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ARCHITECTURAL GEOLOGY & ORNAMENTAL USES OF STONE
1. Indiana Limestone Institute of America: http://www.iliai.com/. This site has a history of the use of the famous Indiana or Bedford Limestone. (Thanks to Mr. Jay Samuel for this link suggestion.)
2. The Victor Oolitic Stone Company website has additional interesting information on the history and use of Indiana Limestone: http://www.kiva.net/~victor/.
3. Connemara Marble Industries Ltd.: http://www.connemaramarble.net/. This Irish site describes various aspects of the Emerald Isle's appropriately emerald marble, as well as the Galway Black "marble."
6. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has this Building Stone of the United States: The NIST Test Wall website: http://stonewall.nist.gov/. The wall is used to measure the weathering properties of architectural stone, both foreign and domestic. The inquisitive visitor to this website can see how each type of stone (for example, dolostone/dolomite from Lemont, Illinois) has weathered for over fifty years on the wall, in comparison with an unweathered, archival specimen from the same locality. Surprisingly fascinating stuff! Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Ryan Shelly for this recommendation.
7. The Buffalo as an Architectural Museum webpage shows how local stone types have been used in the structures and engineering works of that historic city in western New York State: http://ah.bfn.org/a/DCTNRY/mat/lock/lock.html. This particular page is devoted to the Lockport Dolomite; click the names of other stone types at the top to view pages devoted to them.
11. Elaine McGee's Acid Rain and Our Nation's Capital is a U.S. Geological Survey site that discusses the effect of air pollution on architectural stone. It also provides a field guide to the architectural geology of the great buildings and monuments of Washington, D.C.: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/acidrain/.
BOOKS, ARTICLES, & NEWSLETTERS
MY E-NEWSLETTER
1. My Bimonthly E-Newsletter discussing topics of botany, geology, and other aspects of natural history. To join the mailing list for this free service, contact me at rwauctor1@cs.com.
MY OWN BOOKS
1. Wiggers, Raymond. 1997. Geology Underfoot in Illinois. Missoula, Mont.: Mountain Press. ISBN 0-87842346X. This general-interest guidebook is available from the Illinois Geological Survey Publications Office at http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/wiggers/wiggers.html, from bookstores, from the publisher, and from various book-ordering sites on the Internet.
2. Wiggers, Raymond. 1993. The Amateur Geologist: Explorations and Invstigations. New York: Franklin Watts. ISBN ISBN:0531111121 (hardcover) 0531156958 (softcover). A middle-school and high-school geology facts and projects guide, also used and appreciated by many adults. Now out of print, but available from BookFinder.com and other out-of-print book services.
OTHER, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED POPULAR-SCIENCE BOOKS
Books that are especially well written are preceded by an asterisk (*)
3. * Westbroek, Peter. 1991. Life as a Geological Force. New York: Norton. ISBN 0303308170. An account of geology's new emphasis on biological agents of change.
4. Schopf, J. William. 1999. Cradle of Life: The Discovery of Earth's Earliest Fossils. Princeton, N. J.: Priceton Univ. Press. ISBN 0691088640.
5. * Bolles, Edmund Blair. 1999. The Ice Finders: How a Poet, a Professor, and a Politician Discovered the Ice Age. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint. ISBN 1582431019.
6. * Sharp, Robert P. 1988. Living Ice: Understanding Glaciers and Glaciation. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0521407400. All general-interest books written by academics should be this lucidly written. Highly recommended. (Note: Professor Sharp once had the kindness to express appreciation for one of my books, but my estimation of the book cited here precedes his praise by several years. In other words, this is not a quid pro quo.)
7. Gohau, Gabriel. 1990. A History of Geology. New Brunswick, N. J.: Rutgers Univ. Press. ISBN081351665X. An excellent, concise account that gives French and other early Continental geologists their due. If only Anglo-obsessed pop-geology biographers could do the same . . .
MORE SCHOLARLY OR TECHNICAL WORKS
1. Rudwick, Martin J. S. 1976. The Meaning of Fossils: Episodes in the History of Paleontology. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. ISBN0226731030.
2. Rudwick, Martin J. S. 1985. The Great Devonian Controversy. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226731022. The deeply researched and fascinating tale of Britain's early geologists, with due reference to the larger European context in which they worked. Highly recommended.
3. Rudwick, Martin J.S. 1992. Scenes from Deep Time: Early Pictorial Representations of the Prehistoric World. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226731049.
4. Siever, Raymond. 1988. Sand. New York: Scientific American Library. ISBN 071675021X.
5. Davis, Richard A., Jr. 1994. The Evolving Coast. New York: Scientific American Library. ISBN 0716750422.
6. Higgins, Michael Denis and Reynold Higgins. 1996. A Geological Companion to Greece and the Aegean. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 0801433371.
CAVERNS & KARST FEATURES
CLUBS & PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
1. One of the largest and most active organizations in the Midwestern U.S. is E.S.C.O.N.I. (the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois): http://www.esconi.org/. E.S.C.O.N.I. meetings often feature great guest speakers and also offer an excellent opportunity to meet fellow enthusiasts. The group also sells guidebooks to the Mazon Creek fossil flora and fauna.
2. Earth-science buffs and fossil- and gem-collectors should check out the website of the Racine Geological Society: http://www.racinegeologysociety.homestead.com/index.html. This group includes enthusiasts from eastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois who meet for lectures, field trips, and other educational activities. The website itself has a photo gallery and good links.
5. The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies site contains links to a large number of clubs throughout the U.S.: http://www.amfed.org/. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Don Lackey for this recommendation.
EARTHQUAKES & OTHER NONVOLCANIC GEOHAZARDS
1. Start here: The United States Geological Survey website for the National Earthquake Information Center and the World Data Center for Seismology: http://neic.usgs.gov/. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Joanne Gordon for this recommendation.
2. If you think the American Midwest is a nice stable place without earthquakes, take a look at the information provided by the St. Louis University (SLU) Earthquake Center, at its website: http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/index.html. Click on the "Recent Midwest Earthquakes" line for an eye-opening tabulation of recent tremors in the region. Also, this site has excellent information on the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12, which included the most powerful quakes in recorded U.S. history. (Take that, San Andreas Fault.) And concerning the possibility of modern earthquake activity in the New Madrid zone, this from the SLU site: "The probability for an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or greater is significant in the near future, with a 50% chance by the year 2000 and a 90% chance by the year 2040. A quake with a magnitude equal to that of the 1811-1812 quakes could result in great loss of life and property damage in the billions of dollars. Scientists believe we could be overdue for a large earthquake and through research and public awareness may be able to prevent such losses."
3. For more on Midwestern earthquakes, as well as news of earthquakes around the world: the Mid-America Earthquake Center: http://mae.ce.uiuc.edu/.
4. The Geowarn website: http://www.geowarn.ethz.ch. Run by a consortium of European institutions that are monitoring potential geological hazards in the Mediterranean Region.
5. This Japanese police website gives new meaning to both earthquake preparedness and racial profiling: besides listing all sorts of useful safety information about earthquakes in the Tokyo area, it contains cartoons in which men of African and European descent have big pink lips, huge noses, etc.: http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/foreign/quake/preface.htm. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Si Patamasucon for this recommendation.
5. Ian Main's piece in this online issue of the scientific journal Nature questions our ability to predict earthquakes with any reliability (as in fact we can, to some extent, with other disasters): http://www.nature.com/nature/debates/earthquake/equake_contents.html. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Si Patamasucon for this recommendation.
GENERAL GEOLOGY INFORMATION
1. About Geology with Andrew Alden -- http://geology.about.com/ -- a terrific clearinghouse of ideas, articles, geologic maps, geologist biographies, and much more. One of the best uses of the Internet I've seen.
GEOGRAPHY & CARTOGRAPHY
2. The Online Course Materials published by the Geography Department of Scotland's University of Strathclyde is almost an entire textbook in the field of physical geography.
3. The United States Geological Survey's EarthExplorer site is a clearinghouse for maps and satellite images that can be purchased or downloaded: http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/. Registration (there is no fee) is required to gain access to the site.
5. An excellent hub website for detailed GIS (Geographical Information System) information on the different states of the U.S. is http://www.farmlandinfo.org/fic/gis/stategis.html, provided by the American Farmland Trust Farmland Information Center Library. Hearty thanks to my Chicago Botanic Garden cartography student Anne Mason for this recommendation.
6. The University of Texas has this extensive and well organized online collection of maps:
7. Professor Kenneth Foote of the University of Colorado presents The Geographer's Craft website: http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/contents.html. For anyone who wants to delve into mapmaking, GPS, or GIS issues, a visit to the site's "Lecture and Discussion Notes" section is a must. Hearty thanks to my Chicago Botanic Garden cartography student Brian Hale for this recommendation.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS
GEOLOGIC "HOT SPOTS" IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION
1. For those of you who would like to be introduced to one of the most beautiful geological and maritime settings I've ever visited -- the La Maddalena Archipelago of Sardinia -- I invite you to check out the elegant and well-illustrated website of the Associazione Mineralogica Paleontologica Giovanni Cesaraccio: http://web.tiscali.it/ass_cesaraccio/. The website is in Italian, but even if you can't speak the language, you'll probably be surprised by how much you can understand, if you're familiar with basic geologic terms in English. For a foretaste of the dreamlike granitic landscape that Signor Cesaraccio describes at his site, see Photos 32 and 33 in the Italy section of my Mediterranean Geology Gallery.
GEOLOGIC "HOT SPOTS" IN THE MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES
1. The Quincy Mine and Hoist Museum, Hancock, Michigan: http://www.quincymine.com/. A favorite stop of participants on my September '01 Upper Peninsula/Keweenaw Peninsula tour. You have to take the mine tour and see the giant piece of native copper fished off the bottom of Lake Superior. To inquire about my next tour there, contact me at rwauctor1@cs.com.
2. The Seaman Mineral Museum, Houghton, Michigan: http://www.geo.mtu.edu/museum/. This Michigan Technological University institution is a world-class, century-old collection of mineral specimens from the Keweenaw Peninsula and around the world. To inquire about
3. The open-pit Republic Iron Mine in Republic, Michigan is fenced off, but there is a public viewing platform next to it, and piles of beautiful banded iron formation rocks are provided by the parking area for the convenience of collectors. A very thoughtful touch. The web page that gives directions is http://www.exploringthenorth.com/republic/mine.html. To inquire about my next tour there, contact me at rwauctor1@cs.com.
GEOLOGIC "HOT SPOTS" IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES
GEOMORPHOLOGY & LANDFORMS
1. Professor Alan Howard of the University of Virginia has this information-rich Geomorphology Home Page: http://erode.evsc.virginia.edu/. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Eugene Averbuch for this recommendation.
GLACIOLOGY, GLACIERS, & ICE AGES
HUMANKIND AS A GEOLOGIC FORCE
1. True or false: The number of human beings now living is greater than the number of all the human beings who have ever died. (The answer is TRUE.) This has immense implications for the rest of the biosphere, and also for the geological framework in which it exists. To find out how large our world population really is, and how quickly it's growing, visit http://www.ibiblio.org/lunarbin/worldpop/. Then find out what the population was thirty years ago. Then find out what the population will be thirty years from now. Does this suggest anything to you?
2. Airhead.org humbly describes itself as "many things to many people: sister, mother, teacher, brother." [Apparently it has chosen not to be a father; perhaps fatherhood has evil connotations, or at least is not sufficiently eco-chic.] Still, visit its site, http://airhead.org/,
and subject yourself to its emissions calcuator. What geologic implications might there be to the human alteration of the atmosphere?
HYDROLOGY & WATER-USE ISSUES
1. To see the recent engineering projects and water-treatment facilites of one of the world's great metropolitan regions, visit the website of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago: http://www.mwrdgc.dst.il.us/. The historical chronology of Chicago's attempts to deal with water-pollution issues is very interesting, and is on the page
MINERALS & MINERALOGY
PALEONTOLOGY
1. The superb website of the University of California, Berkeley Paleontology Museum goes far beyond our culture's narrowminded infatuation with dino-hype to explore many facets of ancient life, its environments, and the broader implications of geologic history. Many hours of consciousness-expanding can be spent at http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/.
2. It should be obligatory for all persons in Illinois and Wisconsin to visit the Milwaukee Public Museum's Virtual Silurian Reef website: http://www.mpm.edu/reef/intro.html. This is an excellent introduction to the ecology of the Upper Midwest, ca. 425 million years ago.
PHOTO GALLERIES
1. Some of the most magnificent and thought-provoking photos ever taken of landforms and other geologic features are those of Yann Arthus-Bertrand. The Earth from Above website, http://home.fujifilm.com/efa, is based on his exhibition and offers you instant acess to his often haunting images. It's not the same as seeing his oversized aerial photos on actual display, but it's still enthralling.
PLANETARY GEOLOGY
1. The one best site for images and discussion of this and related astronomical subjects is NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/. You can spend half your life at this site.
2. For magnificent and geologically significant photos taken on the moon by the Apollo astronauts (including those taken by geologist Harrison Schmitt) go to the Kennedy Space Center's Apollo Program web page: http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo.html.
PLATE TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL MOTION, & PALEOCLIMATES
1. Christopher Scotese's Paleomap Project website -- http://www.scotese.com/Default.htm -- offers world maps depicting continental positions over the last, very eventful tenth of geologic history. The map of the oldest time depicted (650 million years ago) shows an icehouse world, with Antarctica at the equator and the American Midwest near the South Pole. Just as facinating are his paleoclimate reconstructions.
2. For more animations of plate motion as well as an excellent tie-in to related facts of geologic history, visit this web page: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html. Also see the University of California, Berkeley Paleontology Museum entry above, in the PALEONTOLOGY section.
4. Professor Ron Blakey of Northern Arizona University has this page devoted to Global Earth History, with a variety of paleogeographical reconstructions and other maps: http://vishnu.glg.nau.edu/rcb/globaltext.html. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Si Patamasucon for this recommendation.
5. And if you're stil not sated with paleogeographic maps, here are the reconstructions offered by the University of Texas' Institute for Geophysics PLATES Project website: http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/plates/plates.htm. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Si Patamasucon for this recommendation.
7. The United States Geological Survey offers a fully illustrated, online version of the the very instructive book This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics, by Kious and Tilling: http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/dynamic.html. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College students Paige Barrington, Patrick Haag, Maggie Mills, Si Patamasucon, and Lisa Retterer for this recommendation.
SOIL SCIENCE
3. The National Society of Consulting Soil Scientists: http://www.nscss.org/. This site contains pedology information and links to other soil-science resources. Hearty thanks to my Lake Forest College student Andrew Reid for this recommendation.
6. The Soil Science Society publishes this helpful Internet Glossary of Soil Science Terms:
7. NASA has always pursued research and public education in a number of areas that might seem a little far removed from space exploration. But on closer examination, one can see why, and the interdisciplinary approach is commendable. Here's its Soil Science Education site, of particular interest to elementary through high-school teachers and their students: http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/.
8. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has this interesting Soil Biological Communities website that helps us understand the vital role soil organisms play in making this planet what it is: http://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/. Hearty thanks to my Chicago Botanic Garden soil-science student Charlene Baizer for this recommendation.
VOLCANOES & VULCANOLOGY
3. The University of Rome's English-language page on the volcanic region of the Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields): http://vulcan.fis.uniroma3.it/Campi_Flegrei/Campi_flegrei.html. This source provide both a relief map and information on the chronology of eruptions in this fascinating area north of Naples, Italy.
4. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program website includes reports on current volcanic activity, links to USGS volcanic observatories, and much else: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/.
To join my free Bimonthly E-Newsletter mailing list, drop me a line at rwauctor1@cs.com.
