Steve Taylor is a frequent speaker at Entrada Institute events. As part of his local history class, the group decided to explore Wikipedia looking for references to the history of the Colorado Plateau that might be missing. We were surprised to find a number of important people missing and a lack of information on some places.
Entrada Institute board member Annette Lamb volunteered to research and create the first article for the group on the topographer, geologist, and explorer, A. H. Thompson.
Almon Harris Thompson was second in command of John Wesley Powell’s Second Expedition, a federally-funded expedition to explore the Green and Colorado Rivers, Colorado drainage and canyons, and map southern Utah and northern Arizona. Thompson’s diary of Powell’s Second Expedition (1871-1875) was originally published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1939. Through his work on the Powell expeditions and later as geographer at the US Geological Survey, he was responsible for naming many geographic locations in the west. Thompson is also known for his involvement in the formation of the National Geographic.
Read the complete article at Wikipedia.
Almon Harris Thompson on his horse “Ute” in southern Utah in 1872. USGS.