An acclaimed Harvard geologist presents a narrative chronicle of the Earth’s 4.6-billion-year evolution that places the environmental crises of today’s world in a context that explains the planet’s fragile capacity to support life.

"Geopedia is a brief compendium of geological facts and lore, by the award-winning author of Timefulness"-- "A garden of geologic delights for all EarthlingsGeopedia is a trove of geologic wonders and the evocative terms that humans have devised to describe them. Featuring dozens of entries-from Acasta gneiss to Zircon-this illustrated compendium is brimming with lapidary and lexical insights that will delight rockhounds and word lovers alike.Geoscientists...

In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. He found that by tracing the placement of fossils, which he uncovered in his excavations, one could follow layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fell-clear across England and, indeed, clear across the world-making it possible, for the first time ever, to draw a chart of the hidden underside of the earth. Smith spent twenty-two years piecing together the fragments of this...

"From a long-term planning lead for the Mars Exploration Rover Project comes this vivid insider account of some of NASA's most vital and exciting missions to the Red Planet, illustrated with full-color photographs-a wondrous chronicle of unprecedented scientific discovery and the search for evidence of life on Mars"--

On a special field trip in the magic school bus, Ms Frizzle's class learn at first hand about different kinds of rocks and the formation of the earth

An introduction to geology is packed with lively cartoon artwork and engaging facts on everything from fossils and volcanoes to diamonds and the Grand Canyon, explaining why rocks are an essential component of life on our planet.