Early Scientists

Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870

Early Scientific Expeditions

The Hayden Survey

The Hayden Survey of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains was one of the “Four Great Surveys of the West”, sponsored by the federal government from 1867 to 1878. The Hayden Survey, led by Ferdinand V. Hayden, included the exploration and mapping of the Colorado mountains. In 1873, geologist Albert C. Peale explored the Florissant Valley. In his notes, he mentions fossils in the lake deposits and twenty or more petrified stumps. Members of the Hayden Survey acquired insect, plant, and vertebrate fossils at Florissant.