This armchair guide to the making of the geologic record shows how to understand messages written in stone. To many of us, the Earth's crust is a relic of ancient, unknowable history - but to a geologist, stones are richly illustrated narratives, telling gothic tales of cataclysm and reincarnation. For more than four billion years, in beach sand, granite, and garnet schists, the planet has kept a rich and idiosyncratic journal of its past. The author,...

This book defines rock formations; introduces sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks; and explains the forming of peaks, canyons, mesas and buttes, stacks, monadnocks, and cliffs.

This book teaches young readers how the forces of erosion have worked through wind, water, sand, and more to create the many features of Earth, from the worn-away banks of the smallest creek to the stunning landmark that is the Grand Canyon. Color illustrations and photographs, a glossary, a bibliography, a list of useful websites, and hands-on activities and projects are also provided.

This book teaches young readers about soil's origins and makeup, as well as the nutrients it provides for growing things. Color illustrations and photographs, a glossary, a bibliography, a list of useful websites, and hands-on activities and projects are also provided.

"An exhilarating, time-traveling journey to the solar system's strangest and most awe-inspiring volcanoes. Volcanoes are capable of acts of pyrotechnical prowess verging on magic: they spout black magma more fluid than water, create shimmering cities of glass at the bottom of the ocean and frozen lakes of lava on the moon, and can even tip entire planets over. Despite their reputation for destruction, volcanoes are inseparable from the creation of...

This book teaches young readers about how Earth's tectonic plates lead to features such as mountains and ocean trenches, as well as natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Color illustrations and photographs, a glossary, a bibliography, a list of useful websites, and hands-on activities and projects are also provided.

An explorer and environmentalist offers a natural history of the Earth as well as a biography of the human species.

"Come closer and look at these rocks: they're not normal stones at all! They're thousands and thousands of mollusks, fossilized together in the sediment. But how did a million oysters ever land on top of a mountain? Written by a geologist, this inquisitive journey guides readers through the movements of seas, strata, and tectonic plates. The landscapes of the present can be clues to events in the past. Lush, atmospheric illustrations offer fascinating...

Explores seven natural wonders from the continent of Europe.