The authors have drawn extensively on their own international field experiences and those of their colleagues to provide a global introduction to the study of physical geology. The book takes the overriding theme of human interaction with the Earth and its environmental impact. Each chapter opens with an essay focusing on an instance of the impact humans have on the Earth's environment or the impact the Earth has on humans.

Table of Contents

PART 1: The Earth's Materials: Planet Earth; Minerals; The Fire Within: Volcanoes and Magmas; Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks; New Rocks from Old: Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks; Geologic Time; PART 2: Processes That Shape the Earth's Surface: Weathering and Soils; Mass-Wasting; Streams and Drainage Systems; Groundwater; Glaciers and Glaciation; Wind Action and Deserts; The Ocean Margins; PART 3: The Evolving Earth: Deformation of Rocks; Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior; Global Tectonics; Resources of Minerals and Energy; Beyond Planet Earth; Our Changing Planet.