An 1886 albumen photograph of the Arkansas River at the Royal Gorge in Colorado. The photograph was taken by William Henry Jackson (1843-1942), American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. The sepia-toned photograph shows railroad tacks running along the riverbank, high rock walls on either side with steel beams between them in the distance. The landscape appears treacherous and the appearance of the railway, the human labor it suggests, improbable. In 1869 Union Pacific Railroad hired Jackson to document scenes from the American West in an effort to promote travel on the railway. His photography gained recognition, leading to subsequent commissions, and was instrumental both in the development of the railroads and in Congress establishing the nation's first park at Yellowstone. His efforts were instrumental in the movement of westward expansion facilitated by the government and private corporations. Photography at the time was cumbersome under studio conditions, but Jackson had not such luxuries. It took a team of 5-7 men to carry the equipment and photographs were developed onsite under physically challenging conditions. Jackson once lost a month's work when a mule lost its footing on a narrow mountain pass.