Utilizing actual case studies and field photographs, this successful lab manual covers the full spectrum of historical geology sediments, plate tectonics, paleontology, and petrology in flexible, self-contained units. This manual has been developed for use in both non-majors and combined courses in historical geology. The exercises emphasize the principles and methods by which geologists discover the origins and changing nature of our planet.
These exercises or "studies" will help students understand how ancient conditions can be read from rocks and fossils, how geologic forces at the surface and within the planet can alter the environment and change world geography, and how events of the past can be placed within an integrated chronological sequence. The exercises are designed for students who may not intend to specialize in geology. This does not mean, however, that the treatment is superficial, nor that it cannot give adequate preparation for students pursuing an academic major in the earth sciences.
Contents: Sedimentary Rocks in Hand Samples
Textural Clues to the History of Sediment
Sedimentary Rocks Under the Microscope
Ancient Sedimentary Environments
Major Tectonic Settings of Earth History
Sea-Floor Spreading and Plate Tectonics
Age Relations and Unconformity
Rock Units and Time-Rock Units
Ancient Shorelines
Fossils and Their Living Relatives: Protists, Sponges, Corals, Bryozoans and Brachiopods
Fossils and Their Living Relatives: Mollusks, Arthropods, Echinoderms, Graptolites and Plants
Fossils as Indicators of Age, Environment and Correlation
A Brief Survey of the Vertebrates
Geologic Maps and Geologic Structures
Canadian Shield and Basement Rocks of North America
Mountain Belts of North America
The Interior Plains and Plateaus
Igneous Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks