History

Early geologists covered the ground on foot, mule or horseback. This is W.C. Cummins and field assistant in west Texas in the 1890's.

It was the middle of the 19th century before geological exploration of Texas began. Exploration did not get organized at a state level until later that century with the series of Geological Surveys of the State of Texas. The 20th century geological mapping of the state generated countless rock and fossil specimens which now form the basis of our stratigraphic collections.

The geologists whose specimens are archived in this repository are highlighted in this section. How these resulting collections are organized is also explained.