On Some of the Greater Problems of Physical Geology

Washington, D. C.: Philosophical Society of Washington. Very Good. 1889. First Edition. Softcover. Brown wraps with light soiling, chipping on edges and corners, including minor tearing on foredge of rear wrap. Tied binding. Pages moderately toned with chipping on edges. Light annotation on one page in the margin in pencil, "! ! ." Paper read before the Philosophical Society of Washington April 27, 1889. Landmark paper by esteemed geologist Clarence Dutton that includes the first use of the term "isostasy" which Dutton defined as the condition of equilibrium of a planetary body under gravitation so that where lighter material was accumulated there would be a bulge and where denser matter there would be a tendency to flatten or depress the surface. Dutton's distinquished career as a geologist included publication of the Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon Region, a study of volcanism in Hawaii and a report on the 1886 Charleston Earthquake. This paper addresses the "great problem" of geology of the cause of folding, distortions and fractures of the strata. Author's note states that the paper was "written hastily to occupy a vacant half hour of a meeting of the Philosophical Society without thought of publication" and that he yielded to "the kind solicitation of friends to consent to its publication." One copy in OCLC at Stanford. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 14 pp . (Inventory #: 009965)