With 30 Original Photographs by A. J. Russell
Hayden went overland by train from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City. He intended this book as a guide to the geology along the route.
According to an inscription by James Stevenson in the example described in To Delight the Eye, only fifty copies of this book were issued. Stevenson may have had some inside knowledge, as he worked with Hayden on the U.S. Geological Survey, but this is the only citation we have found that indicates such a small edition. However, such works illustrated with original photographs were rarely issued in great numbers due to the great expense in materials and labor to create such books.
The photographs are as follows:
- Moore's Lake. Head of Bear River, Uintah Mountains.
- Granite Rock. Buford Station, Laramie Mountains.
- Skull Rock. (Granite) - Sherman Station, Laramie Mountains.
- Malloy's Cut - Sherman Station, Laramie Range.
- Dial Rock - Red Buttes, Laramie Plains.
- Laramie Valley - From Sheephead Mountains.
- Snow and timber line - Medicine Bow Mountains.
- High Bluffs - Black Buttes.
- Bitter Creek Valley - near Green River.
- Burning Rock Cut - Green River Valley
- Citadel Rock - Green River Valley
- Castle Rock - Green River Valley.
- Church Buttes - near Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory.
- Lake at the head of Bear River, Uintah Mountains.
- Conglomerate Peaks of Echo.
- Sentinel Rock - Echo Cañon.
- Hanging Rock - Echo Cañon.
- Coalville - Weber Valley, Utah.
- Thousand Mile Tree.
- Wilhelmina's Pass - Distant view of serrated rocks or Devil's Slide, Weber Cañon, Utah.
- Serrated Rocks or Devil's Slide (near view) - Weber Cañon, Utah.
- Tunnel No. 3 - Weber Cañon, Utah.
- Devil's Gate (from below) - Weber Cañon. Wasatch Mountains.
- City Creek Cañon - Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake Valley.
- Wasatch Ranch of Rocky Mountains - From Brigham Young's woolen mills.
- Salt Lake City - Camp Douglas and Wasatch Mountains in background.
- Great Mormon Tabernacle - Salt Lake City.
- Trestle work - Promontory Point, Salt Lake City.
- Summit of Sierra Nevada - Snow sheds in foreground, Donner Lake in the distance, Central Pacific, R.R.
- Hydraulic Gold Mining - near Dutch Flat, California, C.P.R.R.
Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, known to the Sioux as "man-who-picks-up-stones-running," stands among the pantheon of eminent geologists of the 19th century.
Hayden's academic career commenced at Oberlin College, and he furthered his education at Albany Medical College, where he received his M.D. in 1853. Despite his medical training, Hayden was primarily engaged in geology, a field to which he would dedicate his life's work.
Hayden commenced his geological career with a survey in the Nebraska Territory in 1856. In 1859 and 1860, he conducted further exploratory work in the Rocky Mountains, particularly in Colorado, which was then part of the Nebraska and Kansas territories. His early work in the field earned him the respect of Native American tribes, with the Sioux reportedly dubbing him "man-who-picks-up-stones-running" due to his avid and energetic collection of geological samples during his expeditions.
By the 1860s, Hayden had risen to prominence as a geologist and was appointed the United States Geologist for the Geological Survey of the Territories. This role would define his career, leading numerous surveys in the Western United States. Notably, from 1871 to 1872, Hayden led a survey into the region that would become Yellowstone National Park, and his reports significantly contributed to the establishment of Yellowstone as the first National Park in 1872.
Hayden's most significant contribution to geological literature was the Geological Atlas of Colorado, published in 1877. This work was the result of comprehensive surveys conducted across Colorado, meticulously documenting the state's geography and geology. The atlas offered detailed maps on a scale previously unseen, encompassing not only Colorado but adjacent areas, including parts of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Hayden's influence extended to academia, as he was affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania for a period, where he held the position of professor of geology. His academic and field work combined to form a substantial body of knowledge that would be used by future scholars and explorers.
Ferdinand V. Hayden passed away on December 22, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His enduring legacy is reflected in the numerous natural features named after him, including Hayden Valley in Yellowstone and Mount Hayden in Colorado. His contributions to geology during the 19th century remain a cornerstone of American geological and geographical sciences.