TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 6 On the Rocks 8 CHAPTER 1 There’s No Place Like Home 10 Our Rocky World 12 What Is a Rock 14 Stacking Stones 16 Much Ado About Minerals 18 Some Really Classy Crystals 20 Ancient Artwork 22 CHAPTER 2 Earth Is Rockin 24 Dynamic Planet 26 Getting the Inside Story 28 Shaking All Over 30 Do You Know Your Faults 32 Thar She Blows 34 Majestic Magma Mountains 36 Big Happenings Under the Sea 38 A Rip in the Ocean Floor 40 Drifting Continents and Shifting Plates 42 All Cracked Up 44 Onward and Upward 46 Weathering Away 48 The World Down Below 50 Big MACs Impact Earth 52 CHAPTER 3 The Life and Death of Rocks 54 Some Like It Hot 56 Rocky Transformers 58 Tearing Down and Building Back Up 60 Unreal Landscapes 62 Fantastic Fossils 64 Forward Into the Past 66 What Goes Around Comes Around 68 Gearing Up 70 CHAPTER 4 Smokin Hot Igneous Rocks 72 Getting the Scoop on Igneous Rocks 74 The Devil Is in the Details 76 Granite 78 Diorite 80 Gabbro 82 Lots of Lava 84 Obsidian 86 Pumice 88 Extrusive Exclusive 90 Rock-Solid Heads of State 92 CHAPTER 5 Masters of Change Metamorphic Rocks 94 The Squeeze on Metamorphic Rocks 96 White Gold From Italy 98 Marble 100 Quartzite 102 Amphibolite 104 Pressure Cooker 106 Hornfels 108 Soapstone 110 One Magnificent Metamorphic Mountain 112 CHAPTER 6 Reassembled Rocks Sedimentary Rocks 114 Digging on Sedimentary Rocks 116 Rockin Cotton Castles 118 Limestone 120
Halite 186 Fluorite 188 Calcite 190 Some Seriously Classy Carbonates 192 Dolomite 194 Borax 196 Turquoise 198 Gypsum 200 Cave of the Crystals 202 Super Silicates 204 Quartz 206 Nature’s Surprise Packages 208 Opal 210 Phenomenal Feldspars 212 Cooking Up Some Feldspathoids 214 Marvelous Micas 216 The Serpentine Group 218 Talc 220 Born to Be Beautiful 222 Powerful Pyroxenes 224 Jadeite 226 Awesome Amphiboles 228 Beryl 230 Tourmaline Family 232 Olivine 234 Zircon 236 Topaz 238 Magical Metamorphic Minerals 240 A Gaggle of Garnets 242 Frozen in Stone 244 Wonders From Down Under 246 CHAPTER 8 Rockin Resources 248 Rock Around the Block 250 Rockin Resources From Around the World 252 Mock Rocks 254 Thar Be Fossils in This Fuel 256 Rockreation 258 Meet a Geologist 260 Glossary 262 Find Out More 264 Index 266 Photo Credits 270 Chalk 122 Time to Make the Beds 124 A Range of Rocks 126 Discovering Dinosaurs 128 Chert Flint 130 The Grandest of All Canyons 132 CHAPTER 7 The Building Blocks of Rocks 134 Breaking Down Some Mineral Properties 136 Welcome to the Class 138 Native Sulfur 140 Native Gold 142 The Rush Is On 144 Native Silver 146 Native and Rare 148 Native Copper 150 Diamond 152 Digging Up Diamonds 154 Danger Toxic Rocks Ahead 156 Galena 158 Pyrite 160 Marcasite 162 Super Sulfides 164 Corundum 166 Hard-Nosed Gemstones 168 Spinel 170 Magnetite 172 Metalmaking Minerals 174 Limonite Goethite 176 Uraninite 178 Chrysoberyl 180 Some Really Cool Crystals 182 Salt of the Earth 184
INTRODUCTION My love affair with rocks began in summer 1961 in a place called Pottsville Pennsylvania I was five years old and visiting my uncle Joe’s farm at the time There were a lot of coal mines around Pottsville and I remember remember hiking up in the hills looking at those shiny black rocks that people collected and burned My uncle explained that the coal that they were digging up came from plants that grew in big swamps that had covered the area millions of years ago even before the dinosaurs were alive I thought he was making it all up After all the whole area was nothing but rocky mountains and there were no swamps anywhere in sight Then one day I kicked a big flat rock and it split open on the ground in front of me And that’s when it happened Inside there it was the perfect print of a fern leaf right there in the rock Uncle Joe hadn’t been lying I had discovered my first fossil and I was hooked After that every time I went for a walk in the woods or along a stream I was more interested in looking at the rocks on the ground than in watching where I was going Yes I got really wet and walked into a lot of trees I started collecting rocks everywhere I went and when I got home I put them in boxes with little labels I went to the library and found lots of books about rocks And whenever possible I would go to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City with my mom Other kids went to look at the dinosaurs or the giant blue whale which to be honest were pretty cool too but most of the time I went straight to the hall of rocks and minerals I loved learning about how the different rocks formed and what they could tell you about the history of an area By the time I got to middle school I knew that I wanted to be some type of geologist When I finally graduated college and started working as a soil specialist and hydrogeologist I was in heaven Being a geologist was a lot like being a detective but instead of hunting for clues about who committed a crime I got to hunt for clues about how the Earth around me had changed and how to keep people from damaging the environment After many years of working with rocks minerals fossils and my personal favorite soil I decided that I wanted to share my love of geology with other people who might not realize how important rocks really are That’s why I wanted to write this book It’s actually the fifth book that I’ve written for the folks at National Geographic but this one digs deeper than the others Ultimate Rockopedia has tons of facts and figures about the rocky world around us including profiles of rad rocks marvelous minerals and fantastic formations in all corners of the globe You’ll get the inside story on the features of our dynamic Earth including volcanoes earthquakes and hydrothermal vents You’ll journey to the top of the tallest mountains and to the deepest place on Earth Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading the book and will come away with a love of rocks too Keep rockin Steve The Dirtmeister Tomecek geologist and author of Ultimate Rockopedia 6
When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn New York a trip to the American Museum of Natural History opened up a whole new world to me It was filled with dinosaur fossils that had been around for millions of years and hundreds of different rocks and minerals from all over the world even some from outer space There were so many amazing specimens of all colors shapes and sizes I couldn’t believe it I became hooked on the subject that brought them all together geology Weekend trips to the Catskill Mountains exploring sandy beaches and rocky jetties all reinforced my fascination with rocks and Earth’s processes In college my fellow geology major rock hounds and I drove around collecting fossils and minerals from all over even stopping along brand-new roads to hunt for unique and freshly dug-up finds When I became a teacher there was nothing more awesome than hearing the oohs and aahs of my students as I cracked open a drab geode to reveal the sparkling colorful crystals looking that were hidden inside or as I split apart a rock to reveal a fossil for the first time Sharing my passion with my students for more than 30 years was a hands-on experience as I took them to the same places I had fallen in love with I spent my whole life chasing down specimens in the wild and studying geology What’s great about Ultimate Rockopedia is that it brings all of that fun excitement and wonder together for future generations of rock hounds It will get you hooked just like that kid in Brooklyn got hooked by seeing his first fossil in the American Museum of Natural History Back then I would have loved to have had a reference book just like this to help fuel my passion This book is a gem and I bet you’ll really dig it Jim Lucarelli expert consultant for Ultimate Rockopedia MY NIECE AND ME AT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
