Grove Karl Gilbert served with the U.S. Geological Survey for 39 yr, from its inception in 1879 until his death in 1918. Thanks to his reputation as an explorer and to his friendship with John Wesley Powell, Gilbert occupied many administrative positions—chief of the Division of the Great Basin, chief of the Appalachian Division, chief geologist (1888–1892), and head of the section on physiographic geology. Gilbert was responsible for establishing the first hydraulic laboratory in the Survey, served on numerous committees to set cartographic nomenclature and style, supervised a series of correlation essays, represented the Survey at some international congresses,...