Charles Vélain (16 May 1845 – 6 June 1925) was a French

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

. He was born in

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition att ...

. Charles Vélain's route to the field of geology was an unusual one. He was a student of pharmacy. He studied geology later at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. He was part of several explorations, during which he studied various geological factors that would later bring him fame. Vélain's major contributions in the field of geology were in

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The classi ...

and physical geography. He was an authority on

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called ...

. His works in this particular field earned him numerous accolades such as the price-Delalande Guérineau of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

in 1877. Charles Vélain also enjoyed a successful career as a scholar. He worked as a lecturer for several years. He also authored several scientific papers and articles. He wrote mostly on geology, petrology and physical geography, with volcanoes remaining his subject of interest and expertise. Some of his works include 'Volcanoes' (Paris, 1884), 'The Earthquakes' (Paris, 1887), and 'Petrology conferences' (Paris, 1889). The contributions of Charles Vélain were commemorated in 1963 by naming a peak in the Rally du Baty Peninsula as

Mount Velain Mount Velain () is a 750 m tall mountain with an isolated, black triangular summit showing through its snow mantle, standing in the northeast part of Adelaide Island. It was first charted by the French Antarctic Expedition 1903–05, under Charcot ...

Selected publications

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References

People from Château-Thierry 1845 births 1925 deaths French geologists Physical geographers {{Geologist-stub