An introduction to geology -- Matter and minerals -- Igneous rocks and intrusive activity -- Volcanoes and volcanic hazards -- Weathering and soils -- Sedimentary rocks -- Metamorphism and metamorphic rocks -- Mass wasting: the work of gravity -- Running water -- Groundwater -- Glaciers and glaciation -- Deserts and wind -- Shorelines -- Earthquakes and earth's interior -- Plate tectonics: a scientific revolution unfolds -- Origin and evolution of the ocean floor -- Crustal deformation and mountain building -- Geologic time -- Earth's evolution through geologic time -- Global climate change -- Appendix A. Metric and Engligh [i.e. English] units compared -- Appendix B. Topographic maps -- Appendix C. Landforms of the conterminous United States