Wisconsin Geology

Earth Science in WI

State Organizations:

Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey
- History of the WGNHS (M.E. Ostrom, 1988, revised 1996)
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin Water Science Center (USGS)
Wisconsin State Cartographer's Office
Wisconsin State Climatology Office

Museums:

Geology Departments around the state:

Wisconsin Geoscience Directory

Digital text:

Digital Collection of 19th Century Wisconsin Geology Resources

Geology of Wisconsin (1873-1879) and Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin

The Wisconsin Legislature mandated the fifth incarnation of the geological survey in 1873 to conduct a "complete geological, mineralogical and agricultural survey of the state." Between 1873 and 1882, the fruits of this survey's labor were published under the leadership of T.C. Chamberlin in the four volumes entitled Geology of Wisconsin. The volumes contain more than 3,000 pages of text, color lithographs, maps, and detailed engravings that comprehensively illustrate the overall knowledge of the geology and natural history of Wisconsin in the late 1800s. The accompanying atlas has also been digitized. Unfortunately, these books have long been out of print. Because of their historic value, the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections has scanned them and made them available on-line.