Original meaning of the notion and term “formation” in geology
The notion of (geological) formation has gradually developed through mostly German terms: from ein Gebirge, which was used by Saxon miners for several centuries (AGRICOLA), then Schichten, Bergart (LEHMANN) and serie montana (FUCHSEL) to Gebirgsart (WERNER). The term ‘formation’ was introdu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Faculty of Mining and Geology, Belgrade
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Geološki Anali Balkanskoga Poluostrva |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-0608/2014/0350-06081475033G.pdf |
| Summary: | The notion of (geological) formation has gradually developed through mostly
German terms: from ein Gebirge, which was used by Saxon miners for several
centuries (AGRICOLA), then Schichten, Bergart (LEHMANN) and serie montana
(FUCHSEL) to Gebirgsart (WERNER). The term ‘formation’ was introduced by
WERNER in 1791 and its meaning was clearly defined around 1800. He included
the notion of “formation” into his system of “geognostic structures”:
mineral; rock (layer); formation; Earth’s crust. Therefore, it was an
equivocal term from the start. It implied a geological body of certain
composition, genesis and superposition (i.e. time of origination). After
Werner, the term ‘formation’ was used in different ways, mostly as a synonym
for a ‘system’, until 1881 when such use was forbidden. The original
Wernerian sense of the term ‘formation’ (as a unit in geological levels of
organisation: mineral-rock-formation-geosphere-planet) with an intentionally
equivocal meaning was not restored until the second half of the twentieth
century. |
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| ISSN: | 0350-0608 2406-0747 |