Golden Spike

https://www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Spike_National_Historical_Park Golden Spike National Historical Park is located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The nearest city is Brigham City, approximately 32 miles east-southeast of the site. One of the greatest technological achievements of the 19th century is the completion of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States. Visitors to the park can see the location of the Last Spike Site, 1869 railroad construction features, walk or drive on the original railroad grade, and get an up close view of Victorian era replica locomotives. Golden Spike National Historical Park is 32 miles west of Brigham City, Utah. NB travelers on I-15: use exit 365 and drive west on Utah 13 and 83 through Corinne (follow brown directional signs) to Golden Spike Drive. Turn left and follow signs to the visitor center (8 miles). SB travelers on I-84: use Howell exit 26 and drive south on Utah 83 (follow brown directional signs) to Golden Spike Drive. Turn right and follow signs to the visitor center (8 miles). Lat/Long 41.617410,-112.550986 Golden Spike National Historical Park Visitor Center The park visitor center features exhibits, a theater, bookstore, picnic areas, and a welcoming staff that will help visitors get the most out of their trip. During the summer, the visitor center is open daily, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM MDT. From early November to mid-April the visitor center is open five days a week, Thursday-Monday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM MST, closed Tuesday & Wednesday. Golden Spike National Historical Park is 32 miles west of Brigham City, Utah. Travelers on I-15: use exit 365 and drive west on Utah 13 and 83 through Corinne (follow brown directional signs) to Golden Spike Drive. Turn left and follow signs to the visitor center (8 miles). Southbound travelers on I-84: use exit 26 and drive south on Utah 83 (follow brown directional signs) to Golden Spike Drive. Turn right and follow signs to the visitor center (8 miles). Lat/Long 41.617410,-112.550986 Replica Locomotives Jupiter and #119 at the Last Spike Site Two replica victorian age steam locomotives face each other on the original railroad grade Connect with the history by viewing the site's replica steam locomotives in action Golden Spike National Historical Park Visitor Center The Golden Spike National Historical Park's Visitor Center colorful stone entrance Golden Spike's Visitor Center is the best the best place to start your exploration of this unique piece of American History. Golden Spike Park Entrance Sign Winter View of Golden Spike Entrance Sign Winter View of Golden Spike Entrance Sign The Big Fill The Big Fill is a 400 foot long 80 foot high mound of packed earth that bridged a ravine Visitors can explore fifteen miles of the historic grade that was prepared for track by the two railroad companies The Golden Spike The Golden Spike Photo of actual Golden Spike courtesy of Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University Locomotives 119 and Jupiter nose to nose at the last spike site. Two locomotives the 119 and Jupiter facing each other on a track. Each day the locomotives are moved to the last spike site to recreate the marriage of the rails. Winter View on the Big Fill Trail Winter View on the Big Fill Trail Sunner winter day on the Big Fill Loop Trail. Recreation of May 10th Champagne Photo Recreation of May 10th Champagne Photo Recreation of famous Champagne photo during annual May 10th Commemoration. National Park Getaway: Golden Spike National Historical Park One hundred and fifty years ago, the nation was joined at the rails at Promontory Summit in present-day Utah. A crowd gathered on May 10, 1869, to witness the driving of a ceremonial golden spike connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad lines to complete the Transcontinental Railroad. At 12:47 pm, a telegraph flashed across the country: D-O-N-E. Steam engine on a railroad track Arches National Park’s Free-Flowing Waters Visitors to Arches National Park experience natural free-flowing waters and have water to quench their thirst, thanks to an agreement between the National Park Service and the State of Utah. The sun sits just below the horizon behind Delicate Arch. NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Golden Spike National Historic Site, Utah Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports. reenactment of trains meeting The War and Westward Expansion With Federal resources focused on waging the war farther east, both native tribes and the Confederacy attempted to claim or reclaim lands west of the Mississippi. The Federal government responded with measures (Homestead Act, transcontinental railroad) and military campaigns designed to encourage settlement, solidify Union control of the trans-Mississippi West, and further marginalize the physical and cultural presence of tribes native to the West. Painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way showing settlers moving into the American west The Archeology of Chinese Laborers Who Connected the Country Over 11,000 Chinese individuals helped build the Transcontinental Railroad. Archeological excavations have uncovered remains of their campsites and towns that help understand what their day-to-day lives were like while working on the railroad. Artifacts from Ten-Mile (Seco) Station. "Distant Thunder" Sculpture at Golden Spike National Historical Park Honors Bison's Past Michael Coleman, a Utah artist internationally known for his award-winning sculptures and paintings of the landscape and wildlife of the American West created a bison sculpture to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad in 2019. This mighty sculpture titled, “Distant Thunder” honors the bison’s demise due to the railroad and celebrates their eventual resurgence. 3,000 lb bronze bison sculpture near Golden Spike National Historical Park visitor center What We’re Learning and Why it Matters: Long-Term Monitoring on the Northern Colorado Plateau Knowing which key natural resources are found in the national parks, and whether they're stable or changing, helps decisionmakers make sound choices. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network is building that knowledge. After more than ten years of monitoring, we've learned a lot about park ecosystems, how they're changing, and what they may look like in the days to come. Find out what we’ve learned and how it’s being used to help managers plan for the future. Man stands in a stream, looking down at a handheld gauge. Monitoring From Space: Using Satellite Imagery to Measure Landscape Conditions on the Ground Scientists from the Northern Colorado Plateau Network travel thousands of miles each year to collect data on plants, soils, and water across network parks. But it would be impossible to cover every square inch of the Northern Colorado Plateau with boots on the ground. Instead, we simultaneously monitor the parks with boots in space—satellite data that provide information at a much broader scale. Satellite and Earth in space Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios. Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background Invasive Exotic Plant Monitoring at Golden Spike National Historical Park Invasive exotic plants are one of the most significant threats to natural resources in the national parks today. To provide early warning of weed invasions, the Northern Colorado Plateau Network monitors target plants in park areas where they are likely to first establish: along roads, trails, and waterways. Find out what we've learned at Golden Spike National Historical Park. Six-petaled yellow flower on stiff stem of spindly plant Studying the Past and Predicting the Future Using Rat Nests In the western United States, packrat middens are one of the best tools for reconstructing recent environments and climates. These accumulations of plant fragments, small vertebrate remains, rodent droppings, and other fossils can be preserved for more than 50,000 years. Packrat middens have been found in at least 41 National Park Service units. Photo of a wood rat. Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 14, No. 2, Fall 2022 All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul> Photo of a person sitting while using a laboratory microscope. Making an Impact: Long-Term Monitoring of Natural Resources at Intermountain Region National Parks, 2021 Across the Intermountain Region, Inventory & Monitoring Division ecologists are helping to track the effects of climate change, provide baseline information for resource management, evaluate new technologies, and inspire the next generation of park stewards. This article highlights accomplishments achieved during fiscal year 2021. A man looks through binoculars at sunrise. A Changing Bimodal Climate Zone Means Changing Vegetation in Western National Parks When the climate changes enough, the vegetation communities growing in any given place will also change. Under an expanded bimodal climate zone, some plant communities in western national parks are more likely to change than others. National Park Service ecologists and partners investigated the future conditions that may force some of this change. Having this information can help park managers decide whether to resist, direct, or accept the change. Dark storm clouds and rainbow over mountains and saguaros. Updated Species Database Will Help Boost Amphibian Conservation Across the National Park Service To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance to remain accurate. Due to recent efforts, the National Park Service now has an up-to-date amphibian species checklist for almost 300 parks. This information can serve as the basis for innumerable conservation efforts across the nation. A toad sits on red sand, looking into the camera.

Union Pacific Ra ilroad Spanning A Continent No sooner were America's first railroads operating in the 1830s than people of vision foresaw transcontinental travel by rail. The idea gained adherents as a national railroad system took shape. By the beginning of the Civil War, America's eastern states were linked by 31 ,000 miles of rail, more than in all of Europe. Virtually none of this network, however, served the area beyond the Missouri River. Until the "Great American Desert" and the Rockies were bridged, the vast western territories would be a part of the Nation in name only. A continent-spanning railroad would also bring more tangible benefits: It would boost trade, shorten the emigrant's journey, and help the army control Indians hostile to white settlement. Anticipating great financial and political rewards, northern, midwestern, and southern senators made their cases for locating the eastern terminus in their regions. In California, Theodore Judah had his own plan for a transcontinental railroad. By 1862 the young engineer had surveyed a route over the Sierra Nevada and persuaded wealthy Sacramento merchants to form the Central Pacific Railroad. That year Congress authorized the Central Pacific to build H railroad eastward from Sacramento, and in the same act chartered th Union Pacific Railroad in New York. After the Civil War had removed the Southern senators from the debate over the location, the central route near the Mormon Trail was chosen, with Omaha as the eastern terminus. Each railroad received loan subsidies of $16,000 to $48,000 per mile, depending on the difficulty of the terrain, and ten land sections for each mile of track laid. The Central Pacific broke ground in January 1863, the Union Pacific that December, but neither made much headway while the country's attention was diverted by the Civil War. Investors could reap greater profits from the war, and the army had first priority on labor and materials. So Central Pacific's Collis Huntington and Union Pacific's Thomas Durant, exemplars of the no-holds-barred business ethics of the period, visited Washington with enough cash to help congressmen understand their problems. A second Railroad Act of 1864 Central Pacific crews faced the rugged Sierras almost immediately. Whlle the Union Pacific started with easier terrain, its work parties were harassed by Indians. With eight flatcars of material needed for each mile of track, supplies were a logistical nightmare for both railroads, especially Central Pacific, which had to ship every rail , spike, and locomotive 15,000 miles around Cape Horn. Both companies pushed ahead faster than anyone had expected. The work teams, often headed by ex-army officers, were drilled until they could lay 2 to 5 miles of track a day on flat land. up near the base camps. Because California's labor pool had been drained by the rush for gold, Central Pacific imported 10,000 Chinese, the backbone of the railroad's work force. Union Pacific drew on the vast pool of America's unemployed: Irish, German, and Italian immigrants, Civil War veterans from both sides, and ex-slaves-8,000 to 10,000 workers in all. It was a volatile mixture, and drunken bloodshed was common in the " Hell-on-wheels" towns thrown By mid-1868, Central Pacific crews had crossed the Sierras and laid 200 miles of track, and the Union Pacific had laid 700 miles over the plains. As the two workforces neared each other in Utah, they raced to grade more miles and claim more land subsidies. Both pushed so far beyond their railheads that they passed each other, and for over 200 miles competing graders advanced in opposite directions on parallel grades. Congress finally declared the meeting place to be Promontory Summit, where, on May 10, 1869, two locomotives pulled up to the one-rail gap left in the track. After a golden spike was symbolically tapped, a final iron spike was driven to connect the railroads. The Central Pacific laid 690 miles of track; the Union Pacific 1,086. They had crossed 1,776 miles of desert, rivers, and mountains to bind together east and west. Track Laying Telegraph Snow Sheds Nation's second transcontinental telegraph was strung beside the track as the railroad advanced. Drifts and avalanches so hindered trains in the Sierras that Central Pacific had to build 37 miles of ' A "Grand Anvil Chorus" Surveying doubled the land subsidies, but little track was laid until labor and supplies were freed at war's end. Grading Trestles and Tunnels Surveyors. working hundreds of miles ahead . set no grade steeper than 116 feet of rise per mile. miles of bed at a time, cutting ledges, blasting hills. and filling huge ravines. Workers 5 to 20 miles ahead bu ilt high wooden trestles and dug tunnels. Central Pacific blasted 15 tunn els th rough Sierra gra nite, som etimes resorti ng to dang erous nitroglyceri ne. On 2,500 ties per mile, gang s lai d two pa irs of 30-foot, 560-pound rails a minute. Spikers drove 10 spikes pe