Author Archives: paul
Door 11: Geological painting by numbers
Door four: A tale of bones and beards…
William Smith’s County Maps
William Smith, the ‘father of English geology’, is famous for creating the first geological map of a country – the ‘Map that changed the world.’ One of his famous geological maps of England and Wales now hangs in our entrance hall at Burlington House, where visitors still flock to see it. But what did he … Continue reading
Publishing maps: a cautionary tale
Visitors to the building may notice an addition to the Lower Library – a display about the fortunes and misfortunes of one the UK’s most famous geologists never to be a Fellow, William Smith. Smith’s most celebrated achievement, the first geological map of a complete country, now hangs in our entrance hall, but he didn’t … Continue reading
Murchison’s Peacetime Map of Siluria
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison spent much of the early 1830s stomping round Wales and the West Midlands immersed in an oceanic world of metre-long sea scorpions. A world which later gave rise to both leeches and creatures with backbones. Above the waters, plants began to grow on Avalonia. It was the dawn of the age of … Continue reading
Top 5 less-volcanic lairs for Evil Geologists
Skyfall – the best Bond film ever? We’re not sure, but one thing is certain. You don’t get to be a creditable Bond villain without a proper lair in which to lurk. One year on from our first suggestions, here are a few more to choose from… Continue reading
Early Geological Social Networking
When I imagine the early geological map-makers, I think of men on grand tours, taking geological hammers to prise fragments of rock from exposed strata. Late at night they’d examine their findings by candlelight, take notes and draw sketch maps, later to be incorporated into the great cartographic works they published and left to us … Continue reading
Digitising the map collection: new toys
‘Do you have a digital copy of that map?’ It’s probably the most common question I get asked in the Map Room. Currently our collection is almost 100% hardcopy mapping, collected by Fellows and librarians throughout the 200 years of the Society’s existence. We hold all sorts of maps including one printed on silk and … Continue reading
Top 5 volcanic lairs for Evil Geologists
It’s natural to assume that geologists as a breed, are of good stock. They are hale, hearty, don’t mind a spot of outdoor activity and most importantly don’t do evil. However there’s always a bad apple in any given group and it follows that some of you reading this will be bone fide Evil Geologists. … Continue reading
The Geological Society Blog 