Geology in the Field

Book excerpt: Replaces Compton's Manual of Field Geology (1962). A guide to advances in the increasingly broad and interpretive discipline of formation mapping theory. Thorough, yet compact enough for use in the field, it consists of brief descriptions of textures and structures useful in interpreting depositional environments, kinds of volcanic activity, and plutonic events and conditions. Included are procedures often reserved for the laboratory or office: staining rocks, correcting orientations of current indicators, constructing profile sections of folds, measuring strains, making photogeologic interpretations, and more. Covers pre-field considerations, methods of observation and measurement, recognition of key geologic features, and preparation of a report. Illustrated with composite drawings. Fourteen appendixes provide systemized data and procedures.