Hayden expedition

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Hayden Expedition between Yellowstone and East Fork Rivers. Photo by William Henry Jackson

The research trip known as the Hayden Expedition was part of the exploration of the west of the USA under the direction of geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden . In 1871 it led to the area of ​​today's Yellowstone National Park and deepened the knowledge from the Folsom Expedition of 1869 and the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition of 1870. Experts from various disciplines took part in the expedition. The aim was to research flora, fauna and geological conditions, record them in pictures and photos and identify the best possible access routes. Hayden had a budget of $ 40,000 for the expedition. In 1872 and 1878, Hayden made other, lesser-known research trips to the Yellowstone area. He had already led an expedition to the Yellowstone area in 1859, but had to break it off after a short time due to heavy snowfall.

Course of the expedition

The Hayden expedition started on June 11, 1871 in Ogden, Utah with 34 men and 7 wagons heading north. Among the participants were the painter Thomas Moran and the photographer William Henry Jackson , who captured the landscape of the Yellowstone area for the first time. So far, the stories about the geysers and other volcanic objects had been considered implausible stories. This changed with the photos and pictures of the two men.

Almost at the same time, General Philip H. Sheridan , impressed by Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane's account of his trip the previous year, sent Captain John W. Barlow and Captain David P. Heap with a crew to the Yellowstone area. They too had hired a photographer, Thomas J. Hine . They took off from Chicago on July 2nd . Two weeks later they met the Hayden expedition and for the most part continued on their way together. Every now and then the groups would split up and explore different areas.

Tower Creek, picture by Thomas Moran

The Hayden expedition entered the area of ​​today's park in the north and moved south, partly following the Yellowstone River , to Yellowstone Lake . There the participants built a boat, the "Anna", with which they drove to the island. Anna was the first Anglo-American boat on Yellowstone Lake. From the north shore of the lake, the expedition turned west and penetrated into the lower and upper geyser basin , in the area of ​​today's Madison and Old Faithful . They were particularly impressed by the Grand Geyser , which they named. From there they went south to Shoshone Lake and again east to Yellowstone Lake, which they bypassed in the south. They returned north along the Lamar River , crossed the Yellowstone River on Jack Baronett's Bridge and on August 26th left what is now the park area on the same route as they had entered it. On August 30th they reached Fort Ellis , where the expedition ended. A day later, Barlow and his troops arrived at Fort Ellis.

After the expedition

Barlow's troop traveled back to Chicago. A little later, on October 8, 1871, the great fire broke out there, which destroyed almost all of Hine's negatives, among other things. The photos of Jackson and the pictures of Moran were all the more important. They impressed the US parliamentarians so much that on March 1, 1872 , they founded Yellowstone National Park, the world's first national park .

The success of the expedition was overshadowed by the suicide of senior topographer Anton Schoenborn in Omaha on his return trip to Washington, DC

In the coming year, Congress approved $ 75,000 for a larger expedition to the Yellowstone area, also led by Hayden.

Attendees

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