WSU Library News

October 11 , 2006 at 1:00pm

The Map that Changed Minnesota: William Smith, the History of Geology, and how Maps have Changed the World
Toby Dogwiler - Professor, Geoscience

"If it isn't grown, it's mined." This is an old adage that geologists often use to illustrate the importance of the resources we extract from the Earth to supply our modern economy. Indeed, look around yourself right now: the steel in your desk, the silicon in your microprocessor, and the plastic in your iPod are all made from products extracted from the Earth. Although most people take it for granted, it is critically important that societies know where and how to obtain the natural resources used to make things.

This is where William Smith, the hero of our story, comes in. Drawing inspiration from Simon Winchester's recent book, "The Map that Changed the World", we will discuss William Smith's life-long effort of making the first detailed geologic map of a nation. Smith's geologic map of England is often credited with laying the foundation for understanding geology on a large scale--which is exactly the skill needed to locate the quantities of natural resources required to supply a modern society. Thus, it is fair to say that William Smith's map did change the world by paving the way for the industrial revolution and ultimately our modern economy.

With this knowledge in hand we will examine Minnesota' geologic map. We'll find that Minnesota's "sense of place" is directly derived from its geologic heritage and that the history of Minnesota and its pattern of settlement have been deeply (pun intended) influenced by the underlying bedrock.