ABSTRACT
Will Downs had three major passions: paleontology, China, and whitewater rafting. In 1994, he was able to combine all three in an expedition on the Yangbi River, a tributary to the Mekong River, in western Yunnan. The Yangbi and Mekong rivers flow through an area of highly deformed Paleozoic rocks overlain by less deformed Mesozoic rocks. The deformation is related to India’s ongoing collision with Asia and the resulting displacement of Asian crust. Due to the small number of participants and short time available for the Yangbi expedition, the scope of work was limited to field-checking Chinese geological maps that had been prepared from aerial photos. Subsequent to this expedition and each year until Will died, he provided valuable advice and support for our geological reconnaissance expeditions on major rivers in western China. Considering the scale of the Chinese geological maps, they have been reasonably accurate, except for a few major faults, which were not identified. Before his death in 2002, Will planned to investigate Quaternary sediments in the Yellow River canyon in eastern Qinghai; this sequence suggested recent rapid uplift related to India’s collision with Asia. Will’s expertise in field geology, his skills as an oarsman, his fluency in Chinese, and his enthusiasm for discovery were critical to the success of all of these expeditions.
Pete Winn. Earth Science Expeditions, 202 North Avenue #102, Grand Junction, Colorado 81501, USA.
KEY WORDS: William R. Downs, China, Yunnan, Yangbi River, Mekong River, Himalayas, tectonics
PE Article Number: 8.1.1A
Copyright: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology May 2005
Submission: 26 May 2004. Acceptance: 13 April 2005
