Mooyie River Valley from Monument W. side river looking E. along the 49th parallel
between 1857 and 1862 National Archives and Records Administration
About this artwork
This watercolor depicts a panoramic mountain landscape view of the Mooyie River Valley, created during the Northwestern Boundary Survey. It features meticulous pen and ink outlines with wash, typical of 19th-century topographical studies.
Did you know?
James Madison Alden served as the official artist for the United States Northwest Boundary Commission, which was tasked with surveying the border between the U.S. and British North America along the 49th parallel. His watercolors provide one of the most comprehensive visual records of the Pacific Northwest wilderness in the mid-19th century before major settlement. These works are prized by historians not just as art, but as vital geographical documentation of the remote terrain encountered by the surveyors.
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Mooyie River Valley from Monument W. side river looking E. along the 49th parallel
James Alden, between 1857 and 1862
