Earth. An introduction to physical geology / Земля. Введение в общую геологию

Earth is a very small part of a vast universe, but it is our home. It provides the resources that support our modern society and the ingredients necessary to maintain life. Knowledge of our physical environment is critical to our well-being and vital to our survival. A basic geology course can help a person gain such an understanding, and can also take advantage of the interest and curiosity many of us have about our planet—its landscapes and the processes that create and alter our physical environment.
This 12th edition of Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, like its predecessors, is a college-level text that is intended to be a meaningful, nontechnical survey for students taking their first course in geology. In addition to being informative and up-to-date, a major goal of Earth is to meet the need for a readable and user-friendly text, a book that is a highly usable tool for students learning the basic principles and concepts of geology.
Although many topical issues are examined in the 12th edition of Earth, it should be emphasized that the main focus of this new edition remains the same as the focus of earlier editions: to promote student understanding of basic principles. As much as possible, we have attempted to provide the reader with a sense of the observational techniques and reasoning processes that constitute the science of geology <...>