Robert Ridgway and the 40th Parallel Survey at Sacramento, 1867

Abstract

In the summer of 1867, the 40^th Parallel Survey party began what would become a five-year journey across the Great Basin of North America. The survey, established by an act of Congress on March 2, 1867, had the task of exploring the landscape and geological resources along the potential route of the transcontinental railroad. The survey’s ornithologist was Robert Ridgway, then 17 years old and embarking on his first professional employment.