F 912 .S15 R8 Copy 1 HEIGHT AND POSITION OF MOUNT ST. ELIAS ISRAEL C. RUSSELL [From The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. III.] With the Compliments of ISRAEL C. RUSSELL, United States Geological Surrey, Washington, D. C. IIKKIIIT AND POSITION OF MOUNT ST. KIJAS. I5V isi;ai:i. c. risskll. (Lh'kJ hcfiirr tin' IhuiriJ oi }f(in(i(i(r--< Derriiihcr 11, ISDl.) The height ami position ol' Ah)UiitSt. Eliashavel)cen incasured several times (luring the past century with varying results. The measurements made i>ri()r to 1S91 liave l)eeu summarized and discussed by W. II. Dall, of the V. S. Coast and ( ieodetic Survey.* The various results obtained are shown in the following tal»h'. With the exce})tion of the ])osition determined hy Malaspina and the measurements of 1S<)1, tliey are copied from Dall's rcpoi't. Height and.Posilioii of Mount St. Elias. Date. 1786 1791 1794 1847 1847 1849 1872 1874 1891 Authority. La Perou.«e Malaspina Vancouver Rus.sian Hydro- 1 " Latitude. 17,8.iO ] (!.9:!S 16.938 16,7r)8 14,970 19,500 =fc 400 18,100 =b 100 60° 60 (SO 60 60 60 60 60 60 21 22 21 17 21 20 00' 3.') :!0 00 36 :;o ;;o 00 4o Longitude. 60 17 51 140° 10' 00" 140 52 17 140 .39 00 141 00 00 140 54 00 140 54 00 140 51 00 141 00 00 141 00 12 140 55 30 The position given by Malaspina is from a report on astro- nomical observations made during his voyage,t which places the mountain in longitude 134° 33' 10" west of Cadiz. Taking "'■'Rep. of the Superintendentof the U. S. Coast Survey for 1875, pp. 157-188. t Meniorias sobre las o})vcrsaciones astronomicas hechas por les nave- gantes Espanoles en distintos higares delglohe; Por Don .losef Esi)iiios;i V Tello. Madrid, en la Iniprente real, Ano de 1809 : 2 vols., larsxe S° ; vol. 1, pp. 57-60. My attention was directed to this work by Dr. Dall, who owns th(> onlv copv T l)av(> seen. (231) 232 /. C. RimcU— Mount St. lit I as. the longitude of Cadiz as Q° W 07" west of ( ireenwicli, the tigures given in the table are obtained. The data from which the various determinations made previ- ous to 1S74 were obtained have not been published. The obser- vations made by Messrs. Dall and Baker, of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, are published in full in the annual report of that Survey for 1875, already referred to. The observations made l)y myself last summer as a i)art of the work of an expedi- tion sent to Mount St. Elias by the National Geographic Society and the U. S. Creological Survey, from which the height and ])Ositiou of the mountain have l)cen computed, are as follows: A hase line 1(3,876 feet long was measured on tlie beach at Icy bay. The line, with the exception of section C to D, as shown below, was measured three times in sections of about 3,000 feet each. The distances given beloAV in columns 1 and 2 ■were ol)- tained with a 100-foot steel tape, and those given in column 3 with a 300-foot iron wire. These are rough measurements, made without the use of a plumb-l)ob and without taking account of temi)erature. The ground was quite smooth, with a rise of about five feet in tlie center ; but section Cto D was crossed by a stream channel al)out 300 feet broad and twenty feet deep. Throughout much of the distance the ground was covered with grass, which was only jjartially cleared away. The stations at the ends of the line were ten feet above high tide. The bearing of the line from the western base Avas S. 89° E., magnetic. Mi'ciiiurcinents of Buae Line. 1. 2. 3. Mean. Western base to station A . . . Station A to station />' Station B to station (' Station C to station D Station D to eastern base. . . . Ft. ill. 3,179 10 2,355 2 3,589 Rejected. 5,145 5 Ft. ill. 3,178 7 2,354 1 3,587 9 2,609 2 5,144 10 Ft. in. 3,178 9 '2,354 2 3,586 2,609 5 Not meas- lU'ed. Ft. in. .3,179 1 2,354 (i 3,587 7 2,609 ;', 5,145 1 Lengtli of base line 16,875 () The measurements of angles were made with a gradienter reading by vernier to minutes. The error of the vei'tical arc was — 3', and remained constant during the observations. ^ ^9^ '^ luslriintciifal Obscrratlons. i St. Elias i Eastern base. I St. Elias \ Eastern base. ( St. Elias t Eastern Ijase. ( St. Elias (, Eastern base ( St. Elias \ Eastern base. f St. Elias \ P^astern base. I St. Elias \ Eastern base. f St. Elias \ Eastern base. Right vernier. 21S° ;J17 218 :!17 21cS :;n7 2()1 2(il 50 14S 50 148 181 27!) AY 41 10 41 10 15 45 15 45 Eel'l W'rtieal vernier, an^le. Date. .38° ;]5^ + 5° 40^ i:j: ;)8 1 :!7 .j7 7 + 5 40 ;>8 137 :50 8 + 5 40 81 180 4;! 11 + 5 40 81 4:j +5 40 180 10 2:50 15 +5 40 328 45 1 5 09 32 + 5 40 1891, An] 14, 10 a. Ill Measurements of Angles at Eastern Base. St. Elias Western base Riilht Left A'ertical vernier. 1 vernier. 1 angle. St. Elias Western base ... J St. Elias Western base St. Elias Western base St. Elias Western base St. Elias Western liase St. Elias Western base 252° 176 252 170 26' I 72° 27' 19 356 19 2() 72 26 + 5 34 19 \ 356 19 252 17(i 252 176 176 176 252 176 25 72 26 19 356 19 2t) I 72 27 19 356 19 2(5 19 + 5 34 + 5 34 2 26) ; ^- 5 :U 27 72 28 I + 5 34 20 356 20 ' 28 21 Date. + 5° 34' 1891, Aug. 17, 1 1.30 a. ni. 2 p. m. 4.30 i>. in. 234 I. C. Russell — Mount ISt. Ellas. From those ol)servations the following angles between the base line and the line of sight to the summit of Mount St. Elias are obtained. The correction for error of vertical circle has l)een applied to the angles of elevation. Resulting Aiujles. Wehtkun Ba^e. 1 Eastern Base. Right vernier. Left vernier. Corrected vertical angle. Right vernier. Left vernier. Corrected vertical angle. 1 2 3 4 5 98° 31' 98 32 98 29 98 29 98 29 98 30 98 30 98 25 98° 32' 98 30 98 29 98 28 98 27 98 30 + 5° 43' + 5 43 1 + 5 43 + 5 43 + 5 43 + 5 43 + 5 43 + 5 43 1 2 3 4 5 6 76° 7' 76 7 76 6 76 7 76 7 76 7 7(i 7 7(5° 8' 7() 7 76 7 76 8 + 5° 37' + 5 37 + 5 37 + 5 37 + 5 37 6 7 76 8 + 5 37 8 98 27 98 29 22 98 29 00 ! j j 76 6 51 76 7 36 Mean.. 98° 29' 12" +5° 43' i 76° 7' 10" +5° 37' The known elements of the triangle from which the distance of St. Elias from the ends of the base line may be determined are : S^.ETias. WTB. KB. 16,876 feet. Tliese data were sent from tlie held to the .Secretary of the National (Geographic Society, aiid, in connection with other measurejuents made at the same time, have l)cen com])uted l:)y Il<:i(j1it of Mount St. K/,i<(.^. 23.1 Mr. S. S. (uinnctt. of the TniUMl States ( icolo-iical Survey, 'riu- ivsults of the coinimtatioii, so far as tlicy I'clatc to .Mount St. Klias, arc <;i\-eu lielow : t'ompututiun of llie lliKjht of Mount St. Elkis. Station. Aiii/I,. U),H7(}J'I. lo(j. I )ist. E. base — \V. ba.se z 4.227270 St. Klias r)° 2:;' :!S" .V. (-'. 1()J,^ sine - 1.02()8(i2 Western base IIS 2i» 12 lojj. sine - i).!)!)r)218 Eastern base 7iJ Moiiiii Sf. FAias. 237 The *:uograi)lu(' position of Mount St. I*>lias is of |io|>ular in- terest in connection witli tlic lioundavics of Alaska. In the convention l)etwc('n (ireat IJritain and Russia * wherein the boundaries olWlaska are supposed to l)e di^lined, it is stated that the boundary. l)e>:inninu- at tlie south, alter ieaviuLi- Porthind channel, shall follow the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast as far as the 141st meridian, and from there northward the said meridian shall l)e the l)i)undary to tlie Arctic ocean. Whenever the summit of the mountains 1)etween Port- land channel and the 141st meridian " shall prove; to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the British possessions and the line of coast Avliich is to belong to Russia, above mentioned, shall l)e formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast and which shall never exceed the distance often marine leagues therefrom." As ]\Iount St. Elias is a[)[»roxinuitely in longitude 140° o.")' ?,()" west from Greenwich, as already shown, it is therefore only 4' and 30" of longitude or 2> statute miles east of the boundary of the main portion of Alaska. Its distance from the nearest point on the coast is 33 statute miles. There is no coast range in southeastern Alaska ])arallel with the coast within the limits specified l)y the treaty, and the l>oundary must thereibre be considered as a line parallel with the coast and ten marine leagues, or 342 statute miles, inland. The mountain is thus one and one-half miles south of the l)Oundary and within the territory of the United States. Its position is so near the junction of the boundary separating southeastern Alaska from the Northwest Territory with the 141st meridian that it is practically a corner monument of our national domain. * Message from the President of the United States, transmittinuf Report on the boundary line between Alaska and British ("ohuu))ia. aOtli Con- gress, 2d session, Ex. Doc. No. ]4(), Senate, ISSi).