In locating an Alaskan railway close to the end of a momentarily quiescent glacier, troubles were not long in appearing, due to the fact that the glacier was really not as stable as it seemed to the layman. A specialist on glaciers, knowing their behavior, their relations to precipitation, their relations to earthquakes, the speed of their movement, and the periodicity of their movement, was ultimately called into consultation on the location of the railroad.
ROAD BUILDING
Road building in recent years has become a stupendous engineering undertaking, which is requiring geologic aid to locate nearby sources of supply for road materials. A considerable number of geologists are now devoting their attention to this work. It relates not only to the hard-rock geology but to the gravel and surface geology. Certain northern states are using specialists in glacial geology to aid in locating proper supplies of sand and gravel.
GEOLOGY IN ENGINEERING COURSES
Many engineering courses include elementary geologic studies, in recognition of the close relationship between geology and engineering. Men so trained, though not geologists, have been responsible for many applications of geology to engineering. With the increasing size and importance of operations, calling for more specialization, the professional geologist is now being called in to a larger extent than formerly. A logical trend also is the acquirement of more engineering training on the part of the geologist, for the purpose of pursuing these applications of his science.
FOOTNOTES:
[64] Excellent texts on this subject may be found in Military Geology and Topography, Herbert E. Gregory, Editor, prepared and issued under the auspices of Division of Geology and Geography, National Research Council, Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, 1918, and Engineering Geology, by H. Ries and T. L. Watson, Wiley and Sons, New York, 2d ed., 1915.
[65] Atwood, W. W., Relation of landslides and glacial deposits to reservoir sites in the San Juan mountains, Colorado: Bull. 685, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1918.
[66] Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, R. D., Geology, vol. 1, 1904, pp. 555-556.
[67] Schultz, Robert S., Jr., Bull. Am. Inst. Mining and Metallurgical Engrs. In preparation.