'I Would Have Sworn my Life on Your Interpretation': James Hall, Sir William Logan and the 'Quebec Group'

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
'I Would Have Sworn my Life on Your Interpretation': James Hall, Sir William Logan and the 'Quebec Group'
Abstract
In 1843, the Montreal-born William Logan (1798-1875) was hired to undertake a geological survey of the Canadas (Canada East and Canada West, present day Quebec and Ontario). The Geological Survey of Canada, based in Montreal from 1843 until 1881, evolved from this position. The author examines how the establishment of a stratigraphic succession for the Paleozoic rocks south of Quebec City created a bitter international confrontation in the 1860's. Establishing the geological framework for Canada after 1842, William Logan relied on the system of nomenclature established by the New York Geological Survey and James Hall. Moreover, in elaborating a stratigraphic succession for the Quebec rocks, Logan drew directly on Hall's paleontological expertise. Their combined skills contributed to a coherent column for the "Quebec Group." Yet in 1861 new trilobite evidence proved the column wrong, created a strident conflict between Logan and Hall, dragged them into the "Taconic" controversy and seriously damaged their close working relationship.
Publication
Earth Sciences History
Volume
Vol. 6
Issue
no. 1
Pages
47-60
Date
1987
Language
en
Citation
Eagan, William E. “‘I Would Have Sworn My Life on Your Interpretation’: James Hall, Sir William Logan and the ‘Quebec Group.’” Earth Sciences History Vol. 6, no. 1 (1987): 47–60.
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