Essentials of Geology

With over 300 college and university adoptions, Stephen Marshak\'s Earth: Portrait of a Planet has quickly become the leading introductory geology text. Now, W. W. Norton and Company is proud to announce Essentials of Geology -- an abridged version of Earth: Portrait of a Planet for courses that require a shorter book. Retaining Earth\'s engaging writing style and spectacular art, as well as Professor Marshak\'s precise, modern treatment of the earth sciences, Essentials of Geology is sure to be met with enthusiastic praise from both students and teachers alike.

1. The Earth in Context 2. The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics 3. Patterns in Nature: Minerals Interlude A Rock Groups 4. Up from the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks 5. A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks 6. Change in the Solid State: Metamorphic Rocks Interlude B The Rock Cycle 7. The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions 8. A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes Interlude C Seeing Inside the Earth 9. Crags, Cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building Interlude D Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution 10. Deep Time: How Old Is Old? 11. A Biography of Earth 12. Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources 13. Unsafe Ground: Landslides and other Mass Movements 14. Streams and Floods: The Geology of Running Water 15. Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts 16 A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater 17. Dry Regions: The Geology of Deserts 18. Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages 19. Global Change in the Earth System Adaptations from Earth: Portrait of a Planet to Essentials of Geology The following chapters from Earth have been combined in Essentials: Chapter 1: Cosmology + Chapter 2: Journey to the Center of the Earth = New Chapter 1: The Earth in Context Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 = New Chapter 2: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics Chapter 14: Energy Resources + Chapter 15: Mineral Resources = New Chapter 12: Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources Essentials of Chapter 20: The Atmosphere have been put into New Chapter 19: Global Change in the Earth System. New Figures have been added to Chapter 11: A Biography of Earth.