Leo Wehrli (born February 25, 1870, in

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

; d. March 28, 1954 in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

geologist,

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

teacher, explorer, and photographer. Leo Wehrli studied music,

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The clas ...

and geology in Berlin and Zurich and became assistant to

Albert Heim Albert Heim (12 April 184931 August 1937) was a Swiss geologist, noted for his three-volume ''Geologie der Schweiz''. Born in Zürich, he was educated at Zürich and Berlin universities. Very early in life he became interested in the physical fe ...

. After submitting his dissertation on the

Diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is Intermediate composition, inter ...

area of

Tschlin Tschlin is a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Inn District, Switzerland, Inn in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in the extreme east of Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipalities of Ramo ...

and

Disentis Mustér (, Romansh) or Disentis (German), with its official name Disentis/Mustér is a village and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. The skiing and summer tourism resort high up in the Rhine valley is the si ...

, he went to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

with Carl Emanuel Burckhardt in 1896. On behalf of the

La Plata Museum The La Plata Museum () is a natural history museum in La Plata, Argentina. It is part of the (Natural Sciences School) of the National University of La Plata. The building, long, today houses three million fossils and relics (including 44,000 bo ...

and the Argentine government, he explored the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

and crossed them at least five times during his two-year stay. His work focused on the Argentine-Chilean border adjustment (after generations of conflict, both countries had only signed a Border Treaty in 1881) and the determination of the summit lines and

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

s. After his return, he worked from 1900 to 1935 as a teacher of geology and chemistry at the Kantonsschule Hohe Promenade in Zurich. His laboratory assistant and right-hand man was Gotthold Laupper (1873–1944), the inventor of the "Laupper probe", which was successfully used to bring the problem of spontaneous haystack fires under control. As a consultant for the ''Geologisches Centralblatt'' in Berlin, Wehrli wrote almost 500 papers between 1901 and 1912. He undertook further journeys through Europe and North Africa as well as to Argentina again in 1938. He summarized his research findings in numerous articles, including for the '' Geographical Dictionary of Switzerland''. He was involved in the founding of the ''Züricher

Volkshochschule Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and ...

'' and lectured there from 1921 to 1953. From 1931 to 1951 he was a member of the Swiss Alpine Club SAC commission for the Swiss Alpine Club's Central Library and was its president for 14 years. Leo Wehrli was married to Anna Margaretha (Grethi), née Frey, and father of

Edmund Wehrli Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

. After a short illness, he died on March 28, 1954, at the age of 84. He left behind a collection of 15,000 slides, some of which were colored by hand by his wife. A large part of the works are made available online by the Image Archive of the

ETH Library The ETH Library, serving as the central university library at ETH Zurich, has a notable collection of scientific and technical information. It is considered one of the largest public scientific and technical libraries in Switzerland. Furthermor ...

Photos by Leo Wehrli

ETH-BIB-L. W. -Leo Wehrli- mit Mula, im See-Bödeli bei y -?- 4.98-Dia 247-01389.tif, Leo Wehrli with mule, expedition to settle the border (1898) Perte du Rhône vom Barrage-1931 Leo Wehrli.jpg,

Perte du Rhône The Perte du Rhône (Loss of the Rhône) is a geologic fault just upstream of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in France, into which the Rhône River used to disappear during the dry season. It marked the border between Ain and Haute-Savoie. In 1948, th ...

before the flooding (1931) ETH-BIB-Ober-Hallauerberg, Steinbruch im Arietitenkalk (Lias)-Dia 247-07724.tif, The Volkshochschule Zurich on a fossil excursion in

Hallau Hallau is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Schaffhausen (canton), Schaffhausen in Switzerland. History Though Bronze Age weapons have been found in Hallau, the first traces of a settlement da ...

ETH-BIB-Bariloche Vortrag Leo Wehrli 9. IV. 1938, in der Schweizercolonie-Dia 247-11593.tif,

Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...

, lecture Leo Wehrli in the ''Schweizercolonie'' (1938) ETH-BIB-L.W. und zwei Indianerinnen, Boliche Zacaria, Limay-Dia 247-11270.tif, Leo Wehrli and two Indian women, Boliche Zacaria, Limay (1938) ETH-BIB-Grethi und Leo Wehrli, Ursula Wehrli-Dia 247-14497.tif, Grethi, Leo and Ursula Wehrli (1945) ETH-BIB-Leo Wehrli, Krystallwelt, Oelgemälde pinx. -?- Rolf Vollé, Basel-Dia 247-16464.tif, Leo Wehrli, Krystallwelt, Oelgemälde pinx. Rolf Vollé (1953)

Photos by Leo Wehrli, colorized by M. Wehrli-Frey

Leo Wehrli ETH Dia 247-01161.tif, Leo Wehrli and Carlos Bruck in front of the volcano

Planchón-Peteroa Planchón-Peteroa is a complex volcano extending in a north–south direction along the border between Argentina and Chile. It consists of volcanoes of various ages with several overlapping calderas. Those include Volcán Planchón, Volcán Pe ...

(1897) ETH-BIB-Alexandrien, Brotverkäufer-Dia 247-05954.tif,

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, bread vendor (1933) ETH-BIB-Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), Mercada-Dia 247-07316.tif, Market in

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

(1934) ETH-BIB-Arrucas, Kirche von Südwest, Gran Canaria-Dia 247-07396.tif,

Arucas Arucas is a municipality in the northern part of the island of Gran Canaria, province of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Arucas borders Las Palmas to the west and is part of its urban area. Its population is 36,852 (2013),Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

(1936) ETH-BIB-Morteratsch-Gletscher von der Bernina-Strasse-Dia 247-12162.tif,

Morteratsch glacier The Morteratsch Glacier () is the largest glacier by area in the Bernina Range of the Bündner Alps in Switzerland. By area and by volume (1.2 km3), it is the third largerst glacier in the eastern alps, after the Pasterze Glacier and . T ...

(1939) Mitholz Explosion 2.jpg, The Catastrophic Mitholz Explosion (1949)

Publications (Selection)

* ''Der versteinerte Wald zu Chemnitz.'' (The Petrified Forest of Chemnitz) Beer, Zürich 1915. * ''Die postkarbonischen Kohlen der Schweizeralpen.'' (The post-carboniferous coals of the Swiss Alps) Francke, Bern 1919. * ''Übersicht und Geschichte des Bergbaues von seinen Anfängen bis Mitte 1917 mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Anthrazite der Wallis mit 47 Textfig.'' (Overview and history of mining from its beginnings to mid-1917 with special consideration of the anthracites of the Valais with 47 text figures) Geogr. Kartenverlag Bern Kümmerly & Frey, Bern 1925.

Resources

Wikimedia Commons: Leo Wehrli – Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Works by Leo Wehrli
in the photo archive of the

Publications by and about Leo Wehrli in the Helveticat catalog of the Swiss National Library

Leo Wehrli
on fotoCH

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wehrli, Leo 1870 births 1954 deaths Swiss geologists Swiss explorers 20th-century Swiss photographers