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Generalized Geologic Map of the Yosemite National Park Area

Generalized map of ground type (e.g. glacial till, alluvium, granitic rock) for the Yosemite National Park Area.

The flowering of natural history institutions in California

The genesis and early years of a diversity of natural history institutions in California are presented as a single intertwined narrative, focusing on interactions among a selection of key individuals (mostly botanists) who played multiple roles. The California Academy of Sciences was founded in 1853 by a group of gentleman scholars, represented by Albert Kellogg. Hans Hermann Behr provided an input of professional training the following year. The establishment of the California Geological Survey in 1860 provided a further shot in the arm, with Josiah Dwight Whitney, William Henry Brewer, and Henry Nicholas Bolander having active roles in both the Survey and the Academy. When the Survey foundered, Whitney diverted his efforts towards ensuring a place for the Survey collections within the fledgling University of California. The collections became the responsibility of Joseph LeConte, one of the newly recruited faculty. LeConte developed a shared passion for Yosemite Valley with John Muir, who he met through Ezra and Jeanne Carr. Muir also developed a friendship with Kellogg, who became estranged from the Academy following the contentious election of 1887, which was purportedly instigated by Mary Katherine Curran. Curran, as Katharine Brandegee, subsequently crossed philosophical swords with Edward Lee Greene, a confirmed splitter who became professor of botany at the University where he inspired Willis Linn Jepson. Brandegee, who had been mentored by Behr, may have in turn influenced Harvey Monroe Hall, who laid the foundation for experimental plant taxonomy at the Plant Biology Department of the Carnegie Institution of Washington at Stanford University. Hall's presence at Stanford University followed President David Starr Jordan's previous support of Luther Burbank. Also at Stanford was William Russel Dudley, who became active in various forestry-related issues, including the founding of the Sempervirens Club and Big Basin Redwoods Park. Muir, Jordan, Dudley, and Jepson all were involved in the founding and early years of the Sierra Club. They also advocated for Yosemite National Park, the establishment of a forestry school in California, and the re-establishment of the State Board of Forestry. The previous Board, with Kellogg as a commissioner and John Gill Lemmon as Botanist, had been disbanded in 1893. Sara Plummer Lemmon, a member of the Academy with her husband, rallied the California Federation of Women's Clubs in support of forestry issues as well. Many of these goals reached fruition during the governorship of George Cooper Pardee

MERCED RIVER RESTORATION BASELINE STUDIES: VOLUME II GEOMORPHIC AND RIPARIAN VEGETATION INVESTIGATIONS REPORT (Figures)

 

Contained Smart Folders:

Hydrology & Climate

 

Geology

 

Biological Diversity