2/19/2015

WaltherPenckWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

WaltherPenck
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

WaltherPenck(30August188829September
1923)wasageologist[3]andgeomorphologist[3]
knownforhistheoriesonlandscapeevolution.Penck
isnotedforcriticizingkeyelementsoftheDavisian
cycleoferosion,concludingthattheprocessofuplift
anddenudationoccursimultaneously,atgradualand
continuousrates.[4]Penck'sideaofparallelslope
retreatledtorevisionsofDavis'scycleoferosion.[3]

Contents

WaltherPenck
Born

30August1888
Vienna,AustriaHungary

Died

September29,1923(aged35)
Stuttgart,Germany

Residence

AustriaHungary,Argentina,
OttomanEmpire,Germany

Citizenship

Germany

Nationality

German

Fields

Geomorphology

Institutions

DireccinGeneraldeMinas
UniversityofConstantinople
UniversityofLeipzig

1Biography
2Geomorphologicaltheory
2.1Concepts
2.2Landformandlandscapeevolution

Almamater HeidelbergUniversity
Knownfor

Landscapeevolutiontheorist

Influences

WilliamMorrisDavis[1]

accordingtoupliftrate

GroveKarlGilbert[1]

2.3Landformassociations
3Criticismandlegacy

AlbrechtPenck[1]
Influenced

AlbrechtPenck[2]

4Citations
5References

Biography
WaltherPenckwasborninViennaasthesonofGerman
geographerAlbrechtPenck.[3]HeobtainedaPh.D.bystudying
petrologyattheHeidelbergUniversity.[1]Between1912and
1915heworkedinDireccinGeneraldeMinasinBuenosAires
beforemovingtotheUniversityofConstantinoplewherehewas
namedprofessorofmineralogyandgeology.Hefinallysettled
asprofessorintheUniversityofLeipzigin1918.[3]Theareashe
studiedindetailandbasedhetheoriesonincludetheBlack
ForestinGermany,PunadeAtacamainArgentinaandAnatolia
inmodernTurkey.[1][5]

MountainsoftheBlackForestwhere
WaltherPenckstudiedtheeffectsof
domingongeomorphology.

Duringthe1920sPenck,withSiegfriedPassarge,AlfredHettner
andhisfather,wastheforemostfigureinabroadGermanoppositiontothe"geographicalcycle"theory
ofWilliamMorrisDavis.[6]ItwascharacteristicofDavistoreactviolentlyanddisdainfullytocriticism,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Penck

1/4

2/19/2015

WaltherPenckWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

particularlytothisGermancriticismitwasalsohischaracterictictochosetoattackthemostvulnerable
pointsofthatcriticism.[7]RegardingWaltherPenck'sobjectionstotheDavisiangeographiccycleDavis
commentedtoAlbrechtPenckin1921:[8]
Itispleasantnewsthatyourson,Walther,isestablishedasprofessorinLeipzigwherehis
fatherlongagostudied.Ashemayhavetoldyou,Ihaveenjoyedreadingpartsofhis
Argentinemonograph,anablepieceofwork,andIhavewrittenaskinghimtospecifythe
difficultieshefindsinacceptingthecycletheory.Iaminclinedtobelievethathereallydoes
notknowwhatthattheoryis...
WaltherPenckdiedoforalcancerinSeptember1923.[1]Hisbook,MorphologicalAnalysisof
Landforms,waspublishedposthumouslyin1924byhisfatheraswasalsohispaperDie
PiedmontflchendessdlichenSchwarzwald(ThepiedmontflatsofthesouthernBlackForest).[5][9]

Geomorphologicaltheory
Concepts
InhisanalysisPenckutilizedthefollowingconcepts:
1. Endrumpf:Alowanglelandscapewithconcaveslopes.Itisthefinalstageoferosionthatfollows
afterinselbergsandpedimentsareeroded.[10]
2. Grossfalt:Aseriesoffoldsandsynclinesanalogoustoorogenicfolding.Itisusualtypeoffolds
createdbylateralcompressioninthecrust.Asthegrossfaltdevelopsitnarrowsatthesametime
theybecomehigher.[5][11]Canbetranslatedas"greatfold"inEnglish.Davistranslateditinto
"broadfold".Penckhimselfwasunhappywiththetermgrossfalt.[5]
3. Piedmontflche:CanbetranslatedintoEnglishas"piedmontflat","piedmontbench"or
"piedmontstep".[5][12]
4. Piedmonttreppen:descendingerosionalbenchesonanupliftedarea.Theirshapeismoreorless
concentric.PenckinterpretedthePiedmonttreppenastheresultofdoming.Bencheshethought
originatedasPiedmontflacheintheperipheryofthedomebeforetheywereuplifted.[5]Itcanbe
translatedintoEnglishas"piedmontbenchland","piedmontstairway"or"piedmonttreppe".[12]
5. Primrrumpf:Amoreorlessplainandsubtlyconvexslope.Theformisgivenbytheveryslow
waxingoferosion.Erosioncyclesshouldbeginfromaprimrrumpf.Canbeformedatthebaseof
adome.[5]
6. Rumpflche[13]

Landformandlandscapeevolutionaccordingtoupliftrate
WaltherPenckthoughtlandformdevelopmentdependedonupliftrate.Hesawthreemaintypesof
landformandlandscapedevelopmentallofwhichbegunwithrumpflchesorprimrrumpfsandended
withendrumpfs.Thedifferencesbetweenthemdependedontheirrateofuplift:peneplainsdevelopedin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Penck

2/4

2/19/2015

WaltherPenckWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

placeswithalowrateofuplift,intermediateformsdevelopedinplacesofmoderateuplift,andAlpine
formsdevelopedonplacesofrapiduplift.[13]InPenck'svalleydevelopmentmodelthesteepnessof
valleyslopesdependedontherateofupliftthisviewcontrastswiththeDavis'serosioncycle,inwhich
valleyslopesteepnessdependsonitsrelativeageorstageofdevelopment.[9]

Landformassociations
Penckthoughtearthssurfacecouldbedividedintothreetypesof
regionseachwithanownlandformassociation.Firsttherewere
regionsofgrossfaltandgeneraldoming,thentherewereregions
ofpuredoming,andatlasttherewereregionsofstability.[5]

Criticismandlegacy
WilliamMorrisDavis,afriendofPenck'sfather,[14]criticized
SierradeFamatinainArgentina
thetheoriesWaltherPenckoutlinedinDiePiedmontflichendes
interpretedaspartofa"grossfalt"by
sdlichenSchwarzwald.GeographerMartinSimonsclaimedin
1962thatDavismisunderstoodandmistranslatedpartsofthe
Penck. [11]
paperleavingadistortedviewofPenck'sideasamonglater
workers.SimonsthereforedoesnotconsiderDavisanadequate
criticofPenck'swork.OtherfactorsdetrimentaltoanunderstandingofPenck'sideasincludehisearly
deathandhisconfusingwritingstyle.[5]
JuliusBdelaGermangeomorphologistworkinginthesameareasasPenckinSouthernGermany
providedalternativeexplanationsin1935forsomeofthelandformsPenckhaddealtwith.[15]
GeographerAllaouaSaadiremarksby2013thatPenck'sandDavis'ideashavebecomemorecompatible
andevencomplementarysincetheadventofmoderntectonictheory.ThisauthorclaimsthatDavis'
ideasismoreapplicablenearactivemarginswheretectonicsare"cataclysmic"andPenck'sideasfit
betterinpassivemarginsandcontinentalplatforms.[16]
WaltherPenckhasavolcanonamedafterhiminnorthwesternArgentina.

Citations
1. ^abcdefChorleyetal.2005,p.614
2. ^Chorleyetal.2005,p.589
3. ^abcdeEncyclopdiaBritannica2014
4. ^Huggett2003,p.5
5. ^abcdefghiSimons1962
6. ^Chorleyetal.2005,p.572
7. ^Chorleyetal.2005,p.519
8. ^Chorleyetal.2005,p.594
9. ^abChorleyetal.2005,p.629
10. ^Allaby2008
11. ^abBeckinsale&Chorley2003,p.340
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Penck

3/4