King, Clarence; Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada Boston, James R. Osgood and Company, 1872.

King, Clarence; Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada. Boston, James R. Osgood and Company, 1872. First edition, first issue, with publisher's device on title page.  Octavo, pp. 8, 292.

The work is complete and in the original publishers rust colored cloth with gilt-stamped spine and brown end papers. The binding is tight with light wear to edges and corners, inner hinges tightened, one signature with binder’s glue stain at inner gutter, text is clean and bright. In good condition.

Clarence King (1842-1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer and author. He is known for some of the earliest descriptions of the geology os the west. He headed the 40th Parallel expedition and its ten year study of a 100-mile-wide strip along the 40th parallel from eastern Colorado to the California border. King’s report, “Systematic Geology” (1878), is considered a masterpiece. During this survey he discovered the first glaciers in the United States while studying the extinct volcanoes of Mount Shasta, Mount Rainier, and Mount Hood.He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. King was also noted for his exploration of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In his “Mountaineering” work he provides a description of the Sierra Nevada mountains. This book begins by summarizing the geological history of the Sierra Nevadas, then describes King's experiences in the range, both as a member of the Josiah D. Whitney expedition, and as a mountaineer.