Ralf R. Woolley photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P0563

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Ralf R. Woolley collection consists of two parts: the original donation, consisting of 110 black and white prints, and an addendum, purchased from a private dealer in December 2006, which contains 37 hand-tinted color transparencies. Both parts document the same 1922 USGS/UP&L survey of the Green River, and there are some duplicates. The photographs document a 1922 survey by boat of the Green River from Green River, Wyoming, to Green River, Utah. The river corridor, along with potential dam sites and reservoir locations, was extensively photographed. Also included are photographs of camps, crew, boats, and other scenes. For detailed information and description of a photograph, see the manuscript. The photographs are numbered 1-104; these numbers are found after each description and match with numbers in the margins of the manuscript. The hand-tinted glass lantern slides were purchased from a private dealer in December 2006. Many, but not all, of them are duplicates of the original blackandwhite prints.

Dates

1922

Creator

Woolley, Ralf R. (Ralf Rumel), 1884-1948 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

The 1922 USGS/UP&L survey, commonly referred to as the Woolley survey, was one of a series of such surveys conducted by the federal government for the purpose of assisting the Colorado River Commission and the Federal Power Commission in its adminstration of the Federal Water Power Act, and the Geological Survey in properly classifying the public lands along the stream for disposal under the Gerneal Land acts. Partial investigations had been made before this trip by the Reclamation Service and by private corporations along different portions of the Green River in 1914 and 1917. The 1922 survey filled in those gaps by surveying the entire river down to Green River, Utah, where it tied in with surveys of the lower Green River and the Colorado through Cataract and Glen Canyons in 1921.

July 22-September 14, 1922

These photographs illustrate the accompanying manuscript, "A Boat Trip Down Green River from Green River, Wyoming to Green River, Utah". (ACCN 1407) The official report from the survey was published as "The Green River and its Utilization," by Ralf R. Woolley (USGS Water-supply Paper 618) in 1930.

Extent

.42 Linear Feet (110 black and white prints; 37 hand-tinted glass transparencies)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Ralf R. Woolley photograph collection is an excellent representation of the photographic explorers of the late 19th and early 20 centuries. The photographs are panorama style and are very well composed. The photographs were taken during a damsite survey of the upper Green River by the US Geological Survey and Utah Power and Light Company in 1922. Some of the featured areas are: Green River, Flaming Gorge, Red River and Canyon, Lodore Canyon, Whirlpool Canyon, and Split Mountain.

Arrangement

The photographs in both sections are arranged in geographical, or "down-river" order. They start where the expedition started, at Green River, Wyoming, and continue in that order through the rest of the collection. In Box 2, the glass lantern slides are labeled as received, except in those cases where the slide was not labeled, or when other information is available. In such cases a description will appear in brackets [...]. Also, the glass lantern slides had previously been numbered, but there are gaps in this numbering system, indicating that originally there were other glass lantern slides associated with this collection, which were not received with this purchase. These numbers are not included in the information found in this register. All descriptions found on the slides are reproduced exacly as they appear. It should be noted that "Ladore" is a common early mispelling of Lodore. Where the name is mispelled on the photograph or slide, it is written as such here.

Related Materials

Forms part of the Utah River Running Archive.

See also the Utah Power and Light collection (P0206).

See also the Rocky Mountain Power records (MS 0206).