The 20th International Geological Congress, Mexico (1956)

The 20th International Geological Congress (IGC), held in Mexico in 1956, took place at a crucial time as the demand for raw materials increased significantly after the Second World War. The search for mineral resources provided a stimulus for the development of geology and its applied branches, geophysics, geochemistry etc. Also, the foundations were being laid for a new global geological model, plate tectonics, which burst onto the scene in the sixties. The Congress had the largest attendance up to that time. Many of its sessions focused on prospecting for mineral deposits and drilling for oil and gas.