The Arid Lands

by John Wesley Powell, Wallace Stegner (Editor), John Vernon (Foreword)

“One of the most significant and seminal books ever written about the West, . . . the classic statement of the terms on which the West could be peopled.”—Wallace Stegner (from the introduction). John Wesley Powell's arid lands report was the first to argue that the American West could not support a conventional system of agriculture and that its lands could not sustain unlimited development. He recognized that water was a more precious resource than land, that rainfall could never support agriculture in the region, and that controlled irrigation offered the best use of its natural resources.

Years of drought have proved the value of his advice, which was not well received by an expansionist nation. Despite opposition from the timber, cattle, and mining industries, Powell's work led to the first assessments of the available water supplies and to the consolidation of government surveys and policies under one administration.

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

John Wesley Powell (1834-1902) was a U. S. soldier, geologist, and explorer of the American West. He is famous for the 1869 Powell Geographic Expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers that included the first passage through the Grand Canyon. He studied at Illinois College, Wheaton College, and Oberlin College, acquiring a knowledge of Ancient Greek and Latin but never graduating. He was elected to the Illinois Natural History Society in 1859. Due to his deep Protestant beliefs, and his social commitments, his loyalties remained with the Union, and the cause of abolishing slavery. He enlisted in the Union army as a topographer and military engineer. In 1881 he became the second director of the U. S. Geological Survey, a post he held until 1894. He was also the director of the Bureau of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution until his death.

Reviews

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States” by John Wesley Powell

Arid Lands lays out John Wesley Powell’s vision for the development of the western United States. The “Arid Lands” are defined as those lands in the United States that receive less than 20 inches of precipitation per year, roughly the area west of the 100th meridian. The report, with a forward by John Vernon (novelist; Last Canyon is his re-telling of the 1869 Powell expedition) and an introduction by Wallace Stegner (biographer of Powell in Beyond the Hundredth Meridian), was originally published by the Department of the Interior as a part of the US Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region in 1878. This text is from the 2nd edition. The report represents a historical document that describes the state of science in the west by The Major’s Survey documenting the geology, mineral potential, timber, and grazing potential.

It includes chapters written by some of the men that worked under him on the Survey (G.K. Gilbert, C.E. Dutton, A.H. Thompson, and W. Drummond, Jr.). Some of the Major recommendations included land divisions by drainage basins rather than the rectilinear townships, ranges, and sections that did not take into account topography or surface water drainages. The Major also recommended larger amounts of land for settlers and homesteaders than the 160-320 acres usually allotted. This was to account for the lack of forage for livestock and the aridity of the land for agriculture. Powell also promoted the idea of cooperatives to work the land and develop irrigation systems – much like the Utah Mormons did in the mid-nineteenth century. Powell’s report only considered surface water and did not consider any groundwater resources.

As a geologist and hydrologist, I found the collection of historical data of precipitation and surface water flow, as well as descriptions of how these data were collection and interpreted, to be an important part of the historical and natural record of the arid West.

I have long wanted to read the Arid Lands report because of my interest in the scientific exploration of the West and of The Major. I had printed out a scan of the original report available at the USGS Publications Warehouse (https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/...) and tried reading it. Perhaps the modern typesetting in this 1962 republication of the report helped its readability for me. My only complaint is the lack of the maps from the original report. The report comes with three maps: one of the precipitation of the arid lands, one of Utah, and one of land grants (mostly to the railroads). While these are large maps not suitable for publication in this version, perhaps small one page black and white version could have been published. Fortunately, the USGS has scanned the maps and they are available at the above website.

I highly recommend this important historical scientific work for anyone interested in the history and the science of the arid lands. It should be noted that while Powell was a scientific explorer of the West and largely a friend to the Natives, he was also a man of his times. The report, in my opinion, is marred by his recommendations to remove Natives from their lands to prevent forest fires to protect these resources for the (largely) white settlers. Some of the science is somewhat dated as well.