegraph reported that: "the necessity that exists for constructing lines of railroad and telegraphic communication between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of this continent is no longer a question for argument; it is conceded by every one."[2]
Five surveys[edit]
Five surveys were conducted.
- The Northern Pacific survey followed between the 47th parallel north and 49th parallel north from St. Paul, Minnesota to the Puget Sound and was led by the newly appointed governor of the Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens. Accompanying Stevens were Captain George B. McClellan with Lt. Sylvester Mowry out of the Columbia Barracks from the west and Lt. Rufus Saxton with Lt. Richard Arnold out of St. Marysville from the east.
- The Central Pacific survey followed between the 37th parallel north and 39th parallel north from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco, California. This survey was led by Lt. John W. Gunnison until his death by the Utes in Utah. Lt. Edward Griffin Beckwith then took command. Also participating in this survey was Frederick W. von Egloffstein, George Stoneman and Lt. Gouverneur K. Warren.
- There were two Southern Pacific surveys. One along the 35th parallel north from Oklahoma to Los Angeles, California, a route similar to the western part of the later Santa Fe Railroad and to Interstate 40, which was led by Lt. Amiel W. Whipple. The southernmost survey went across Texas to San Diego, California, a route which followed the Butterfield Overland Mailstagecoach trail where Southern Pacific RR completed the second transcontinental railway in 1881. This survey was led by Lt. John Parke and John Pope .
- The fifth survey was along the Pacific coast from San Diego to Seattle, Washington conducted by Lt. Robert S. Williamson and Parke.
From surveys to construction[edit]
Although the Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853–1855) provided valuable information regarding the possible routes for the transcontinental railroad, they were not compelling enough to lead directly to construction. Three important trends also influenced Congress’ final decision. First, the California Gold Rush and the discovery of silver in Nevada led to a dramatic increase in population in the west. Second, the secession of the South from the Union during the beginnings of the American Civil War discounted southern politicians from interfering with a plan to build a northern or central route. Third, a growing population of railroad specialists allowed Congress several options to consider the most efficient and cost effective route to build a transcontinental railroad.
In particular, railroad engineer Theodore Judah, on 1 January 1857 in Washington DC, published "A practical plan for building The Pacific Railroad", in which he outlined the general plan and argued for the need to do a detailed instrumental survey of a specific selected route for the railroad, not a general reconnaissance of several possible routes that had been done in the Pacific Railroad Surveys.[3] After finding in Fall 1860 a practical trans-Sierra route from Sacramento over Donner Pass into the Great Basin of Nevada and after finding investors to incorporate the Central Pacific Railroad in June 1861, Judah was sent in October 1861 to Washington DC to lobby for the Pacific Railway bill to aid in the construction of the first transcontinental railroad along his trans-Sierra route.[4]
In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act. The newly chartered Union Pacific Railroad Company would build continuous railroad and telegraph lines west from the Eastern shores of the Missouri River at Council Bluffs, Iowa (opposite Omaha, Nebraska)[5][6] which would meet railroad and telegraph lines build east by the Central Pacific Railroad from the navigable waters of the Sacramento River in Sacramento, California.[7] On May 10, 1869, the two rail lines joined with an honorary Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah, after making a combined 1,774 miles (2,855 km) of railroad track.[8]
Natural history studies[edit]
Leading naturalists were attached to all the survey parties:
- Dr. James G. Cooper served as naturalist for the western division, and Dr. George Suckley for the eastern division of the exploration of the Northern Pacific route.[9]
- Botanist Frederick Creutzfeldt accompanied the exploring party of the Central Pacific route but was killed with Captain Gunnison in Utah.[10]
- Dr. Adolphus L. Heermann and Dr. Edward Hallowell accompanied the Parke's exploration of the Southern Pacific Route.[9]
- Dr. Caleb B. R. Kennerly accompanied the Whipple expedition on the southern route.[11]
- Heermann accompanied Lt. Williamson on the expedition up the West Coast from Fort Yuma to San Francisco[9]
Most of these men also served as the medical doctors for their exploring parties, and most were expert in only one or two areas of natural history. With limited time and expertise, their main charge was simply collection and preparation of plants and animals to be shipped back east for further study. They collected everything: plants, mammals, fish, insects, birds, mollusks, snakes, lizards, and turtles, both common and rare. This approach was described by geologist William P. Blake, who accompanied Lt. Parke's expedition:
Plants and animals were preserved as well as could be in the expeditions' camps, and shipped overland back to the Smithsonian Institution and other centers of expertise for evaluation. This trip often required months of rugged travel, and not all the collections survived. Heermann, in a letter of transmittal to Lt. Parke, commented on these difficulties: "Of the reptiles, in which these countries are very rich, I had succeeded in forming quite a handsome collection, but unfortunately the cans in which they were contained became leaky, and possessing neither the means to correct this mishap, nor the alcohol to supply that wasted, they were all lost with the exception of a few specimens which I preserved in bottles."[9]
Several of the expedition naturalists wrote reports on their areas of expertise which were included in the War Department's report to Congress. For example, Heermann wrote the report on birds, and Hallowell wrote the report on reptiles for Lt. Parke's exploration. Other leading naturalists contributed to the War Department's report by describing the collections returned from the exploring parties. These included Professor Asa Gray, Dr. John L. LeConte, William Cooper, Dr. Charles Girard, William G. Binney, and Dr. John S. Newberry. Most important of these was Spencer Fullerton Baird, who was at the time assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Baird not only wrote several sections of the report to Congress, but was responsible for many of the natural history illustrations. For example, the bird skins collected by the exploring parties were shipped to him. He had Smithsonian Institution artists produce engravings of the birds as they would appear in life, which were hand-tinted and included in the final report.[12]
Lake Cahuilla
| Lake Cahuilla | |
|---|---|
 Region of Lake Cahuilla; the dark green patch is the rough extent of Lake Cahuilla | |
  Lake Cahuilla | |
| Location | Baja California, Mexico California, United States |
| Coordinates | 33°18′0.00000″N115°48′0.00000″WCoordinates: 33°18′0.00000″N 115°48′0.00000″W |
| Type | Prehistoric endorheic lake |
| Part of | Salton Sink |
| Primary inflows | Colorado River San Felipe Creek Whitewater River |
| Primary outflows | Hardy River |
| Max. length | 160 km2 (62 sq mi) |
| Max. width | 56 km2 (22 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 5,700 km2 (2,200 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 91 m (299 ft) at a surface elevation of 12 meters |
| Surface elevation | 7.6–18.3 m (25–60 ft) |
| Islands | 6 |
Lake Cahuilla (/kəˈwiː.ə/ kə-WEE-ə;[1][2][3] also known as Lake LeConte and Blake Sea) was a prehistoric lake in California and northern Mexico. Located in the Coachella and Imperial valleys, it covered surface areas of 5,700 km2 (2,200 sq mi) to a height of 12 m (39 ft) above sea level during the Holocene. During earlier stages of the Pleistocene, the lake reached even higher elevations, up to 31–52 m (102–171 ft) above sea level. During the Holocene most of the water came from the Colorado River with little contribution from local runoff; in the Pleistocene local runoff was higher and it is possible that Lake Cahuilla was supported solely from local water sources during the Wisconsin glaciation. The lake overflowed close to Cerro Prieto into the Rio Hardy, eventually draining into the Gulf of California.
The lake formed several times during the Holocene, when water from the Colorado River was diverted into the Salton Trough. This tectonic depression forms the northern basin of the Gulf of California, but it was separated from the sea proper by the growth of the Colorado River Delta. Such changes in river courses may have been caused by earthquakes among the numerous faults that cross the region, such as the San Andreas Fault. Conversely, it is possible that the weight of the water itself triggered earthquakes. During its existence, Lake Cahuilla formed strandlines and various beach deposits such as gravel bars and travertinedeposits.
The lake existed in several stages over the last 2,000 years, periodically drying and refilling and eventually disappearing sometime after 1580. Between 1905 and 1907, due to an engineering accident, the Salton Sea formed in parts of the lower basin of Lake Cahuilla. Were it not for human intervention, the sea might have grown to the size of prehistoric Lake Cahuilla. Today the former lake bed forms the fertile regions of the Imperial and Coachella Valleys.
The Algodones Dunes were formed from sand deposited by Lake Cahuilla, which was transported by wind toward the area. During its existence, the lake supported a rich biota with fish, bivalves and vegetation on its shorelines. These resources supported human populations on its shores, as evidenced by a number of archeological sites and mythological references to the lake in the traditions of the Cahuilla. The lake may have had profound effects on population genetics and language history of the surrounding regions.
Facts about Charles Koppel
Survey artist, painter. Born in Germany. When Congress authorized a survey of a possible railroad route connecting the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast, Koppel was engaged as the official artist and civil engineer for the California portion of the expedition. The party sailed from New York and arrived in San Francisco in 1853. The survey began in Benicia and ended in San Diego with reports, filling 12 volumes, which credit Koppel with 21 full-page lithographs and 26 wood cuts. He is best
known for his 1853 view of Los Angeles which was published in volume 5, part 1. The only other known work by this artist is a portrait in oil of Jefferson Davis (supervisor of the survey) which was lithographed
Source: Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
known for his 1853 view of Los Angeles which was published in volume 5, part 1. The only other known work by this artist is a portrait in oil of Jefferson Davis (supervisor of the survey) which was lithographed
Source: Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940"