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Science Geology

Ontario Rocks

Three Billion Years of Environmental Change

by (author) Nick Eyles

Publisher
Fitzhenry and Whiteside
Initial publish date
Jun 2002
Category
Geology
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781550416190
    Publish Date
    Jun 2002
    List Price
    $60.00

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Description

In its long and rocky past, the place we call Ontario has traveled across the equator, been peppered and pockmarked by meteorites, seen the rise and decline of towering mountains, and gave rise to some very strange and now extinct organisms. In fact, what seems like a changeless landscape was once covered by vast seas and huge, continent-wide ice sheets which measured 2 kilometres thick, leaving in their wake, the Great Lakes.

Ontario Rocks tells this fascinating 3 billion year long story of Ontario's geological evolution, from its beginnings as part of an early landmass called Arctica, its incorporation into enormous supercontinents, through to the repeated ice ages and abrupt climatic changes of the last few thousand years. Merging Canadian geology with
global evolution, this highly illustrated survey also touches on the development of Ontario's mining and oil industries, and the commercial use of rocks as building material.

Ontario Rocks concludes with an exploration of the "artificial" urban landscape, and how geologists use their knowledge to safeguard groundwater and rivers, dispose of wastes and understand the hazards posed by earthquakes and erosion.

Ontario Rocks is a highly accessible sourcebook, perfect for students and all those
intrigued by the history and formation of the land under us.

About the author

Nick Eyles
holds a Ph.D (East Anglia) and D.Sc. (Leicester) and is Professor of Geology at the University of Toronto. His prime research interest is in glacial sedimentology and has many years' experience with field work at modern glaciers. He has worked at the universities of Leicester, Newcastle upon Tyne and East Anglia in Great Britain, at Memorial University in Newfoundland and has been at Toronto since 1981 when he was awarded a prestigious NSERC University Research Fellowship. He has authored more than 150 publications in leading scientific journals on ice age geology and environmental geology and has conducted geological fieldwork from the Arctic to the Antarctic, including work with the Ocean Drilling Program onboard the drillship Resolution. Recent sabbaticals have been held in Brazil and Australia. His other books include Canada Rocks and Ontario Rocks.

Nick Eyles' profile page

Editorial Reviews

". . . an introductory book of geology and is written with the lay reader/hobbyist in mind. . . Illustrations are often accompanied by coloured diagrams, photographs, maps and charts. These graphics, along with the detailed glossary, provide a great resource for teachers."
ResourceLinks

"This attractive, easy-to-read book should be greatly appreciated by residents of, and travelers to, Canada's Ontario province. It provides both a general introduction to physical geology, with frequent reference to the geology of Ontario, and a specific geologic history of the province...profusely illustrated with well-chosen color maps, photos and diagrams."
Science Book and Films

"It's the best volume I've seen on Ontario geology and climate change."
The Toronto Sun