Tag Archives: history

Wooster Geologist in Virginia

Mark Wilson October 17, 2010 9:24 pm

MANASSAS, VIRGINIA–We’ve had several posts in this blog on the geology of battlefields (Leningrad, the Meuse-Argonne, Vicksburg, Bear River, Brice’s Crossroads). These places are almost always beautiful: peaceful green fields, quiet forests and grass-covered hills which belie the tragedies they … Continue reading →

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Fossils on the Meuse-Argonne Battlefield

Mark Wilson August 16, 2010 10:21 am

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–To my delight, while exploring the Meuse-Argonne area this morning, I found an exposure of marly Cretaceous sediments very near where my Grandfather’s tank brigade assembled for an attack at dawn on October 4, 1918. The sediment … Continue reading →

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Battle of the Mines: Vauquois, 1915-1918

Mark Wilson August 16, 2010 8:16 am

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–The influence of geology on war is shockingly clear on the Butte de Vauquois (N 49° 12′ 20.20”, E 5° 4′ 11.42”). This large hill (290 meters in elevation) is an outlier of the chalky detritic sandstone … Continue reading →

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The military advantage of holding the Upper Cretaceous chalk highlands

Mark Wilson August 15, 2010 12:08 pm

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–There is one strong geological control of warfare in northern France: the high areas are often thick, resistant Upper Cretaceous chalk while the valleys and plains below are usually poorly-consolidated greensands and clays. We’ve already seen these … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologist in France

Mark Wilson August 14, 2010 9:50 am

VIENNE LE CHATEAU, FRANCE–I’m on the last part of my European trip this summer. The International Bryozoology Association post-conference field trip ended in Frankfurt yesterday. I rented a car at the Frankfurt airport and drove southwest into northeastern France where … Continue reading →

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Tunnels yet again — and a loess connection

Mark Wilson August 13, 2010 5:06 pm

OPPENHEIM, GERMANY–This jewel of a town, with its large cathedral, half-timbered buildings and narrow streets, share surprising geological connections with Vicksburg, Mississippi — a city visited by Wooster geologists earlier this summer. Both are river towns which profited in good … Continue reading →

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Geology and religion: le Grand Animal de Maastricht

Mark Wilson August 10, 2010 3:25 pm

MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS–Next month I am giving a talk on campus about evolution in a lecture series on “science and religion”. I was particularly intrigued, then, to hear a story about the famous mosasaur discovered in the Maastricht tunnels that … Continue reading →

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Geology and Art History

Mark Wilson August 9, 2010 12:42 am

MAASTRICHT, THE NETHERLANDS–The tunnels dug into the soft Maastrichtian Formation limestones in this city have a long history starting with the Romans. At first the excavations were intended only to extract building stone, but with all the battles, sieges and … Continue reading →

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The advantages and disadvantages of building your city on clay

Mark Wilson August 4, 2010 3:36 pm

Lübeck, Germany–Do not adjust the image above. It is of the Holstein Gate (“Holstentor”) on the western side of the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck. On the left is a side view and the right is from the front. … Continue reading →

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Kiel Fjord and Canal, northern Germany

Mark Wilson August 3, 2010 11:47 am

KIEL, GERMANY–Geologists always try to see the geological context of cities they visit, usually by studying the form of the landscape (“geomorphology“) and peering under bridges and the like to find exposed rocks. I have been notably unsuccessful at this … Continue reading →

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