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Book/Printed Material Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah. With maps

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Title

  • Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah. With maps

Summary

  • Throughout much of the nineteenth century, Eastern understanding of the Western environment had rested as much on cultural myth as on scientific insight. This landmark work--slightly corrected in this version from its first edition the previous year--at last accurately defined the West's unique geographical identity as an "arid land," established the nature of the challenges confronting its economic development, and made a compelling case for the potential benefits to be derived from government-sponsored irrigation of Western lands. Written by a man whose intimate knowledge of the region was based on first-hand experience in pioneering surveys (notably in expeditions along the Colorado River canyons), and who was for a time the head of both the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, the work did a great deal to advance a realistic understanding of the Western environment, and to inform the growing national debate on the question of Western irrigation. Powell's proposals for a radical revision of the public-lands surveying system and the distribution of Western lands to settlers on a democratic and environmentally sound basis went unheeded, however, so that this work's prophetic character provides a complex and somewhat ironic counterpoint to the subsequent course of Western history. American Memory.

Names

  • Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region (U.S.)
  • Drummond, Willis, jr. [from old catalog]
  • Dutton, Clarence E. (Clarence Edward), 1841-1912
  • Gilbert, Grove Karl, 1843-1918
  • Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902
  • Thompson, A. H. (Almon Harris), 1839-1906

Created / Published

  • Washington, Govt print. off., 1879.

Contents

  • Physical characteristics of the arid region.--The land-system needed for the arid region.--The rainfall of the western portion of the United States [based upon the "Smithsonian tables of precipitation in rain and snow"]--Water supply, by G.K. Gilbert.--Certain important questions relating to irrigable lands.--The lands of Utah.--Irrigable lands of the Salt lake drainage system, by G.K. Gilbert.--Irrigable lands of the valley of the Sevier river, by Capt. C.E. Dutton.--Irrigable lands of that portion of Utah drained by the Colorado river and its tributaries, by Prof. A.H. Thompson.--Land grants in aid of internal improvements, by Willis Drummond, Jr.

Headings

  • -  Irrigation--Utah
  • -  Irrigation--West (U.S.)
  • -  Public lands--United States
  • -  Rain and rainfall--West (U.S.)

Notes

  • -  LAC ecr 2020-10-30 no edits (2 cards)

Medium

  • xv, 195 p. maps. 30 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HD1671.U5 A4 1879
  • Microfilm 46837 HD Microfilm. Replaces LC copy 1.
  • TC823.6 .P82 Copy 2.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • rc01001572

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The books in this collection are in the public domain and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Geographical And Geological Survey Of The Rocky Mountain Region, U.S, Willis Drummond, Clarence E Dutton, Grove Karl Gilbert, John Wesley Powell, and A. H Thompson. Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah. With maps. Washington, Govt print. off, 1879. Image. https://www.loc.gov/item/rc01001572/.

APA citation style:

Geographical And Geological Survey Of The Rocky Mountain Region, U. S., Drummond, W., Dutton, C. E., Gilbert, G. K., Powell, J. W. & Thompson, A. H. (1879) Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah. With maps. Washington, Govt print. off. [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/rc01001572/.

MLA citation style:

Geographical And Geological Survey Of The Rocky Mountain Region, U.S, et al. Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah. With maps. Washington, Govt print. off, 1879. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/rc01001572/>.