Summary

Uncover the intriguing world beneath our feetRocks and Fossils reveal the state of the planet now and what the future may bring, including clues about the shifting, changing nature of the continents, mountain ranges, oceans, and islands.Rocks and Fossils is a beautifully illustrated book that brings life to the seemingly timeless landscape. It explains geological concepts in relevant and familiar terms. Lively illustrations reveal a vast, hidden world via cross-sections and cutaways with explanatory captions.The book explores the internal engine of our planet -- the liquid iron core unique among terrestrial planets, which is the catalyst for the creation and destruction of land, mountain, and oceans.Rocks and Fossils is organized in six main sections: The Dynamic Earth: the ever-changing nature of the world Ancient Worlds: life from the Precambrian era to the age of humans Key Features: how rocks and fossils form Rocks and Fossils in the Landscape: where to find fossils Minerals: How they form and why some are precious Fossils: signs of life from single-cell organisms to dinosaurs.Rocks and Fossils explains the fossil record to show how prehistoric lifeforms are linked to plants and animals still on Earth. Why did some species survive and others perish? What does the future hold?

Author Biography

Robert R. Coenraads is a leading gemologist, geologist and geophysicist. He travels the remotest regions of the globe to discover and collect exceptional specimens for scientific research. As a research associate of the Australian Museum, he leads rockhunting expeditions and directs exploration projects for precious gemstones and minerals.

Introduction
The Dynamic Earth Understanding rocks
Reading the rocks
Journey to Earth's center
Rings of fire
Spreading oceans
Subduction Collision Earthquakes and faults
Hot spots Understanding fossils
The fossil record
The five kingdoms
Classification of fossils
Evolution Adaptation Relating and mating Predators
Avoiding predation
Extinction Lifeforms and Earth's forces
The divided continents Ancient Worlds Geological time
Precambrian: first life
Cambrian: explosion of life
Ordovician: peak biodiversity
Ordovician mass extinction
Silurian: plants invade the land
Devonian: the age of fishes
Devonian mass extinction
Carboniferous: the age of swamps
Permian: end of an era
Permian mass extinction
Triassic: reptiles rise to dominance
Triassic mass extinction
Jurassic: rise of the dinosaurs
Cretaceous: flowers bloom
Cretaceous mass extinction
Tertiary: age of mammals
Quaternary: the age of humans
After the next extinction
Key Features
How fossils form
Types of fossils
Trace fossils
Reconstructing fossils
Microfossils Rocks and their minerals
How rocks form
Rocks from melts
Rocks from heat and pressure
Layered rocks
Rocks and Fossils in the Landscape
Active volcanoes
Eruptions Ashfalls Craters and calderas
Historic volcanoes
Lava Columns, spires and dikes
Geysers Deltas Waterfalls and reiverbends
Gorges and canyons
Mesas, buttes and tors
Deserts Beaches and coastal remnants
Karst Caves Swamps, bogs and tar pits
Ancient seabeds and lakebeds
Fossil sites Folds and faults
Glaciers and icefields
Rocks from space
Rock structures
Minerals Understanding minerals
Color, sheen and luster
Optical effects
Clarity and inclusions
Crystal systems
Habit Cleavage and fracture
Identifying minerals
Native elements
Metallic minerals
Evaporites Weathering
Silicates Feldspars
Crystalline quartz
Cryptocrystalline quartz
Opals Diamonds Emeralds and other beryls
Sapphires and rubies
Tourmalines and garnets
Other gemstones
Organic gems
Fossils
Fossils and living groups
Plants Simple-celled fossils
Sponges and their relatives
Corals, jellyfish and anemones
Brachiopods and bryozoans
Mollusks and annelids
Cephalopods Echinoderms
Arthropods Fossils in amber
Fishes Amphibians Reptiles Dinosaurs
Dinosaur tracks and traces
Pterosaurs and birds
Mammals
Humans Factfile
Glossary
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Supplemental Materials

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Excerpts

IntroductionThe ground beneath us is made up of rocks, some of which extend extraordinary depths into Earth. Venture deep enough and they are molten, moving, plastic-like substances. Rocks are not static and inert. They are constantly changing, shifting and rearranging their form and location. They can be melted, deposited, eroded and squeezed into new forms. These changes occur over vast periods of time. The pages of Earth's history are written in its rocks, minerals and fossils. Rocks and minerals provide evidence of events that took place in the distant past. They offer clues about the shifting, changing nature of the continents, mountain ranges, oceans and islands. They help us understand what Earth's climate was like billions of years ago, what elements the atmosphere contained, and how life may have evolved.When an animal or plant dies and its remains leave an impression in rock, the resulting fossil is a testament to life's history and its changing, evolving nature. Fossils reveal Earth's past lifeforms, among them long-extinct beasts, bizarre, alien-like beings and delicate marine creatures.Rocks are made up of minerals. It is among the minerals that the exquisite gemstones and ornamental stones are found. Sparkling diamonds, vivid green emeralds, multicolored tourmalines, clear crystal quartz and lacy agates are all minerals.Take a journey into Earth's history to discover what shaped its