Samuel+Calvin's+Geological+Look+at+Iowa

Original Author: Jessica Shaw, ENG340 FL10
 * Samuel Calvin's Geological Look At Iowa**

Samuel Calvin was a geologist from Iowa. He was originally born in Scotland and lived there for eleven years. His family moved to America, first settling in Saratoga County, New York. They only lived here for four years before moving to Buchanan County, Iowa. At this time Calvin learned the trade of the carpenter and the joiner. He worked in the summers and spent his winters studying. In 1862 he began attended Lenox College. He only attended for two year because in 1864 he enlisted in the 44th Iowa Volunteers. He serviced in southern Tennessee and northern Mississippi until "...the regiment was mustered out of service." After the regiment had dissolved he then went to finish his studies. Calvin then went on to become an instructor and later a professor of mathematics and natural history. In 1869 he was made the principal of Fourth Ward School of Dubuque. In 1874 he left this position when he was elected the Professor of Natural Science at the University of Iowa. When he first assumed this position he taught geology, zoology, physiology, and botany. As the area of natural science expanded more professors were brought in and eventually Calvin became the chair of geology alone. This was his chosen specialty. Along with his work as an educator, he was also one of the founders of the //American Geologist//. This was the first exclusively geological journal in the country. He worked as editor on the journal as well. Calvin was also one of the original members of American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1890 he was secretary of the geological section of this association. Then in 1894 he became the vice president of the association and the presiding officer of the geological section. In 1892 he was appointed the State Geologist of Iowa (Gues, 39-40).

As a natural scientist and a geologist, Samuel Calvin was an admirer of nature. Due to the positions that Calvin held, he delivered many lectures and speeches on the geological nature of Iowa. One of his recorded lectures is //Prehistoric Iowa//, which he delivered in December of 1891. He tells the story of the land by the evidence found in the geology long before humans were there to record history. "For long before men learned either to carve or write, here was Iowa" (Calvin, 5). He explained how different that place of the past was, but also how similar. "And in those far-away times of which ordinary history in the of nature things can make no mention, seasons rolled by the same as now with all their attention coming and going of generations of plants and animals" (Calvin, 5). He explains how prehistoric records work, what they are, and how they are used.

"There are records, be it remembered, that are not made by historians, not made by any human hands in many cases, or if so made wholly independent of design or purpose to perpetuate a knowledge of what is taking place; and yet these records are as clear, as intelligible, as trustworthy, and convey information respecting events as significant and important as any that historians ever penned" (Calvin, 6).

With the use of trained observation, preserved remains of vegetation, skeletons, or human weapons will tell the stories of the past. With the information that nature provides, we can learn what the world was like before in prehistoric times (Calvin, 8). As stated before some things have remained the same sense forever and with the findings within nature the entire history of the area can be reconstructed.

In Calvin's lecture he goes into more details about Iowa specifically. Iowa, along with the rest of the Mississippi valley was under was beneath sea level for some time. During the time underwater the area "...accumulated as soft sediments on the sea bottom" (Calvin, 10). For a period time drags on, shale and limestone of the area is developed. In this time there is also the emergence of dry land (Calvin, 10). There is still no sign of humans, but ferns are appearing as are some air-breathing animals. These animals are similar to alligators or crocodiles (Calvin, 11). Geographic revolutions are now happening. After a few of these revolutions, the world become more adapt to the animals that we know of today (Calvin, 11).

There is another geologic period and Iowa is completely clear of the sea. At this time tree as we know in the modern world are showing up. Animals are living that are similar and related to the animals of today. This is the time known as //Teritary//, when "Iowa was part of the land area that made up the half formed continent of North America" (Calvin, 12). The Mississippi River was running in a channel close to the one it is now (Calvin, 13). The area was similar to the one seen today, with some minor changes. The animals found here at the time were not too far from the one found in Iowa today, they were easily comparable (Calvin, 14).Species related to animals from squirrels to deer to wolves wondered Iowa. Also, there were species closely related to animals found far from Iowa today, like rhinoceroses (Calvin, 14). Calvin's interpretation of the area at this time as

"...a fair land bathed in mellow sunshine and covered in whole or part with forests of tropical luxuriance. These forests give shelter to a marvellously diversified assemblage of animals endowed with equally diversified activities, but at the distance from which the scene if viewed, the animal activities are wholly unobtrusive, each of the multitudinous creatures accomplishing its purposes without haste, without worry, without noise" (Calvin, 16).

This is of course the ideal he has in his head and acknowledges that in reality there is no way such a sublime, serene setting occurred any more than it would today (Calvin, 17).

After an unknown amount of geological revolutions the Tertiary era ends and then starts the Pleistocene era (Calvin, 17). The change from one era to the next took place over about thousand years or so (Calvin, 18). This era was much different from the previous. The climate moves from a tropical one to a "rigorous" one, with large amounts of snow falling and little of it melting. After years of snow and ice Iowa becomes a "solid sheet of glacier ice" (Calvin, 17). In this time of desolation plants and animals are forced to migrate south or simply become extinct (Calvin, 18). There was a great ice sheet that covered Iowa at this time and depending on how cold or how much precipitation, the sheet moved "grinding over the underlying rocks, crushing them into fragments and grinding the fragments often into the finest powder" (Calvin, 18-19). This brought all the granitic boulders into the state (Calvin, 19).

The ice and glaciers eventually melted, causing flooding of rivers that carried detritus into various areas (Calvin, 19-20). The period of melting allowed animals and plants to re-inhabit the state. This is an important period because it is believed that the first man came into the area (Calvin, 20). There has been lots of evidence found from this period that show that modern animals were living, such as beavers, prairie wolf, and gophers (Calvin, 21). The man that lived at this time was of course not the human that lives today. It was believed at the time Calvin delivered his lecture to have been two prehistoric races of humans in the Mississippi valley (Calvin, 23). Skulls believed to be those of Neanderthal have been found in various Iowa cites, like Charles City and Dubuque (Calvin, 23). Evidence is incomplete to know exactly who or what was. There was in the early ages of Iowa, and the Mississippi valley, people known as the Mound Builders (Calvin, 26).

"The mound builder cleared forests and must have practiced agriculture on an extensive scale; they wove cloth; they built extensive and skillfully planned fortifications often embracing scores or evens hundreds of acres; they made stone implement, but finding copper better for their purpose they sent annual expeditions to Lake Superior to carry on extensive mining operations in quest of this metal" (Calvin, 27).

This shows that these mound builders were quite the advanced society.

Calvin's lecture shows the prehistory of Iowa in terms of geology. He took the information that was available to him at the time and used it to tell the story of the land, animals, and early people. Samuel Calvin shows knowledge of his chosen career and opinion in his time was respected.

**Works Cited**

Calvin, Samuel. "Notes on the Geological Section of Iowa." The Journal of Geology, 14.7, Oct-Nov., 1906, p 571-578. The University of Chicago Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30078583 Gue, Benjamin F. "History of Iowa: From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century." Vol. 4. The Century History Company. 1903. p. 39-40. Return to Early Conservation Return to Home