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King (CLARENCE American geologist)

CLARENCE, American geologist; born in Newport, R. I., Jan. 6, 1842. In 1863 he joined the State geological survey of California, making the first detailed surveys of the Yosemite Valley. In 1867 he was in charge of the United States geological survey of the 40th parallel, and for the next five years did work from the California Sierras to Eastern Wyoming, the results being published as "Professional Papers of the Engineer Department of the United States Survey" (1870-1878). When in 1879 the different geological surveys were united in one bureau of the Department of the Interior, he was made first director of the Survey, holding the position till 1881. He was elected in 1876 a member of the National Academy of Science. His best book is "Mountaineering in the Sierras." He died in Arizona, Dec. 24, 1901. an