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. Therefore, knowledge of our planet is critical to our well-being and, indeed, vital to our survival. The science of geology contributes greatly to our understanding of planet Earth. Media reports frequently remind us of the geological forces at work on our planet.

You are beginning a study of geology—the science of Earth. Your goal is to learn how Earth works. Along the way, you will learn about the importance of geology to humans. You will consider the origin of essential resources and the forces that drive geologic processes that are hazardous to our lives and livelihoods. This text is not simply a collection of facts to memorize. It is an invitation to think about how scientists use creativity, diligence, and technology to arrive at the current body of knowledge about Earth <...>

Our planet is bursting with wonders of nature. The rocks that make up Earth’s surface hide countless surprises, from colorful minerals to glittering gemstones, and valuable metals. This book is a fascinating collection of natural treasures, along with amazing fossils and beautiful shells.

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.

Why do earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and landslides happen? What causes mountains to rise? How do beautiful landscapes develop? How have climate and life changed through time? When did the Earth form, and by what process? Where do we dig to find valuable metals, and where do we drill to find oil? Does sea level change?

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.

Geomagnetism has always been at the forefront among the various branches of geophysics. At the end of the 16th century William Gilbert determined that the Earth is a big magnet, implying that it has a magnetic field; in the 1830s Carl Friedrich Gauss was able to formulate a procedure to measure the field completely and analyzed its characteristics with the spherical harmonic analysis, a method still used in the era of satellites and computers. Nevertheless, as recently as in the sixties, geophysics textbooks devoted only a thin chapter to geomagnetism, and limited their discussion mostly to prospecting methods, while many geologists’ curriculum practically left it out altogether. The essential contribution provided by the study of ocean floor magnetic anomalies and by paleomagnetism in the development of global tectonic models, made geomagnetism popular in the geological community, which nonetheless continued, and still continues, to view it as a highly specialist discipline. <...>

Учебные планы геологических факультетов университетов включают в себя, помимо ряда других геологических дисциплин, общий курс геологии—«Общую геологию» или «Введение в геологию», который читается в I и II семестрах.