Canada Rocks

The Geologic Journey - Second Edition

By (author) Nick Eyles & Andrew Miall
Categories: Science
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Paperback : 9781554553624, 550 pages, March 2018

Table of contents

Contents (main sections only)

Chapter 1 — A Hellish Beginning

Chapter 2 — Moving Earth: Plate Tectonics

Chapter 3 — The United Plates of Canada: 4 Billion Years of Tectonic Activity

Chapter 4 — Canada's Heartland: The Shield

Chapter 5 — Giant Seas Cover the Shield: The Interior Platform

Chapter 6 — Building Eastern Canada

Chapter 7 — Building Arctic Canada

Chapter 8 — Building Western Canada

Chapter 9 — Cool Times: The Ice Sheets Arrive

Chapter 10 — Rocky Resources: Mining in Canada

Chapter 11 — Challenges for the Future

Chapter 12 — Geology and the Building of a Canadian Identity

Description

Canada Rocks is a marvelous portrait of what the authors describe as the incredible 4 billion year 'construction project'. Profusely illustrated throughout with full colour and black and white photographs, charts, maps, graphs and sketches, the book explores the country exploring the incredible history through modern day sites and land shapes created in our distant past. This revised edition of Canada Rocks contains major updates to Chapter Three: The United Plates of Canada: 4 Billion years of Tectonic activity; to Chapter Six: Building Eastern Canada; and to Chapter Nine: Cool Times: the Ice Sheets Arrive. Content for all other chapters has been reassessed and updated, but on a less significant scale. Dr. Nick Eyles is Professor of Geology at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus. He has written several books, and numerous papers, in addition to serving as scientific consultant for the popular CBC–TV series, The Geologic Journey. Andrew Miall is Professor of Geology at the Geology Department, University of Toronto .

Reviews

Praise for the First Edition of Canada Rocks:

"Every page of the volume sparkles with information and entertainment. . . Just reading the captions in this profusely illustrated volume provides an education in the geological forces that have shaped our land for four billion years. "
The Toronto Star From "The Year's Best Science Books,"

"The spectacular geological diversity that constitutes what we call Canada is captured in photography (some of it quite stunning), charts, maps and sketches. Meteorites, climate change, glaciers — they're all here, in layman's language. "
The Globe and Mail

"This is a book that should be in every Canadian household. It presents the science of geology and the geology of Canada in a very colourful and easy to understand fashion, a feat never before accomplished. I have no doubt that any geologist who flips through the book will not be able to resist the urge to purchase it. It is the ideal source book for a basic understanding of the geology of every region of Canada and it may well inspire young people to pursue a career of studying Canadian rocks. We owe Eyles and Miall a debt of thanks for portraying our science and our rocks in such a fine fashion. "
Reservoir, the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Magazine

"What a labour of love is this meaty geologic journal of Canada. . . This weighty tome is a must-have reference text for anyone curious about the country's geological makeup. Of particular interest to Albertans is the book's no-nonsense treatment of mining and the oil sands resources of Western Canada. "
Alberta Country Magazine

"Canada Rocks is a valuable reference work, illustrated with more than 500 maps, photos, and charts, and should be of use to the general reader for its clearly written explanations of why things are the way they are. . . For a better understanding of the country we live in, or of our own neighbourhoods, Canada Rocks is a valuable guide to the land around us, and to our own history. "
The Chronicle-Journal

"I really enjoyed this book. I caught up on topics that I have not thought about since my undergraduate degree, and I learned new things about climate and recent earthquakes. I enjoyed the sections on how geology and humans interact. Historical snapshots help bring the science alive. Almost everyone could find something to enjoy in this book, and it will give students and amateur geologists an important entry point into the fascinating story of Canada's past. "
Arctic Magazine

"Big country, big book, and one of more significance than the sum of its parts; a book that I found hard to put down. Subtitled The Geological Journey, it is not just about the geology of half a continent, it includes many judicious titbits on the history, exploration and development of Canadian research. The systematic study of Canada's geology can be said to have begun in the eastern provinces with amateur and academic endeavours and mapping by the newly founded Geological Survey of Canada (1842). It still progresses with startling results year by year, ranging from the Precambrian to the Permo-Triassic and Pleistocene. Western Canada has seen a relatively late deciphering of its turbulent evolution, with the Geological Survey of Canada and petroleum and other prospecting parties playing key roles in this task"
Geological Society of London

"This is an arresting and pictorially magnificent account of Canada's long geological story and of the importance of its rocks in a modern, increasingly industrial country. It also covers the national concern for its resources, climate and identity. Canada Rocks is also a new high point in presentation. . .
"Beginning the journey at the dusty origin of the Earth, the reader passes through theory and conjecture and arrives at the Canadian Heartland, the Shield, and for the non-specialist this is "where the story really begins". From here on the evidence is before us in half a continent. This account of the Canadian Shield is the best your reviewer has seen. . .
"Thereafter comes the geological evolution of the conspicuously distinct natural regions of Canada — the interior platform, Appalachian or Atlantic Canada, the Cordilleran Rockies and seaboard of the west, and the arctic lowlands and islands. . .
"In summary this very well written and produced book is less of a textbook and more of a good read and browse. . . At the price it is a bargain and should command a market beyond Canada's bounds. The authors hold British and Canadian qualifications to which they might well add a palm or two for the present contribution, which they clearly enjoyed writing. "
David Dineley, University of Bristol