#watershedmap — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #watershedmap, aggregated by home.social.
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John Wesley Powell and His Stunning Map
Decades after John Wesley Powell finished his exploration of the Grand Canyon ( https://c.im/@vickyveritas/109435308102411931 ), he became one of America’s foremost scientists, and the head of the US Geological Survey. As such, he became the voice of the land and was looked to for leadership for the nation’s development.
Senators from the west formed a committee to explore how the federal government could bring water to the western deserts and open the land to new pioneers as part of the US vision of Manifest Destiny. They looked to Powell for answers. Powell did not give them the answer they wanted.
In a thorough study and report complete with maps, Powell’s 1878, “The Arid Regions of the United States” was published. It contains one of the greatest maps ever created: the “Arid Regions of the United States Showing Drainage Districts” that shows the area carved up into watersheds in riotous color instead of political boundaries.
This was the first time a map had been used to visualize the intersection of hydrology with topography and in such an effectual manner that minimized the political. Powell argued that America should move cautiously and conservatively to preserve natural resources and maintain sustainability and stewardship of these arid places.
In this way, the one-armed geologist, John Wesley Powell, in prescient fashion outlined a way forward for a land now locked by climate-change and wracked with drought and water shortages. America should have listened.
See also: https://pubs.usgs.gov/unnumbered/70039240/report.pdf
#JohnWesleyPowell #WatershedMap #TheAridRegionsOfTheUnitedStates #Map #Hydrology #Geology #ScienceMastodon
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John Wesley Powell and His Stunning Map
Decades after John Wesley Powell finished his exploration of the Grand Canyon ( https://c.im/@vickyveritas/109435308102411931 ), he became one of America’s foremost scientists, and the head of the US Geological Survey. As such, he became the voice of the land and was looked to for leadership for the nation’s development.
Senators from the west formed a committee to explore how the federal government could bring water to the western deserts and open the land to new pioneers as part of the US vision of Manifest Destiny. They looked to Powell for answers. Powell did not give them the answer they wanted.
In a thorough study and report complete with maps, Powell’s 1878, “The Arid Regions of the United States” was published. It contains one of the greatest maps ever created: the “Arid Regions of the United States Showing Drainage Districts” that shows the area carved up into watersheds in riotous color instead of political boundaries.
This was the first time a map had been used to visualize the intersection of hydrology with topography and in such an effectual manner that minimized the political. Powell argued that America should move cautiously and conservatively to preserve natural resources and maintain sustainability and stewardship of these arid places.
In this way, the one-armed geologist, John Wesley Powell, in prescient fashion outlined a way forward for a land now locked by climate-change and wracked with drought and water shortages. America should have listened.
See also: https://pubs.usgs.gov/unnumbered/70039240/report.pdf
#JohnWesleyPowell #WatershedMap #TheAridRegionsOfTheUnitedStates #Map #Hydrology #Geology #ScienceMastodon