Samuel Franklin Emmons (March 29, 1841 – March 28, 1911) was an American

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 ...

. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1861 and studied at the ''Ecole des Mines'' in Paris, France, from 1862 to 1864 and at the Freiberg (Saxony) mining school in 1865. In May 1867, he was appointed assistant geologist under

Clarence King Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. Hay ...

on the American geological exploration of the fortieth parallel, and in July 1879 became geologist in charge of the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

division of the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

. He traveled extensively throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in connection with his work, and in 1870 made a survey, along with A. D. Wilson, of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

, the highest and most inaccessible peak in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. The largest glacier in the contiguous United States,

Emmons Glacier Emmons Glacier is on the northeast flank of Mount Rainier, in Washington. At , it has the largest surface area of any glacier in the contiguous United States. The glacier was named after the geologist Samuel Franklin Emmons after his involvement i ...

, is located along their survey route and is named after Emmons. During the autumn of 1872, with Clarence King, Emmons discovered the locality of the supposed diamond fields in Colorado, and was active in exposing their fraudulent character. Emmons is the namesake of Mount Emmons, Colorado, and Mount Emmons,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. Emmons was president of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

in 1903.Eckel, Edwin, 1982, GSA Memoir 155, The Geological Society of America — Life History of a Learned Society: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Memoir 155, 168 p., .

Publications

*
Descriptive Geology
" with

Arnold Hague Arnold Hague (December 3, 1840 in Boston, Massachusetts – May 14, 1917 in Washington, D.C.) was a United States geologist who did many geological surveys in the U.S., of which the best known was that for Yellowstone National Park. He also had as ...

. Published as Vol. 2 of the "Reports of the Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel" by Clarence King (1877) *
Statistics and Technology of the Precious Metals
with George Ferdinand Becker (1885) *
Geological sketches of the precious metal deposits of the western United States
(1885) with George Ferdinand Becker. Extracted from the Tenth United States Census *
Geology and mining industry of Leadville, Colorado, with atlas
with

William Francis Hillebrand William Francis Hillebrand (December 12, 1853 – February 7, 1925) was an American chemist. Biography He was the son of the renowned botanist William Hillebrand. He studied at Cornell University and then in Germany at the University of Heidelber ...

, Antony Guyard, and Whitman Cross. US Geological Survey No. 12 (1886) * "Geology of the Denver basin in Colorado" with Whitman Cross and George Homans Eldridge. US Geological Survey Monograph No. 27 (1896) *
Clarence King: A Memorial
(1902) * "The Downtown district of Leadville, Colorado" with John Duer Irving US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 320 (1907)

References

External links

*
Biographical Memoir
*
Works by Emmons
at

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmons, Samuel Franklin American geologists 1841 births 1911 deaths United States Geological Survey personnel Harvard University alumni People from Boston Presidents of the Geological Society of America