Primary, secondary and tertiary mountains (Arduino)
Montes primarios, secundarios y terciarios (Arduino)
- Date
- 1759-1760 · confidence medium
- Place
- Vicenza, Veneto, Italy
- Credited to
- Giovanni Arduino
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Studying mines in Tuscany and the Veneto, Arduino distinguished primary mountains (crystalline rocks with veins), secondary (stratified with fossils) and tertiary (sands and conglomerates), and ordered them in time. It is the origin of the names Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.
Arduino's letters date from 1759-1760; Lehmann (1756) and Füchsel proposed similar schemes in Germany, so priority for the tripartition is shared.
What it led to
- the first division of Earth history by rocks
- terms used until the 20th century that survive in 'Tertiary'