Geopedia: A Brief Compendium of Geologic Curiosities

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Geopedia 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 illustrat ed compendium is brimming with lapidary and lexical insights that will delight rockhounds and word lovers alike.Geoscientists are magpies for words, and with good reason. The sheer profusion of minerals, landforms, and geologic events produced by our creative planet demands an immense vocabulary to match. Marcia Bjornerud shows how this lexicon reflects not only the diversity of rocks and geologic processes but also the long history of human interactions with them.|With wit and warmth, she invites all readers to celebrate the geologic glossary--a gallimaufry of allusions to mythology, imports from diverse languages, embarrassing anachronisms, and recent neologisms. This captivating book includes cross-references at the end of each entry, inviting you to leave the alphabetic trail and meander through it like a river. Its pocket-friendly size makes it the perfect travel companion no matter where your own geologic forays may lead you.With whimsical illustrations by Haley Hagerman, Geopedia is a mix of engaging and entertaining facts about how the earth works, how it has coevolved with life over billions of years, and how our understanding of the planet has deepened over time.Marcia Bjornerud (Author), Haley Hagerman (Illustrator)Princeton University PressHardcover 200 pagesISBN 9780691212579 Show more