Pinus albicaulis Engelm.

• Title

  Pinus albicaulis Engelm.

• Description

  Most of us take road maps for granted. Early voyagers across the new territories of the U.S. had no maps to guide them. Mapping routes through the West became the mission of the United States Corps of Topographical Engineers. John Charles Frémont (1813–1890), a lieutenant in the Corps, led five expeditions to explore the West between 1842–1853. Frémont was guided on his first three expeditions by Kit Carson, and assisted with mapping by cartographer Charles Preuss. Frémont included information about suppliers, native tribes, flora and fauna – a road map and survival guide wrapped into one. Frémont’s maps and writings proved invaluable for those planning to cross the continent, and they inspired many Americans to conceive of a two-ocean nation.