Cambridge Library Collection - Earth Science
2 primary works • 9 total works
Volume 1
Fragmens de géologie et de climatologie Asiatiques: Volume 1
by Alexander von Humboldt
Published 28 June 2012
Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was one of the most respected scientists of his day, influencing the work of Darwin. He is considered the founder of physical geography, climatology, ecology and oceanography. In 1829, the Russian government invited Humboldt to visit the gold and platinum mines in the Urals. As he studied the mountains' mineral wealth, he was the first to predict the presence of diamonds. During six months, his epic 10,000-mile expedition took him as far as the Altai Mountains and the Chinese frontier. Humboldt's observations on the geography, volcanic geology and meteorology of Central Asia, being then a largely unexplored territory, were acknowledged as pioneering contributions. The results of his journey also provided much of the data used in part of his great work Kosmos. The first volume of this book, published in 1831, deals with the mountain chains and volcanoes of Central Asia.
Volume 2
Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was one of the most respected scientists of his day, influencing the work of Darwin. He is considered the founder of physical geography, climatology, ecology and oceanography. In 1829, the Russian government invited Humboldt to visit the gold and platinum mines in the Urals. As he studied the mountains' mineral wealth, he was the first to predict the presence of diamonds. During six months, his epic 10,000-mile expedition took him as far as the Altai Mountains and the Chinese frontier. Humboldt's observations on the geography, volcanic geology and meteorology of Central Asia, being then a largely unexplored territory, were acknowledged as pioneering contributions. The results of his journey also provided much of the data used in part of his great work Kosmos. The second volume of this book, published in 1831, deals with the hydrology and climatology of Central Asia.
A Geognostical Essay on the Superposition of Rocks, in Both Hemispheres.
by Alexander von Humboldt
Published 7 January 2010
The explorer and multi-disciplinary scientist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was a prominent figure in the European scientific community of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the first to make a scientific survey of South and Central America. His travels alone brought him widespread recognition, but the extensive field notes and research he undertook were developed further on his return. Originally published in French and translated in 1823, this work brought his geological speculations to a British audience. Humboldt explores the positioning of different types of rocks across the globe, and the causes behind these formations. He also hypothesises that the flora of these areas are affected by the geology, which in turn is influenced by the thermal currents of the earth's molten core. These insights into rock formations are also key to Humboldt's theory of continental drift, now recognised as resulting from the shifting of the continental plates.
Ludmilla Assing, the niece of Varnhagen von Ense, was the editor of this selection of letters from Alexander von Humboldt to her uncle - to who Humboldt had entrusted the preservation of their correspondence - in the period 1827-58. First published in 1860, Letters of Alexander von Humboldt also contains letters from Varnhagen and other distinguished correspondents to Humboldt. Some passages from Varnhagen's diary are also included to supply a vivid commentary on the letters, which present detailed records of Humboldt's life, activity, and habits of thought, and contain materials of unquestionable importance for portraying an accurate picture of his mind and character. The other letters contained in the volume illustrate his worldwide circle of correspondents. This collection was published after the deaths of both Varnhagen and Humboldt. Explanatory notes and a full index of names accompany this authorised translation from the original German.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intellectual giant: an explorer who helped lay the foundations of biogeography, a naturalist who influenced Charles Darwin, and a botanist who developed a model of the Earth's climate zones. He travelled extensively in Europe, carried out scientific explorations across the Russian Empire and in Latin America, and devoted much energy to seeking a unified view of the different branches of scientific knowledge. Ansichten der Natur, published in 1808 with a second edition in 1826, aimed to 'engage the imagination' as well as to communicate new ideas, and was translated into many European languages. This authorised translation of the third and final 1849 edition, dating from Humboldt's eightieth year, was published in 1850, though another English translation (by Mrs Sabine) had appeared the previous year. The wide coverage, including geology, geography and biology, is typical of Humboldt, as is the precise and engaging style.
Essai géognostique sur le gisement des roches dans les deux hémisphères
by Alexander von Humboldt
Published 29 March 2010
Prussian explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was described by Darwin as 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. His boundless curiosity as well as his scientific and cultural knowledge helped lay the foundations of physical geography, climatology, ecology and oceanography. In 1799, Humboldt embarked on a five-year trip to explore Central and South America. He devoted a large amount of time to the study of géognosie, the science of the origin and distribution of minerals and rocks forming the earth, later known as geology. In 1805, Humboldt published his first impressions of volcanoes and earthquakes in the Americas in his Personal Narrative. In this 1826 work, he makes the first systematic attempt to compare the rocks of the Old and New Worlds. This groundbreaking analysis became one of the most important geological works of its time.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived' according to Darwin, made groundbreaking contributions to the fields of geography, oceanography, climatology and ecology. In 1804, he returned from a five-year exploration of Latin America with an incredible wealth of specimens and data which provided the foundations for his theories on the natural order. He expounds them in this book, which was printed in German in 1808 before being translated by the geographer Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès (1767–1846) and published in French in 1828. Humboldt does more than provide descriptions of the great features and phenomena of the Earth, ranging from the geological character of immense plains and steppes to the structure and action of volcanoes. He combines a rigorous scientific approach with his emotional and aesthetic responses to the natural world, thereby constructing a true 'philosophy of nature'.
Fragmens de geologie et de climatologie Asiatiques 2 Volume Set
by Alexander von Humboldt
Published 28 June 2012
Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most respected scientists of his day, influencing the work of Darwin. He is considered the founder of physical geography, climatology, ecology and oceanography. In 1829, the Russian government invited Humboldt to visit the gold and platinum mines in the Urals. As he studied the mountains' mineral wealth, he was the first to predict the presence of diamonds. During six months, his epic 10,000-mile expedition took him as far as the Altai Mountains and the Chinese frontier. Humboldt's observations on the geography, volcanic geology and meteorology of Central Asia, being then a largely unexplored territory, were acknowledged as pioneering contributions. The results of his journey also provided much of the data used in part of his great work Kosmos. These volumes, published in 1831, deal with Central Asia's mountain chains, volcanoes, hydrology and climatology.
Fragmens de géologie et de climatologie Asiatiques: Volume 2
by Alexander von Humboldt
Published 5 June 2013
Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was one of the most respected scientists of his day, influencing the work of Darwin. He is considered the founder of physical geography, climatology, ecology and oceanography. In 1829, the Russian government invited Humboldt to visit the gold and platinum mines in the Urals. As he studied the mountains' mineral wealth, he was the first to predict the presence of diamonds. During six months, his epic 10,000-mile expedition took him as far as the Altai Mountains and the Chinese frontier. Humboldt's observations on the geography, volcanic geology and meteorology of Central Asia, being then a largely unexplored territory, were acknowledged as pioneering contributions. The results of his journey also provided much of the data used in part of his great work Kosmos. The second volume of this book, published in 1831, deals with the hydrology and climatology of Central Asia.