MORC Description Variations

[kayakbird]

Hi all,

 

After linking to the HIPPO list for my first time ever the other day (Contest Thread) I thought that maybe I could use it to sort through the variations that I had noticed in the DS for Missouri River Commission (MORC) BM's and Tri's that are my primary targets for the summer. Not sure that it helped!

 

SUMMARY OF 200+ MORC PID's IN MONTANA 27 BM's 182 TRI'S

 

MARKER,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,SETTING,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,DESCRIPTION,,,,,,,,,,,,PIPE OD,

134 TRI DISK,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,131 PIPE DRIVEN,,,,,,,,,,,,110 CAP,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,72 NOT LISTED,

54 PIPE CAP,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,44 UNSPECIFIED,,,,,,,,,,,,,32 TABLET,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,3 3 INCH,

8 OTHER AGENCY ?,,,,,,,,23 ROCK OUTCROP,,,,,,,,,27 TABLET,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,25 4

4 CAP of C & BOLT PR,,,,,,6 CONCRETE POSTS,,,,,,21 COPPER BOLT,,,,,,,,6 4.5 (CORRECT),

4 BOLT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,1 BOULDER,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2 MARK,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,71 5

1 CHISELED X,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,1 LIMESTONE LEDGE,,,,,11 PIPE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2 6

1 PIPE & CONCRETE SURROUND,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,5 DISK,

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,6 UNDERGROUND STONE

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,3 TRIANGLE

 

ONLY SIX UNDERGROUND STONES ARE NOTED AND ONLY SIX WITH THE CORRECT PIPE SIZE!

 

THERE SHOULD IN FACT BE OVER 20 COPPER BOLTS LEADED INTO NATIVE STONE ON THE UPSTREAM END (I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL THAT ARE NONPID) BUT THE MARKER CODE SHOWS ONLY FOUR.

 

I'M PRETTY SURE THAT THE 8 OTHER AGENCY WERE MONUMENTED BY MORC, BUT WITH A NONSTANDARD DATE.

 

COLUMNS WILL NOT TOTAL DUE TO WEIRD ONES.

 

NO MENTION OF A STANDARD MORC STATION - STONE (WITH CENTER BOLT IF A BM), 37 INCH (TRI) OR FOUR FOOT STANDPIPE, DISTINCTIVE TRI OR BM CAP SECURED WITH A HORIZONTAL BOLT.

 

Most accurate DS that I have seen is LF0664 but even it has the pipe diameter wrong.

 

kayakbird

[kayakbird]

This one didn't get any air play two years ago, but with rainy day in Lewistown time, the recent MRC thread and questions raised during my successful MORC hunting trip last week from the east end of Fort Peck Reservoir to the North Dakota border here it is again.

 

The non-consistent treatment of the cap & bolt pairs is really bugging me, and I'm hoping that some of the professionals will weigh in with how they have, or would, tie to these marks (or stations). Actually only four pairs, all benchmarks, are in the Montana MORC list and five other benchmarks have 'CAP' in the name; and just six of the over 200 PID's make reference to an 'UNDERGROUND STONE'.

 

If you arrived at a point that you wanted to use and saw that the standpipe was a little off line, would you dig it out and re-plumb it over the center of the stone?

 

I think that I have figured out the reason that MRC went to a riveted cap is because too many MORC caps walked away in case they were needed on top the next standpipe, but the MRC pin makes it a bit difficult to see if there really is a copper bolt in a buried tile below.

 

STEAMBOAT LAKE CAP

 

I have seen DS's for a couple of MRC's where one recovery correctly describes a CAP and a later one a BOLT. Does that mean that the pipe with cap was destroyed to check on the stone.

 

Many of the Montana MORC triangulation stations were enhanced with reference objects in 1948. I think about half were given that year and the other have kept their 1885 or 1889 original date.

 

MORC CUTOFF SP0359

 

 

some how ended up with a 1912 date and RM 1 and RM 2, appear to have the '12' over-stamped on a '4X'.

 

Did the triangulation stations get their current L/L with observations taken during the renewal project in 1948? I know that it takes a graduated adjustment, decreasing from west to east, to the positions published in the Army report to match up with the DS. I'm wondering if NONPID MORC MORTAR STONE

 

PHOTOS AT MORTAR

 

was too far out; or was it just too hot for the 48 crew to scale the ridge - there are recent vehicle tracks there now.

 

Would to get this one Blue Booked. kayakbird