Hermann Karsten, pioneer of geologic mapping in northwestern South America

In the late 19th century, a regional map of Nueva Granada(present-day Colombia, Panama and parts of Venezuela and Ecuador) was published by German botanist and geologist Hermann Karsten (1817-1908). Karsten's work was incorporated by Agustin Codazzi (1793-1859), an Italian who emigrated to Vene...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:History of geo- and space sciences 2015-01, Vol.6 (1), p.57-63
Main Author: Aalto, K R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Colombia
Cretaceous
Crystalline rocks
Earth
Gases
Geologic mapping
Geological mapping
Humboldt, Alexander von (1769-1859)
Land surveys
Mapping
Mineral resources
Mountains
Quaternary
Regional
Sedimentary rocks
Stratigraphy
Terrestrial environments
Volcanic activity
Volcanoes
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Summary:In the late 19th century, a regional map of Nueva Granada(present-day Colombia, Panama and parts of Venezuela and Ecuador) was published by German botanist and geologist Hermann Karsten (1817-1908). Karsten's work was incorporated by Agustin Codazzi (1793-1859), an Italian who emigrated to Venezuela and Colombia to serve as a government cartographer and geographer, in his popular Atlas geografico e historico de la Republica de Colombia(1889). Geologic mapping and most observations provided in this 1889 atlas were taken from Karsten's Geologie de l'ancienne Colombie bolivarienne: Venezuela, Nouvelle-Grenade et Ecuador(1886), as cited by Manual Paz and/or Felipe Perez, who edited this edition of the atlas. Karsten defined four epochs in Earth history: Primera- without life - primary crystalline rocks, Segunda- with only marine life - chiefly sedimentary rocks, Tercera- with terrestrial quadrupeds and fresh water life forms life - chiefly sedimentary rocks, and Cuarta- mankind appears, includes diluvial (glacigenic) and post-diluvial terranes. He noted that Colombia is composed of chiefly of Quaternary, Tertiary and Cretaceous plutonic, volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and that Earth's internal heat (calor central) accounted, by escape of inner gases, for volcanism, seismicity and uplift of mountains. Karsten's regional mapping and interpretation thus constitutes the primary source and ultimate pioneering geologic research.
ISSN:2190-5029
2190-5010
2190-5029
DOI:10.5194/hgss-6-57-2015