newly formed state. Houghton's 1841 survey report was 88 pages in length; for more than 27 pages he discussed the copper and copper ore he had seen in his travels. He famously concluded, "the copper ores are not only of superior quality, but also that their associations are such as to render them easily reduced". He noted that samples of ore he had tested were richer than the copper ore then being mined in Cornwall. His warning against prospectors rushing to the area in hopes of striking it rich became famous during the copper boom: "look closely before the step is taken, which will most certainly end in disappointment and ruin". However, to his death Houghton never came to realize that in the Keweenaw ores like those in Cornwall were present in vanishingly small amounts, and all the copper mined turned out to be native, pure copper. Nevertheless, Houghton's report prompted a major rush of settlers to the peninsula. Houghton's place in American history is somewhat problematic. Although he was the state geologist of Michigan for eight years, he never completed a comprehensive final report of his findings. One major reason may have been his early and unexpected death at the age of 36. He had multiple skills to apply, but he was not always successful in reconciling the conflicting demands of the various roles he filled. As a scientist his potential seems to have been considerable, but his death prevented that potential from being fully realized. The city of Houghton, Houghton County, Houghton Lake, the largest inland lake in the state, and Douglass Houghton Falls, southeast of Calumet, are among many Michigan features named in his honor. Douglass Houghton Hall, a residence hall at Michigan Technological University, was named for him. A plaque commemorating Houghton is at the entrance to the Department of Geological Sciences (now Earth and Environmental Sciences) at the University of Michigan. A plaque embedded into a stone monument was erected in the town of Eagle River, just a few miles from where his boat sank. He and three other professors are memorialized by a monument near the University of Michigan's Graduate Library, which features a broken pillar symbolizing lives cut short. In 2006 the University created the Douglass Houghton Scholars Program, designed to encourage students interested in careers in science. Houghton's goldenrod was named for him; he discovered this plant variety along the southern shore