Marie Tharp - The Woman Who Mapped the Ocean Floor

The woman who mapped the ocean floor

- Leanne Longwill

In the 1920s, Marie Tharp was a little girl who spent many days bumping along country roads with her dad in his rickety green truck. He worked for the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Soils, visiting farms. He tested soil and drew planting maps for the farmers. Because of her dad’s job, her family moved a lot. By the time she finished high school, Marie had attended 17 schools. When she wasn’t on the road with her dad or in a new school, there was lots of time alone, reading, drawing, and playing violin.

Marie wanted to become a soil surveyor like her dad. But she knew that was unlikely. In those days, women rarely had careers in the sciences. Most were only encouraged to work as a teacher, secretary, or nurse.

She began her freshman year at Ohio University as an art major and planned to become a teacher. Then she switched to music. Nothing felt right, so she tried classes in German, zoology, paleobotany, philosophy, and finally geology. She loved geology. One of her geology teachers suggested that she also take a drafting class. Drafting is a type of technical drawing. The teacher thought Marie would never find work as a geologist. But if she could draft, she might work in a geologist’s office.

Working around Geology

Marie graduated in 1943 with degrees in English and music. She heard about a petroleum geology program offered by the University of Michigan. Most men were away fighting in World War II. So the school was allowing women to enroll in the program for the first time. Best of all, they guaranteed a job in the petroleum industry after graduation. Marie didn’t hesitate. She graduated from Michigan with a master’s degree in geology. Then she stayed on to take classes in physics, math, and chemistry.