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https://exhibits.library.illinois.edu/s/rbml/item/3911
- Title
- An inquiry into the original state and formation of the earth
- Description
- This figure from John Whitehurst’s Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth (1786) highlights the typical mid-18th century approach to observing Earth’s layers through an ahistorical lens. Whitehurst focuses his figure here, as well as imagery in the rest of the text, on characterization of the Earth’s layers (or, its “structure”), with limited and highly speculative insight into the dynamic and historical processes that created this structure. Note the mine shaft shown on the right side of the figure, which firmly situates Whitehurst’s intellectual endeavors in the applied and practical field of geognosy (the characteriziation of Earth’s structure and composition), and devoid of geohistorical context. The angled layering here required at least some ad hoc explanation, and Whitehurst illustrates his interpretation as the result of collapse along a hidden crack; a modern structural geologist would connect the two opposite sides into a single U-shaped fold. At the time of this publication, key questions of when did the tilting happen and what drove the tilting remained unanswered.
- Call Number (click link to view in library catalog)
- Q. 550 W58i1786
- Authors
- Whitehurst, John
- Full Title
- An inquiry into the original state and formation of the earth : deduced from facts and the laws of nature
- Date
- 1786
- From the Exhibit
- In Search of Lost Time: History in the Layers of the Earth
- Publisher
- Pater-noster Row
- Location
- London
- Language
- English
- Rights
-
This item is the physical property of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, may reside with the materials' creator(s) or their heirs.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library's reproduction and publication policies are available here: https://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/collections/reproduction-services/. The library welcomes requests for reproductions made from works in our collections, though restrictions may apply to certain materials. Please contact the library with any questions at askacurator@illinois.edu. - Type
- Text
- Edition
- 2nd edition
- Medium
- Book
- Bibliographic Citation
- Whitehurst, John. Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth. London: Pater-noster Row, 1786.