Thursday, December 04, 2003

Geologists have an interesting view of the world, especially in the light that we actually study the world itself. Most people look at a rock and say, "Oh! Look at the pretty rock" or, "this is brown" or something else to that effect. I look at a rock, I am immediately thinking about what type of rock it is, where is it from, and what is its history. Clues within the rock itself help me determine all of these factors. If I see fossils, they are clues as to the original environment of deposition of the sedimentary rock (if a rock has fossils, it is sedimentary). Igneous rocks give clues through their crystal, shape, crystal size, and mineralogy. All of these can apply to sedimentary and metamorphic rocks as well. All of these things run through my mind automatically now, just as natural as putting on a pair of pants or brushing one's teeth. All of this comes together, and the rock tells a story, a story that can be as interpreting or boring as people are. Other clues come through relationships of rocks to one another, and those relationships help to tell a bigger story. Believe it or not, there are still many stories left untold.

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