Grove Karl Gilbert

Grove Karl Gilbert (May 6, 1843 May 1, 1918), 1.2 Meteor Crater
known by the abbreviated name G. K. Gilbert in academic
literature, was an American geologist.
In 1891, Gilbert examined the possible origins for a crater
in Arizona, now known as Meteor Crater but then referred to as Coon Butte. For a number of reasons, and
against his intuition, he concluded it was the result of
a volcanic steam explosion rather than an impact of a
1 Biography
meteorite. Gilbert based his conclusions on a belief that
for an impact crater, the volume of the crater including
Gilbert was born in Rochester, New York and graduated the meteorite should be more than the ejected material on
from the University of Rochester. In 1871, he joined the rim and also a belief that if it was a meteorite then iron
George M. Wheelers geographical survey as its rst ge- should create magnetic anomalies. Gilberts calculations
showed that the volume of the crater and the debris on
ologist.
the rim were roughly equal. Further there were no magnetic anomalies. Gilbert argued that the meteorite fragments found on the rim were just coincidence. Gilbert
would publicize these conclusions in a series of lectures
1.1 Rockies geologist
in 1895.[3] Subsequent investigations would reveal that it
was in fact a meteor crater, but that interpretation was
not well established until the mid-20th century. As part
of his interest in crater origins, Gilbert also studied the
moons craters and concluded they were caused by impact events rather than volcanoes, although he wondered
why the craters were round and not oval as expected for
an oblique impact. The interpretation of lunar craters
as of impact origin was also debated until the mid-20th
century.[4][5]

2 Geomorphology
Headward erosion of a gully; photo by G.K. Gilbert

He then joined the Powell Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region in 1874, becoming Powells primary assistant, and stayed with the survey until 1879.[1] During this
time he published an important monograph, The Geology
of the Henry Mountains (1877). After the creation of the
U.S. Geological Survey in 1879, he was appointed to the
position of Senior Geologist and worked for the USGS
until his death (including a term as acting director).
Gilbert published a study of the former ancient Lake Bonneville in 1890 (the lake existed during the Pleistocene),
of which the Great Salt Lake is a remnant. He named that
lake after the army captain Benjamin L.E. de Bonneville,
who had explored this region previously. The type of
river delta that Gilbert described at this location has since
become known to geomorphologists as a Gilbert delta.[2]

Derailed train after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; photo

by G.K. Gilbert

He joined the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899. Two

weeks after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Gilbert
1

took a series of photographs documenting the damage

along the San Andreas fault from Inverness to Bolinas.
Gilbert is considered one of the giants of the subdiscipline of geomorphology, having contributed to the
understanding of landscape evolution, erosion, river incision and sedimentation. Gilbert was a planetary science pioneer, correctly identifying lunar craters as caused
by impacts, and carrying out early impact-cratering
experiments.[6] Gilbert was one of the more inuential
early American geologists.

EXTERNAL LINKS

"Bolinas" USGS photographs of San Andreas fault

taken by Gilbert (1906)

5 See also
Gilbert (lunar crater)
Gilbert (Martian crater)
G. K. Gilbert Award of the Geological Society of
America

Awards
6 References

He won the Wollaston Medal in 1900 from the Geological Society of London. He was awarded the Charles P.
Daly Medal by the American Geographical Society in
1910.[7] Gilbert was well-esteemed by all American geologists during his lifetime, and he is the only geologist to
ever be elected twice as President of the Geological Society of America (1892 and 1909). Because of Gilberts
prescient insights into planetary geology, the Geological
Society of America created the G.K. Gilbert Award for
planetary geology in 1983. Gilberts wide-ranging scientic ideas were so profound that the Geological Society of America published GSA Special Paper 183 on
his research (Yochelson, E.L., editor, 1980, The Scientic Ideas of G.K. Gilbert, fourteen separate biographical
chapters, 148 pages).
Craters on the Moon and on Mars are named in his honor.
Another crater on Mars was named after the ancient Lake
Bonneville.

[1] Wallace Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John

Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West, University of Nebraska:Lincoln
[2] Geological and Petrophysical Characterization of the
Ferron Sandstone for 3-D Simulation of a Fluvial-deltaic
Reservoir. By Thomas C. Chidsey, Thomas C. Chidsey,
Jr (ed), Utah Geological Survey, 2002. ISBN 1-55791668-3. Page 2-17. Partial text on Google Books.
[3] The Science: What is the Barringer Meteorite Crater?
[4] Gilbert, Grove K. (January 1893). The Moons face: a
study of the origin of its features. Bulletin of the Philosophical Society of Washington.
[5] Oldroyd, David Roger (2002). The earth inside and out:
some major contributions to geology... Geological Society.
pp. 2830.
[6] Ronald Greeley, Planetary Landscapes, 1985, Boston,
Allen & Unwin

Publications
"Report on the geology of the Henry mountains
(1877)
"Lake Bonneville US Geological Survey Monograph No. 1. 1890. 438 p.
The Moons face: a study of the origin of its features. Bulletin of the Philosophical Society of
Washington (January 1898).
"The Underground Water of the Arkansas Valley in
Eastern Colorado" (1896)

[7] American Geographical Society Honorary Fellowships

(PDF). amergeog.org. Retrieved 2009-03-02.

7 Secondary Sources
Pyne, Stephen J. Grove Karl Gilbert: A Great Engine of Research. Austin: University of Texas Press,
1980.

8 External links

"Harriman Alaska Expedition, Volume 3: Glaciers

and glaciation (1899)

Gilbert Biography

"The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of April

18, 1906, and Their Eects on Structures and ..."
(1907)

Short popular biography--"Rock Stars:

Gilbert in GSA Today

"The transportation of dbris by running water"

US Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 86
(1914)

G.K. Gilbert article, Encyclopaedia Britannica

G.K.

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Grove Karl Gilbert Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grove_Karl_Gilbert?oldid=719989733 Contributors: Twang, Cyrius,

Awolf002, Curps, Phe, D6, Rich Farmbrough, Vsmith, Bender235, RJHall, VivaEmilyDavies, BlueCanoe, Richard Arthur Norton (1958), Etacar11, Marskell, BD2412, Mike s, Vmenkov, SmackBot, Gyrobo, Soils, Valfontis, Geologyguy, Eastlaw, Americasroof, CmdrObot,
ShelfSkewed, Cydebot, Dragomilo, Thijs!bot, Tillman, DuncanHill, RHSydnor, Dentren, Waacstats, Pixel ;-), Plindenbaum, DASonnenfeld, Zumthie, Gaianauta, TXiKiBoT, Oshwah, SieBot, Wilson44691, Lagrange613, Rosiestep, Alexbot, Jo Weber, Tdslk, Blckadder8, Addbot, Lightbot, Zorrobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Richigi, AnomieBOT, GrouchoBot, RibotBOT, Rlhune, FrescoBot, Plucas58,
IP69.226.103.13, RjwilmsiBot, EmausBot, Suslindisambiguator, RockMagnetist, ClueBot NG, Jack Greenmaven, Geoscriptor, Nasmem,
Gorthian, Mediran, VIAFbot, Daniel.villar7, Monkbot, Jonarnold1985, KasparBot and Anonymous: 19

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Public domain Contributors: Photographs from the U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library. Federal Depository Library CD-ROM
SuDoc No. I 19.121:8/CD Original artist: G.K. Gilbert
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