F.E. Matthes photographs of Mount Rainier, 1910-1911

Francois Emile Matthes (1874-1948) was a Dutch-born topographer/geologist/glaciologist who immigrated to the United States in 1891. He studied civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned his degree in 1895. After a year working as an instrument and draftsman in Rutland, Vermont, Matthes went to work for the United States Geological Survey, first as a topographer and then as a geologist/glaciologist. His association with the USGS lasted for 51 years, until his retirement in 1947.

From 1907 to 1913, Matthes served as an Inspector of Maps for the USGS. In 1910, he was assigned the task of mapping Mount Rainier National Park. He made his first ascent of the mountain in 1910 but, because of subfreezing temperatures and high winds, accomplished little. Poor weather and forest fires hampered his second ascent, in 1911. As a result, Matthes completed little more than a fourth of the map. The map was completed by others in 1913.

Matthes is best known for his detailed topographic maps of the Bighorn Mountains, the upper Grand Canyon, and Yosemite National Park. His text, Glacial Sculpture of the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming, published in 1899, is still a standard reference.

Matthes made these photographs while on assignment to map the topography of Mount Rainier as part of his duties as Inspector of Maps for the U.S. Geological Survey. These photographs were made during the field seasons in 1910 and 1911. His wife, Edith, whom he had married in June 1911, accompanied Matthes on the second field visit.