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Home , Aquia Creek sandstone, Capitol Hill, Cockeysville Marble, John Paul Jones Memorial, Peace Monument, Second Division Memorial

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BUILDING STONES of our NATION'S CAPITAL

The U.S. Geological Survey has prepared this publication not only as an earth science educational tool, but also as an aid in understanding the history and physical development of ,D.C., the Nation's Capital. The buildings of our Nation's Capi­ Washington, D.C.; it includes a map tal serve as an unusual geologic dis­ and a walking guide to assist the visi­ play, for the city has been constructed tor in examining them. with rocks from quarries throughout A building stone is judged by three the and many distant characteristics. It should be pleasing lands. Each building is a unique to the eye; it should be easy to quarry museum that not only displays the im­ and work; and it should be durable. portant features of various stones and Today it is possible to obtain fine the geologic environment in which building stone from many parts of the they were formed, but also serves as world, but the early builders of the an historic witness to the city's growth city had to rely on materials from and to the development of its archi­ nearby sources because of the diffi­ tecture. culty and cost of transporting them. This booklet describes the source Their decisions, guided by the types and appearance of the stones used in of stone available, influenced the

Ancitnt granitic rocki

M»tomorphoi«d i«dim*ntai and volcanic racks, chiefly fchilt and m«taaraywock»

Physiographic Provinces and Geologic and Geographic Features of the District of Columbia region. styles of architecture that are seen in sediments began 100 million years the buildings of the Capital City. ago and continues to the Metropolitan Washington incorpo­ time. The oldest rocks of the Coast­ rates parts of four physiographic prov­ al Plain are of Cretaceous age inces areas in which the rocks and and are poorly consolidated grav­ topography are similar, but differ con­ els, sand, silts, and clays derived siderably from those of the neighbor­ from the weathering of ing provinces. From east to west, rocks to the north and west and these provinces are the Coastal Plain, deposited by south-flowing rivers. the Piedmont, the Triassic Lowland, Younger rocks consist of glauconitic and the Blue Ridge. and micaceous sands and clays of the The Atlantic Coastal Plain province late Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene, borders the Atlantic Ocean and is un­ and Miocene ages which were de­ derlain by gravels, sands, silts, clays, posited in estuaries and on the Conti­ and marls of late Mesozoic and early nental Shelf in water that was gen­ Cenozoic age. Deposition of these erally less than 200 feet deep.

Samples of stones used in the Nation's Capi­ tal. could be obtained from nearby quarries and was used frequently beginning in the 1850's. and granite were little used before this century.

Granite. The Ptedmont Plateau lies west of posures of these crystalline rocks are the Coastal Plain. The Piedmont rocks in valleys where the rocks have been in and near Washington, D.C., are re­ stripped of soil cover by erosion. Most sistant crystalline schists and gneisses of the crystalline rocks on the up­ intruded by igneous rocks and veins lands are weathered to saprolite, a of quartz and pegmatite. The best ex­ decomposed, porous, spongy, red-

TIME IN GEOLOGIC AGE MILLIONS OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS YEARS 0 ^Carving of the Potomac Valley

o2 ^5 TERTIARY

Deposition of sediments on Atlantic Coastal Plain CRETACEOUS 100

JURASSIC

Deposition of sedimentary 200 TRIASSIC - rocks in Leesburg Basin and Frederick Valley

PERMIAN Final uplift of Appalachian Mountains PENNSYLVANIAN 300

MISSISSIPPIAN

4 Intrusion of lamprophyre dikes DEVONIAN 400 SILURIAN

>- Intrusion of granite ORDOVICIAN ^ Metamorphism and folding of older sedimentary rocks 500

CAMBRIAN

600 Deposition of sedimentary rocks, chiefly shale and sand­ stone

PRECAMBRIAN

1 100 Formation of Gneiss

GEOLOGIC TIME CHART brown clay-rich material, as much as as much as 1 foot in diameter that are 200 feet thick. The final product of cemented by calcite. weathering, seen near the surface The Blue Ridge province, lying west throughout much of the Piedmont, is of the Triassic Lowlands, is a region a sticky, micaceous, sandy and silty of north- and northeastward-trending clay, generally having a reddish color. valleys and ridges underlain by folded metamorphic and igneous rocks.Near The rocks of the Triassic Lowland Washington, D.C., the rocks consist province, deposited about 200 million predominantly of granite, greenstone years ago, are red shales and red and (metamorphosed from basaltic lava gray sandstones and conglomerates, flows), and quartzite. Sharp north- which weather to a reddish soil. Near trending ridges, formed by steeply Washington these sedimentary rocks dipping resistant quartzite, rise more are as much as 5,000 feet thick and than 1,000 feet above sea level. have been intruded by trap rock (re­ sistant fine-grained diabase dikes and The earliest building stones used sills and basaltic flows). At the west­ by the settlers were the schists and ern edge of the basin sediments are gneisses of the Piedmont which were a series of alluvial fans which are quarried from outcrops along the now lithified. These are made up of . These rocks, known rounded to angular masses of lime­ locally as "Potomac bluestone," are stone, quartz, and quartzite that range still quarried west of the city in Mont­ in size from sand grains to boulders gomery County, . In colonial days the first solid ground on the marshy north shore of the Potomac, now just north of the Lin­ coln Memorial, was an outcrop of Piedmont rocks which jutted into the river. This promontory served as the starting point for surveys establishing property lines for the early settlers. On several old maps, it is labeled "Key of all Keys," and for many years it bore a surveyor's benchmark. Its more popular name was Braddock's Rock reportedly because General Braddock and his red-coated soldiers, accompanied by Lt. Col. , landed there in 1755 on their way to Fort Duquesne. In time Braddock's Rock became a quarry. It is said to have furnished stone for the foundations of both the and the Capitol. Later, stone from Braddock's Rock was used in the construction of the Chesapeake and . About 1832, when the canal was extended below George­ town to connect with the , most of what remained of the original outcrop of Braddock's Rock was blasted away. The riverside swamps have long since been filled and the land has been raised above the level of the original surface. All that remains of Braddock's Rock can Braddock's Rock. be seen enclosed in a circular granite- Much of the stone for the foundations lined well south of the grounds of the and the backing for the marble of the and adjacent to came from this the' approach ramps to the Theodore quarry. An engraved stone from the Roosevelt Bridge. An iron grill covers Little Falls Quarry appears among the the top of the well, and a ladder 16 various commemorative stones from feet long leads down to the rock all over the world that line the interior which is usually covered by several walls of the monument. inches of water. One of the oldest houses remaining Many other quarries supplied both in the Washington area, the Old Stone schist and gneiss from the Piedmont House at 3051 M Street NW., in province to the city. One of the most Georgetown, is made of this rock. The important was the Little Falls Quarry house was built in 1765 by Christo­ on the Maryland shore of the Potomac pher Lehman, a cabinetmaker. A good just beyond the District of Columbia. example of pre-Revolutionary archi-

Old Stone House. tecture, this historic house is now between the piers. The bridge was open to visitors. opened on the 4th of July 1843, just The foundations of an even older 10 years after the work begun. building, constructed of this same During the Civil War, this strategi­ crystalline rock about 1760, have cally located bridge was controlled by been preserved intact in a brick ware­ the Union Army. The aqueduct was house at 1000 . The drained and the bed was used as an present structure, known as the Dodge ordinary bridge. After the war the Warehouse after its early owners, and superstructure was rebuilt several the adjoining small building are times, first with wood and then with among the few late 18th century com­ iron. The bridge was used for a time mercial buildings of Georgetown that as a railway bridge by the Washington are still standing. and Old Dominion Railroad. The The most impressive stone struc­ bridge was abandoned in 1923, and in tures that were built in Georgetown 1962 the piers were blasted out to a were in the canal works. These were depth of 12 feet below the waterline. predominantly of Piedmont crystalline Only the massive north abutment and rock. They included the walls and a part of the pier nearest the Mary­ locks of the Chesapeake and Ohio land shore remain and can still be Canal, the bridges over it, and the seen upstream from Key Bridge. abutments and piers of the Aqueduct Bridge which carried canal boats In Georgetown the walls and locks across the Potomac River to the Alex­ of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and one of the original bridges cross­ andria Canal on the other side. The Aqueduct Bridge was begun ing it, are preserved. The bridge, built from the Virginia side of the Potomac in 1831, carries Wisconsin Avenue in 1833, the same year work started (formerly High Street) across the on the Alexandria Canal. After much canal. It is of local crystalline rock faced with blocks of delay and mishap, rock bottom for the first pier was reached in Decem­ sandstone, another of the important ber 1834, and 8 months later this pier building stones in early Washington. was completed. In 1840, the last of the bridge's eight huge piers was fin­ ished with stone from the Little Falls Quarry a few miles upstream from the bridge. The massive double-arched abutment on the Maryland shore was constructed of the same stone by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Com­ pany. In a belated move toward economy, the superstructure of the bridge was built of wood instead of iron, with wooden trusses supporting the load Canal building stones. Aquia Creek sandstone was also a ginia freestone, a term applied to popular construction material for pub­ sandstone that splits with equal ease lic buildings between 1790 and 1840. in any desired direction and dresses It was used for the White House, the easily because of the incomplete older parts of the Capitol, the Treas­ cementation of the sand grains. Aquia ury Building, and the Old Patent Creek sandstone, although easier to Office, now the National Portrait Gal­ work and more esthetic than the Pied­ lery. This rock, of Lower Cretaceous mont rocks, was ill-suited for use as age, is an unusual stone composed building stone because it was full of principally of quartz sand, pebbles, troublesome flaws. Its popularity re­ and clay pellets, cemented by silica. sulted simply from the lack of other The sandstone received its name from readily available building material in Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Vir­ the Washington area. Furthermore, the ginia, near where it was quarried. The quarries were situated near water stone is unique because only here are transportation, the best available at the Coastal Plain sediments in the that time, about 40 miles from Wash­ vicinity of Washington cemented suffi­ ington on the Virginia shore of the ciently to be useful as a building Potomac. Thus, the poor quality of the stone. This stone is also called Vir­ stone was overlooked.

Old quarry site near Washington, D.C. In February 1807 Benjamin Latrobe, hard, its fracture is rough and ir­ second , gave regular, when very hard, concave a detailed account of the Aquia Creek and even, when breathed upon, it sandstone in an address to the Ameri­ has a strong earthy, and some­ can Philosophical Society. He listed what hepatic smell. the components of the stone as sand: Latrobe pointed out that the size of . . . generally sharp; clay, in nod­ the sandstone blocks sent to Wash­ ules, . . . rounded pebbles of ington was limited to 4 tons because quartz, sandstone, and granite; of transportation difficulties. The best . . . pyrite or lumps of marsh mud quarry was 2 miles southwest of Aquia mixed with sulphat (sic) or sul- Creek, where the rock contained no phuret of iron, effloresing in the joint ". . . horizontal or perpendicular, air; nodules of iron ore in sand and columns of any size, not exceed­ . . . [which] . . , dissolve in air ing 15 feet in diameter, might be got and water, and stain the stone out of it, if they could afterward be disagreeably . . .; wood . . . from removed . . ." The stone was used trunks and branches of trees of successfully in the construction of the large size, to small twigs . . . at Capitol and other early public build­ places entirely carbonized, or the ings, but it was soon found that the wood carbonized and the bark stone was poorly cemented, and much fiberous so that it appears as a of it had to be painted or replaced net, or the bark fiberous and the soon after it was installed. wood friable, or the wood re­ Aquia Creek sandstone was also placed by pyrite, which effloresce used in the boundary stones of the in air . . . the color of the stone District of Columbia. The cornerstone varies from white to a dark rusty marking the southern limit of the Fed­ tint. , , the degree of hardness is eral City was set in place by Major very various. When moderately Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the planner

Montgomery County, Maryland, quarry near Little Falls on the Potomac River. of'the city of Washington, at Jones with its pedimented Doric portico Point, Alexandria, Virginia, in April copied from the Parthenon and built 1791. This stone and all but a few of between 1836 and 1840, was designed the 40 original boundary stones of the by W. P. Elliott and was executed by 10-mile-square District may be seen Robert Mills, who served for a time as at or near their original locations. The Architect of Public Buildings. The rest sides are engraved to show the juris­ of the building,.which was built during diction of the United States and of the the 1850's and 1860's, is of marble States of Virginia and Maryland, the from Cockeysville, Maryland, in the year, and the magnetic declination of Piedmont province. On each facade the compass. Some of these stones there is a marble portico to match the are badly weathered, even though older sandstone portico on the south. they are only 4 feet long by 1 foot The warm brownish tones of the sand­ square and therefore small enough to stone contrast with the cold grays and have been cut from the hardest and whites of the marble. On the whole, soundest part of this "exceedingly the flaws in this sandstone are minor. various" Aquia Creek sandstone. They have been repaired, and the The best places to see the stone as facade and the great portico look it was used indoors are in the older reassuringly sound. parts of the Capitol and the Old Pat­ The part of the Treasury Building ent Office, between 7th and 9th built by Mills the middle of the east Streets and F and G Streets NW. The facade along 15th Street NW., with its sandstone gallery of the Old Patent long Ionic colonnade, and the central Office, with its plain squat columns, is corridor was completed in 1842. particularly impressive. In the Capitol The other wings, which are of Building, Aquia Creek sandstone may be seen in the walls and columns of the rooms adjoining the rotunda. Latrobe's graceful Little Rotunda to­ bacco column colonnade in the Sen­ ate wing on fhis floor is especially attractive. Downstairs, the simple Doric sandstone columns of the crypt have a brownish cast, while the famous cornstalk columns in a nearby are decidedly gray. Latrobe was especially proud of his original design for these six small cornstalk columns, but even for these he was unable to obtain unflawed stone from the Aquia Creek quarry. An outstanding example of Aquia Creek sandstone still in use outdoors is the original section of the Old Pat­ ent Office. This part of the building, District Boundary Stone, Westmoreland Circle.

10 granite, were built between 1855 and 1869. The columns of the later wings are granite monoliths, quarried on Dix Island, Maine, and brought to Wash­ ington in sailing vessels. Each of these 30-ton columns was set in place by block and tackle and a team of 16 oxen. The columns were designed by Thomas U. Walter, who was also the Architect of the Capitol, and under whose stewardship the great iron dome and wings of the Capitol were built. For years the east facade of the Treasury with its sandstone columns stood in incongruous contrast to the gray granite of the newer wings. Finally, in 1907, the sandstone facing and the columns of the east front were replaced by granite from Mil- Capitol Gatehouse. ford, , which closely posited in a series of alluvial fans in resembles the Maine granite. The the western edge of the Triassic Low­ weathered sandstone drums of the land province along the eastern slope original columns were placed in the of the in Mary­ landfill for the new ground of the Lin­ land and Virginia. It is predominantly coln Memorial. limestone and quartz pebbles and Poor-quality Aquia Creek sandstone multicolored fragments from sand was used in the Capitol gatehouses grains to cobbles, as much as 12 and gateposts built by Charles Bul- inches across, cemented together in finch about 1829. These structures a calcareous matrix. Samples of show how "treacherous" this stone Calico Rock from various localities can be when exposed to the elements. show marked differences in color. They were moved from the Capitol John Latrobe, Benjamin Latrobe's grounds in 1874. Some are on Consti­ son, gave an account of cutting and tution Avenue near the Washington polishing a piece of this stone with Monument; one gatehouse and three gateposts are located at 15th Street and NW., and an­ other gatehouse farther west at 17th Street NW. Two more of the gateposts are in Fort Totten Park in northeast Washington. "Calico Rock," the common name for Potomac marble, is the most strik­ ing building stone quarried near

Washington, D.C. This stone was de- Sandstone.

11 his father and being delighted with its work. The hard pebbles tended to markings and variegations of pure break away from the softer embed­ white, blue-gray, and black. Another ding matrix, so the stone had to be writer describes this stone as "red, carefully fashioned with saws and white, brown, gray, and green, with abrasives. An apparently perfect every intermediate shade." The Calico block often contained flaws and Rock in the Capitol is predominantly would fall to pieces when worked. gray, but the gray matrix shades to Latrobe became so discouraged by a rich reddish brown. The inclusions the difficulties and delays that he sug­ are gray, beige, yellow, black, white, gested substituting Aquia Creek sand­ brown, orange, and reddish brown in stone as a poor second choice. The an indescribable variety of combina­ city commissioners refused to accept tions. White calcite veins accentuate a substitute, however, and the work the effects of the different colors. continued. The columns of the Old Potomac marble was first reported Hall of Representatives were not fin­ in 1815 by Benjamin Latrobe who was ished until 1818, a year after Latrobe then at work restoring the burned had been replaced as Architect of the Capitol. The following year a sup­ Capitol by Charles Bulfinch. These posedly inexhaustible supply was dis­ columns are worth studying both for covered on either side of the Potomac the stone itself, with its varied and River north of Leesburg, Virginia. richly colored inclusions, and for the Latrobe described this stone as a very long story of frustration the columns hard but beautiful marble answering reveal. Instead of the monoliths en­ every expectation "not only of its visioned by Latrobe, the columns are beauty but of its capacity to furnish made up of drums of irregular lengths. columns of any length, and to be ap­ No two columns are divided in the plicable to every purpose to which same way; each seems to have been colored marble can be applied." treated as an individual problem. Arrangements were made for Black patches of wax cover voids quarrying Potomac marble for the in­ where pebbles broke, serving as a terior of the Capitol. The 20-foot col­ further reminder of the painstaking umns for the Old Hall of Representa­ labor expended on these colorful col­ tives (now Statuary Hall) were to be umns. "procured each in a single block During the "brownstone era," from should transportation be found con­ about 1840 to about 1880, red Seneca venient." Until the Chesapeake and sandstone was extremely popular in Ohio Canal was finished, the huge Washington. This stone of Triassic blocks were brought overland from age crops out along the Potomac quarries near Point of Rocks, Mary­ River in the Triassic Lowland province land, 46 miles west of Washington. from Seneca to just east of Point of This was a tremendous task, but Rocks, Maryland. Red Seneca sand­ transportation was not the only prob­ stone ranges from reddish brown lem. The beautiful conglomerate through cinnamon to a deep purplish proved to be extremely difficult to brown. It is brightly colored and fairly

12 easy to "carve when cut but darkens ding plane. If laid on edge the stone and hardens on exposure to air. tends to flake or chip away along the Seneca sandstone is generally fine bedding. grained and uniform; it is not shaly Several quarries supplied this red and does not scale when exposed to sandstone to the city. The best known weather. However, for best results this is situated about 20 miles up the Po- stone must be laid parallel to the bed­ tomac on the Maryland shore just

Statuary Hall , U.S. Capitol.

13 west of Seneca Creek. The remains of other structures of the Chesapeake the quarry and of the adjacent Sen­ and Ohio Canal which were built be­ eca Basin, where canal barges were tween 1828 and 1850. The three- loaded with stone for shipment up or arched aqueduct that carries the C&O down the canal, may still be seen. The Canal over Seneca Creek is built of ruins of a quarry building, which this stone cut near the site, as are housed saws and machinery for fin­ the capstones on the Union Bridge ishing the stone, stand nearby. This that carries the aqueduct and Mac- building belonged to the Seneca Arthur Boulevard over Cabin John Sandstone Company, which began Creek. operations in 1850 and supplied stone Seneca sandstone was also used for many buildings in Washington. for some of the backing for the mar­ About 1875, the popularity of brown- ble of the Washington Monument. The stone began to diminish, and business first important government building to declined. In 1889 floods washed out be constructed of the sandstone was the canal, and the quarries remained James Renwick's turreted main build­ idle for 2 years. Soon after the canal ing of the with reopened and operations were re­ its carved detail. The sandstone quar­ sumed, the better-quality stone was ried for the Smithsonian building was depleted. The stone that remained described originally as lilac gray; now had a tendency to "shale off so," and it is a dark red. This building, in the the company and its quarries closed. romantic style, was constructed be­ The masonry locks of George Wash­ tween 1847 and 1857. Seneca sand­ ington's "Potowmack" Canal at Great stone is also prominent in the Capi­ Falls, Virginia, are largely constructed tol floors and Rotunda door frames. of this Seneca red sandstone as are Old quarry building site at Seneca Creek, many of the locks, lockhouses, and Montgomery County, Maryland.

14 Marble subsequently replaced sand­ discovered that the foundations were stone as the most popular building inadequate and the monument was stone in Washington. The first marble sinking and tilting. To stabilize and came from quarries in the Piedmont straighten the monument, wider sub- province at Cockeysville and , foundations were constructed to a Maryland, just north of Baltimore. The depth of nearly 37 feet. Cockeysville marble is fine grained In 1879 work recommenced on the and rich in magnesium. It is a clear upward projection of the monument, white stone with a few pale streaks or and four courses of white marble from bands which give an effect of pale Lee, Massachusetts, were laid above gray. The Texas marble is white and the Texas, Maryland marble. However, coarser grained and is nearly pure Lee marble proved too costly, so the calcium carbonate. Some specimens upper part of the monument was fin­ of both contain veins and ished with Cockeysville, Maryland pockets of mica and pyrite. On ex­ marble. The three marbles used in the posure, the pyrite tends to oxidize monument can be distinguished by which causes discoloration of the color differences. stone. Both Texas and Cockeysville mar­ ble were used in the construction of the Washington Monument. But con­ struction problems, not the scarcity of building materials, offered the prin­ cipal difficulty in erecting this national landmark. According to the city plan drawn up by Pierre L'Enfant, the site for the Washington Monument was at the intersection of an east-west line through the center of the Capitol and a north-south line through the center of the White House. This site was quickly abandoned when it was found to be impossible to establish an ade­ quate foundation for the monument at that point. Instead the monument was built east of the original location; a small granite marker stands on the original L'Enfant site. The first 152 feet of the monument, built between 1845 and 1854, is faced with Texas marble. When funds were depleted, work stopped. When construction was Arrows indicate use of three different kinds about to resume in 1876, the builders of marble.

15 in the mid-1850's. The columns of these wings are made from Maryland marble. At the same time, granite quarried at Dix Island, Maine, was shipped by sea to Washington, D.C., The U.S. Capitol. and was used for facings and columns Cockeysville marble was also used in the Treasury Building. Granites for the monolithic columns of the from New England, , and Capitol extensions erected between North Carolina and marbles from Ver­ 1851 and 1865. The white Maryland mont, , and Georgia were marbles were the first building stones used for government buildings almost to be shipped in quantity into Wash­ exclusively after the Civil War until ington by rail. After 1840, as the ex­ the First World War. panding railway system increased the At the turn of the century, lime­ accessibility of stone from other parts stone of Mississippian age (about 345 of the country, the use of local build­ million years old) from near Bedford, ing stone declined although Seneca , was introduced. The first gov­ sandstone continued to be shipped ernment building to be faced with this down the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal stone was at 18th and F Streets NW. until the 1890's. It now houses the General Services The Federal Government contracted Administration and until 1974 was for marble from a quarry in Hawkins also the headquarters of the U.S. Geo­ County, Tennessee, in 1848. Marble logical Survey. Indiana limestone con­ from "Old Dougherty" or "National" tinues to be the most popular of the quarry, one of the first areas in the building stones of official Washington. country where marble was quarried granite, rarely seen in commercially, was used in many Washington's government buildings buildings in Washington, most notably before World War II, is now being in three interior stairways in the wings used with increasing frequency. This of the Capitol built around 1855. Mar­ material serves as steps and trim ble from Lee, Massachusetts, was also around the Museum of History and used in the two wings of the Capitol Technology, is used in fountains in

16 on Constitution Avenue, three different types of marble from and as facing for the ground floor in the Carrara district for use as facing the Civil Service Building. Some of for the Kennedy Center for the Per­ these granites are believed to be the forming Arts. Travertine marble from oldest rocks in North America; their Italy is used as facings and trim for age, as determined by the U.S. Geo­ office buildings, such as those on the logical Survey, is about 3.5 billion south side of , years. between 17th and 18th Streets NW. Among other building stones used Currently a popular type of facing for in Washington is white marble from many office buildings consists of frag­ Carrara, Italy, which has been used in ments of quartz and other rock im­ statuary such as the bedded in concrete. While these pre­ at Pennsylvania Avenue on the west cast units cannot be properly classed side of the Capitol. The Italian gov­ as building stones, they do indicate a ernment made a gift of 3,000 tons of trend in building materials.

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

17 GEOLOGICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF A SELECTION OF WASHINGTON'S PRINCIPAL BUILDING STONES

SANDSTONE Virginia Aquia Creek, Stafford County. Brown to light-gray. Rounded, coarse to fine grains of quartz. Cemented with silica and containing scat­ tered pellets of clay as much as 1 inch in diameter. Cretaceous age. Exam­ ple: Crypt and Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building. Maryland Seneca Creek, Montgomery County. Red, reddish-brown, and gray. Coarse- to fine-grained angular quartz; some fragments of feldspar and mica. Fine-grained. Most durable building stone. Triassic age. Example: Original Smithsonian Institution Building.

LIMESTONE Indiana Bedford, Lawrence County. Light tan buff to nearly white. Rounded grains of calcite. Shell fragments also present. Firm and compact. Mississip- pian age. Example: Washington National Cathedral, Department of the Interior Building, and all buildings in along north side of Constitution Avenue from Department of Labor at 14th Street NW. to Federal Trade Commission Building. Alabama Colbert County. Similar to Indiana limestone. Has large isolated shells and other fossils. Mississippian age. Example: Interior gallery walls of the .

GRANITE Massachusetts Milford, Worcester County. Light pinkish to greenish gray. Medium to coarse textured. Flakes of biotite mica produce a black spotted look. Some banding, attributed to flow structure, makes the granite locally gneissic. Precambrian age. Example: First Division Memorial, 17th and State Place NW. Stony Creek, New Haven County. Large pink feldspar crystals in a gray mass of smaller crystals. Coarse-grained. Precambrian age. Exam­ ple: Exterior of Freer Gallery. Barre, Washington County. Gray to white. Medium to fine grained. Contains about 65 percent feldspar, 27 percent quartz, and 8 percent biotite mica. Ordovician age. Example: Steps to the west front of the Capitol. Minnesota St. Cloud District, Stearns and Sherburne Counties. Red (oxi­ dized) potassium feldspar crystals average about one-quarter inch in diam­ eter, about 75 percent of the rock. Quartz hornblende and biotite comprise 18 the remainder of the rock. Medium to coarse grained. Precambrian age. Example: Exterior and first floor of Civil Service Building. Minnesota Redwood and Renville Counties. Three types of stone occur here: greenish-gray medium-grained biotite gneiss; pale-pink biotite granite or quartz diorite; and a granite gneiss with distinct banding, black knots of biotite and large isolated feldspar crystals. Precambrian age. Example: Fountains on the Ellipse at Constitution Avenue. North Carolina Mount Airy, Surry County. Very light gray, almost white. Medium texture. Biotite granite. Biotite is unequally distributed; some rock contains almost no biotite. Precambrian or Paleozoic age. Example: Arling­ ton Memorial Bridge.

MARBLE Maryland Texas, Baltimore County. White. Coarse-textured calcite marble. Precambrian age. Example: Basal 152 feet of the Washington Monument. Maryland Cockeysville, Baltimore County. White to light gray. Dolomitic marble. Contains phlogopite. Medium texture. Precambrian age. Example: Upper 390 feet of the Washington Monument. Massachusetts Lee, Berkshire County. White to light gray. Medium fine tex­ ture. Ordovician age. Example: Exterior of Senate and House wings of the Capitol. Tennessee Knox and Blount Counties. Pink, light pink and gray. Fine tex- tured. Stylolites, known locally as crowfeet, in beds. Wavy, thin, dark lines formed as result of solution under pressure. Ordovician age. Example: National Gallery of Art. Tennessee Hawkins County. Dark chocolate to red with white streaks and masses. Coarse. Has some fossils. Ordovician age. Example: Stairways in the Senate and House wings of the Capitol, Tennessee Memorial Stone. Vermont Rutland County. Snowy white. Fine grained. Other types: light blue gray and black with highly contorted stylolites. Some white varieties saccharoidal (sugarlike). Ordovician age. Example: Daughters of the Ameri­ can Revolution Memorial. Georgia Pickens County. White. Blotched with black and gray. Coarser grained than Vermont white marble. Called "White Cherokee marble." Pre­ cambrian age. Example: East-central front of the Capitol. . Colorado West Elk Mountains, Gunnison County. White with gray markings. Fine grained. Contains scattered grains of pyrite. Excellent building stone. Mississippian age. Example: Exterior of the . Missouri Carthage district, Jasper County. White to light gray with bluish gray tint. Coarse grained. Some stylolites are present. Because these weather more rapidly than the rock, stylolites are generally not used in the finished product. Mississippian age. Example: Interior of Commerce Depart­ ment Building.

19 BUILDING STONES OF WASHINGTON FIELD TRIP

This field trip is a walking tour of the various kinds of building stones used in the Nation's Capital. The tour covers an area roughly bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue on the north, the on the south, the U.S. Capitol on the east, and the Lincoln Memorial on the west. The num­ bers are keyed to the locations on the accompanying map.

1 Name: Zero . placed 1 mile east of the Capitol, Location: Ellipse, north edge. "from which all distances of places Building Stone: Milford, Massa­ through the continent were to be cal­ chusetts granite. culated." Today's marker provides a Remarks: Designed by Horace W. point from which distances may be Peaslee, the is a sub­ measured on highways of the United stitute marker for a column planned States which radiate from Washing­ by L'Enfant. The column was to be ton.

2 Name: Butt-Millet Fountain. symbolizing Art and Chivalry, it memo­ Location: Ellipse, northwest edge. rializes Major Archibald W. Butt, mili­ Building Stone: Tennessee mar­ tary aide to Presidents Roosevelt and ble. Taft, and Francis D. Millet, painter Remarks: The fountain was de­ and a member of the National Com­ signed by and mission of Fine Arts, who lost their Thomas Hastings. With a bas-relief lives on the Titanic, April 15, 1912.

First Division Memorial. 3 Name: First Division Memorial. Location: 17th and State Place. Building Stone: Milford, Massa­ chusetts pink granite. Remarks: Reaching a height of 60 feet, including a 35-foot monolithic shaft weighing 56 tons and a 15-foot statue of Victory, the memorial stands in dedication to the men of the First Division. Designed by Cass Gilbert and executed by Daniel Chester French, the memorial was dedicated October 4, 1924.

20 Zero Milestone.

Butt-Millet Fountain.

21 BUILDING STONES OF WASHINGTON FIELD TRIP DID on M ST ______

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1 Zero Milestone. 10 Two Fountains. 20 Rayburn Building. 30 Arlington Memorial Bridge. 2 Butt- Millet Fountain. 11 Gate Post. 21 Botanic Gardens. 31 Federal Reserve Building. 3 First Division Memorial. 12 Commerce Department Building. 22 The original Smithsonian Institution. 32 South Interior Building. 4 Corcoran Gallery. 13 Museum of History and Technology. 23 Freer Gallery of Art. 33 Department of the Interior Building. 5 Red Cross Building. 14 Museum of Natural History. 24 Department of Agriculture. 34 Civil Service Commission. 6 Daughters of the American Revolution 15 National Archives Building. 25 Washington Monument. 35 General Services Administration. Building. 16 Apex Building/Federal Trade Commission. 26 Jefferson Memorial. 36 Renwick Gallery. 7 Pan American Union Building. 17 National Gallery of Art. 27 Memorial. 37 Executive Office Building. 8 Lock House. 18 Peace Monument. 28 District of Columbia World War Memorial. 38 The White House. 9 . 19 The U.S. Capitol. 29 Lincoln Memorial. 39 Treasury Building.

22 23 4 Name: Corcoran Gallery. Location: 17th Street and New Remarks: The Corcoran Gallery York Avenue NW. was designed by Ernest Flagg, was Building Stones: Exterior, Geor­ completed in 1879, and was enlarged gia marble; foundation, Milford, according to Charles A. Platt's design Massachusetts pink granite. in 1927.

5 Name: Red Cross Building. Location: 17th and E Streets NW. Remarks: The main building fac­ Building Stones: Vermont and ing 17th Street was occupied by the Missouri marbles. Red Cross in 1917.

6 Name: Daughters of the Ameri­ can Revolution Building. buildings, Memorial Continental Hall, Location: 1776 D Street NW. situated on the west side of 17th Building Stones: Vermont marble Street, and Constitution Hall, in the and Alabama limestone. northwest corner of the square. The Remarks: Along with the Admin­ buildings were designed by Edward istration Building stand two other Pearce Casey.

Pan American Union Building. 7 Name: Pan American Union Build­ ing (Organization of American States). Location: 17th Street and Consti­ tution Avenue NW. Building Stones: Exterior, Geor­ gia marble; steps and foundation, Tennessee marble (two types); steps at rear of patio, green Ital­ ian marble; balustrades in Aztec Garden, Georgia marble. Remarks: Designed by Albert Kel- Liuorrouca II aanaoecasriL* sey and Paul Cret, the building blends DCMBGOn OEUSBU1 the architectural styles of North and i-nsmtme Daman oceano South America. The building was be­ gun May 11, 1908, and dedicated April 26, 1910.

24 n jili f mil

Daughters of the American Revolution Building.

25 Name: Lock House. was once the western end of the Location: 17th Street and Consti­ Washington City Canal, where Tiber tution Avenue NW. Creek emptied into the Potomac River. Building Stone: Crystalline rocks, The structure was built in 1833 when Piedmont of Maryland. the extension of the C&O Canal was Remarks: The site of Lock House completed and joined the two .

Name: Second Division Memorial. Remarks: An example of some of Location: Ellipse, southwest edge. the oldest rock so far dated by the Building Stone: Granite-gneiss, U.S. Geological Survey 3.5 billion Minnesota. years.

10 Name: Two Fountains. Remarks: These fountains, each Location: The Ellipse at Constitu­ made of a single stone, show the tion Avenue NW. structure of the original rock to ad­ Building Stone: Granite-gneiss, vantage. Built in 1967. Note the large Minnesota. light-red feldspar crystals.

11 Name: Gate Posts. Location: Southwest and north­ west corners of 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., and southwest corner of 14th Street and Constitution Avenue. Building Stones: Aquia Creek sandstone, Virginia. Remarks: These posts, originally at the Capitol, were constructed about 1829 after a design by Charles Bul- finch. On the post on the northwest corner of 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. are two lines chiseled into the stone about 3 feet from the bottom which indicate the heights of flooding in the 1930's and 1940's. Gate Post.

26 Second Division Memorial

One of the Two Fountains.

27 12 Name': Commerce Department Plaster for walls from gypsum Building. deposits near Medicine Lodge, Location: 14th Street between E Kansas. Street and Constitution Avenue Remarks: Submitting preliminary NW. plans March 5, 1928, the architects, Building Stones: Exterior, first York and Sawyer of , de­ and second floors, Stony Creek signed the building with a net floor granite, Connecticut; interior, area of 1,092,800 square feet and 5 Georgia and Missouri marble. miles of corridors.

13 Name: Museum of History and sota pearl pink granite. Note the Technology. light-red irregularly shaped feld­ Location: Constitution Avenue be- spar crystals. tween 12 and 14th Streets NW. Remarks: Dedicated January 22, Building Stones: Exterior, mainly 1964, and built at a construction cost Tennessee light-pink marble; of $35,414,052, this 7-acre structure curbs and fountain steps, Minne­ contains 50 exhibition halls.

14 Name: Museum of Natural His­ tory. North Carolina white granite. Location: 10th Street and Consti­ Remarks: Construction of the tution Avenue NW. building was completed in 1911. De­ Building Stones: Exterior, ground signed by Hornblower and Marshall, floor, Massachusetts pink granite; the building is four stories high and two main floors, Vermont white originally had 4 acres of space. Wings granite; attic floor, Mount Airy, were added in 1963 and 1965.

15 Name: National Archives Build­ ing. Location: Pennsylvania Avenue and 8th Street NW. Building Stones: Exterior, Mil- ford, Massachusetts granite and Indiana limestone; interior, Mis­ souri golden vein marble; foyer, Tennessee marble. Remarks: Part of the Federal Tri­ angle, this building was designed by J. R. Pope and was completed in 1938. National Archives Building.

28 Commerce Department Building. Museum of History and Technology

Museum of Natural History.

29 16 Name: Apex Building/Federal Trade Commission. rior, Harrisonburg, Virginia mar­ Location: Pennsylvania Avenue ble. and 6th Street NW. Remarks: This building, designed Building Stones: Exterior base, by Bennett, Parsons, and Frost, was Milford, Massachusetts granite; completed in 1937 and serves as the exterior, Indiana limestone; inte­ apex of the Federal Triangle.

17 Name: National Gallery of Art. Location: 6th Street and Constitu­ walls of galleries, Alabama lime­ tion Avenue NW. stone. Building Stones: Exterior, Ten­ Remarks: Completed in 1941, the nessee light-pink marble; floors, gallery was designed by J. R. Pope. Vermont verde antique marble; The exterior was designed with pink columns in Rotunda, Carrara, marble at the base which becomes Italy, brecciated marble; rest- lighter pink toward the nearly white rooms, Missouri marble; fountains dome. Structure is seen to best advan­ at each end, Jasper County, Mis­ tage during a light rain which wets the souri, Ozark travertine marble; marble and brings out the color.

18 Name: Peace Monument. Location: Pennsylvania Avenue at the west front of the Capitol. Building Stone: Carrara, Italy, marble. Remarks: Designed by Admiral David Porter, executed in Italy by and , brought to America and dedicated in 1878, the 44-foot monument stands in memory of members of the Navy who died in the line of duty from 1861 to 1865. The figures at the top of the monument are 8% feet high and rep­ resent America weeping upon the shoulder of History. Facing the Mall is a 6-foot figure of Victory with Mars and Neptune at her feet, representing, respectively, the Marine Corps and the Navy. Facing the Capitol is the Statue of Peace. Peace Monument.

30 Apex Building/Federal Trade Commission

National Gallery of Art.

31 19 Name: Capitol. Location: . Building Stones: Center building, Hall, and Virginia Aquia Creek sandstone; foyer, Potomac marble or Calico Senate and House wings, Lee, Rock from near Point of Rocks, Massachusetts dolomitic marble; Maryland; columns in Crypt and Rotunda floor, Seneca, Maryland those with corn and tobacco sandstone; columns of wings, leaves, Virginia Aquia Creek Cockeysville, Maryland white sandstone; columns, ground floor marble; center steps, Rockville, east front addition, Colorado Minnesota granite; west eleva­ brecciated marble. tion steps, Mount Airy, North Remarks: President Washington Carolina granite; west elevation laid the southeast cornerstone of the balustrade, Vermont marble; inte­ main building September 18, 1793, on rior balustrades and columns of the site chosen by L'Enfant. Dr. Wil­ stairs leading to House and Sen­ liam Thornton drew the original de­ ate galleries and wall of Marble sign, and Stephen H. Hallet, James Room, Tennessee marble; east Hoban, George Hadfield, and Benjamin front exterior, Georgia White Latrobe each had subsequent turns at Cherokee marble (covering origi­ directing the work. The north wing nal Aquia Creek sandstone); 24 was completed in 1800; the south exterior columns, Georgia mar­ wing in 1807. Both wings were burned ble; interior columns, Statuary by the British 7 years later.

20 Name: Rayburn Building. It has a subway to and from the Capi­ Location: Independence and 1st tol, a 1,600-car garage, and full press Street SW. and television accommodations. Building Stones: Exterior walls, Georgia White Cherokee marble and Vermont marble; interior walls and trim, Vermont marble; perimeter base, New Hampshire pink granite; east and west courts and paving borders, pink granite (note large regularly shaped pink feldspar crystals); inner court, base of Salisbury, North Carolina pink granite with Indiana lime­ stone above. Remarks: Working 10 years on the project, William H. Livingston de­ signed the structure and furniture of the building which contains 169 suites for Congressmen. The nine-story building was completed in April 1965. Rayburn Building.

32 The U.S. Capitol.

33 21 Name: Botanic Gardens Location: First Street and Mary­ stone. land Avenue SW. Remarks: The present conserva­ Building Stones: Indiana lime­ tory was built when the Botanic Gar­ stone; patio, Pennsylvania sand­ dens was relocated on the Mall in 1933.

22 Name: Smithsonian Institution Main Building, and Arts and In­ tution was founded in 1829 with a be­ dustries Building. quest of James Smithson, a British Location: 1000 Jefferson Drive mineralogist and chemist, who had SW. never been to this country. What is Building Stones: Main Building, now the administrative headquarters Seneca, Maryland sandstone; is the oldest of the several Smith­ Arts and Industries Building, New sonian buildings on the Mall and was York marble and brick. designed by James Renwick in the Remarks: The Smithsonian Insti­ Gothic Revival style.

23 Name: Freer Gallery of Art. Location: 12th Street and Jeffer­ rior, Tennessee white marble. son Drive SW. Remarks: Designed in 1921 by Building Stones: Exterior, Stony Charles A. Platt to house the art col­ Creek, Connecticut granite; inte­ lection of Charles A. Freer.

24 Name: Department of Agriculture, North Building. Location: Independence Avenue and 12th Street SW. Building Stones: Central part, Georgia white Cherokee marble; wings, Vermont rrvrble; founda­ tion, Massachusetts granite; inte­ rior, Tennessee marble. Remarks: The main administra­ tion building between the east and west wings was designed by Rankin and Kellogg of Philadelphia. The en­ tire building has a floor space of 300,000 square feet. Department of Agriculture.

34 The original Smithsonian Institution.

35 25 Name: Washington Monument. Location: On the Mall, 15th and talline rocks. Constitution Avenue NW. Remarks: Designed by Robert Building Stones: Exterior, up­ Mills and begun in 1848, the monu­ per part, Cockeysville, Maryland ment stands at 555 feet 5Va inches marble; lower part, Texas, Mary­ and is the tallest masonry structure in land marble; four courses in be­ the world. Because of delays and tween, Lee, Masschusetts mar­ complications, which included the ble; interior backing, Seneca, theft of books and records of the Maryland sandstone and Mary­ Monument Society, the construction land crystalline rocks; founda­ spanned 37 years and was not com­ tion, Little Falls, Maryland crys­ pleted until 1885.

26 Name: Jefferson Memorial. Location: On the . Remarks: Designed by John Rus­ Building Stones: Exterior col­ sell Pope, the memorial cost $3 mil­ umns and walls, Vermont white lion and was dedicated April 13, 1943, marble; foundation, Elberton, on the 200th anniversary of Jeffer­ Georgia granite; circular ter­ son's birthday. The memorial forms races, Georgia granite; floors, the south part of the cross with the Tennessee pink and gray marble; Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and the interior dome, Indiana limestone. White House.

27 Name: . Remarks: The work of sculptor Location: Independence Avenue Charles Henry Niehaus, the 10-foot and 17th Street SW. statue, set in a rectangular pylon, was Building Stone: Vermont marble. unveiled April 17, 1912.

28 Name: District of Columbia World War Memorial. Location: On the Mall south of 19th Street NW., . Building Stone: Vermont marble. Remarks: Designed by Fred Brocke, Nathan Wyeth, and Horace Peaslee, the memorial was a gift of the citizens of Washington to honoi the District's war dead. District of Columbia World War Memorial.

36 Washington Monument. John Paul Jones Memorial.

37 29. Name: Lincoln Memorial. Location: Between Independence statue and floors, Tennessee mar­ Avenue SW. and Constitution Ave­ ble; columns and lintels, Indiana nue NW. in West Potomac Park at limestone. 23d Street NW. Remarks: The structure was de­ Building Stones: Reflecting pool, signed by Henry Bacon, and the Statue North Carolina granite; founda­ of Lincoln was by Daniel Chester tion steps, Massachusetts granite; French. Completed in 1922, the memo­ memorial building, Gunnison rial terminates the main axis of the County, Colorado, ; Mall and counterbalances the Capitol statue, Georgia marble; base of above the Washington Monument.

30 Name: Arlington Memorial Bridge. Location: Crosses the Potomac at Remarks: A bridge was proposed the Lincoln Memorial. at this point as early as 1851. The Building Stones: Piers, Georgia present bridge, begun in 1932 and granite; facing of spans, granite completed after 6 years, is now one from Georgia, Vermont, North of Washington's major traffic routes. Carolina, New Hampshire, and It closely resembles one suggested by Maine. an earlier commission in 1901.

31 Name: Federal Reserve Building. Location: Constitution Avenue, between 20th and 21st Streets NW. Building Stones: Exterior, Geor­ gia marble; foundation, Massa­ chusetts granite; fountains, Penn­ sylvania black diabase granite; interior, marble from Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Tennessee, Vermont, Belgium, France, and Sweden and Kansas limestone. Remarks: Designed by Paul P. Cret and begun in 1936, the building features an impressive staircase. Federal Reserve Building.

38 Lincoln Memorial.

Arlington Memorial Bridge.

39 32 Name: South Interior Building, formerly Bureau of Indian Affairs. ana limestone. Location: 1951 Constitution Ave­ Remarks: Built in 1933 and origi­ nue NW. nally occupied by the Public Health Building Stones: Exterior, Geor­ Service, this 245-room office building gia and Tennessee white marble, was designed by J. H. de Sibour. The North Carolina granite, and Indi­ building is of Neoclassical design.

33 Name: Department of the Interior nessee marble. Building. Remarks: Occupied in 1937, this Location: C Street between 18th 5 1/2 acre, 1,178,769-square-foot struc­ and 19th Streets NW. ture was designed by Waddy Wood in Building Stones: Foundation and accordance with specifications of the steps, Milford, Massachusetts then Secretary of Interior Harold granite; exterior, Indiana lime­ Ickes. It was built at the cost of stone; interior, Knoxville, Ten­ $3 million.

Remarks: Built by John McShain, 34 Name: Civil Service Commission Inc., the structure was begun in 1960 Building. and completed in 1963. North of the Location: 1900 E Street NW. Civil Service Commission Building is Building Stones: Base and first the E Street expressway. The tunnel is floor, Cold Spring, Minnesota, lined with red granite from Oklahoma. flame-finished granite; upper ex­ Note regular size of feldspar and in­ terior, Indiana limestone. clusions of xenoliths.

35 Name: General Services Adminis­ tration Building. Remarks: Completed in 1917, the Location: F Street between 18th structure originally served as the and 19th Streets NW. headquarters building of the U.S. Building Stones: Exterior, Indiana Department of the Interior but now limestone; interior, Maryland mar­ serves as headquarters of the General ble. Services Administration.

40 ,: is ii ii .. r- .. ii it

South Interior Building. Department of the Interior Building. i

Civil Service Commission.

General Services Admit:

41 36 Name: Renwick Gallery (formerly U.S. Court of Claims and Cor­ building was originally constructed by coran Gallery). William Corcoran to house his art col­ Location: 17th Street and Penn­ lection which proved to be too large sylvania Avenue NW. for the structure. The government Building Stones: Exterior, Belle­ took possession of the building during ville, New Jersey sandstone, re­ the Civil War. At one time, it housed placed in part with synthetic the U.S. Court of Claims. Recently it stone, 1970. was restored to become the Renwick Remarks: Designed by James Art Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Renwick and completed in 1859, this Institution.

ment, Maryland sandstone. 37 Name: Executive Office Building Remarks: Begun in 1871 and com­ (Old State-War-Navy Building). pleted in 1888, this structure was the Location: 17th Street and Penn­ largest office building in the world. Its sylvania Avenue NW. architect, A. B. Mullett, used 900 Doric Building Stones: Exterior, granite columns in the building. The exterior from Richmond, Virginia, Maine, of the building was cleaned during and Massachusetts; subbase- the Kennedy Administration.

38 Name: White House. interior was rebuilt again in 1948-52 Location: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave­ by the Commission of the Renovation nue NW. of the Executive Mansion. Building Stones: Exterior, Vir­ ginia Aquia Creek sandstone re- finished with Maryland marble and other marbles; fence base, north side, Montgomery County, Maryland crystalline rocks; fence capping, Aquia Creek sandstone recently repaired and replaced by stone removed from east front of Capitol after renovation. Remarks: Designed by James Hoban and begun in 1792, the White House was the first public building to be erected in Washington. First occu­ pied in 1800 by President and Mrs. John Adams, it was rebuilt after being burned by the British in 1814. The

42 ^enwick Gallery.

Executive Office Building.

The White House.

43 Treasury Building.

39 Name: Treasury Building. Maine and Milford, Massachusetts Location: 15th Street and Penn­ granite; foundation, Maryland sylvania Avenue NW. crystalline rocks. Building Stones: Exterior, the Remarks: The present building is original part along 15th Street the third one to house the Treasury was originally built of Virginia Department; two earlier buildings Aquia Creek sandstone, replaced were destroyed by fires. Designed by ' in large part by Dix Island, Maine Robert Mills, it was begun in 1839; the granite; remainder, Dix Island, final portion was completed in 1869.

(By Charles F. Withington)

44 it U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1975 O-589-691 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1.15 Stock Number 024-001-02707-1 I Ef, As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural re­ sources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wild­ life, preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation com­ munities and for people who live in Island Territories under U.S. administration.

Thomas S. Kleppe, Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior

V.E. McKelvey, Director Geological Survey