Barbara W. Murck - Geology: A Self-Teaching Guide

Cover

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Wiley Self-Teaching Guides teach practical skills from accounting to astronomy, management to mathematics. Look for them at your local bookstore.

Other Wiley Self-Teaching Guides:

Science

Astronomy, Fifth Edition, by Dinah L. Moch

Basic Physics, Second Edition, by Karl F. Kuhn

Biology, by Steven D. Garber

Chemistry: Concepts and Problems, Second Edition, by Clifford C. Houk and Richard Post

Math

All the Math You'll Ever Need, Revised Edition, by Steve Slavin

Geometry and Trigonometry for Calculus, by Peter H. Selby

Practical Algebra, Second Edition, by Peter H. Selby and Steve Slavin

Quick Algebra Review, Second Edition, by Peter H. Selby and Steve Slavin

Quick Arithmetic, Second Edition, by Robert A. Carman and Marilyn J. Carman

Quick Business Math, by Steve Slavin

Quick Calculus, Second Edition, by Daniel Kleppner and Norman Ramsey

Statistics, Fourth Edition, by Donald Koosis

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Geology

A Self-Teaching Guide

Barbara W. Murck

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Copyright 2001 by Barbara Murck. All rights reserved.
Illustrations copyright 2001 by Barbara Murck.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, email: PERMREQ@WILEY.COM .

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

This title is also available in print as ISBN 0-471-38590-5

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I wish to acknowledge, first and foremost, the extensive contributions to this book made by Brian Skinner, my friend and coauthor on other Wiley projects. Brian selected the photographsincluding several great shots from his own extensive collectionand wrote the captions for them. Much more importantly, the thoughts and words he has shared with me on so many other occasions are woven throughout this book; without them, it would not exist.

Many thanks to Jeff Golick of John Wiley & Sons for initiating this project and seeing it through to completion, for providing me with ever-patient and levelheaded counsel, and for having the energy and foresight to forge full speed into our next collaboration. Thanks, too, to Marjorie Graham, Jill Tatara, and Anna Melhorn, who went beyond the call of duty to help in various ways with the photo selections and artwork, and Sibylle Kazeroid for her guidance through editing and production. My daughter Eliza King earned her keep as an editorial assistant, and Riley and Jack helped out with their usual tolerance of such activities. And Cliff, thanks for recommending me, even though you knew it might distract me from other Wiley projects!

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Welcome to the study of our home planet, Earth. In this book you will learn about the fascinating geologic processes that make the Earth the special place it is. You will find out how our understanding of this planet has changed dramatically over the past few decades as a result of new theories and new technologies for Earth observation. Yet we continue, as well, to build upon the scientific foundations laid by geologists of the past 200 years. Earth is a fascinating planet, and geologythe scientific study of the Earthis a multifaceted discipline.

If you have purchased this book, you probably fall into one of three categories:

you studied geology a number of years ago in college or university and want to update your understanding of the subject;

you are currently studying geology in college or university and want to supplement your understanding of the material covered in lectures and labs;