Packed with photographs and details on characteristics, distinguishing features, and more, Smithsonian Handbooks: Rocks and Minerals makes identification easy.Designed for beginning and experienced collectors alike, this guide explains what rocks and minerals are, how they are classified, and how to start a collection. Look up different rocks and minerals, and find clear, annotated photography to pick out the key distinguishing features. Learn the differences between igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, and reference the glossary for many more technical and scientific terms.Smithsonian Handbooks: Rocks and Minerals is filled with information about characteristics, colors, unique attributes, and more, making it one of the clearest identification guides for rock and mineral enthusiasts.

    A state-of-the-science view of current world research, the volume includes comprehensive coverage of dinosaur systematics, reproduction, and life history strategies, biogeography, taphonomy, paleoecology, thermoregulation, and extinction. Its internationally renowned authors--forty-four specialists on the various members of the Dinosauria--contribute definitive descriptions and illustrations of these magnificent Mesozoic beasts. The first section of "The Dinosauria "begins with the origin of the great clade of these fascinating reptiles, followed by separate coverage of each major dinosaur taxon, including the Mesozoic radiation of birds. The second part of the volume navigates through broad areas of interest. Here we find comprehensive documentation of dinosaur distribution through time and space, discussion of the interface between geology and biology, and the paleoecological inferences that can be made through this link. This new edition will be the benchmark reference for everyone who needs authoritative information on dinosaurs.

    In this first of three volumes, Charles Lyell (1797-1875) sets forth his powerful uniformitarian argument: processes now visibly acting in the natural world are essentially the same as those that have acted throughout the history of the earth, and are sufficient to account for all geological phenomena. Martin J. S. Rudwick's new Introduction, summarizing the origins of the Principles, guides the reader through the structure of the entire three-volume first edition and considers the legacy of Lyell's great work.

    The new edition features: A consideration of the fundamental physical state of the lithosphere.A discussion on the major types of lithospheric deformation relevant to basin development - stretching and flexure.A new chapter on the effects of mantle dynamics.Radically revised chapters on the basin-fill.A new chapter on the erosional engine for sediment delivery to basins, reflecting the massive and exciting advances in this area in the last decade.Expansion of the techniques used in approaching problems in basin analysis.Updated chapters on subsidence analysis and measurements of thermal maturity of organic and non-organic components of the basin-fill.New material on thermochronological and exposure dating tools.Inclusion of the important petroleum system concept in the updated section on the application to the petroleum play.Visit: www.blackwellpublishing.com/allen for practical exercises related to problems in "Basin Analysis" 2e. To run the programs you will need a copy of Matlab 6 or 7.An Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Please contact our Higher Education team at HigherEducation@wiley.com for more information.

    It is designed for students in introductory geophysics courses who have a general background in the physical sciences, including introductory calculus. New to this edition are a section of color plates and separate sections on the earth's mantle and core. The book also contains an extensive glossary of terms, and includes numerous exercises for which solutions are available to instructors from www.cambridge.org/9780521893077. First Edition Hb (1990): 0-521-37025-6 First Edition Pb (1990): 0-521-38590-3

    It is believed that the land-mass which is now Australia was taken to each of the poles twice, and this turbulent geological journey is reflected in its unique wildlife and in its fossil heritage.

    Contrary to superficial appearances, however, this monolithic continent is a complex mosaic of landlocked islands--islands which vary from isolated forests in oceans of grassland to lakes in seas of land. The flora and fauna of each of these islands represent a snapshot of millions of years of evolution and the biological reaction to the environment of the past. In this richly illustrated book Jonathan Kingdon takes these island communities one by one and delves back into their history to explain why and how they may have evolved as they have and thus the reason why the community is there. As the reader is led through continental Africa, a pattern begins to take shape, providing an understanding of Africa's complexities and putting the continent's biology in a new and dynamic perspective. Kingdon's book is also a fervent plea to conserve these islands. It will be of surpassing interest to anyone concerned with working in African conservation as well as to a wide audience of other general readers.

    He creatively weaves an account of Death Valley's one-hundred-and-forty-year mining history into the one-and-a-half-billion-year geologic history of the Valley. Through these stories and his perceptive observations of a slowly evolving landscape, there emerges a fresh perspective on Death Valley.

    Helens on May 18, 1980, was the most catastrophic and deadly volcanic event ever experienced in the United States. That event had the force of thousands of atom bombs and destroyed 234 square miles of forestland. This highly visual book tells the scientific and human story of that cataclysm and the remarkable recovery that has occurred. Some surprising facts are that the late winter of 1980 contributed to the survival of some hibernating animals; the larger mammals, including elk, brown bears, and cougars have all returned; and unaffected forests quickly spread to cover areas that were wiped out by the blast.

    Shows and describes igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, minerals, and fossils, and the type of terrain in which they may be found.

    Some geysers spout just inches above a pool of water and others blast hundreds of feet in the air from conical vents. Some remain quiet for decades only to explode unexpectedly several times in a single month while others erupt regularly in scheduled intervals, year in and year out. While Bryan focuses on Yellowstone National Park, he also draws examples from geyser fields in Iceland, Chile, Russia, New Zealand, Africa, and elsewhere. An appendix with a detailed map describes the status of more than sixty geyser fields around the world. The book includes old photos of many now-extinct geysers and explains the natural and man-made causes of their demise. Includes 76 color photographs, 3 maps, appendix, glossary, references, and index.