Edouard Gaston Deville is recognized for his part in the
Dominion survey of the newly acquired North West Territories, as
well as becoming Inspector of Surveys for Canada in 1881 and
Surveyor General in 1885. He was the first to perfect practical
photogammetry, the making of maps based on photography. Today,
Mount Deville in Yoho National Park bears his name and the E.G.
Deville commemorative plaque is located in Yoho National Park
near the entrance to Monarch Campground. Born in La Charite sur
Loire, Nievre, France, on February 21st, 1849, Deville attended
naval school and went on to serve as a hydrographer with the
French Navy. In this position, he conducted hydrographic surveys
in the South Sea Islands and on the coast of Peru. In 1874, he
immigrated to Canada and shortly thereafter began working as a
surveyor and astronomer in Quebec, Canada. Very quickly, he rose
to the province’s top surveying position, Inspector of Surveys.
In 1880, he joined the Department of the Interior in Ottawa to
survey homestead