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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Rocks, minerals & fossils
Everywhere in Yorkshire are clues to vanished worlds in the rocks,
fossils and landforms. This accessible, well-illustrated book is a
beautiful guide to the geology.
After water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume
more than any other-even more than oil. Every concrete building and
paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip, is
made from sand. From Egypt's pyramids to the Hubble telescope, from
the world's tallest skyscraper to the sidewalk below it, from
Chartres' stained-glass windows to your iPhone, sand shelters us,
empowers us, engages us, and inspires us. It's the ingredient that
makes possible our cities, our science, our lives-and our future.
And, incredibly, we're running out of it. The World in a Grain is
the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing
natural resource that grows more essential every day, and of the
people who mine it, sell it, build with it-and sometimes, even kill
for it. It's also a provocative examination of the serious human
and environmental costs incurred by our dependence on sand, which
has received little public attention. Not all sand is created
equal- Some of the easiest sand to get to is the least useful.
Award-winning journalist Vince Beiser delves deep into this world,
taking readers on a journey across the globe, from the United
States to remote corners of India, China, and Dubai to explain why
sand is so crucial to modern life. Along the way, readers encounter
world-changing innovators, island-building entrepreneurs, desert
fighters, and murderous sand pirates. The result is an entertaining
and eye-opening work, one that is both unexpected and involving,
rippling with fascinating detail and filled with surprising
characters.
For roughly two thousand years, the veneration of sacred fossil
ammonites, called Shaligrams, has been an important part of Hindu
and Buddhist ritual practice throughout South Asia and among the
global Diaspora. Originating from a single remote region of
Himalayan Nepal, called Mustang, Shaligrams are all at once
fossils, divine beings, and intimate kin with families and
worshippers. Through their lives, movements, and materiality,
Shaligrams then reveal fascinating new dimensions of religious
practice, pilgrimage, and politics. But as social, environmental,
and national conflicts in the politically-contentious region of
Mustang continue to escalate, the geologic, mythic, and religious
movements of Shaligrams have come to act as parallels to the
mobility of people through both space and time. Shaligram mobility
therefore traverses through multiple social worlds, multiple
religions, and multiple nations revealing Shaligram practitioners
as a distinct, alternative, community struggling for a place in a
world on the edge.
Updated 6th edition with new sites & museums! Learn Where &
How to Dig, Pan and Mine Your Own Gems & Minerals SOUTHWEST
Arizona • California • Colorado • Hawaii • Kansas Nevada
• New Mexico • Oklahoma • Texas • Utah Whether you're
digging for the first time or are an experienced rockhound or
"prospector," with a simple rock hammer and a little luck, you too
can strike it rich ... or at the very least, have fun trying. This
guide offers you easy-to-use information on the ins and outs of
"fee dig" mining, complete with locations, costs, tips on
technique, entertaining legends and important information on
everything from safety kits to the location of the nearest
restrooms. Included are resources for use in identifying your
finds, exploring the lapidary arts, and further pursuing an
exciting—and possibly profitable—hobby. Equipment and Clothing:
What you need and where to find it (or how to make it yourself).
Mining Techniques: Step-by-step instructions on panning for gold,
sluicing for gems and other methods. Gem and Mineral Sites:
Directions and maps, hours, fees and equipment needed. Also
includes info on guide services, local camping facilities and more.
Museums and Mine Tours: Where to visit commercial and historical
mines, as well as museums with exhibits of gems and minerals (for
help in learning what to look for). Special Events and Tourist
Information: Listings of regional events involving gems and
minerals, and sources of general travel and tourism information for
every state. Other Features: Where to find your birthstone, your
anniversary stone or your zodiac stone; Index by State; Index by
Gem/Mineral; U.S. State Gems & Minerals Chart; and more! The
Treasure Hunter's Gem & Mineral Guides to the U.S.A. in 4
regional volumes: Northeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-0-1 Northwest ISBN:
978-0-9904152-8-2 Southeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-1-8 Southwest ISBN:
978-0-9904152-9-9
In 1872, a young graduate of Yale University named Thomas Russell
unearthed the bones of an 83,000,000-year-old dinosaur in western
Kansas. The rare fossil, an avian dinosaur with teeth and
flightless wings, proved that birds evolved from reptiles. More
than a century later, Russell's great-granddaughter set out to
retrace her ancestor's forgotten expedition. Part detective
history, part memoir, For Want of Wings is Jill Hunting's
captivating account of her journey into prehistory, national
history, and family history. In her quest to piece together
fragments of her family's past, Hunting ends up crisscrossing the
United States, from California to Connecticut. On her first trip
across the Colorado Rockies to the fossil bed site near Russell
Springs, Kansas, Hunting brings along her then twenty-six-year-old
daughter. When the book opens, mother and daughter are both at
crossroads, each seeking to understand the impact of personal
decisions on the landscape of her life. As Hunting ventures
forward, she encounters unexpected resources, such as ten-year-old
triplets who converse with her about dinosaurs and a Connecticut
museum where portraits of her ancestors hang on the walls. Through
lively descriptions of these visits, Hunting advances a view of
history as nonlinear and full of unlikely coincidences. For Want of
Wings is also the carefully researched story of the least known of
Yale's four expeditions into the American West, led by eminent
paleontologist O. C. Marsh; the friendship between Russell's father
and abolitionist John Brown; a portrait of a mother and daughter
evolving in self-understanding; and an inquiry into matters of race
in American history and the author's own family. In the end, all
these pieces converge, like fragments of a fossil, to form an
exquisitely patterned work of historical exploration.
Explore all the incredible colours in the natural world!
Why is the sky blue? What makes the grass green? Why is purple so
rare in nature? With fascinating and rarely heard facts on
wildlife, gemstones, sea life and more, I Can See Nature's Rainbow
is a visual feast for both young and old. Bold, beautiful
art covering ten colours of the vibrant natural world Learn all
about colour in nature, from pigment and light to plants and
habitats Full colour non-fiction picture book for ages 4+
This is the story of a single pebble. It is just a normal pebble,
as you might pick up on holiday - on a beach in Wales, say. Its
history, though, carries us into abyssal depths of time, and across
the farthest reaches of space. This is a narrative of the Earth's
long and dramatic history, as gleaned from a single pebble. It
begins as the pebble-particles form amid unimaginable violence in
distal realms of the Universe, in the Big Bang and in supernova
explosions and continues amid the construction of the Solar System.
Jan Zalasiewicz shows the almost incredible complexity present in
such a small and apparently mundane object. Many events in the
Earth's ancient past can be deciphered from a pebble: volcanic
eruptions; the lives and deaths of extinct animals and plants; the
alien nature of long-vanished oceans; and transformations deep
underground, including the creations of fool's gold and of oil.
Zalasiewicz demonstrates how geologists reach deep into the Earth's
past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral
matter. Many stories are crammed into each and every pebble around
us. It may be small, and ordinary, this pebble - but it is also an
eloquent part of our Earth's extraordinary, never-ending story.
Clays and clay minerals are the most abundant natural reactive
solids on the Earth's surface. This comprehensive review considers
clay science in the context of the Critical Zone - the Earth's
permeable near-surface layer. Providing information on clays and
clay minerals related to geological, biological and material
sciences in the Critical Zone, it's well suited for graduate
students and researchers interested in clay science, and
environmental and soil mineralogy. The book starts with an
introduction to clays and clay minerals, their historic background,
and a review of how clay science impacts the Critical Zone.
Examples and applications demonstrate how clays regulate habitats
and determine the availability of other resources. These examples
are supported by quantitative field data, including numerical and
graphical depictions of clay and clay mineral occurrences. The book
concludes by covering Critical Zone clay geochemistry and clay
sequences, including the industrial, synthetic medical and
extra-terrestrial world of clay science.
Carbon plays a fundamental role on Earth. It forms the chemical
backbone for all essential organic molecules produced by living
organisms. Carbon-based fuels supply most of society's energy, and
atmospheric carbon dioxide has a huge impact on Earth's climate.
This book provides a complete history of the emergence and
development of the new interdisciplinary field of deep carbon
science. It traces four centuries of history during which the inner
workings of the dynamic Earth were discovered, and documents
extraordinary scientific revolutions that changed our understanding
of carbon on Earth forever: carbon's origin in exploding stars; the
discovery of the internal heat source driving the Earth's carbon
cycle; and the tectonic revolution. Written with an engaging
narrative style and covering the scientific endeavours of more than
a hundred pioneers of deep geoscience, this is a fascinating book
for students and researchers working in Earth system science and
deep carbon research.
Mineral collecting by amateur “rockhounds” has never been more
popular. Old quarries, road cuts, and exposed landscapes are being
examined by new generations of minerals enthusiasts. Each needs a
comprehensive guidebook with clear photographs and accurate data.
This is it. In a thick but handy format, more than 700 different
minerals and rocks are grouped by colour (for ease of location in
the book) — blue, red, yellow, brown, green, white and black
crystals; brown and grey sedimentary rocks; and meteorites for
anyone lucky enough to find one. Each has a picture – four to a
page—opposite detailed but clear data: Chemical formula;
Hardness; Colour; Density; Lustre; Cleavage; Fracture; Tenacity;
Crystal form; Similar minerals and where they are likely to occur.
And many will have a diagram of its crystal form—up to four, for
fluorite, for example. The Minerals Encyclopedia is unusual for the
number of minerals it covers: more than 700 in 444 pages, with a
useful glossary, an introduction to mineral collecting, and printed
front and back flaps that offer quick reference in the field, and a
measuring rule on the back cover. This is a superior reference for
rockhounds, geology students and outdoors people with an interest
in what’s under their feet.
'A delightful storybook . . . a portrait of our whole world created
from the contents of the ground' Literary Review 'A real cabinet of
curiosities' Sunday Times From the hematite used in cave paintings
to the moldavite that became a TikTok sensation; from the stolen
sandstone of Scone to the unexpected acoustics of Stonehenge; from
crystal balls to compasses, rocks and minerals have always been
central to our story. 3,000 years ago Babylonians constructed
lapidaries - books that tried to pin down the magical secrets of
rocks. In Lapidarium, renowned art critic Hettie Judah explores the
unexpected stories behind sixty stones that have shaped and
inspired human history, from Dorset fossil-hunters to Chinese
philosophers, Catherine the Great to Michelangelo. Discover why
alchemists sought cinnabar and sulphur. Unearth the mystery of the
tuff statues of Rapa Nui, the lost amber room of Frederick of
Prussia and the scandal of Flint Jack. Find out how a Greek monster
created coral, moon rock explains the history of Earth's only
satellite and obsidian inspired the world's favourite computer
game. Stone by stone, story by fascinating story, Lapidarium builds
into a dazzling, epoch-spanning adventure through human culture,
and beyond.
Unearth a treasure trove of knowledge and discover the spectacular
array of rocks and minerals on Earth! Learn how to identify more
than 500 rocks and minerals of the world through stunning
photographs, detailed characteristics and quick, accessible text.
Inside the pages of this comprehensive guide, you'll discover: - A
clear visual key distinguishing different rocks and minerals to
make identification easy and accurate - Each entry includes
at-a-glance technical details, for quick reference - Stunning
photographs show close-ups of key details and unique attributes -
Highlights the key features of minerals: chemical group and
composition, hardness, specific gravity, crystal cleavage, and
fracture - Highlights the key features of rocks: group, origin,
pressure and temperature, grain size and shape, classification, and
fossils From igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks to
sparkling minerals, DK Handbooks: Rocks & Minerals leaves no
stone unturned. Over 600 high-quality photographs highlight over
500 rock or mineral's distinguishing features. Explore concise
details about each rock or mineral's texture, origin, formation,
and chemical composition to help you with accurate identification.
Updated Edition Discover a mine of information at your disposal!
Designed for beginners and experienced collectors alike, this
mineralogy book explains what rocks and minerals are, how they are
classified, and what equipment is needed for specimen collection.
It's the ultimate gift for rock collectors - both beginners and
enthusiasts, or anyone studying geology and earth sciences. An
updated edition for 2021 to include the latest scientific knowledge
and specimen classification. Complete the Series Before you go,
there are many more DK Handbooks to explore! Discover the
cleanest-cut photographic field guide to over 130 gemstones from
around the world in DK Handbooks: Gemstones. Learn all about
dinosaurs and prehistoric animals and the world they inhabited
millions of years ago in DK Handbooks: Dinosaurs.
This guide provides concise, interesting and practical details on
uncommon gems that are now being used by designers to create
distinctive jewelry. It not only lists the identification
properties of the gems, but tells you where they are found, how
they are used, why they are unique, how they are priced, and how to
care for them. High quality photos show the different colors,
cutting styles and varieties of each gem and give you ideas on how
each can be used creatively in jewelry. Written in a succinct,
user-friendly style, this is a companion book to Newman's "Gemstone
Buying Guide" and an ideal reference for jewelers, sales
associates, appraisers, gem collectors, gemology students, gem
dealers and consumers. The following gems are discussed and
illustrated in Rare Gemstones: amblygonite, andalusite, apatite,
aragonite, axinite, azurite, benitoite, bixbite, brazilianite,
bronzite, calcite, cobaltocalcite, charoite, chrysocolla, cuprite,
danburite, diaspore, diopside, dumortierite, enstatite, epidote,
fluorite, gaspeite, hauyne, hematite, hemimorphite, howlite,
idocrase, jeremejevite, kornerupine, kyanite, larimar, lepidolite,
magnesite, marcasite, maw-sit-sit, moldavite, obsidian, pectolite,
phenakite, phosphosiderite, prehnite, psilomelane, pyrite, red
beryl, rhodochrosite, rhodonite, scapolite, scheelite, seraphinite,
serpentine, sodalite, sillimanite, smithsonite, sphalerite, sphene,
sugilite, taaffeite, titanite, tugtupite, unakite, variscite,
vesuvianite and zultanite.
A vibrant and richly detailed guide to fossils for readers with a
passion for the natural world and those that inhabited it long ago.
This is a book for those that want to learn to scan the beach for
fossils, who love the simple pleasure of getting outside or those
who want to develop their relationship with the world around them.
From the Jurassic Coast to the Antrim Coast, our nation is home to
some of the most incredible fossil sites in the world. Weaving an
intricate tapestry of knowledge on the landscape of our own
pre-historic planet, palaeontologist and Education Officer of the
Bristol Dinosaur Project, Rhys Charles beautifully communicates the
joy of fossil-hunting and where best to hunt for them in the
country. Under his guidance, and with The Natural History Museum,
this book invites readers to unlock breath-taking fragments of a
lost world.
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Footprints
(Paperback)
David Farrier
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R306
R278
Discovery Miles 2 780
Save R28 (9%)
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Ships in 9 - 17 working days
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A profound meditation on climate change and the Anthropocene and an
urgent search for the fossils-industrial, chemical, geological-that
humans are leaving behind A Times Book of the Year * A Daily
Telegraph Book of the Year What will the world look like ten
thousand or ten million years from now? In Footprints, David
Farrier explores what traces we will leave for the very deep
future. From long-lived materials like plastic and nuclear waste,
to the 50 million kilometres of roads spanning the planet, in
modern times we have created numerous objects and landscapes with
the potential to endure through deep time. Our carbon could linger
in the atmosphere for 100,000 years, and the remains of our cities
will still exist millions of years from now as a layer in the rock.
These future fossils have the potential to tell remarkable stories
about how we lived in the twenty-first century. Through literature,
art, and science, Footprints invites us to think about how we will
be remembered in the myths, stories, and languages of our distant
descendants. Travelling from the Baltic Sea to the Great Barrier
Reef, and from an ice core laboratory in Tasmania to Shanghai, one
of the world's biggest cities, David Farrier tells a story of a
world that is changing rapidly, and with long-term consequences.
Footprints will not only alter how you think about the future, it
will change how you see the world today.
The perfect stocking filler for beach lovers. A beautiful little
guide to one of life's simple pleasures - pebble spotting. Where
science meets mindfulness. Learn to appreciate their beauty,
discover the amazing journey that brought them to you, search for
the rare ones. Leave no stone unturned. Turn a day on the beach or
a seaside holiday stroll into a treasure hunt with this lovely
little guide to identifying pebbles. Pebble spotting is one of
life's simple joys. There's nothing quite like searching the rocks
on a beach until that special one catches your eye - a perfect
shape, a gorgeous colour, an intriguing pattern. But what is it?
Use this beautifully illustrated little guide to find out, and to
discover your pebble's fascinating life story and secrets. It could
be even more special than you thought... Geologist and passionate
pebble spotter Clive Mitchell has created a charming and
wonderfully browsable book that is a perfect companion to a day out
or holiday, or an idle moment at home. This book contains entries
on 40 different types of pebble, complete with detailed facts about
the composite rock's structure and where to find them, with
examples including: Flint Feldspar veins Spotted slates
Serpentinite Granite ovoids The rare rhomb porphyry - the holy
grail of pebble hunting The book includes a space to ruminate on
your own findings, taking note of the treasures that you pick up
along the way and discovering the secrets of the stones beneath
your feet. The Pebble Spotter's Guide is the perfect introduction
to everything you didn't know there was to know about the mindful
pleasure of pebble spotting and the wonder of pebbles. Simply sit
on a beach or next to a stream for 10 minutes and find amazing
treasures at your feet; there is much to discover.
Our lives are pretty stressful, from the mountains of work emails
to the never-ending life admin, finding time to see friends and
family whilst still getting in those gym workouts, and why does
everyone on Instagram have all this figured out. Working with
crystals is a way to slow that frenetic world down, realign your
intentions and find the inner calm we all seek. Some say that
crystals are magic, but they're more than just magic. They have the
power to reveal your truest self, the version of you that's been
waiting to be seen and acknowledged. The Crystal Code explains how
to the harness the power of these awesome rocks, introducing us to
seventy stones and their unique personalities. It will show you how
to find the perfect crystals to empower and energize you and will
teach you some easy rituals, meditations and crystallized self-care
routines. Whether it's peacock ore to give you more confidence on
that nerve-racking first date, white celestite to conquer anxiety
or purple amethyst to you help you feel centred, this is the
ultimate guide to regaining control of your life and to feeling
happier, healthier and more grounded.
Updated 6th edition with new sites & museums! Learn Where &
How to Dig, Pan and Mine Your Own Gems & Minerals NORTHEAST
Connecticut • Delaware • District of Columbia • Indiana •
Illinois • Maine Massachusetts • Maryland • Michigan • New
Hampshire • New Jersey New York • Ohio • Pennsylvania •
Rhode Island • Vermont • Wisconsin Whether you're digging for
the first time or are an experienced rockhound or "prospector,"
with a simple rock hammer and a little luck, you too can strike it
rich ... or at the very least, have fun trying. This guide offers
you easy-to-use information on the ins and outs of "fee dig"
mining, complete with locations, costs, tips on technique,
entertaining legends and important information on everything from
safety kits to the location of the nearest restrooms. Included are
resources for use in identifying your finds, exploring the lapidary
arts, and further pursuing an exciting—and possibly
profitable—hobby. Equipment and Clothing: What you need and where
to find it (or how to make it yourself). Mining Techniques:
Step-by-step instructions on panning for gold, sluicing for gems
and other methods. Gem and Mineral Sites: Directions and maps,
hours, fees and equipment needed. Also includes info on guide
services, local camping facilities and more. Museums and Mine
Tours: Where to visit commercial and historical mines, as well as
museums with exhibits of gems and minerals (for help in learning
what to look for). Special Events and Tourist Information: Listings
of regional events involving gems and minerals, and sources of
general travel and tourism information for every state. Other
Features: Where to find your birthstone, your anniversary stone or
your zodiac stone; Index by State; Index by Gem/Mineral; U.S. State
Gems & Minerals Chart; and more! The Treasure Hunter's Gem
& Mineral Guides to the U.S.A. in 4 regional volumes: Northeast
ISBN: 978-0-9970145-0-1 Northwest ISBN: 978-0-9904152-8-2 Southeast
ISBN: 978-0-9970145-1-8 Southwest ISBN: 978-0-9904152-9-9
Updated 6th edition with new sites & museums! Learn Where &
How to Dig, Pan and Mine Your Own Gems & Minerals NORTHWEST
Alaska • Idaho • Iowa • Minnesota • Montana • Nebraska
North Dakota • Oregon • South Dakota • Washington • Wyoming
Whether you're digging for the first time or are an experienced
rockhound or "prospector," with a simple rock hammer and a little
luck, you too can strike it rich ... or at the very least, have fun
trying. This guide offers you easy-to-use information on the ins
and outs of “fee dig” mining, complete with locations, costs,
tips on technique, entertaining legends and important information
on everything from safety kits to the location of the nearest
restrooms. Included are resources for use in identifying your
finds, exploring the lapidary arts, and further pursuing an
exciting—and possibly profitable—hobby. Equipment and Clothing:
What you need and where to find it (or how to make it yourself).
Mining Techniques: Step-by-step instructions on panning for gold,
sluicing for gems and other methods. Gem and Mineral Sites:
Directions and maps, hours, fees and equipment needed. Also
includes info on guide services, local camping facilities and more.
Museums and Mine Tours: Where to visit commercial and historical
mines, as well as museums with exhibits of gems and minerals (for
help in learning what to look for). Special Events and Tourist
Information: Listings of regional events involving gems and
minerals, and sources of general travel and tourism information for
every state. Other Features: Where to find your birthstone, your
anniversary stone or your zodiac stone; Index by State; Index by
Gem/Mineral; U.S. State Gems & Minerals Chart; and more! The
Treasure Hunter’s Gem & Mineral Guides to the U.S.A. in 4
regional volumes: Northeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-0-1 Northwest ISBN:
978-0-9904152-8-2 Southeast ISBN: 978-0-9970145-1-8 Southwest ISBN:
978-0-9904152-9-9
The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks, by N. L. Bowen, appeared in
1928 and had a profound influence on later generations of
petrologists. Drawing on his series of lectures at Princeton
University in the spring of 1927, Dr. Bowen identified, outlined,
and applied the principles of physical chemistry relevant to
petrological processes. Whereas the major petrochemical questions
he discussed are still relevant today, the answers appear to change
with time. The purpose of the present volume is to provide an
updated view of those questions, in the light of almost fifty years
of accumulated observations, using the principles Bowen set forth.
Originally published in 1979. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the
latest print-on-demand technology to again make available
previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of
Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original
texts of these important books while presenting them in durable
paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy
Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage
found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University
Press since its founding in 1905.
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