CHAPTER III ORGANIZATION The primary divisions of the Survey are six, and are known as branches. They are: 1. Administrative Branch 2. Topographic Branch 3. Geologic Branch 4. Water Resources Branch 6. Publication Branch Administrative Branch. The Administrative Branch includes all divisions carrying on all the general business of the Survey that is not included in the technical, scientific and publication work. It is composed of two offices: 1. Office Proper of the Director The Director is by law the administrative and scientific head of the Survey, reporting officially to the Secretary of the Interior, directing all scientific work, and being generally responsible for the organization and operation of the service. The Director spends a part of his time in the field exercising a general oversight of the Survey's field work. In his absence his administrative duties are performed by a geologist. who is designated as Acting Director. The chief clerk is the officer having direct charge of, and responsibility for, the conduct of the administrative work of the service. For this work his office embraces five divisions which, with their sections, are as follows: 1. Office Proper of Chief Clerk 2. Executive Division a. Office of Chief of Executive Division b. Mails, Records and Files c. Appointments d. Addressograph, Multigraph and Mimeograph Section 3. Division of Accounts 4. Library 5. Messenger Force The Executive Division has charge of appointments, mails, records and files. The Division of Accounts has supervision of administrative bookkeeping, property accountability, purchases, express and freight. Of the 934 permanent employees of the Survey on June 30, 1917, 60 were employed in the Administrative Branch. Topographic Branch. The Topographic Branch conducts the topographic surveys and prepares the originals of the topographic maps. The manuscripts of the several publications on spirit leveling and other topographic subjects are also prepared by this branch. The branch is administered by the chief geographer. On June 30, 1917, the Topographic Branch comprised 166 of the 934 employees of the Survey. For purposes of supervision and administrative control, the branch is divided into seven divisions: I. Administrative and General 2. Atlantic Division 3. Central Division 4. Rocky Mountain Division 5. Northwestern Division 6. Pacific Division 7. Division of Military Surveys Each of the five territorial divisions has a geographer in charge who reports to the chief geographer. Each geographer in charge has supervision of all field and office work on the topographic maps prepared in his division. Each division maintains headquarters in the field during the field season, the chief geographer and most of his force returning to the Washington office at its close for the execution of work of preparing the maps for publication. Inspectors, whose functions are to examine field work in progress and to aid in the maintenance of high and uniform standards, assist the chief geographer in the technical supervision of the work of the branch. The operations of this branch do not extend to Alaska, all topographic work in that territory being carried on by the Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources in the Geologic Branch. Geologic Branch. The Geologic Branch of the Survey is under the charge of the chief geologist. The number of employees under his direction on June 30, 1917, was 245, the largest number employed in any of the six branches of the Survey. In addition to this number 61 persons, most of them geologists, were employed occasionally by this branch. It is organized in four divisions: 1. Division of Geology 2. Division of Chemical and Physical Research 3. Division of Mineral Resources 4. Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources Division of Geology. The Division of Geology is under the immediate direction of the chief geologist, who is also head of the Geologic Branch. The division is organized into sections corresponding to the several types of field and research work it performs. These sections do work in areal, glacial and coastal plain geology, paleontology, and metalliferous, non-metalliferous, coal, oil, and gas deposits. Each section maintains its own. field parties, which, while giving attention in their examination primarily to the special province of the section, also gather data relative to the general geology of the areas examined. Thus, while the sections on areal geology are primarily responsible for the determination and mapping of the areal geology of the regions they examine, they receive assistance from other sections in their work in areas with which those sections come into special contact. The sections of the division are as follows: 1. Administrative and General 2. Section of Eastern Areal Geology 5. Section of Glacial Geology 6. Section of Paleontology and Stratigraphy 7. Section of Geology of Metalliferous Deposits The two sections of Areal Geology perform reconnaissance and detailed work in areal or general geology, in pursuance of the plan to complete the geologic atlas of the United States. The Sections of Eastern and Western Areal Geology make investigations east and west of the one hundredth meridian, respectively. The Section of Coastal Plain Investigations carries on a study of the geology of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. of the United States, with special reference to their geologic history, giving particular attention to investigations of the stratigraphy, paleontology, and origin of the various formations. The Section of Glacial Geology is engaged in the study of the glaciated area, the mode of action and the results of the action of glaciers, the glacial and interglacial deposits and the contemporary deposits of the regions bordering the glaciated area, as well as the geologic history of the continent during the Quaternary period. The Section of Paleontology and Stratigraphy investigates and determines the relative age and equivalence of the strata in different areas, and refers the formations to a geologic time scale. The Section of Geology of Metalliferous Deposits studies metalliferous deposits and minerals and investigates the conditions and modes of ore deposits; while the Section of Geology of Non-Metalliferous Deposits studies non-metallic deposits and minerals, exclusive of fuels. The Sections of Geology of Eastern Coal Fields and Geology of Western Coal Fields investigate coal deposits east and west of the onehundredth meridian, respectively, and the Section of the Geology of Oil and Gas Fields makes examinations of oil and gas fields. The Committee on Geologic Names is a standing committee organized to insure uniformity in geologic classification and nomenclature in Survey publications, to prevent unnecessary duplication of geologic names, and to reduce if possible the number of names employed. Under the instructions of the Director this committee considers all geologic names used in manuscripts prepared by members of the Geological Survey for both official and unofficial publication. The chiefs of the sections in the Division of Geology and the chief of the Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources serve as associate members of this committee and attend meetings at which matters pertaining to their respective sections or divisions are under consideration. The Committee on Physiography, as stated in the report of the Director for the year 1916, is charged with the following duties: |