Historic Grand Canyon atlas finds new home

A recent donation of a significant Grand Canyon atlas to the Map and Geospatial Hub at the ASU Library is expanding access to rare cartographic materials at Hayden Library.

An original copy of the “Atlas to Accompany the Tertiary History of the Grand Cañon District,” authored in 1882 by Clarence Dutton along with other important maps of the Grand Canyon was generously donated by Michael Quinn Patton. Known as “Dutton’s Atlas,” it was the first publication by the United States Geological Survey that transformed the public’s understanding of the Grand Canyon.    

“I love symbolism, and the naming of the canyon by Dutton is probably the greatest symbolic naming in human history,” said Patton, a founding figure in the field of program evaluation and a former faculty member at the University of Minnesota.

“The entire Grand Canyon is a set of names about world history, world religions, Native American tribes, and science,” said Patton. “There's no place else like it. I was drawn to the geology and symbolism. I'm a sociologist by training, and symbolic interaction is one of our specializations. So the interaction of humans and nature and our assigning meaning to places by naming them attracted me.”

As a child, Patton was enamored by the legend of King Arthur, Lancelot and the search for the Holy Grail. When Patton learned about points in the canyon inspired by the legend such as Holy Grail Temple and King Arthur Castle, he hiked and explored the Grand Canyon by himself and with his family. He nurtured his interest and love for the Grand Canyon, and in 1999 he authored a book “Grand Canyon Celebration: A Father-Son Journey of Discovery.” 

The Grand Canyon continues to captivate scholars and explorers today.

“When you drive around Arizona, what do you see on the license plates? The Grand Canyon,” said Matthew Toro, director of maps, imagery, and geospatial services at ASU Library. “We are the Grand Canyon State, and this is one of the most important cartographic materials ever for the Grand Canyon.”

Patton’s donation enhances the MGH’s work to celebrate Dutton and the Grand Canyon and increases opportunities for researchers and students to interact with its collections. In 2022 with the support of ASU Emeritus Professor Stephen Pyne and Professor Steven Semken, ASU Library led a project called “Dutton’s Atlas: How Cartography Helped the Canyon Become Grand” which recognized the 140th anniversary of its publication.

“It really is the first geological atlas,” said Toro. “Dutton gave us a vernacular and a vision, a viewpoint with which to interpret this, at the time, otherworldly landscape. For contemporary geologists and incoming geology students, understanding the shoulders on which modern geology stands is critical. So much of this early geological work formed the foundation for American and global geology.”

Patton hopes that understanding the canyon’s story of how it came will help inspire new generations of ASU geology students to preserve and protect the Grand Canyon for the future.

“I think that we all have to work to continue to protect the canyon,” said Patton. “It's under threat climate-wise, but it's under threat politically and in lots of other ways. It becomes important not to take it for granted because these things are vulnerable. It's important that we take care of it.”