Arizona Geological Survey - A Brief History
The Arizona Geological Survey is the latest in a line of academic departments and state agencies serving the people of the Arizona Territory and now the State of Arizona. In 1883, then Territorial Governor Tritle, requested federal assistance to establish a geologic survey for the Arizona Territory. The U.S. Congress responded in 1888 by creating the post of Territorial Geologist of Arizona. The unpaid position of Territorial Geologist first went to John F. Blandy, who served until the mid-1890s. Upon gaining statehood in 1912, the position of Territorial Geologist was abolished. Table 1 (below) comprises, in chronological order from most recent to earliest, the territorial and state geologic agencies.
From 1893 until 1915, the role of geologic mapping and reporting was handed off to the University of Arizona Bureau of Mines. In 1915, the Arizona Bureau of Mines was established at the University of Arizona with Charles Willis as its first director. See our online yearbook for Arizona's former directors of state and territorial geologic agencies.
World War II was a fertile time for the Arizona Bureau of Mines. The hunt for strategic metals from large volume, low-grade deposits involved Bureau geologists in research and design of ore concentrating facilities at five major low-grade copper deposits. Following WW II, renewed emphasis on geologic mapping led to the publication of county geologic maps between 1957 and 1960.
TABLE 1. Territorial and State Geologic Agencies of Arizona from 1888-2017
| 2016 - Present | Arizona Geological Survey - Univ. of Arizona |
| 1988-2016 | Arizona Geological Survey - State of Arizona |
| 1977-1988 | Arizona Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology |
| 1915-1977 | Arizona Bureau of Mines |
| 1893-1915 | The University of Arizona Bureau of Mines |
| 1888-1890, 1898-1912 | Office of the Territorial Geologist |
Shuttling between Univ. of Arizona and State Government
In 1971, the first volume of “Fieldnotes,” a non-technical geologic newsletter was published; its successor, “Arizona Geology,” was first issued in the Fall of 1988. (In 2010, Arizona Geology transformed into a wholly online e-Magazine.) That same year Dr. William H. Dresher was named Director, and for the first time, “State Geologist”. In 1977, the Bureau became the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology, comprising the geological survey and a mineral technology branch. The geologic survey branch became responsible for assessing and informing the public about geologic hazards in Arizona. (See Table 2 below for a listing of our Publications from 1915-2017.)
The Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) was established as an independent state agency on July 1, 1988; we maintained, however, strong collegial ties with faculty and staff at the University of Arizona. In 1991, the AZGS became the institutional home of Arizona’s Oil & Gas Conservation Commission – a five-member commission charged with supporting and monitoring oil and gas exploration in the state. The US Geological Survey in conjunction with the AZGS opened the jointly run “Tucson Earth Science Information Center” in August 1992. The AZGS moved to 416 W. Congress St., Tucson in July 1995.
On 1 July 2016, the AZGS was transferred from state government to the College of Science at the University of Arizona. At the same time, AZGS staff was reduced by 50%, our state budget was zeroed out, and we moved from 416 W. Congress to the University of Arizona's Arid Lands Building at 1955 E 6th St. The University of Arizona received $941,000 from the legislature that year to fund the Survey through FY2017; this was a one-time award.
Senator Gail Griffin (R, Cochise County) introduced SB1184 in January 2017 to fund the AZGS at FY2016 levels of $941,000. The bill was passed by the Arizona Senate and House and was signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey.
TABLE 2. Bulletins, circulars, open-file reports, maps and other publications of AZGS and its predecessors from 1915 to the 2017.
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Arizona Geology/Fieldnotes
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Roughly 170 issues | 1971-2017
|
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30 circulars | 1940s-2001
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|
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More than 400 reports | 1973 to present
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|
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19 maps from 1976-1988 | replaced by Contributed Map series in 1989
|
|
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40 maps from 1983-2002 | largely replaced by our digital geologic map series in 2002
|
|
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More than 115 maps | 2000 to present
|
|
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35 reports/maps | 1991-2002
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|
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200 volumes | 1915-1996
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|
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More than 70 maps | 1989 to 2018
|
|
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More than 110 reports | 1989-2018
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|
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Ten volumes | 1977-2017
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|
| Down to Earth Popular Geology Series | 21 volumes | 1990 to 2017 |
| Digital Information | 1994 to present |
| Digital Maps | More than 30 maps | 2010 to present |
Acknowledgements
This brief history is drawn largely from Dr. Larry Fellows longer report published in “The State Geological Survey: A History.”
References
Anonymous, 1991, AZGS takes on oil and gas regulatory responsibilities; Steve Rauzi joins AZGS staff. Arizona Geology, vol. 21, no 3. Fall 1991. Murray D., 1992, Tucson Earth Science Information Center Opens. Arizona Geology, v. 22, no. 4, Winter 1992. Socolow A.A., ed., 1988, The State Geological Survey: A History. American Association of State Geologists, 499p.