Two Hundred Years of Geological Mapping in Belgium, From D'omalius D'halloy to the Belgian Federal State

Abstract

The career of Jean-Baptiste-Julien d'Omalius d'Halloy (1783-1875), commencing with brilliant scientific activities and proceeding to his attainment of the highest administrative and political positions, in itself demonstrates that he was an exceptional individual. His scientific career started with a long voyage through the French Empire and adjacent regions, during which he gained an understanding of the geological structure of most of Europe. The geological map he compiled based on his travel notes formed the basis of all future geological maps in the areas that he covered. After the independence of Belgium in 1830, André Dumont was made responsible for the mapping of the whole country, resulting in the publication of a 9-sheet map of Belgium in 1853 on a scale of 1:160.000. In 1878, Belgium decided to produce a more detailed map on the scale of 1:20.000, entrusting the work to Edouard Dupont., but as this appointment was controversial and the mapping at this scale was abandoned and than, the newly created Geological Survey of Belgium published a new 226-sheet map on a scale of 1:40.000. Starting from 1993, after the federalisation of the country, new geological maps of the regional states are mapped and produced.