Mapping the Grand Canyon - the challenge that took a century

Post by Emily Pierce, PLS, CFedS

The history of Grand Canyon mapping and surveying is almost as convoluted as the canyon itself. The task requires vision, a special set of skills, determination, money, endurance and luck - nevertheless, many explorers and surveyors have accepted the challenge and produced some of the most beautiful maps ever created. 

The first map was completed in 1858 – by a Baron, no less. Baron Frederick Wilhelm von Elgoffstein produced a map of the Colorado River, and by extension, the Grand Canyon.

How did a Baron from Bavaria come to be the first to chart the Colorado River?

The root cause was a revolution in Germany from 1848-49. Throughout Europe, people were becoming tired of monarchies and a series of revolts spread across the continent. This turmoil put von Elgoffstein’s future as part of the aristocracy in question. He decided to head out to the New World and apply his military engineering skills as a surveyor in St. Louis. He later joined the Beckwith Expedition and produced maps and panoramas of Utah, Wyoming, Nevada and California. They were so beautifully done that they were used as promotional materials for the Pacific Railroad. His reputation for precision and artistry was well-deserved.

In 1857-58, he joined the Ives expedition to map the Colorado River and produced maps that are now regarded as among the finest produced in the nineteenth century, using a half-tone system of his own invention.

Baron von Elgoffstein’s map of the Colorado River

The Powell Expedition(s)

John Wesley Powell

The Colorado River was mapped, but little was known about the lands around the river. About a decade later, the famous explorer and surveyor John Wesley Powell conducted a more thorough topographic survey of the lands adjacent to the Colorado River. 

Actually, he made two treks down the Colorado River – the initial trip was the first time anyone had rafted down the Green and Colorado Rivers. During this time, Powell coined the term “cataract” for the type of white water that was found in the deep canyons of the Colorado river. The trip was so perilous that three of his men quit.

The second trek down the Colorado river was for map-making and Powell brought several scientists along to help survey and map the land along the river, producing the most accurate maps to date of the river and the surrounding lands.

Here’s a relief view of the map from the Library of Congress.

Powell’s map of the Colorado River

Matthes-Evans Project

Then there’s the Matthes-Evans US Geological Survey topographic map. It was the most extensive mapping activity to take place at the Grand Canyon to date. That date was 1902. Actually, it was 1902-27, because the whole effort took 25 years! More than 1100 square miles were surveyed to create the map, using a variety of triangulation stations. They used three lines of levels – you can still find some of the benchmarks to this day.

Arizona State University has a very interesting presentation about the creation of this map here: https://lib.asu.edu/mapping-grand-canyon-conference/program/matthes-evans

The Washburn View

The Matthes-Evans map was the gold standard for accuracy and precision until 1970, when famous cartographer and mountaineer Brad Washburn decided it wasn’t good enough. Brad and his wife and partner Barbara, with the help of the National Geographic Society, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Topography and others, created the most precise, most detailed and most beautiful map ever created of the Grand Canyon. Fortunately, they had an arsenal of new technology to help, including aerial photography and EDMs, or Electronic Distance Measurement tools.

It took more than 700 helicopter trips to get all the photographic data; they established 92 survey stations to get the crucial measurements.

We can’t share a graphic of that map, as it’s owned by the National Geographic Society, but you can view the map here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/07/maps-reveal-history-national-park/#/04_grand_canyon_map.jpg

And a story about the effort here:

https://lib.asu.edu/mapping-grand-canyon-conference/program/washburn-heart-grand-canyon

Highsmith, Carol M, photographer. Grand Canyon, Arizona. Arizona Grand Canyon United States, None. [Between 1980 and 2006] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011632087/.

Additionally, a very interesting story about Barbara Washburn was produced by the National Geographic Society. She was a ground-breaking explorer, mapmaker and mother, and also noted as the first female to reach the summit of Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2390631/grand-canyon-cartography

I’ve worked in some challenging work environments, but it’s hard to imagine the dangerous conditions that were faced during the early explorations. With doday’s advanced technologies, that work would still be difficult and treacherous at best. Things back then were likely life-threatening and some of the most thought-provoking and physically demanding work they faced.

Today, the mapping of the Grand Canyon is still a work in progress – and all types of data are still being gathered and added to maps, from animal species to tectonic shifts. It’s even been turned inside out with an Esri Story Map.