Chapter 1. Introduction to Geology

Badlands in southern Saskatchewan. Erosion has exposed layers of rock going back more than 65 million years.
Figure 1.1 Badlands in southern Saskatchewan. Erosion has exposed layers of rock going back more than 65 million years. Source: Karla Panchuk (2017) CC BY-SA 4.0. Click the image for more attributions.

Chapter Goals

Complete this chapter so you can:

  • Explain what geology is, and why we study Earth.
  • Describe the kinds of work geologists do.
  • Explain what geological time is.
  • Explain how the principle of uniformitarianism allows us to translate observations about Earth today into knowledge about how Earth worked in the past.
  • Summarize the main idea behind the theory of plate tectonics.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Physical Geology - H5P Edition V1.1 Copyright © 2021 by Karla Panchuk is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.