Darwin y el relleno de los valles andinos de Mendoza

José Francisco Mescua

doi:10.24215/25456377e027

Authors

José Francisco Mescua IANIGLA ? CCT Mendoza, CONICET

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24215/25456377e027

Keywords:

Charles Darwin, Andean geology, conglomerates, Mendoza,

Abstract

In 1835, during a scale of the Beagle in Valparaíso (Chile), Charles Darwin crossed the Andes to Mendoza, a journey in which he made a great number of geological observations. The importance of this excursion was great for the development of Darwin´s scientific ideas and for the geological knowledge about the Andes. In this work, we propose to evaluate Darwin´s method of geological work, based on some comments published in his papers that turned out to be erroneous. Darwin interpreted the valley fill of Andean rivers like the Tunuyán as of marine origin. We now know that these deposits are of glacifluvial origin. Unfortunately, Darwin did not provide a detailed explanation as to how he concluded that these conglomerates were marine. He was probably influenced by the debate on the origin of alluvial and dilluvial formations, one of the great geological discussions of the first half of the 19th century. It is suggested in this work that Darwin based his reasoning on the British geological literature and on his observations in fjords of southern Patagonia. In this way, Darwin´s interpretation of the marine origin of Andean valley fill conglomerates shows two aspects of his geological thought process: on one side, his reliance on the British masters of the discipline (Lyell, Sedgwick, Buckland and Greenough); on the other, the use of analogies with present examples to complete the fragmentary information that the geological record provides about the past.

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