The Wheeler Survey, carried out in 1872-1879, was one of the "Four Great Surveys" conducted by the US government after the Civil War primarily to document the geology and natural resources of the American West. Supervised by First Lieutenant (later Captain) George Montague Wheeler, the Wheeler Survey documented and mapped the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

west of the 100th meridian. The survey team included Lieutenant (later

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

) Montgomery M. Macomb. Wheeler led early expeditions from 1869 to 1871 in the West, and in 1872 the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

authorized an ambitious plan to map the portion of the United States west of the 100th meridian at a scale of eight miles to the inch. This plan necessitated what became known as the Wheeler Survey. The survey's main goal was to make topographic maps of the southwestern United States.

In addition he was to ascertain everything related to the physical features of the region; discover the numbers, habits, and disposition of Indians in the section; select sites for future military installations; determine facilities available for making rail or common roads; and note mineral resources, climate, geology, vegetation, water sources, and agricultural potential.University of Nevada, Reno Library: Special Collections description
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Photographers on the expedition included Timothy H. O'Sullivan of New York and William Bell of Philadelphia. Many of their photographs are now on file at the Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division.Wheeler Survey Views of the American West, 1871-1874
Library of Congress website. Retrieved: 5 April 2012. The Wheeler Survey lasted until 1879, when the survey, along with the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

and Powell Surveys, were terminated and their work was reorganized as the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

. Wheeler Peak in Nevada (part of the Great Basin National Park), Wheeler Peak in New Mexico (the state high point), and the scenic Wheeler Geologic Area in southern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

are named for George Wheeler.

References

External links

A Guide to the Field notebooks of the Wheeler Survey, NC319
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
Digitized field notebooks of the Wheeler Survey.
University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. North American expeditions Expeditions from the United States History of the Great Basin 1870s in the United States United States Geological Survey {{explorer-stub