When he expresses himself firmly, the stump of his right arm will swing and detour like boxing with the ghost of war that destroyed him; Every once in a while, Powell will put his left hand around his back and forcibly subdue him-this action always makes a room quiet. I often don't see him, but the most fascinating thing is. Even in a room full of Titanic characters, his authority is obvious.
Only a few years after his forearm was knocked off by a mini ball at the Battle of Shiloh, he organized the most daring expedition in American history. 10 A man boarded a short wooden boat and sailed into the Green River and Colorado River in the southwest. Then he spent three months flying, met an unknown and terrible waterfall in the canyon, and finally passed through the Grand Canyon itself. I wonder if there is a waterfall or a murderous rapids near the next bend.
Hope for the Grand Canyon: John Wesley Powell's Adventure Journey and his Vision for the American West: the son of an abolitionist missionary, a civil war hero (he lost an arm in Shiloh), an enthusiastic naturalist and geologist. 1869, John Wesley Powell conquered a huge and dangerous canyon carved by the Colorado River, which is called the Grand Canyon today (thanks to Powell).
Buy six people from the other end, almost lifeless, half naked, with only a few kilograms of moldy flour in the middle. This experience changed Powell, who became a great American hero.
Now, 20 years later, Powell has to testify, not as a hero or explorer, but as one of the most important scientists in the United States, the head of the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the architect of federal science. He has a very important thing to convey about the future of America.
The Senate Special Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation in Arid Areas is the gatekeeper of key issues of national development. Through this problem, the Federation can bring water to the western desert, thus opening up a new world for new land. Generation after generation of pioneers.
Mitt is made up of senators from western States who are committed to realizing voters' dreams: a home and an increasingly rich country. They want to listen to Powell, who is arguably the most knowledgeable person. He knows a lot of western land that is still little known. They are eager to hear that the irrigation project will bring an Eden to the west and witness the vision of fate, that is, to use wealth and industry to promote the whole continent, so that everything they touch will blossom and bear fruit.
Powell's map of "arid areas in the United States" was submitted to the United States Senate in 1890. He put forward a radical new view (author collection) that the watershed is the center of the western United States rather than the traditional political border, but Powell won't tell them what they want to hear.
He told them quite correctly that the water provided by the west was not enough for reclamation through irrigation, and only a small part of it landed. Their green dream of the west needs to be honed and shaped into reality. Powell might as well tell them that the earth is flat. The senators were very angry.
He brought a map to explain one of the most profound documents in American history. "American Barren Land" features the western half of the United States, and the territorial car is in a colorful puzzle. Shapes of various sizes, about half the size of the United States, are orange, green, blue, red, yellow and pink. This is a visual surprise.
At first glance, one is fascinated by pure aesthetics. But a well-designed map is undoubtedly of great significance from the powerful perspective it gives. These maps contain a lot of facts, conclusions and assumptions, which can often convince the audience to face the new and sometimes revolutionary America based on the results of the ninth census in 1870.
Statistical Atlas, produced by many outstanding scientists and several departments (Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division), was made by Powell. Under the guidance of the cartographer of the US Geological Survey, he divided the western half of the United States into several basins, which are natural land basins through which water flows. Each plot represents a watershed-a hydrological basin, and all the rainfall flows into the export of Meng He.
Powell knew that the ridgeline decided that water would flow into larger rivers and eventually into the sea. Two drops of rain fall to the ground only a few inches along the continental divide (along the top of the Rocky Mountains), and their flow directions may be very different. One drop may eventually reach the Pacific Ocean, and the other drop may flow into the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean.
This marks the first time that maps are used to visualize the complex intersection of geographical factors and combine land and water to form a subtle understanding of the earth's surface. This is the first ecological map of the country, based on the efforts made at the beginning of the century, but far beyond the efforts made at the beginning of the century.
Previous maps mostly defined countries according to political boundaries or topographical features. Powell's map forces the viewer to imagine that the west is defined by water and its natural movement. At that time, Powell's map was as amazing as the photos of the earth taken by NASA from space in the 1960s. The orderly drawing of Jefferson grid and political lines implied by Powell through this map does not apply to the west; Other more complex natural phenomena are also at work and must be taken seriously.
William Stewart and Powell from Nevada will wage a great struggle for the soul of the United States, the future of the American West and the form of American democracy. (Library of Congress) Powell will use this map to develop an argument that the United States should carefully develop natural resources, develop land and introduce the concept of sustainable development and management of the earth. In the meeting room of the Senate, the powerful William Stewart from Nevada listened to Powell's opinion. The more he listens, the more annoying everything Powell stands for.
In that gilded age, the obvious fate meant the existence of wealth and was regarded as a sacred commitment to the United States. Powell will put forward a brand-new viewpoint, claiming that Americans need to listen not only to their hearts, wallets and deep wishes, but also to what the land itself and the climate will tell them. Stuart and Powell will wage a great struggle for the soul of the United States, the future of the American West and the form of national democracy.
American stories are always closely linked with Exodus. A nation left an oppressive old world and entered the wilderness, and finally established a land of revelation and promise from God. What does a promise look like? Powell single-handedly tried to change the American narrative.
This single-handed scientist and explorer left a challenge, which is still necessary and important in the era we live in. Not only because drought and water shortage are now plaguing the west, but also because of the larger climate change world. While reminding, it also provides a clear way forward.
John F.Ross's "The promise of the grand canyon", published by Viking Press, with the seal of Penguin Publishing Group, is a department copyright of Penguin Random House Limited? 20 18 was published by john ross. "