Seeing underground : maps, models, and mining engineering in America Eric C. Nystrom

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nystrom, Eric Charles.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mine maps--History.

Mine maps.

Mines and mineral resources--United States--History.

Mines and mineral resources.

Geological mapping--United States--History.

Geological mapping.

Physical Description:

xii, 301 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Reno : University of Nevada Press, [2014]

Summary:

Digging mineral wealth from the ground dates to prehistoric times, but the arrival of industrial mining techniques, especially after the California Gold Rush, made mines deeper and more complex than ever before. As American industrial mining came of age, mining engineers turned to maps and models in their efforts to understand and control the mines they made. Unlike mechanical or civil engineers, who could see what they built, mining engineers created pitch-dark, dangerous, three-dimensional spaces deep underground. New kinds of maps and models were crucial in envisioning those spaces and predicting where deposits and hazards would be found. This visual culture was central to changes in mining, such as implementing new safety regulations, discerning the geology of mineral ores, and settling claims to wealth below ground. The mining maps and models of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are much more than fascinating artifacts in museums and libraries. They show us how a new visual culture helped create a new professional class of mining engineers and changed how mining was done.

Contents:

List of Illustrations

Preface

Introduction

Part I. Mine Maps

1. Underground Mine Maps

2. Anthracite Mapping and Eckley Coxe

3. New Maps, the Butte System, and Geologists Ascendant

Part II. Mine Models

4. Modeling the Underground in Three Dimensions

5. Models and the Legal Landscape of Underground Mining

6. Mine Models for Education and the Public

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-289) and index.

ISBN:

9780874179323 (cloth : alk. paper)

0874179327 (cloth : alk. paper)

0874179335 (electronic bk.)

9780874179330 (electronic bk.)

OCLC:

859168676

Publisher Number:

40023439969