Seeing underground: Maps, models, and mining engineering in America

Nystrom examines the development of mining maps and models as a means for engineers and geologists to visualize the underground world. The development of these visual models was a major factor in the industrialization of mining in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Nystrom’s many examples avoid a narrow regional focus and draw widely from important mining areas, including Pennsylvania anthracite, Nevada silver, and both Michigan and Montana copper. Nystrom argues that the growing use of and dependence on the visual culture of maps and models helped solidify mining engineers and geologists as a key professional class in American mining, shaping their expertise and enhancing their authority over underground spaces and labor.