214 '^^^^ University of California Magazine. 



THE GEOLOGICAL WORK OF PROFESSOR JOSEPH 



LE CONTE. 



By JOHN C. MERRIAM. 



PROFESSOR LE CONTE seems to have been first at- 

 tracted to geological work by coming in contact with 

 Dr. James Hall, the famous leader of the earlier geological 

 school in this country. Up to the time of his first meeting 

 with Hall, he had shown interest in geology, but was princi- 

 pally concerned with problems belonging in other branches of 

 science. Though the first great stimulus to this work was 

 received from Hall, his career in this field really began after 

 his interests became identified with those of the University of 

 California. The greater number of his contributions to geo- 

 logical science, both descriptive and philosophic, are based 

 upon observations made on the Pacific Coast. 



Professor Le Conte's work was in general the study of the 

 greater problems in geology, rather than the description of 

 isolated phenomena. He never mistook the geological sym- 

 bol for the thing it represented, and he was never mislead by 

 anything foreign to the problem he sought to solve. 



Though not generally considered a field geologist, he made 

 extensive excursions to the regions of greatest interest on 

 this coast. A considerable part of the Sierra range was ex- 

 plored by him, and his mountain study was carried north into 

 Oregon and Washington. On his summer excursions he was 

 not infrequently accompanied by students from his classes in 

 the University. 



Although his greatest interest seems to have centered 

 around problems concerning the relation of the greater physi- 

 cal changes, especially crustal movements, to the evolution of 

 the organic world, he furnished important contributions to 

 nearly all branches of geology. On the purely mineralogical 



