Raphael Pumpelly

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Raphael Pumpelly (1837 – 1923) was an American geologist and explorer.

Invited by the respective governments, he surveyed parts of Japan and China. He made the first extensive survey of the Gobi Desert, and explored Mongolia and Siberia.

Later he was Professor of Mining Science at Harvard University. Among his scientific accomplishments was a theory of secular rock disintegration. He was influenced by Louis Agassiz.

The mineral Pumpellyite, a variety of "greenstone" found only in Keweenaw County in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, was named in his honor.

Pumpelly spent his summers near Mount Monadnock, and in 1884 he blazed a trail from his house to the summit that still carries his name. The Pumpelly Trail is considered one of the most scenic on the mountain.

External links

• Raphael Pumpelly biography
• Pumpelly, A Mining Adventure in Arizona, Putnam's monthly magazine, 1869
• Digital versions (page images) of books by Raphael Pumpelly are available at the Toyo Bunko Rare Books Archive of the Digital Silk Roads Project

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday May 31, 2008 at 12:46:21 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation