Abstract

Hermann Willhelm Abich (1806–1886) spent more than thirty years travelling and investigating the geology of the Caucasus, Transcaucasian and Armenian highlands. He was appointed Professor of Mineralogy at Dorpat University but soon afterwards began his travels. He investigated the volcanic processes of this region to determine the reasons for its tectonic and seismic instability. He later focused on Georgia with its coal deposits, and then studied the oil and gas fields and mud volcanoes on the Apsheron peninsula near Baku in Azerbaijan. He also studied the effects of the last glaciation on the topography of the region.