794 full-color photographs depict all the important rocks, gems, and minerals -- in many variations of color and crystal form -- and the natural environments in which they occur; written descriptions provide information on field marks, similar rocks and minerals, environment, areas of occurrence, and derivation of names. Includes a guide to mineral collecting and a list of rock-forming minerals

    Back then, the implications of plate tectonic theory were only beginning to shape geologic research and discussion. Geologists hadn't yet learned that Oregon's Klamath and Blue Mountains were pieces of far-traveled island arcs and ocean basins that had been piled against the growing North American continent. Steaming volcanoes, ghost forests, recent landslides, and towns heated with geothermal energy attest to Oregon's still-prominent position at the edge of an active tectonic plate.

    This field guide is divided into two large sections -- one devoted to minerals and one to rocks, each prefaced by a comprehensive introduction that discusses formation, chemistry, and more. All 377 entries, beautifully illustrated with color photographs and helpful visual symbols, provide descriptions and practical information about appearance, classification, rarity, crystal formation, mode of occurrence, gravity of mineral, rock chemistry, modal classification fields, formational environments, grain sizes of rocks, and much more. Whether you are a serious collector or an information-seeking amateur, this incomparably beautiful, authoritative guide will prove an invaluable reference.

    Schwartz uncovers never-before-detailed background on some of the most important digs of the past 100 years, including the recovery of Glastonbury Abbey--known as both the legendary Avalon of King Arthur and the birthplace of Christianity in England. The 12th title in Hampton Roads' Studies in Consciousness line, The Secrets Vaults of Time was originally published in 1978 and hailed by Publishers Weekly as "compelling and cogent . . .new evidence that the thinking and writing on things psychic has attained a maturity that commands the most serious attention." Stephan Schwartz is the former research director of the Mobius Society, as well as a founder and past president of the Society of the Anthropology of Consciousness.

    Worked examples throughout the book reinforce the explanations and a range of problems for the reader to solve provide further learning opportunities.