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The Gold and Coal Fields of Alaska Together with the Principal Steamer Routes and Trails, map by U.S. Geological Survey, 1898

Since its earliest days, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has played a critical role in the development of Alaska. During the gold rushes of the 1890s, the USGS encouraged settlement and development of the region by mapping routes to the gold fields. Today the USGS maintains an Alaskan Science Center in Anchorage to study the region’s natural resources, hazards, and ecosystems.

Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress

The Gold and Coal Fields of Alaska Together with the Principal Steamer Routes and Trails, map by U.S. Geological Survey, 1898
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The United States Geological Survey

Throughout the nineteenth century, Congress commissioned expeditions to explore and document newly acquired western lands. In 1879 Congress established the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a permanent agency within the Department of the Interior, to provide ongoing documentation of the geology and natural resources in the West and promote the economic development of the region. Today USGS survey publications benefit the scientific community and furnish crucial information to lawmakers tasked with revising public land use policy.