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John Wesley Powell |
Born: Mount Morris, New York, March 24, 1834
Died: Haven, Maine, September 23, 1902
Abstract
Early Life
The Grand Canyon
The USGS
Historical Assessment
Later Life
References
Related Websites
Although classified by most conventional texts, John Wesley Powell always maintained that he was not an adventure or an explorer. He considered himself a scientist, motivated by a desire for knowledge and to further the progress of human kind. However, Powell did live a busy and active life as a military leader, the first navigator of the Colorado River, and director of the United States Geological Survey. His accounts from navigating the Colorado River earned him early fame. Due to his compassion toward Native Americans he was elevated to director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of Ethnology in which he continued until his death. His work on the Irrigation Survey for the western United States, although never fully realized, lead to the establishment of river gauging stations and preliminary work toward storage and utilization of river water for irrigation and prevention of floods and overflows. After his death in 1902 he was buried in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery. Today numerous buildings, places, organizations, and awards bear his name as credit to his achievements.
John Wesley Powell came from an English born family with both parents being well
educated. His father was a Wesleyan minister with firm antislavery beliefs. Due
to trouble with his values on slavery, J. W. Powell left public school and studied
under a self taught naturalist “Big George” Crookham. Crookham instructed
entirely based upon field observation, a trait perpetuated by Powell. The
instructed disciplines of biology, geology, and archaeology relied heavily on his
collection of plants, animal, rocks, and artifacts. When Powell was twelve he
first encountered Native Americans of the Winnebago Tribe near a family farm in
Wisconsin where he learned that the land his family farmed used to be a part of
their hunting grounds. From this encounter, he began a life long study and appreciation of
Native Americans and the study of ethnology.
At age of eighteen Powell continued to pursue studies in science despite his
father’s wishes to follow him into clergy work. Powell focused at an early age
botany and geology, traveling the Mississippi River in a rowboat its entire
length. His adventures also led him along the Ohio and Illinois rivers and
climbing Pikes Peak and Longs Peak of Colorado (both Colorado summits above
14,000 feet in elevation). His studies left him teaching many different schools
and colleges finally leading him to Hennepin, Indiana where he became professor
of geology in 1858
As the civil war seamed inevitable, Powell began studying military tactics and
engineering until president Lincoln called for troops. In 1861 he enlisted in
the Union Army and was commissioned a captain. It was during the battle of
Shiloh on April 6 that Powell lost his right arm when a Minie ball struck his
wrist. He continued to advance in rank after its amputation to brevet
lieutenant colonel, although he preferred to be called major. He was discharged
in 1865 and continued as a Professor of Geology at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Before Powell’s expedition of 1869, the Colorado River was considered
unnavigable. The 900 mile length of the river was uncharted and the canyons that framed
the rivers were very unpredictable. Powell’s goals on the first expedition were
to map and survey the river and canyon. To his dismay, several boats capsized
and were torn apart by the wild canyon rapids. Lost supplies and damaged
equipment greatly shortened the trip. Three lives were lost on this voyage at
the trips end. At a place now called Separation Canyon, those three abandoned
the group to climb out of the canyon were they were killed by the Indians of
that area. Powell successfully
explored and confirmed his theory on the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River up to
that time was wholly unknown and there were many wild rumors concerning those
regions. Concerning the canyon’s geology, Powell believed that the river
preceded the canyons and then down cut as the plateau rose.
Upon returning a national hero to Illinois, Powell began planning and fundraising for
the second expedition in 1871, where he planned to finish exploration and survey
work to produce maps and scientific publications. His second expedition started
at the same place as the first, the Union Pacific Railroad crossing of the Green
River in Wyoming, and continued to the mouth of the Virgin River. More prepared
for this trip, Powell redesigned the river boats and had aboard a surveyor, a
photographer and several scientists. This expedition brought back not only
excellent specimens and photographs, but a new understanding of geologic
principles and better explanations of erosion, sedimentation, and continental uplift.
Two years after the United States Geological Survey founding in 1879, Powell
became only the Second director on
March 21, 1881. With the
new director, the Survey's prospective changed from an economic geology basis to
an independent basis with multiple functions to serve the greater USGS aim.
Powell’s concentration for the Survey could be summed up by his division heads (adapted from Rabbitt,
1989):
Powell believed geology to be independent of topography. As a director, this led him to
separate geologic studies from topographic projects. Later in
1882, Congress authorized the USGS to produce a geologic map of the United
States; adversely, Powell redirected all topographic work to prepare for the
geologic map, topography being the base map.
As part of the Irrigation Survey for the Western United States, Powell projected
that if the west was to be irrigated, then the rivers would have to be monitored
and reservoirs be built. Although the Irrigation Survey was abandoned by the
USGS due to congressional discontent, the first river gauging station was
installed on the Rio Grande River in 1889. The Embudo Stream Gauging Station in
New Mexico is the longest continual record of stream flow data in the United States.
Another outcome from this discarded project was preliminary work toward storage
and utilization of water for irrigation and prevention of floods and overflows.
View the
current stream flow conditions of Rio Grande
Although forced to leave because of the political reasons surrounding the
absence of an economic based survey and the controversy surrounding the classifications of public lands in
the new States of the Union (North and South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho,
and Wyoming were all added during Powell's term), J. W. Powell is considered
historically as one of the strongest directors of the survey. The USGS National
Center in Reston, VA was dedicated in 1974 as the
The John Wesley
Powell Federal Building. The Survey even named its highest honor possible
for those not employed by the USGS, The John Wesley Powell Award, after the early Survey's leader.
After working as the director of the USGS, Powell continued to head the
Bureau of Ethnology, which he continued to run until his death in 1902 despite
failing health mainly due to his amputated arm. However, between 1894 and 1902
Powell spent gradually less time running the Bureau and more time on his
philosophical/ethnographic writing. Books Powell authored include compilations
of all previous writings about American Indians, a dictionary of Native American
tribes, a classification of Native American languages, as well as many field
studies.
It is for administrative work with the agency, rather than for his own field
studies, that Powell made his main contribution to anthropology. Powell
demonstrated great skill as an administrator, compiling a staff who urged others
to do some very rigorous research. Powell’s passion for ethnography helped lay
the groundwork for anthropological study in the 20th century.
The accomplishments of John Wesley Powell are summed up into the three
categories of soldier, explorer, and scientist. The survey of the Colorado river
was important to the infant stages of the United States Geological Survey and a
large step forward into understanding the structural and geomorphic processes of
the earth. As a director of the USGS, he expanded the research base, the
divisions of the survey, and the annual budget. As evident by his
accomplishments, Powell's contributions to American Geology relied not only in
ideas, but also in his actions.
Andrews, J. (2001). Did Ancient Chinese Visit the Grand Canyon. Part 3 <Web
link>Accessed Nov, 20, 2003.
NPR. (2002) The True Legacy of John Wesley Powell. National Public Radio. Sept. 22, 2002 <Web link> Accessed Nov, 20, 2003.
Powell, J. W. (1875) Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries. Fig. 78
Rabbitt, M. C. (1989) "The First Quarter-Century" in The United States Geological
Survey 1879-1989. USGS circular; 1050 <Web link> Accessed Nov, 20, 2003.
Early Life
The Grand Canyon Expeditions
Map of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado showing the route
traveled by Powell durring both expiditions. (Image taken from NPR, 2002)
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado, showing amphitheaters.
(Figure taken from Powell, 1875)
The United States Geological Survey
at the Embudo Stream Gauging Station.
Historical Assessment