Full Description

GSA Special Paper 539

Abbé Paramelle (1790-1875) published The Art of Finding Springs in 1856 as a how-to manual for finding groundwater. Paramelle began his field research into springs on a karst plateau in southwestern France. Between 1833 and 1854, upon request, Paramelle explored 40 of France's departments and found groundwater in 10,000 places based on his observational method, which used geology and geomorphology, at a time when these sciences were in their infancy. Paramelle's method was used until the 1970s to find groundwater in the French Department of Lot. Although the book was translated into German and Spanish in the mid-1800s, this is the first English translation. The translator has included detailed notes and an introduction providing extensive historical background about this largely unknown hydrogeologist.

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