Smith published ”A Geological Map of England and Wale and Part of Scotland.” On a scale of 5 miles per inch, the map measured 6 feet by 8 feet 6 inches, and it was the first map that showed a detailed, multicolor three-dimensional depiction of the varieties of soil and layers of rock under a large area, as well as the location of mineral wealth and fossils. Smith used watercolors and devised an innovative shading technique that is still used in geological maps.
According to this biographical profile of Smith, the map’s creator was born in 1769 and grew up on his uncle’s farm, where as a child he became fascinated with what people called “poundstones,” which actually were ancient fossilized sea urchins. As a young man, he began working as a surveyor in coal mines, where he observed rock layers in predictable sequences and began to suspect that the strata extended across the countryside.
He gathered further evidence of his notion as he traveled around England, working as a surveyor on the canals that were being dug to transport the coal. He also discovered that different layers had different fossils in them. That led Smith to develop the principle of faunal succession, which is still used by scientists today to identify various rock strata.
The conceptual breakthrough inspired him to create his famous map.
While Smith’s work earned him a place in history, oddly, it also contributed to his financial ruin. Though he made a lot of money as a surveyor, Smith invested unwisely in real estate, and got so heavily into debt that he had to sell his famed collection of fossils to the British Museum. The map was a chance for him to get in the black again, but it didn’t sell well enough, in part because another surveyor published his own competing version. As a result, the creator of the first great geological map ended up in debtor’s prison in 1819.
From Discovery News
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