Free Download The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon

There are numerous publications that can be the manner for reaching the brighter future. It will certainly also include the various themes from literary fiction, socials, business, religions, regulations, and numerous other publications. If you are puzzled to choose among the books, you can attempt The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide To The Basics Of Geology And To Collecting And Identifying Rocks, By Dougal Dixon Yeah, this book ends up being a much suggested book that lots of people enjoy to check out, in every condition.

The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon

Free Download The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon

Challenging the brain to think far better and also quicker can be undertaken by some ways. Experiencing, paying attention to the other experience, adventuring, examining, training, as well as more sensible tasks could aid you to enhance. However here, if you don't have enough time to get the important things directly, you can take a really simple means. Reviewing is the most convenient task that can be done anywhere you want.

If you actually intend to be smarter, reading can be among the great deals ways to stimulate and recognize. Many individuals who such as reading will have extra knowledge and also experiences. Reviewing can be a means to gain details from business economics, politics, scientific research, fiction, literature, religious beliefs, as well as many others. As one of the part of book classifications, The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide To The Basics Of Geology And To Collecting And Identifying Rocks, By Dougal Dixon always ends up being the most desired book. Many individuals are definitely looking for this book. It indicates that numerous like to read this type of book.

What do you consider this publication? Are you still perplexed with this publication? When you are really interested to check out based upon the title of this publication, you can see how guide will certainly offer you lots of things. It is not only concerning the exactly how this publication worry about, it is about exactly what you can take from guide when you have read. Even that's just for few pages; it will certainly aid you to provide added inspirations. Yeah, The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide To The Basics Of Geology And To Collecting And Identifying Rocks, By Dougal Dixon is really incredible for you.

Once again, what type of person are you? If you are actually one of individuals with open minded, you will have this publication as your recommendation. Not just owning this soft documents of The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide To The Basics Of Geology And To Collecting And Identifying Rocks, By Dougal Dixon, yet certainly, check out and understands it ends up being the must. It is just what makes you move forward much better. Yeah, go forward is required in this instance, if you desire really a much better life, you can So, if you truly want to be far better individual, read this publication as well as be open minded.

About the Author

Dougal Dixon was a geology student in college and now is a well-known writer specializing in the earth sciences. He took part in the 1985 and 1987 British Open University/Earthwatch expeditions to the Askja caldera in central Iceland. Previous books include After Man: A Zoology of the Future, The New Dinosaurs, Man After Man, and Time Exposure.

Read more

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1WHAT IS A PRACTICAL GEOLOGIST?Geology -- the science of the Earth. It is a study that incorporates all the other sciences and binds them together in one all-embracing subject.Literature gives us some guides. In Saint Ronan's Well by Sir Walter Scott, written in 1823, Meg Dodds, the prickly landlady of Cleikum Inn, refers to those of her guests who:"rin uphill and down dale, knapping the chucky stanes to pieces wi' hammers, like sae mony road-makers run daft, to see how the world was made."In A Study in Scarlet (1887), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, speaking through Dr. Watson, lists Sherlock Holmes' accomplishments and his limitations. In the list we read:"Knowledge of Geology -- Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them."Here we have two aspects of the science of geology -- the academic and the utilitarian. The former represents knowledge for its own sake, while the latter knowledge is turned to some creative purpose. Both aspects involve practical work -- going out to find the knowledge in the first place.Observational geology such as this has a long history. Greek scholars such as Pythagoras (c 580-500 BC) and Herodotus (c 485-425 BC) both noted the presence of fossil seashells high up in mountains and drew the conclusion that geographies were very different in times past. This early surge of interest in geology vanished during the Dark Ages and did not surface again in the West until the Renaissance in the 15th century. At this time technology and the arts began to blossom, and the necessity of supplying the raw materials for these new activities led to an interest in the formation of minerals. In 1556 the German mineralogist Georgius Agricola published De Re Metallica in which he describes the formation of metal ores in veins in a manner that was well ahead of his time.The observations made over the next century or two led to some erroneous theories. The presence of crystals in some igneous rocks suggested to Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817), Professor of Mining and Mineralogy at Freiberg, that all rocks had been deposited from solution as a vast primordial ocean had evaporated. This view -- the Neptunian view -- became geological orthodoxy.The value of fieldworkThroughout history the observations of the Earth's structure and composition have been misinterpreted, and it is only by diligent field work and increasingly precise experimentation that the more realistic theories have been developed.One of the pioneers of utilitarian geology was English canal engineer William Smith (1769-1839). During the course of his work he realized that the different layers of rocks through which he excavated his ditches and tunnels could be identified by the kinds of fossils that they contained. Using this information, he was able to construct the first geological map and, with his book Strata Identified by Organized Fossils, initiated the science of stratigraphy.Nowadays the classic study of geology has combined with such related subjects as meteorology, oceanography, astronomy, geophysics, and geochemistry, to become the all-embracing discipline of Earth Science. For the professionals, the practical work is done with highly sophisticated equipment. Drills penetrate the surface of the Earth and bore rock samples from deep within the crust. The structure of the underground rocks can be studied by setting off explosions and recording the patterns of reflected shock waves, analyzing the results by computer. Infra-red photography from aircraft and satellites can show chemical differences in vegetation that reveal the nature of the underlying rocks. Sonar waves bounced off the ocean floor can give resolute pictures of the landscape. Sensitive gauges can measure the electrical properties of soil and rocks, and determine if an exploitable water supply lies beneath. Instruments can detect tiny variations in the Earth's gravitational field which can suggest the presence of workable metal deposits. It is all a long way from hammers and mud stains.With the great surge of 20th-century knowledge and the wealth of books on Earth Science -- at both the academic and the popular level -- it has become possible to learn all that is known about the nature and the workings of the Earth without moving from one's armchair. Yet practical geology for the amateur is far from dead. Studying the rocks as they outcrop and collecting new specimens will always add to the mounting knowledge of the Earth. And nothing can quite compare with the exhilaration of tramping up a deserted mountainside to observe the folds and faults in the exposed rock, or with the joy of splitting open a boulder to find a crystal of garnet or a trilobite fossil that has never before been exposed to the daylight.Copyright © 1992 by Quarto Inc

Read more

Product details

Paperback: 160 pages

Publisher: Touchstone; 33180th edition (August 15, 1992)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0671746979

ISBN-13: 978-0671746971

Product Dimensions:

9.8 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.3 out of 5 stars

80 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#50,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

I got this book as a means to keep refreshed on geologic principles that are important and to take with me on hikes to help me identify rocks. I ended up learning some new stuff I didn’t already know as a Geology major, and the author was able to better explain certain geologic occurances better than my professor. Also, I find the sketches and pictures to be outstanding!!! Great book! I highly recommend for those who want a basic understanding of the geology of our beautiful planet. :)

I'm a science buff and wanted a painless introduction to geology. This book is great. Lush color work and very information rich. For an amateur rock hound or someone who wants to know more about geology than sixth-grade stuff (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic), this book is a winner.

The Practical Geologist was great for me! I had a basic knowledge of Geology (some basic books and some earth science classes in middle school) and am very interested in studying Geology when I go back to college. It expanded greatly on my knowledge while remaining simple enough to be easily understood.It teaches a good bit about minerals and their crystal forms, the different types of rocks, plate tectonics, the formation of various structures (sills, mountains, valleys, beaches, dikes, etc.), sedimentology, and teaches you how to do field work/geology (map making, rock collection analysis and documentation).After reading it, I feel that I am able to study the rocks and formations in my area (Chattanooga, Tennessee) and develop a decent understanding of the Geology.It is also well written, and the author inserts humor every now and then.

Lovely book, but not as filled with actual everyday rock explanations as I was looking for.

I checked this book out of the library and after halfway through decided it was a keeper and ordered my own copy. Mr. Dixon's writing style is straight forward and easy to follow. Plenty of illustrations to help visualize various concepts and landforms. I found the bit about tools and equipment really informative. It deals with what you really need and not just what neat tools you can get (and probably never have a use for.)All of this makes for a good 'First Book on the Subject' read. I say that because if you have read any other introductory texts most of this book will be a review. Great for someone who is wanting to learn a little geology but hasn't done any study before. Both adults and children.I recommend this book to anyone, like myself, who hasn't had a formal education in geology and just wanted to find out a little more. If you're wanting text on more involved subjects or specific reference I would suggest the NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY books. Good jumping off point, but the subject is deep and wide.

I purchased this as a gift for an adult and was a bit embarrassed by the format.....mainly by the "things to do" suggestions. Much of the material in the beginning was too much information about measuring minerals with light, measuring crystal angles, field equipment, etc. The book is actually very informative, excellent pictures and info and does get into rock formation, fault formation........maybe just not quite what I was hoping it would be. Not the book's fault though.

Very good intro to geology. Easy to understand diagrams, pictures and well written text. A good place to start for anyone interested in geology. Goes well with Geology for Dummies.

Geology is important to understand if you are to mine effectively. This book is a geology course in itself. Easy to understand, layed out in a beneficial way, amazingly presented. Six stars if I could.

The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon PDF
The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon EPub
The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon Doc
The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon iBooks
The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon rtf
The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon Mobipocket
The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon Kindle

The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon PDF

The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon PDF

The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon PDF

The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks, by Dougal Dixon PDF