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Suggested Citation:"Tennessee." National Research Council. 1932. Summary Information on the State Geological Surveys & the United States Geological Survey: Bulletin of the National Research Council. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9570.
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Page 102
Suggested Citation:"Tennessee." National Research Council. 1932. Summary Information on the State Geological Surveys & the United States Geological Survey: Bulletin of the National Research Council. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9570.
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Page 103
Suggested Citation:"Tennessee." National Research Council. 1932. Summary Information on the State Geological Surveys & the United States Geological Survey: Bulletin of the National Research Council. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9570.
×
Page 104
Suggested Citation:"Tennessee." National Research Council. 1932. Summary Information on the State Geological Surveys & the United States Geological Survey: Bulletin of the National Research Council. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9570.
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Page 105

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

102 THE STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS AND APPROPRIATIONS The support of the Survey is entirely by legislative appropriation. No other source of income has been established. Appropriations are made every two years with the amount to be used each year designated. The annual appropriation for the past four years has been $5,000. About a third of this was spent for administrative work, another third for field investigations, and the rest for publication. Nothing was spent for topo- graphic mapping, although only about twenty per cent of the State hats been mapped. PUBLICATIONS The Survey publishes three sorts of reports: (1) Bulletins, which rep- resent fairly complete investigations (12 to date); (2) Circulars, which are progress reports on field investigations (29 to date); (3) Reports of Investigations, which are mimeographed reports containing bits of information that may be of value (10 to date). Most. of the reports are on geological subjects, but some have included geography and biology. As much money should be allotted for publication as is now allotted for the entire Survey prograrrl. PRINCIPAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE 1911 Since 1911 the Survey has published twelve bulletins, twenty-nine cir- culars and ten reports of investigation. These have included general reports on the geology, geography, and biology of the State, oil possi- bilities, and sand and gravel. A topographic map of the Pierre quad- rangle was made in cooperation with the United States Geological Sur- vey, and a landmark map was printed. PRESENT MAIN LINES OF WORX The Survey is planning to continue on an economic basis entirely. Only those investigations can be undertaken which will yield informa- tion of economic importance. As the geology of the State is so little known, these investigations will yield much of scientific interest. The main investigations have to do with coal, oil, and gravel possibilities. A geologic map of the state hate been compiled and will be off the press this spring (1932~. TENNESSEE * The present Tennessee Geological Survey was organized on May 1, 1910, and was reorganized on February 1, 1923, as the Division of Ge * Information furnished by Walter F. Pond, State Geologist, March, 1932.

THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 103 ology of the Department of Education. The mail, express, and telegraphic address is 401-7th Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee. SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES A study of the geologic formations with special reference to their eco- no~nic products, of drainage, streams, and water-power, comprise a part of the activities of the Tennessee Survey. Other duties are as follows: a soil survey; a study of ground and surface waters; forests ~ a separate Bureau of Forestry was established May 2l, 1921), and the physiography of the State; the preparation of reports on geology, topography, and natural resources, and of geologic, topographic, and economic maps; and " other scientific and economic questions .... deemed of value to the people." ORGANIZATION The Division is governed by the Board of Natural Resources consisting of the Commissioner of Education, who is ex officio Chairman, the Presi- dent of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, these commissioners receiving expenses only. Administration of the Division is under the State Department of Education, the commissioner of the Division being appointed by the Governor for his two-year term of office. The Executive officer is the State Geologist, Walter F. Pond, who was appointed by the Board of Natural Resources, January 18, 1927, for an indefinite term. It is a full-time position, with salary fixed by the Board. All " members of the scientific stag " are appointed by the Board. The clerical force is appointed by the State Geologist with the approval of the Commissioner of Education. IJegally, the Board controls all salary rates; actually, the Legislature states the salaries of all permanent employees in the appropriation bill. Salaries of temporary assistants are set by the Board. The following are temporary assistants: four geologists and assistants, usually from college staff s; two soil surveyors (cooperative with the U. S. Bureau of Soils); one surveyor (employed for base mapping); five hydraulic engineers ma assistants (cooperative with the U. S. Geo- logical Survey and the U. S. Army Engineers); topographic engineers and assistants (cooperative with the U. S. Geological Survey); and two clerks who work full time. The Division is of course officially connected with the State Depart- ment of Education.

104 T H E STA T E G E O L O GIG A L S U R V E YS A N D APPROPRIATIONS Appropriations are made for the biennium by the State Legislature and have been, since July 1, 1929, as follows: July 1, ~929- July 1, 1931 July 1. 1931 July 1, 1933 Salaries of permanent force $10,000 $4,500 Other expense 1Z,000 8,000 Printing 15,000 ..... Stream gaging 15,000 11,250 Topographic mapping 12,000 ..... $64,000 $23,750 Contributions by private parties for stream gaging have averaged $1,600 per year. County cooperation for geologic work in 1927-28 amounted to $2,000; in 1928-29, to $l,250, both on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Below is given an estimate of expenditures for the years 192~-1931 in percentages: Per cent .. 9 . 19 ....... 20 (1) Administrative and routine (2) Topographic (3) Geologic not including printing (4) Geographic not including printing (5) Stream gaging 22 (6) Printing 23 (7) Equipment, supplies and miscellaneous Of the total area of the State, fifty-five per cent has been mapped topo- graphically, but only fifteen per cent can be considered as entirely satis- factory. PUBLICATIONS The Tennessee Survey issues two types of publications: (~) Resources of Tennessee, and ~ 2 ~ Bulletins. Of the '` Resources of Tennessee," nine volumes have been issued and include monthly or quarterly reports published from 1911 to 1919. The Bulletins issued from 1910 to 1932 are as follows: 1-5, 9, 10, 13-31, and 33-42. Bulletins planned for the missing numbers in the series were used in "Resources of Tennessee." The Survey has also published twenty-six county base maps and a geo- logic map of the State. The reports formerly included forestry, soil surveys, and general articles, but are now confined to geology, geography, and water resources. Funds for printing are inadequate; therefore manuscripts have ac- cumulated. It is felt that a fifty per cent increase for two years would clear this.

THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 105 PRINCIPAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE 1911 The Survey has carried on investigations and published reports on coal, zinc, magnetite, hematite and brown iron ores, marble, phosphates, clays of western Tennessee, manganese, barite, oil and gas areas, sand and gravel deposits, etc. It has conducted stratigraphic studies of the Cre- taceous, Tertiary, and Devonian systems, of the Chattanooga shale forma- tion, and of the Nashville Dome. Nearly all of these studies have been published, but one or two still remain in manuscript form. A bulletin has been published on Cretaceous foraminifera. A fourth edition of the State Geological map, scale I/500,000, has been published. Considerable time also has been devoted to such work as topographic mapping, stream gaging, and county soil surveys. Many of these projects have been con- ducted on a cooperative basis. PRESENT MAIN LINES OF WORK At present nothing other than office work and stream gaging is being carried on. At the end of the biennium, July I, 1931, the following work was being carried on and will be continued as soon as funds are available: Studies of the stratigraphy of the Mississippian formations, of the Knox dolomite, and of Wells Creek Basin; the preparation of economic reports on sand and gravel, lime and cement, and quarrying (except marble); and the compilation of a mineral resources map and report. PREVIOUS SURVEY ORGANIZATIONS The first Geological Survey of Tennessee was organized on December 21, 1831, with the appointment of Gerard Troost as State Geologist. This first Survey was supported by biennial appropriations for nearly twenty years, during which time ten biennial reports were prepared of which, however, the second and tenth were never published. The functioning of this organization ended with the death of Dr. Troost in 1850. In Febru- ary, 1854, the Legislature reestablished the Survey, and in March of the same year appointed James M. Sanford, of Cumberland University, State Geologist. In the period up to 1859, three biennial reports were prepared. The third was only a report of progress. Publication of the final report was s~oppect by the outbreak of the Civil War, so that the completed report sea not appear until 1869. From that time on, no Geological Survey organization was maintained by the State. James M. Safford, however, remained most active, and reports by him and others on the geology and mineral resources of the State appeared from time to time in bulletins of the Bureau of Agriculture, the Bureau of Mines, the State Board of Health, etc. The present organization of the State Geological Survey was established in 1910 with George H. Ashley as State Geologist. ~. 1 _ ~ ~

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