Wheeler Survey

The survey team included Lieutenant Montgomery M. Macomb,[2] plus the paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope and Charles Abiathar White[3] as well as the astronomer Miles Rock.

[4] Wheeler led early expeditions from 1869 to 1871 in the West, and in 1872 the United States Congress 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.

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.

[5] Photographers on the expedition included Timothy H. O'Sullivan of New York and William Bell of Philadelphia.