Abstract
William Smith (1769–1839), an English engineer and surveyor, began at the end of the 18th century to collect fossils from successive beds, which he had observed in the course of his journeys across England. He realized that each stratum could be recognized by the fossils found in it, and that the same succession of strata could be observed wherever the rocks concerned were found. In 1815 appeared as a result of his investigations the large geological map of England and Wales with an accompanying explanation. Th is is the earliest large-scale geological map of any extensive area or country (Winchester, 2001), although similar efforts had already been made since the late 18th century in Saxony by A. G. Werner (Wagenbreth, 1998). A preceding attempt of these early scientific geological maps should here, however, be mentioned, because of its origin in Africa: Undoubtedly existed in ancient Egypt a highly developed surveying and engineering system, but unfortunately almost no cartographic proof of it is known — except a map drawn on a papyrus, which is currently kept in the Museo Egizio in Turin.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bowen, R. & Jux, U. (1987): Afro-Arabian Geology — a kinematic view.— I–XIV, 1–295; Chapmann and Hall, London, New York.
Cahen, L. & Snelling, N. J. (1966): The Geochronology of Equatorial Africa.— I–VII, 1–195; North-Holland Publ. Comp., Amsterdam.
Cahen, L., Snelling, N. J., Delhal, J. & Vail, R. J. (1984): The Geochronology and Evolution of Africa.— I–XII, 1–512; Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Fischer, G. A. (1884): Bericht über die im Auftrag der Geographischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg unternommene Reise in das Massai-Land. Part 1: Allgemeiner Bericht.— Mitteilungen der Geographischen Gesellschaft Hamburg, 1882–1883, 36–99; Hamburg.
Furon, R. (1968): Geologie de l'Afrique.— 1–374; Payot, Paris.
Gregory, J. W. (1896): The Great Rift Valley. Being the Narrative of a Journey to Mount Kenya and Lake Baringo.— I–XX, 1–405; John Murray, London.
Holmes, A. (1951): The Sequence of Pre-Cambrian Orogenic Belts in South and Central Africa.— 18th International Geological Congress, Great Britain, 1948, 14, 254–269; London.
Rogers, A. W. (1905): An Introduction to the Geology of the Cape.— I–XI, 1–463; Longmans, Green & Co., New York, Bombay.
Russegger, R. (1842): Geological Map of Egypt. Sadebeck, A. (1872): Geologie von Ost-Afrika.— In: O. Kersten: C. C. von der Decken’s Reisen in Ost-Afrika. Part 3, 1–140; Leipzig.
Schlüter, T. (2001): History and Perspectives of Geological Research in East Africa.— Documenta Naturae 136, 161–183; Munich.
Winchester, S. (2001): The Map that Changed the World. William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology.— 1–332; HarperCollins Publishers Inc., New York.
Wagenbreth, O. (1998): Die geologische Kartierung in der Geschichte der Wissenschaft en.— Zeitschrift für geologische Wissenschaft en 26(1/2), 241–246; Berlin.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
(2008). Early Geological Maps of Africa. In: Geological Atlas of Africa. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-76373-4_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-76373-4_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-76324-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-76373-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)