Research Catalog

Title

The historical atlas of the earth : a visual exploration of the earth's physical past / general editors, Roger Osborne and Donald Tarling ; consultant editor, Stephen Jay Gould ; additional contributions by G.A.L. Johnson.

Publication

New York : H. Holt, 1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Gould, Stephen Jay.
• Osborne, Roger, 1940-1985.
• Tarling, D. H. (Donald Harvey)

Description

192 p. : col. ill., maps; 29 cm.

Summary

The Historical Atlas of the Earth is the first atlas ever published for the general reader that shows the history of the earth since its formation by revealing the past as an ever-changing succession of worlds. Where previous geological atlases have focused on rocks and fossils, this volume places the chronological development of the earth at the heart of its subject. Each spread deals with a particular period or event in the evolution of the planet, from the Big Bang to the evolution of humans and their effect on the planet. The Historical Atlas of the Earth is a fascinating journey through the history of our planet. Using maps and illustrations to reconstruct the changing geography of the earth, the atlas combines the latest scientific data with a nontechnical approach to this extraordinary story. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the past - and future - of the world we inhabit.

Series Statement

A Henry Holt reference book

Uniform Title

A Henry Holt reference book.

Alternative Title

Atlas of the earth

Subject

• Historical geology
• Historical geology > Maps
• Paleontology
• Paleontology > Maps

Genre/Form

Maps

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 191) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

• Chapter titles only): The cosmos. Big bang to stellar space -- Meteorites, asteroids and comets -- Formation of the planets -- The moon -- Motions in the Earth -- The Earth's magnetic field -- Making and dating the Earth. The making of the continents -- Atmosphere and oceans -- The Archean world -- The origins of life -- The making of rocks -- The Proterozoic world -- Early life and the fossil record -- Early glaciations -- The early and middle Paleozoic Era. Evolutionary explosion -- The Cambrian world -- Shells and skeletons -- The Ordovician world -- The Silurian world -- The Caledonian Mountains -- The Devonian world -- Life onto land -- The late Paleozoic Era. The lower carboniferous world -- Limestone -- The upper carboniferous world.
• Cont.) (chapter titles only): The great swamp forests -- The Appalachians -- Metals in the Earth -- The Permian world -- Gondwanaland glaciations in the Permian -- Mass extinctions of marine life -- Europe and Asia joined -- The Mesozoic era. The Triassic world -- Desert sandstone -- Reptiles and birds -- The Jurassic world -- The opening of the central Atlantic -- Ammonites -- Early dinosaurs -- Arabian oil -- The Cretacious world -- Chalk -- The Arctic Basin and the Verkhoyansk Mountains -- Flowering plants -- Cretaceous dinosaurs -- South America splits from Africa -- The Caribbean basin -- Mass extinctions of Mesozoic life -- The Tertiary Era. The Tertiary world -- The rise of mammals -- The Cordillarian orogeny and the Rocky Mountains -- The Himalayas.
• Cont.) (chapter titles only): Australasia -- Corals -- The Hawaiian Islands -- The northern North Atlantic -- The Alps and the Mediterranean Basin -- The Andes -- The Japanese Islands -- Flooding the Mediterranean -- Ice ages and the first humans. Ice ages -- The Pleistocene world -- The Great Lakes and the Mississippi Basin -- Human origins and migration -- Present and future Earth. Mount St. Helens -- The San Andreas Fault -- Earthquakes -- Antarctica -- The Earth's climate -- Future world -- Timelines.

ISBN

080504552X

LCCN

^^^95079328^

OCLC

34103268

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library