Historical Geology [Paperback]

Offering comprehensive content for the historical geology course, HISTORICAL GEOLOGY provides students with an understanding of the principles of historical geology and how these principles are applied in unraveling Earth's history. Students will learn and understand the underlying causes of why things happened and the way they did, and how all of Earth's systems and subsystems are interrelated. Students will understand the relevancy of Earth's history as part of a dynamic and complex integrated system, not as a series of isolated and unrelated events1. THE DYNAMIC AND EVOLVING EARTH. Introduction. What Is Geology? Historical Geology and the Formulation of Theories. Origin of the Universe and Solar System, and Earth's Place in Them. Origin of the Universe--Did It Begin with a Big Bang? Our Solar System--Its Origin and Evolution. Earth--Its Place in Our Solar System. Perspective: Exoplanets. Why Is Earth a Dynamic and Evolving Planet? Plate Tectonic Theory. Organic Evolution and the History of Life. Geologic Time and Uniformitarianism. How Does the Study of Historical Geology Benefit Us? Summary. 2. MINERALS AND ROCKS. Introduction. Matter and Its Composition. Elements and Atoms. Bonding and Compounds. Minerals--The Building Blocks of Rocks. How Many Minerals Are There? Rock-Forming Minerals and the Rock Cycle. Igneous Rocks. Texture and Composition. Classifying Igneous Rocks. Sedimentary Rocks. Sediment Transport, Deposition, and Lithification. Classification of Sedimentary Rocks. Metamorphic Rocks. What Causes Metamorphism? Metamorphic Rock Classification. Plate Tectonics and the Rock Cycle. Summary. 3. PLATE TECTONICS: A UNIFYING THEORY. Introduction. Early Ideas About Continental Drift. Alfred Wegener and the Continental Drift Hypothesis . What Is the Evidence for Continental Drift? Continental Fit. Similarity of Rock Sequences and Mountain Ranges. Glacial Evidence. Fossil Evidence. Earth's Magnetic Field. Magnetic Reversals and Seafloor Spreading. Plate TectonilC*