Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface xi
4. Acasta Gneiss • The Old World 1
5. Allochthon • Rocks that roam 4
6. Amethyst • Purple haze 5
7. Amygdule • On the bubble 8
8. Anthropocene • It’s about time 9
9. Areology • Wars of the Worlds 13
10. Benioff-Wadati Zone • Off the deep end 15
11. Bioturbation • The worm churns 18
12. Boudin • Secrets of sausage making 19
13. Breccia • You’re breaking up 21
14. Brimstone • Volcanic theology 22
15. Chondrite • Recipe for a small planet 23
16. Cryogenian • Many are cold but few are frozen 25
17. Darcy • A truth universally acknowledged 31
18. Deborah Number • Beyond measure 34
19. Dreikanter • Three, of a kind 36
20. Eclogite • Pulling its weight 37
21. Ediacara • Peaceable kingdom 40
22. Erg • The sands of time 43
23. Firn • Snows of yesteryear 45
24. Gastrolith • From the gizzards of lizards 46
25. Geodynamo • Electromagnetic blanket 48
26. Geophagy • Raw terroir 51
27. Geosyncline • Magic mountains 52
28. Granitization • Igneous agnostics 57
29. Grus • Things fall apart 64
30. Haboob • Dust in the wind 65
31. Hoodoo • Hats off 66
32. Jökulhlaup • Breaking the ice 67
33. Karst • The holey land 72
34. Katabatic Winds • Blow me down 73
35. Kimberlite • Diamonds are ephemeral 75
36. Klippe • Strata gone astray 78
37. Komatiite • The rock that went extinct 80
38. Lahar • Abhorrent torrent 82
39. Lazarus Taxa • Zombie fossils 84
40. Lusi • Its name is Mud 87
41. Moho • Setting boundaries 88
42. Mylonite • Faulty logic 92
43. Namakier • Salt − water = taffy 95
44. Nuée Ardente • Cloud with a white-hot lining 96
45. Nunatak • Peaks in a blanket 99
46. Nutation • Nodding off 100
47. Oklo • The original Manhattan project 101
48. Ophiolite • Crocodile rock 105
49. Panthalassa • Oceans of time 109
50. Pedogenesis • Dirt rich 111
51. Pingo • Young as the hills 115
52. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcaniconiosis 116
53. Polynya • Window of opportunity 118
54. Porphyry • All crystals great and small 118
55. Pseudotachylyte • Hot flashes 120
56. Rapakivi • Oddballs 121
57. Scree • Slippery slopes 124
58. Skarn • A slow roast 125
59. Slickensides • Science friction 127
60. Speleothem • Drip feed 128
61. Stygobite • What lives beneath 131
62. Stylolite • Marble marvels 132
63. Sverdrup • Current affairs 135
64. Taphonomy • What becomes a fossil most 138
65. Thalweg • The valley below 141
66. Thixotropy • Call me quick 143
67. Tiktaalik • Fish out of water 146
68. Tully Monster • Alien autopsy 148
69. Turbidite • Muddy waters 150
70. Twist Hackle • Give me a break 154
71. Unconformity • Conspicuous absence 157
72. Uniformitarianism • Same as it ever was 160
73. Varve • Dear diary 161
74. Xenolith • Wayfaring stranger 162
75. Yardang • Gone with the wind 164
76. Yazoo • Parallel lives 165
77. Zircon • I will survive 165
78. Appendix 1. Simplified Geologic Timescale 169
79. Appendix 2. Entries by Language of Origin 173
80. Appendix 3. Entries by Topical Category 175
81. Appendix 4. Entries by Geographic Location 179
82. Appendix 5. Biographical References 181
83. Useful References 183