LATITUDE AND LONGITUDR. 15

better and more productive country through which to run, Of that
I have already spoken..

But will they lengthen their route from the Missouri to San Fran-
cisco by running round this labyrinth of mountains by a single grand
detour, rather than by winding round them in detail, as they would
have been compelled to do, had they adopted the other alternative?
No man can answer that question yet. But if they have made it
longer, they have also made it leveler, safer, and certainly more profit-
able. I know that the impression generally prevails, that this southern
route through New Mexico and Arizona will be longer than if it had
been run through Utah and Nevada, But, after all, that impression
may be erroneous. With much care I oe prepared the following
table of the latitude and longitude of points on the two routes—that
of the Kansas road, and that of the Platte, The points on the Union
Pacific Railway of the Kansas are printed in Roman characters;
those of the Union Pacific Railroad of the Platte in talics,

Latitude and Longitude of the Principal Points on Both Routes.

North of South of
Latitude. Longitude. San Franc. San Franc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kansas City, : : a+. + 39° 94°357 = 19157

Omaha, . . . . . , . 41° 20/7 98°58 8°85, —__
Pond Creek, : . . . . 88°507% 101°50% 1° §
Platte Station, North Platte, : . 41°15” =101° 8° 307
Albuquerque (Rio Grande), ‘ - 85° 5” 106°80% -——— 2°40”
Bridger’s Pass (Summit of Rocky Mouniain), 41°357 107° 8° 504
Prescott (Centre of Arizona), ; - 84°357% 112° 5/ 8° 107
Northern End of Salt Lake, é , : 41°45 113° 4°

Aubry (Colorado River), . mit - 84°20% 114°10/ 3° 25”
Northern Bend of Humboldt River, bee on 41° 8% 117°40/ = 3°20

San Francisco, , , . : | 37°40’. . 1229807. ps * ware

It will be observed from this that the Platte road really bears more
to the north of the parallel of San Francisco than the Kansas road
does to the south of it. And it will also be observed that the point
at which the Platte route attains the summit of the Rocky Mountains
is twenty-five geographical miles further north of San Francisco than
Aubry, the extreme southern deflection of the Kansas route, is south
of it. Again, it will be observed that the north bend of the Humboldt
river is more than three degrees nearer to the meridian of San Fran-
cisco than Aubry, while it is almost as far north as Aubry is south,
A careful study of this table will shake the opinion that the southern
line must necessarily be longer than the northern, even should the
latter not he more tortuous, I do not assert that it is not longer,