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The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks
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About The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide To
Product Description From exploring the basic principles of geology to starting a rock and mineral collection, The Practical Geologist is the perfect introduction to the world of earth science. Beginning with a history of the earth's formation and development, this book explores the substances that compose the planet, movements within the earth, the surface effects of weather and water, and underground landscapes. It shows you how to search for, identify, and extract samples of various rocks and minerals, and for each rock and mineral type there is a brief mineralogy and explanation of its locations. There are also sections on mapping, preparing, and curating specimens, and geological sites on the six continents. Packed with more than 200 full-color illustrations, this comprehensive guide is the essential practical companion for natural science enthusiasts everywhere. About the Author Dougal Dixon was a geology student in college and now is a well-known writer specializing in the earth sciences. He took part in the 1985 and 1987 British Open University/Earthwatch expeditions to the Askja caldera in central Iceland. Previous books include After Man: A Zoology of the Future, The New Dinosaurs, Man After Man, and Time Exposure. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 WHAT IS A PRACTICAL GEOLOGIST? Geology -- the science of the Earth. It is a study that incorporates all the other sciences and binds them together in one all-embracing subject. Literature gives us some guides. In Saint Ronan's Well by Sir Walter Scott, written in 1823, Meg Dodds, the prickly landlady of Cleikum Inn, refers to those of her guests who: "rin uphill and down dale, knapping the chucky stanes to pieces wi' hammers, like sae mony road-makers run daft, to see how the world was made." In A Study in Scarlet (1887), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, speaking through Dr. Watson, lists Sherlock Holmes' accomplishments and his limitations. In the list we read: "Knowledge of Geology -- Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them." Here we have two aspects of the science of geology -- the academic and the utilitarian. The former represents knowledge for its own sake, while the latter knowledge is turned to some creative purpose. Both aspects involve practical work -- going out to find the knowledge in the first place. Observational geology such as this has a long history. Greek scholars such as Pythagoras (c 580-500 BC) and Herodotus (c 485-425 BC) both noted the presence of fossil seashells high up in mountains and drew the conclusion that geographies were very different in times past. This early surge of interest in geology vanished during the Dark Ages and did not surface again in the West until the Renaissance in the 15th century. At this time technology and the arts began to blossom, and the necessity of supplying the raw materials for these new activities led to an interest in the formation of minerals. In 1556 the German mineralogist Georgius Agricola published De Re Metallica in which he describes the formation of metal ores in veins in a manner that was well ahead of his time. The observations made over the next century or two led to some erroneous theories. The presence of crystals in some igneous rocks suggested to Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817), Professor of Mining and Mineralogy at Freiberg, that all rocks had been deposited from solution as a vast primordial ocean had evaporated. This view -- the Neptunian view -- became geological orthodoxy. The value of fieldwork Throughout history the observations of the Earth's structure and composition have been misinterpreted, and it is only by diligent field work and increasingly precise experimentation that the more realistic theories have been developed. One of the pioneers of utilitarian g
