Field notes, Death Valley Expedition, 1891

Death Valley – just the name suggests the barest of landscapes, an empty place. Why would a botanist be excited to go to such a place, one might wonder. These field notes might give us some insight into that question. Throughout his career, Coville was known to be greatly enthusiastic about scientific expeditions. Two years after this particular expedition, Coville’s observations were published, and he became the USDA’s Chief Botanist and Honorary Curator of the National Herbarium. His Botany of the Death Valley Expedition has been recognized as an important work on desert plants. Join with other volunteers to help us transcribe these valuable field notes. This volume contains narrative notes and lists of botanical specimens collected or observed in the course of Coville's research in Death Valley . The journal contains entries dated May 10, 1891-July 30, 1891. Data includes scientific names, elevations, diagrams, and descriptions of localities. Localities are primarily in the vicinity of Keeler, Inyo county, California. The notebook also contains entries from various localities in Kern and Tulare counties.