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The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853-1855) explored possible routes for a transcontinental railroad
Transcontinental railroad

A Transcontinental Railroad is a railroad that crosses a continent from "coast-to-coast". Railroad terminal are at or connected to different oceans....
 across North America. Substantial collection of natural history material was made during the surveys as well. The results were published in the 12-volume Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, published by the United States War Department from 1855 to 1860.






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The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853-1855) explored possible routes for a transcontinental railroad
Transcontinental railroad

A Transcontinental Railroad is a railroad that crosses a continent from "coast-to-coast". Railroad terminal are at or connected to different oceans....
 across North America. Substantial collection of natural history material was made during the surveys as well. The results were published in the 12-volume Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, published by the United States War Department from 1855 to 1860. The surveys contained significant material on natural history, including many illustrations of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. Some of these illustrations were hand-colored.

Congress authorized the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Finis Davis was an United States politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War....
 to conduct surveys for the railroad. In addition to describing the route, these surveys also reported on the geology, zoology, botany, paleontology of the land as well as provided ethnographic descriptions of the Native peoples encountered during the surveys. Five surveys were conducted.

The Northern Pacific survey followed between the 47th parallel north
47th parallel north

The 47th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 47 degree true north of the Earth equator.Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 47? north passes through:...
 and 49th parallel north
49th parallel north

The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degree true north of the Earth equator.The parallel forms part of the United States-Canadian Border from British Columbia to Manitoba on the Canada side and from Washington to Minnesota on the United States side, or from the Strait of Georgia to the Lake of the Woods....
 from St. Paul, Minnesota to the Puget Sound
Puget Sound

Puget Sound is an inland marine complex of waterways from the Pacific Ocean, connected to the rest of the Pacific by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States....
 and was led by the newly appointed governor of the Washington Territory
Washington Territory

The Washington Territory was a historic organized territory of the United States that was formed in February 8, 1853 from the portion of the Oregon Territory north of the lower Columbia River and north of the 46th parallel north east of the Columbia; which had been ceded by Britain in the 1846 Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundar...
, Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens

Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a Major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly....
. Accompanying Stevens were Captain George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
 with Lt. Sylvester Mowry out of the Columbia Barracks from the west and Lt. Rufus Saxton
Rufus Saxton

Rufus Saxton was a Union Army Brigadier general during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Harpers Ferry....
 with Lt. Richard Arnold out of St. Marysville from the east.

The Central Pacific
Central Pacific

Central Pacific can refer to:* The Central Pacific Railroad, the western part of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States.* The Central Pacific Area, a subdivision of the Pacific Ocean Areas in World War II....
 survey followed between the 37th parallel north
37th parallel north

The 37th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 37 degree true north of the Earth equator.Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 37? north passes through:...
  and 39th parallel north
39th parallel north

The 39th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 39 degree true north of the Earth equator.Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 39? north passes through:...
 from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
 to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
. This survey was led by Lt. John W. Gunnison
John W. Gunnison

John Williams Gunnison was an United States military officer and explorer....
 until his death by the Utes
Utes

Utes may refer to:*Ute tribe, indigenous people of North America*students of the University of Utah*Utah Utes, athletics team of the University of Utah, named after the Ute tribe...
 in Utah. Lt. Edward G. Beckwith then took command. Also participating in this survey was George Stoneman
George Stoneman

George Stoneman, Jr. was a career United States Army officer, a Union army cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the Governor of California between 1883 and 1887....
 and Lt. Gouverneur K. Warren
Gouverneur K. Warren

Gouverneur Kemble Warren was a civil engineer and prominent General officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg and is often referred to as the "Hero of Little Round Top." His subsequent service as a corps commander an...
.

There were two Southern Pacific surveys. One along the 35th parallel north
35th parallel north

The 35th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 35 degree true north of the Earth equator.In the United States, the parallel defines the southern border of Tennessee, and the border between North Carolina and Georgia ....
 from Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
 to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, a route similar to the western part of the later Santa Fe Railroad and to Interstate 40
Interstate 40

Interstate 40 is a major west-east Interstate Highway in the United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 15 in California in Barstow, California; its eastern terminus is at a concurrency of U.S....
, which was led by Lt. Amiel W. Whipple. The southernmost survey went across Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 to San Diego, California
San Diego, California

San Diego is the second largest city in California and the List of United States cities by population, located along the Pacific Ocean on the West Coast of the United States of the Western United States....
, a route which the Southern Pacific completed as the second transcontinental railway in 1881. This survey was led by Lt. John Parke
John Parke

John Grubb Parke was a United States Army engineer and a Union army general in the American Civil War....
 and John Pope
John Pope (military officer)

John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
 .

The fifth survey was along the Pacific coast from San Diego to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the most populous city in the US state of Washington and the Northwestern United States. The encompassing Seattle metropolitan area is the 15th largest in the United States, and the largest in the Pacific Northwest....
 conducted by Lt. Robert S. Williamson
Robert S. Williamson

Robert Stockton Williamson was an American soldier and engineer, noted for conducting Pacific Railroad Surveys for the transcontinental railroad in California and Oregon....
 and Parke.

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