Principles of Physical Geology

Abstract

LIKE many other teachers of geology and geography in this country, I have long felt the need far a thoroughly up-to-da,te book qn Physical Geology. I theref0re readily responded when the publishers invited me to write the sbrt of book that seemed to be required. The method of treatment adopted is one that twenty years' experience has shown to be successful in training students and- in holding and developing their interest, even when, as has often been the case, some of them have come to the subject without any preliminary acquaintance with scientific principles ~A methods. For this reason it is hoped that the book will app~l )ioConly to students and teachers and to the senior classes in schools, but also to the general reader who wishes to see something of the "wild miracle" of the world we live in through the eyes of those who have "tried to resolve Its ancient mysteries. The earth's activities may be compared to an intricate interplay of combined operations, and the results, whether they be landscapes, natural catastrophes, or materials such as building stones and fuels, are correspondingly varied. It is inherent in the character of the subject that t}1.e full significance of anyone aspect can ,be properly appreciated only in relation to the whole. A broad preliminary survey has therefore been presented in Part I, to serve as an.introduction to the more detailed treatment that follows. Part II de.als with the outer earth and only turns aside from tracks already familiar to take in the· more interesting results achieved by re_cent progress. Part III is mainly concerned with the activities of the inner earth and their surface expressions. Thanks to the variety of . detective methods that have been developed during the present century, the depths are less inscrutable than formerly and the time is ripe for the incorporation into an elementary book of the many spectacular discoveries that have already been made