Friedrich Welwitsch: prolegómenos da geologia de Angola

ABSTRACT: Recent work at the drill core library of LNEG at Alfragide has brought to light a small collection of rocks and fossils gathered by the Austrian physician and botanist Friedrich Welwitsch during his prolific expedition to Angola (Iter Angolense, 1853-1860) on behalf of the Portuguese crown. The samples were seen and mentioned by Paul Choffat, in 1889, but have remained completely forgotten ever since. Revisiting the samples, this article, which extends the evocation of 150 years of Welwitsch's passing, recalls the scientific partnership with the French naturalist Arthur Morelet, who studied mollusk faunas, and reviews the geological notes taken during the years of herborisations. Considering those notes and samples, it can be said that these pioneering elements in the study of the geology of Angola are, in essence, consistent with the recent knowledge and geological mapping of that territory.