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Interpreting Earth History

A Manual in Historical Geology, Sixth Edition

Morris S. Petersen and J. Keith Rigby

The latest edition of this highly regarded manual offers students of historical geology a wide selection of exercises from which they can experience the challenges and satisfaction of using geologic data firsthand to derive meaningful interpretations. Thirty-three well-designed exercises are presented with brief, straightforward overviews of topics, clearly stated procedures, and explicit illustrations. Some exercises are intended for a laboratory setting where rocks and fossil specimens are available; others can be done either in the lab or as homework assignments. The expansive coverage allows flexibility for particular teaching styles and varying course content.

$37.95 list, 228 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-528-7

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-528-1

© 1999

Table of Contents

Part I. PRINCIPLES

1. Review of Earth Materials

2. The Principle of Uniformity

3. Subdivision of a Rock Column

4. Physical Correlation

5. Facies Relationships

6. Relative Dating—Sequences of Events

7. Radiometric Dating

8. Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics

9. Fossils and Fossilization

10. Fossil Classification and Morphology

11. Evidence of Evolution

12. Patterns of Evolution

13. Biostratigraphic Correlation

14. The Dinosaurs

Part II. APPLICATION

15. Interpretation of Geologic Maps

16. Canadian Shield—Core of the Continent

17. Interior Lowland—The Stable Interior

18. Folded Appalachian Mountains

19. New England Appalachians

20. The Catskills

21. Coastal Plains

22. Colorado Plateau and Ancient Colorado Mountains

23. Wasatch Mountains

24. Uinta Mountains

25. Canadian Rockies

26. Black Hills and the High Plains

27. Sierra Nevada

28. Block-Fault Mountains of the Basin and Range

29. Active Coast Ranges of California

30. Arctic Islands

31. Pleistocene Glaciation

32. Hominid Fossils

33. The Expanding Universe

Appendix: Review of Topographic Map Reading