author
Clarence E. (Clarence Edward) Dutton
1841–1912
A soldier-scientist with a gift for vivid prose, he helped shape how Americans saw the Grand Canyon and the geology of the American West. His work on volcanic landscapes, earthquakes, and the idea of isostasy made him one of the standout geologists of the late 19th century.
1 Audiobook
Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah
by John Wesley Powell, Willis Drummond, Clarence E. (Clarence Edward) Dutton, Grove Karl Gilbert, A. H. (Almon Harris) Thompson
About the author
Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1841, Clarence Edward Dutton studied at Yale before serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. He later remained in the U.S. Army's Ordnance Corps while building a second career in geology, an unusual path that gave him the discipline of an officer and the curiosity of a field scientist.
He became closely associated with geological surveys of the American West, especially work connected with John Wesley Powell and later the U.S. Geological Survey. Dutton is best remembered for influential studies of the Grand Canyon region and volcanic areas of the Colorado Plateau, and for helping develop and name the principle of isostasy, a key idea about how Earth's crust stays in balance.
He was also admired as a writer. His books and reports did more than record rock formations—they brought dramatic landscapes to life for general readers as well as specialists, which is one reason his name still stands out in the history of American geology.