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Then he estimated the boundaries of each of the outcrops of rock, filled them in with colour and ended up with a crude geological map. Smith's famous 1815 geological map of part of Great Britain. In 1801, he drew a rough sketch of what would become the first geological map of most of Great Britain.
- Wollaston Medal (1831)
- Geological map of England and Wales
May 8, 2008 · Earlier geologists had mapped rock formations and even used fossils to identify rocks, but Smith’s was the first map to depict so many rock formations over such a large area. Smith produced this impressive work on his own, often using his own money, perhaps to his later regret.
- Michon Scott
- 2008
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Apr 9, 2024 · William Smith was an English engineer and geologist who is best known for his development of the science of stratigraphy. Smith’s great geologic map of England and Wales (1815) set the style for modern geologic maps, and many of the colourful names he applied to the strata are still in use today.
Smith’s map and ideas paved the way for a better understanding of geological time and laid the founding principles for geological surveys worldwide. His concept of using fossils to identify rocks is still very important today. Download a larger version of William Smith's 1815 geological map PDF (6.4MB)
Considered to be the first geological map of a complete country ever made, Smith’s innovation was to attempt to classify rocks according to age and manner of deposition—that is stratigraphically. Fundamental to the production of the map was Smith’s recognition that particular fossils were associated with specific strata, thus enabling ...
Jan 16, 2015 · 16 Jan 2015. Vol 347, Issue 6219. pp. 230 - 232. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa2330. In 1815, William Smith, an English canal surveyor and land drainer, provided the young science of geology with the first true geological map of an entire country (see the first figure).
On a scale of 5 miles per inch, the map measured 6 feet by 8 feet 6 inches. It was not the world’s first geologic map, but it was the first to map such a large area in such detail. In mapping rocks that lay underground, Smith faced a challenge.
