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Geology and Landscape Evolution

General Principles Applied to the United States

  • 3rd Edition - May 26, 2024
  • Latest edition
  • Author: Joseph A. DiPietro
  • Language: English

Geology and Landscape Evolution: General Principles Applied to the United States, Third Edition is an accessible text that balances interdisciplinary theory and applicati… Read more

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Description

Geology and Landscape Evolution: General Principles Applied to the United States, Third Edition is an accessible text that balances interdisciplinary theory and applications within the physical geography, geology, geomorphology and climatology of the United States. The vast diversity of terrain and landscape across the United States makes this an ideal tool for geoscientists worldwide who research the country’s geological and landscape evolution. The book provides an explanation of how landscape forms and how it evolves. This edition is fully updated with 3 additional sections: Geologic and Tectonic Processes and Provinces; Surface Processes and Provinces; and Compressional Mountain Systems.

Rather than limiting the coverage specifically to tectonics or to the origin and evolution of rocks with little regard for the actual landscape beyond general desert, river, and glacial features, this book concentrates specifically on the origin of the landscape itself, with specific and exhaustive references and examples from across the United States. The book goes on to apply those concepts to specific examples throughout the United States, making it a valuable resource for understanding theoretical geological concepts through a practical lens.

Key features

  • Presents the complexities of physical geography, geology, geomorphology and climatology of the United States through an interdisciplinary, highly accessible approach
  • Offers hundreds of figures, maps and photographs that capture the systematic interaction of land, rock, rivers, glaciers, global wind patterns and climate, including Google Earth images
  • Provides a thorough assessment of the logic, rationale, and tools required to understand how to interpret landscape and the geological history of the Earth
  • Features exercises that conclude each chapter, aiding in the retention of key concepts
  • Includes 3 new sections and 8 additional chapters, as well as major updates to chapters throughout

Readership

Students and researchers in geology, geography, tectonics, and environmental science

Table of contents

1. Introduction to Landscape Evolution

PART 1 - COMPONENTS, FORCING AGENTS, AND MECHANISMS

2. Component: Rock/Sediment Type

3. Component: Structural Form

4. Forcing Agent: The Tectonic System

5. Forcing Agent: The Climate System

6. Forcing Agent: Isostasy

7. Forcing Agent: Sea Level Change

8. Mechanisms That Impart Change to Landscape

PART II – REGIONAL LANDSCAPE, GEOLOGY, AND TECTONICS

9. Physiographic Regions and Provinces

10. River Systems

11. Glaciated Landscape

12. Tectonic Setting and Distribution of Rock

13. Rock Successions and Tectonic Provinces

14. Active Geology

15. Structural Provinces

PART III – LANDSCAPE AND GEOLOGY OF STRUCTURAL PROVINCES

16. Paths To Landscape Evolution

17. Nearly Flat-Lying Sedimentary Layers

18. Crystalline-Cored Mid-Continent Anticlines and Domes

19. Foreland Deformation Belts

20. Hinterland Deformation Belts

21. Young Volcanic Rocks of the Cordillera

22. Normal Fault Systems

23. Cascade Volcanic Arc System

24. California Strike-Slip System

PART IV – MOUNTAIN BUILDING

25. Early Theories on The Origin of Mountain Belts

26. Keys to the Interpretation of Geological History

27. Growth and Gravitational Collapse of a Convergent Orogen

28. The Appalachian Orogen

Product details

  • Edition: 3
  • Latest edition
  • Published: May 26, 2024
  • Language: English

About the author

JD

Joseph A. DiPietro

Joseph A. DiPietro is Professor of Geology at the University of Southern Indiana. His research interests are in the fields of structural geology, tectonics, and metamorphism. He has been on the faculty at University of Southern Indiana since 1991 where he teaches Physical Geology, Landscapes and Geology of North America, Mineralogy, Structural Geology, and Tectonics. Most of his research has been on the tectonics of the Pakistan Himalaya where he mapped along the suture zone that separates India from Asia. He has also worked for the New York State Geological Survey mapping in the Adirondack Mountains and for the Idaho Geological Survey mapping in the Clearwater Mountains and he has conducted mapping and research in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Affiliations and expertise
University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, USA

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