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24 May 2019

The Oldest Geologic Map And Mapmakers

By Matthew Perry


Most often, when people think of maps, GPS devices are often the first thing that comes to mind. Although, there are a number of other types of maps. In one case, a geological or geologic map pertains to showing geological aspects and locations on geographical maps.

Geological mapping includes marking rocks and fossils in different areas to measure the location from the surface of the rock. Structural data on the other hand, such as faults, folds, lineages and plunges are often denoted with dips, strikes and trend markings. As a result, these marks often create a three dimensional effect in the formation.

Identifying and marking the surface area of the object can often be complicated. The use of contour lines can often help in illustrating the subsurface, surface and topographical areas. Whereas, when making such calculations, it is important to consider whether or not the object had been exposed to topsoil, backfill, bedrock or other related factors which could have effected the overall surface area.

The Turin Papyrus which has been well preserved is considered to be the oldest geological map in the world. For, the map dates back to 1150 BCE and shows the deposits of gold and stone from locations in Egypt. As such, the map has been one of the most interesting finds in the history of archaeology, geography, geology and history.

While the map dating back to 1150 BCE is the oldest, the oldest map of modern times is believed to be one which dates back to 1771, showing part of Auyergne. In this case, the map was made out of basalt while using prisms, balls and rocks to denote different geographical locations. While there have been a number of geological maps created over time, these are considered to be the most important in relation to the earliest days of the world.

Credit for developing the first geological map in the United States goes to William Maclure. For, in 1807 Maclure undertook the task of traveling to and surveying every state in the Union at the time. During the survey, it is reported that Maclure crossed the Allegheny mountains more than fifty times.

It was a journey and survey which would take over two years to complete. Reports show that the surveyor and mapmaker crossed over the Allegheny Mountains at least, if not more than fifty times in the process. As a result, findings show the distribution of five classes of different rocks now known only to exist in the Eastern most states of present-day United States.

While most all geological maps created in the United States since that time are similar to the first, some are now laid over topographical maps of the same area to note various comparisons. In addition, while symbols are often used to show fault lines, folds, fossils and other geological data, color masking is often used to denote the exposure of the geological unit from the bedrock. As such, these maps are now used in earthquake sciences, topology, history, archaeology, geology, marine biology and other areas of interest.




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