Page "Monument Avenue" Paragraph 22

The figure of Maury faces eastward, toward the Atlantic Ocean that the " Pathfinder of the Seas " charted.

He holds in his left hand a pencil and compass and in his right hand a copy of his charts.

Beside his left foot is his book, Physical Geography of the Sea, as well as a Bible, indicating the central role that faith played in Maury's life.

A globe of the Earth is tilted slightly on its axis behind his head.

It represents both land and sea and the lady standing calmly is a representation of " mother nature " between the land and the sea.

Around the base of the globe are depictions of people clinging to a sinking boat in bad weather representing the dangers of the sea with a woman in the center and on the right ( north ) side of the globe there is a farmer, boy, and a dog representing Maury's work promoting land weather service which dates back further than 1853.

Maury attended the International Meteorological Organization in Brussels, Belgium on August 23, 1853 where Maury, leading the way for this conference with his ideas of land and sea weather predictions, and representing the United States, promoted his ideas of safety on both land and at sea to many nations which agreed to follow his ideas.

Every maritime nation had its ships reporting to Maury at the National ( later Naval ) Observatory in Washington D. C.

These elements represent Maury's work with atmospheric science, to the benefit of all mankind and their enterprises on land and on the sea.

Weather warnings and reports had been dreams of Maury during his lifetime up until when he died and he was successful in his work.

He thought of the ships at sea as " a thousand temples of science for all of humanity " and believed these brought men and nations closer together in a common self-protection against storms and deaths.

There are fish, dolphins, jellyfish, and birds around the monument's perimeter.