A Guide To Rocks Fossils

Uncover the intriguing world beneath our feet Rocks and Fossils reveal the state of the planet now and what the future may bring, including clues about the shifting, changing nature of the continents, mountain ranges, oceans, and islands. Rocks and Fossils is a beautifully illustrated book that brings life to the seemingly timeless landscape. It explains geological concepts in relevant and familiar terms. Lively illustrations reveal a vast, hidden world via cross-sections and cutaways with explanatory captions. The book explores the internal engine of our planet -- the liquid iron core unique among terrestrial planets, which is the catalyst for the creation and destruction of land, mountain, and oceans. Rocks and Fossils is organized in six main sections: The Dynamic Earth: the ever-changing nature of the world Ancient Worlds: life from the Precambrian era to the age of humans Key Features: how rocks and fossils form Rocks and Fossils in the Landscape: where to find fossils Minerals: How they form and why some are precious Fossils: signs of life from single-cell organisms to dinosaurs. Rocks and Fossils explains the fossil record to show how prehistoric lifeforms are linked to plants and animals still on Earth. Why did some species survive and others perish? What does the future hold?

A detailed and extensively illustrated handbook. The colors, shapes and properties of minerals vary from the bland to the magnificent. Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils is a practical and authoritative handbook that is both comprehensive and easy to use. Each of the 600 specimens is shown in full color, sometimes in two or more forms. There are also drawings that show the structure of the crystalline specimens. It covers the basics like granite, as well as oddities like meteorites and tektites. Fossils include sponges, corals, arthropods, brachiopods, and fossil land plants. Each is described in detail, with notes on: color and transparency grain size hardness structure occurrence mineralogy distinguishing features habit cleavage texture alteration luster Mineral names, chemical formulae and structural data accord to international standards. This is a very complete, but attractive and useful volume in a respected series.

This is a comprehensive reference to 700 minerals, rocks, plants and animal fossils from around the globe and how to identify them, with more than 2000 photographs and illustrations. It is an essential reference book for amateur geologists and palaeontologists, revealing how rocks and fossils form, sites and habitats, classification, and a photographic guide. Extensive illustrated directories feature profiles of over 700 rocks, minerals and plant and animal fossils, describing their qualities and properties, and specification factfiles. It features over 1200 photographs of rocks and fossils for easy identification plus more than 800 artworks, including timescales, structural artworks of rocks and minerals, and reconstructions of fossilized plants and animals. It includes detailed information on safe extraction, home testing techniques, safe cleaning and how to display specimens - all you need to build an impressive collection. Rocks, minerals and fossils have a timeless fascination. This expert book provides a complete reference for anyone interested in the earth sciences. The book's major feature is its two extensive visual directories - one on rocks and minerals and one on fossils - containing over 700 in-depth specimen profiles. Information boxes give facts and figures such as type and location, and artworks and reconstructions show the structure-type of rocks and how each fossil originally looked. It provides all the facts anyone needs about the hugely absorbing subjects of geology and paleontology. This impressive work is beautiful to look at and will engage every reader.