Clarence R. King was the foremost contributor in raising geological science to its present high position. His personal efforts created the 1866 40th Parallel Survey—the first government exploration devoted to geological investigation. It was the first to use topographical maps as a basis for its geology and to contain systematic examinations of mining districts. The Survey produced a seven volume report that is unparalleled in the history of geological explorations. King, himself, introduced the outstanding method of indicating topography by means of contour lines. He was a man of remarkable intellectual versatility and was widely known for his literary as well as scientific ability. His scientific writings are of the very highest order. He discovered, in 1870, the first actual glaciers known to exist in the United States. His discovery of fossils in the slates of the gold belt of California solved the problem of their age, which had long puzzled geologists.​

In March of 1879, Congress created the Bureau of the Geological Survey and Clarence King was named its first Director. He set the very highest standards for the Survey’s work and molded it into the finest geological organization in the world.​

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