Grewingk's Geology of Alaska and the Northwest Coast of America.: Contributions Toward Knowledge of the Orographic and Geognostic Condition of the Northwest ... Historical Translation Series, V. 11)

"Constantine Grewingk, who later became one of the Empire's leading scientists, had gathered and organized everything that Russia knew about the geology of Alaska in 1850. In this book he provides an extensive analysis of mineral samples sent to St. Petersburg by explorers, as well as an exhaustive examination of all of the publications relevant to geology and geographical exploration up to that time. Grewingk's catalog and evaluation of all known volcanic activity, including that before the arrival of the Russians, is particularly unique because of his use of Native oral traditions gathered by explorers and clerics. He also describes, for the first time, phenomena that are often assumed to have been discovered only after the sale of Alaska, including specific copper, coal, and gold deposits. In addition to creating the first published mineralogical maps of the Alaskan territory, Grewingk develops some of the earliest theoretical accounts of Alaskan fossils, volcanoes, and the concept of the Bering Land Bridge. This much-anticipated translation will be valuable to readers interested in Alaska natural history, geology, minerology, Russian America, and the history of science."--BOOK JACKET First published by the Russian Imperial Mineralogical Society in 1848 and 1849, this volume marks the first appearance in English of the first Russian compilation of then current geological, mineralogical, and geographic information about Alaska. The author summarized existing research, mostly presenting the information on a region-by-region basis. He also included a chronology of volcanic events and discussed the relationship between Alaskan and wider North American geology.