This work, drawn by British cartographer John Emslie and published by James Reynolds in 1850, is part of a series of 44 maps and charts published between 1850 and 1860 in England in response to popular demand for information on new advances in science and technology.
The map is one of the first to describe the geology of the world, using different colours to identify the predominant type of rock in each area:
- Primary rocks (in grey): Mica, gneiss, quartz, granite.
- Volcanic rocks (in black): Basalt, green sandstone, porphyry.
- Upper secondary rocks (in light green): Coal, limestone, Devonian.
- Lower secondary rocks (in dark green): Chalk, oolite, red sandstone.
- Tertiary rocks (in orange): Sediment, clay
- Flood (in dark orange): Soil, gravel
The work is also accompanied by several illustrations of interesting geological curiosities, such as coral reefs and basalt columns, but perhaps most interesting is the direct reference to a geological process that was occurring at the time the map was conceived: the volcanic eruption of Barren Island.
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