On the history of the first Russian geological map

The earliest Russian geologic map, the “Map of the Environs of the Nerchinsk Mining Establishment (1789–1794)”, was found in the Central State Historical Archive, Leningrad in 1925. At that time it was described by Presnyakov (1927). Shortly after that, the map was lost from view and was not available for study until recently. This paper investigates the provenance and history of the manuscript map in six sheets. It is likely that the Russian government commissioned the map in order to assess the mineral resources of the Nerchinsk district. The map was the result of six summer field seasons where the six base maps showing stream networks and topography were assembled using compasses and tapes. The rock types were superimposed on the base maps and depicted using different colors. The mapping effort was overseen by Egor Barboth de Marny, the director of the Nerchinsk mining establishment, and the fieldwork was undertaken by Dorofey Lebedev, Mikhail Ivanov and Alexey Cheredov. The innovative use of color may have been inspired by earlier maps of mining districts in Germany and suggested by Benedict Franz Johann Hermann, a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.