Today I have been on other wanderings.  I resolved to write a post on Walther Penck, the German geologist who came up with his own theory of landscape evolution in opposition to that proposed by William Morris Davis.  Having written about Davis and King, it would have been remiss of me to neglect Penck.  Penck is however elusive – nowhere does there seem to be a succinct account of his theory. 

Amazing collaboration took place

Trying to bolt the matter down led me down various avenues – Penck, Davis, Koppen, Passarge, back to Davis, Milankovitch, Wegener.  What strikes me the most is the massive amount of work that was done, and the amazing collaboration that took place across the various disciplines – geology, geography, physics, climatology, all at a time when the world was being shaken up by wars and economic depression.  And much of this work was being done by Germans and Serbians. 

Plate tectonics was in its infancy

So I shall pursue the ghost of Penck, and try and bolt down his theory.  One thing that did strike me was his need to invoke the idea of uplift of landscapes – a novel idea at a time when plate tectonic theory was in its infancy and certainly had no real adherents.  For more on plate tectonics click here.  

All sorts of other gems are found along the way

However pursuing that elusive ghost is a job much greater than I thought.  But like any exploration, all sorts of other gems are found along the way, which I shall write about in further blog posts.  Watch this space.

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