I was able to get out for a day with another local surveyor last week and we recovered 12 Primary Traverse Stations that USGS placed in 1913 and 1915. The traverse stations are somewhat rare here as USGS only used them in a few locations in Nebraska. They are not in the NGS database, so it is always fun using the original descriptions to locate them. Skip to No. 13 of the 1915 traverse to see a really neat location if you don't want to look through all of them.
That was pretty cool Jerry, thanks for sharing.
I remember finding some NGS stations on a job we did up north....
Some times I miss Nebraska....
Nice work Jerry
A little info for those wishing to follow Jerry's lead...
Here is a list of some USGS Bulletins describing “nationwide” Primary Traverse and Triangulation work:
Bulletin 122 RESULTS OF PRIMARY TRIANGULATION 1889
Bulletin 181 RESULTS OF PRIMARY TRIANGULATION PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1900-1901
Bulletin 201 RESULTS OF PRIMARY TRIANGULATION PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1901-1902
Bulletin 216 RESULTS OF PRIMARY TRIANGULATION PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1902-1903
*Bulletin 245 RESULTS OF PRIMARY TRIANGULATION PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1903-1904
Bulletin 276 RESULTS OF PRIMARY TRIANGULATION PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1904-1905
Bulletin 310 RESULTS OF PRIMARY TRIANGULATION PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1905-1906
*Bulletin 440 RESULTS OF TRIANGULATION AND PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1906-1908
*Bulletin 496 RESULTS OF TRIANGULATION AND PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1909-1910
*Bulletin 551 RESULTS OF TRIANGULATION AND PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1911-1912
*Bulletin 644 TRIANGULATION AND PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1913-1915
*Bulletin 709 TRIANGULATION AND PRIMARY TRAVERSE 1916-1918
* = In my library if anybody needs something looked up (time permitting of course).
There are DOZENS (& dozens) of “State specific” Bulletins as well (a few examples below):
Bulletin 175 TRIANGULATION AND SPIRIT LEVELING IN INDIAN TERRITORY 1900
Bulletin 281 RESULTS OF SPIRIT LEVELING IN NEW YORK 1896-1905
It appears (to me) that the USGS pretty much quit publishing the “nationwide” Bulletins after 1918 (B-709) but continued with State Specific volumes for many years thereafter.
Two that I use A LOT:
*Bulletin 912 SPIRIT LEVELING IN UTAH 1897-1938
*Bulletin 913 TRIANGULATION IN UTAH 1871-1934
Here's a scan of Pg.432 of B-644 which describes some of the 1913 Stations mentioned by Jerry.
Here's a blowup of the Traverse Station No.23 1913 description:
Fun and games, I wish I had the time to do what Jerry does!
Loyal
Nice work Jerry
Another great aspect of the reports that Loyal describes is being able to find the first monument and then compare the published latitude/longitude with the position obtained with a handheld receiver. A factor to old vs. new position can then be applied. Since the positions were published to one decimal place of a second, we were able to get right on top of them when the old descriptions didn't initially make any sense.
also included (sometimes)
Most “Land” Surveyors don't realize that these (and other) USGS Publications sometimes contain DIRECT TIES to PLSS and Mineral Survey Corners (as well as other points and monuments of interest).
Like this little tidbit on the same page:
0.1 arc seconds might not be close enough to RESET a given Corner, but it will sure get you in the right Zip Code, and does constitute additional documentation on a given monument.
Loyal
Jerry-
Good work !
We could ship you some snow if you send the container.
Cheers
Derek
