Union Pacific Railroad (with Henry M. Bannister), 1872

Abstract

The field book documents Fielding Meek's work in Colorado and Wyoming, traveling via the Union Pacific Railroad during 1872, observing coal beds and surrounding shale, sandstone, limestone deposits and fossils. Pages are numbered. Most entries are dated. In the first section covering the area around Golden City, Colorado, he describes observations and collecting among the exposed coal seams and area shafts, Cretaceous beds and shale, and includes discussion of local miners about fires along coal seams. In notebook portion covering Wyoming, he spends significant time discussing strata. Most of the notebook has cross sections which are labeled and noted. Sometimes addition information is listed in the adjacent text. For places where he spends significant time, Meek records locations at the top of pages. At the back, he includes a description of Virginia City and Gold Hill, including a list of principal mines. Includes sketches. Locations include the vicinity of Colorado (Golden City, Cheyenne), Wyoming (Fort Steele, Evanston, Hallville), and Nevada (Virginia City, Gold Hill, Sutro Tunnel).

Date Range

1872

Start Date

Jun 25, 1872

End Date

Sep 06, 1872

Access Information

Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu.

Topic

• Geology
• Paleontology--Cretaceous
• Coal--Geology
• Paleontology

Place

• Fort Steele
• Hallville
• Evanston
• Wyoming
• United States
• Colorado
• Lower Gold Hill
• Virginia City
• City of Golden
• Sutro Tunnel
• Nevada

Form/Genre

• Fieldbook record
• Field notes

Accession #

SIA RU007062

Collection name

Fielding B. Meek Papers, 1843-1877 and undated

Physical Description

1 field book

Physical Location

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Sublocation

Box 11 Folder 6