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The Map that Changed the World [in 1815]
University at Buffalo ^ | 04 October 2005 | Staff

Posted on 10/07/2005 3:59:37 AM PDT by PatrickHenry

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- When University at Buffalo planetary volcanologist Tracy Gregg mentioned at a recent geology conference that the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library was this fall exhibiting an original edition of the world's first geologic map, audience members were captivated.

"People were coming up to me afterward, asking when would be the best time to come to Buffalo to see the map and what hotel should they stay at," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if hundreds of geologists end up coming to Buffalo to see it."

This original, signed edition of the first series of geologic maps ever created is one of only two in the United States; the other is at the Library of Congress. The map is accompanied by a descriptive pamphlet series. There are just 43 known originals of the map in the world today.

Dubbed "The Map that Changed the World," by Simon Winchester in his popular 2001 book, the hand-tinted, 10-foot-by-six-foot map is on exhibit at the Central Library branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, One Lafayette Square.

"If geology were a religion, this map would be its bible," said Robert Jacobi, Ph.D., UB professor of geology.

Link to pic of map (It's too big to display with the article. You can click on the map and make it bigger.).

But the map isn't only for geologists, stress Jacobi and Gregg, UB associate professor of geology.

"This map directly addresses the relationship of people to the natural world," said Gregg. "It directly influenced the industrial revolution, geology, biology and evolution. It forced people to think about our place in the universe."

[minor snip about the exhibit]

The hand-drawn map and pamphlets were created by canal surveyor William Smith in 1815 based on his travels throughout Great Britain on foot and on horseback.

Smith was the first to recognize and record the fact that rocks on the surface told the stories of the rocks and minerals that existed below the surface.

"Smith could 'read' the rocks on the surface," Gregg said, "he realized that it was not random, that earth's processes have a cycle and an order to them and that, for example, specific fossils are only in certain rocks."

That observation alone, helped provide a foundation for Darwin's work later in the century.

Because the map provided a systematic method of linking what was under the ground with its surface, it played a major role in the industrial revolution, providing a method for the identification of valuable mineral deposits of coal, oil, iron ore and others.

"The map is a tool, a mechanism for communicating how you can peel back the layers of dirt, gravel and grass and see what's underneath," said Gregg, "so you can tell somebody, go to this spot on this street corner and this is what you will find."

Gregg notes that the geologic map is still the basic unit of conversation among geologists and that nearly two centuries later, geologic maps are not all that different from Smith's.

[snip stuff about the exhibit hours]


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: crevolist; geology
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Not the usual evolution thread, but I liked the article. Underlining added by me.
1 posted on 10/07/2005 3:59:39 AM PDT by PatrickHenry
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To: VadeRetro; Junior; longshadow; RadioAstronomer; Doctor Stochastic; js1138; Shryke; RightWhale; ...
EvolutionPing
A pro-evolution science list with over 300 names.
See the list's explanation at my freeper homepage.
Then FReepmail to be added or dropped.
See what's new in The List-O-Links.

2 posted on 10/07/2005 4:01:19 AM PDT by PatrickHenry ( I won't respond to a troll, crackpot, half-wit, or incurable ignoramus.)
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To: PatrickHenry

That was a good book.


3 posted on 10/07/2005 4:06:47 AM PDT by ChiefKujo
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To: PatrickHenry

"...and though we be on the far side of the world, this map- is our home.

This map- is England."

/Aubrey

Fascinating. I grabbed a copy to look at when my eyes are open.


4 posted on 10/07/2005 4:07:46 AM PDT by Riley ("Bother" said Pooh, as he fired the Claymores.)
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To: PatrickHenry
New version of Google Earth released yesterday
5 posted on 10/07/2005 4:08:34 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: PatrickHenry

"Gregg notes that the geologic map is still the basic unit of conversation among geologists and that nearly two centuries later, geologic maps are not all that different from Smith's. "

True. I used to work at an oil major ... and the facts are that without 3D geologic maps/geophysical maps, plus cross sections tied to synthetics ... well, it would be a bit tough to enjoy the game of wild catting...

DHI's are especially fun to map. (Direct Hydrocarbon Indiators)


6 posted on 10/07/2005 4:09:00 AM PDT by gobucks (http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/classics/students/Ribeiro/Laocoon.htm)
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To: PatrickHenry

Fascinating article. Thank you!


7 posted on 10/07/2005 4:11:58 AM PDT by Wormwood (Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!)
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To: PatrickHenry

Thanks for the ping.


8 posted on 10/07/2005 4:12:15 AM PDT by aculeus
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To: PatrickHenry
Absolutely awesome book. Winchester is an incredible writer. He also wrote "The Professor and the Madman: Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary".
9 posted on 10/07/2005 4:13:25 AM PDT by Non-Sequitur
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To: martin_fierro

Thanks- getting it now.


10 posted on 10/07/2005 4:18:01 AM PDT by Riley ("Bother" said Pooh, as he fired the Claymores.)
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To: PatrickHenry

Finally..aside from the Bills, a reason to visit Buffalo.


11 posted on 10/07/2005 4:18:12 AM PDT by ken5050 (Ann Coulter needs to have children ASAP to pass on her gene pool....any volunteers?)
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To: PatrickHenry
That book convinced me that Simon Winchester is the best prose stylist writing in English today.
12 posted on 10/07/2005 4:21:13 AM PDT by Physicist
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To: PatrickHenry
"Not the usual evolution thread [...]"

I consider that a good thing.

Do we really need another evolution thread around here?

13 posted on 10/07/2005 4:27:03 AM PDT by Majic (Joel Henry Hinrichs III, the AMERICAN SUICIDE BOMBER, is being spiked by the national press. Why?)
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To: Gondring

ping for later


14 posted on 10/07/2005 5:09:11 AM PDT by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: Non-Sequitur
Winchester is an incredible writer. He also wrote "The Professor and the Madman: Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary".

Hmmm...I found that book to be extremely repetitive...like he took a two-chapter story and expanded it by running through the same anecdote again and again.

Also didn't help when I found out he'd made part of it up. :-(

15 posted on 10/07/2005 5:15:14 AM PDT by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: ken5050

The Buffalo Library also has Mark Twains original handwritten manuscript of Huck Finn.


16 posted on 10/07/2005 5:39:14 AM PDT by singletrack (..................................................................)
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The CrevoSci Archive
Just one of the many services of Darwin Central
"The Conspiracy that Cares"

CrevoSci threads for the past week:

  1. 2005-10-07 Evolution and intelligent design Life is a cup of tea
  2. 2005-10-07 The Map that Changed the World [in 1815]
  3. 2005-10-07 Why Intelligent Design Is Going to Win
  4. 2005-10-06 Faith, Science and the Persecution of Richard Sternberg
  5. 2005-10-06 Scientist defends Big Bang and God
  6. 2005-10-06 Seeing Creation and Evolution in Grand Canyon (quote below is the most significant item)
  7. 2005-10-06 U of I president:teach only evolution in {University}science classes (Connection to PA court fight)
  8. 2005-10-06 Witness: 'Design' Replaced 'Creation'
  9. 2005-10-06 Witness: Movement's roots in creationism (Dover trial 10/6/05)
  10. 2005-10-05 Professor, teachers to testify in intelligent-design trial [Dover, PA, 05 Oct]
  11. 2005-10-05 Supernova Storm Wiped Out Mammoths?
  12. 2005-10-05 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005 goes to Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock
  13. 2005-10-04 A space station view on giant lightning (May play role in global warming!)
  14. 2005-10-04 Ancient Peruvians Loved Their Spuds
  15. 2005-10-04 "Cardinal backs evolution and ""intelligent design"""
  16. 2005-10-04 Potatoes came from Peru, US study finds
  17. 2005-10-04 Space Scientists Seek Sprites, Elves and Jets
  18. 2005-10-04 Spider fooled into sex by drop-dead male
  19. 2005-10-04 The Bottom Line: Darwinism Promotes Social Disintegration
  20. 2005-10-04 The Nobel Prize in Physics 2005 is awarded to Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall and Theodor W. Hänsch
  21. 2005-10-03 How Long Did It Take to Deposit the Geologic Strata? (Hint: Maybe it wasn't millions of years)
  22. 2005-10-03 Live from Pennsylvania: Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
  23. 2005-10-03 Returning to Dover [evolution trial in Dover, PA: week 2]
  24. 2005-10-03 Systemic determinants of gene evolution and function
  25. 2005-10-03 The timeless truth of creation
  26. 2005-10-01 ‘Why?’ versus ‘How?’ [evolution trial in Dover, PA, end of week one]
  27. 2005-10-01 Eugenie Scott Makes False Claims About Peer-Reviewed Paper on MSNBC
  28. 2005-10-01 For the Anti-Evolutionists, Hope in High Places
  29. 2005-10-01 Liars’ brains make fibbing come naturally
  30. 2005-10-01 Study: Sun's Changes to Blame for Part of Global Warming
  31. 2005-10-01 That Famous Equation and You

CrevoSci Warrior Freepdays for the month of October:
 

2003-10-09 antiRepublicrat
2004-10-10 Antonello
1998-10-18 AZLiberty
1999-10-14 blam
2000-10-19 cogitator
2001-10-21 Coyoteman
2004-10-26 curiosity
1998-10-29 Dataman
2000-10-29 dila813
2001-10-14 dread78645
1998-10-03 Elsie
1998-10-17 f.Christian
2002-10-08 FairOpinion
2001-10-26 Genesis defender
2000-10-09 Gil4
2000-10-08 guitarist
2004-10-10 joeclarke
1998-10-03 js1138
2001-10-24 k2blader
2000-10-08 LibWhacker
2002-10-25 m1-lightning
2001-10-10 Michael_Michaelangelo
2001-10-09 Mother Abigail
2004-10-25 MRMEAN
2004-10-03 Nicholas Conradin
1999-10-28 PatrickHenry
1998-10-01 Physicist
1998-10-25 plain talk
1998-10-12 Restorer
2005-10-04 ret_medic
2001-10-23 RightWingNilla
2004-10-09 snarks_when_bored
2002-10-22 sumocide
2004-10-21 WildHorseCrash
2001-10-23 yankeedame
2002-10-20 Z in Oregon

In Memoriam
Fallen CrevoSci Warriors:


Poster CloseTag ALS
Area Freeper
Aric2000
Askel5
bluepistolero
churchillbuff
ConservababeJen
DittoJed2
dob
Ed Current
f.Christian
followerofchrist
general_re
goodseedhomeschool
gopwinsin04
gore3000
Jedigirl
JesseShurun
kharaku
Le-Roy
Marathon
medved
metacognative
Modernman
NoKinToMonkeys
Ogmios
peg the prophet
Phaedrus
Phoroneus
pickemuphere
ret_medic
RickyJ
SeaLion
Selkie
Shubi
Tomax
tpaine
WaveThatFlag
xm177e2


Bring back Modernman and SeaLion!

17 posted on 10/07/2005 6:12:53 AM PDT by Junior (From now on, I'll stick to science, and leave the hunting alien mutants to the experts!)
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To: PatrickHenry

bttt


18 posted on 10/07/2005 6:51:23 AM PDT by facedown (Armed in the Heartland)
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To: PatrickHenry
Not the usual evolution thread...

Like a library in a mobile home park.

19 posted on 10/07/2005 7:07:03 AM PDT by js1138 (Great is the power of steady misrepresentation.)
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To: PatrickHenry

Thanks for the ping!


20 posted on 10/07/2005 7:07:38 AM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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