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 Brief Contents
Preface • xxi
See for Yourself: Using Google Earth™ • xxiv
PRELUDE And Just What Is Geology? • 1

PART I Our Island in Space

CHAPTER 1 Cosmology and the Birth of Earth • 12
CHAPTER 2 Journey to the Center of the Earth • 36
CHAPTER 3 Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas • 61
CHAPTER 4 The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics • 86

PART II Earth Materials

CHAPTER 5 Patterns in Nature: Minerals • 116
INTERLUDE A Introducing Rocks • 141
CHAPTER 6 Up from the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks • 152
INTERLUDE B A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils • 183
CHAPTER 7 Pages of Earth’s Past: Sedimentary Rocks • 202
CHAPTER 8 Metamorphism: A Process of Change • 233
INTERLUDE C The Rock Cycle in the Earth System • 261

PART III Tectonic Activity of a Dynamic Planet

CHAPTER 9 The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions • 272
CHAPTER 10 A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes • 312
INTERLUDE D The Earth’s Interior, Revisited: Seismic Layering, Gravity, and the Magnetic Field • 359
CHAPTER 11 Crags, Cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building • 379

PART IV History before History

INTERLUDE E Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution • 418
CHAPTER 12 Deep Time: How Old Is Old? • 434
CHAPTER 13 A Biography of Earth • 467

PART V Earth Resources

CHAPTER 14 Squeezing Power from a Stone: Energy Resources • 504
CHAPTER 15 Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources • 545

PART VI Processes and Problems at the Earth’s Surface

INTERLUDE F Ever-Changing Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle • 572
CHAPTER 16 Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements • 586
CHAPTER 17 Streams and Floods: The Geology of Running Water • 614
CHAPTER 18 Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts • 655
CHAPTER 19 A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater • 694
CHAPTER 20 An Envelope of Gas: Earth’s Atmosphere and Climate • 728
CHAPTER 21 Dry Regions: The Geology of Deserts • 768
CHAPTER 22 Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages • 795
CHAPTER 23 Global Change in the Earth System • 838

Appendix: Additional Maps and Charts • A-1

Glossary • G-1
Credits • C-1
Index • I-1

vii
 Special Features
WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES
The Concept of Transform Faulting, Fig. 4.13a • 99
Hot-Spot Volcano Track, Fig. 4.17d • 103
Rifting, Fig. 4.18d • 104
Basalt Sill in Antarctica, Fig. 6.12c • 165
Dike near Shiprock, NM, Fig. 6.13a • 166
New York Palisades, Ft6.1 • 182
Grand Canyon, Fig. 7.2c • 205
Crossbeds, Fig. 7.15d • 220
Deposits of an Ancient River Channel, Fig. 7.18e • 225
Displacement on the San Andreas Fault, Fig. 10.4a • 317
Displacement and Fault Zone, Fig. 11.10a • 392
Slip on a Thrust Fault, Fig. 11.10b • 392
GEOLOGY AT A GLANCE
Forming the Planets and the Earth-Moon System,
Chapter 1 • 30–31
The Earth from Surface to Center, Chapter 2 • 56–57
Magnetic Reversals and Marine Magnetic Anomalies,
Chapter 3 • 80–81
The Theory of Plate Tectonics, Chapter 4 • 108–109
Formation of Igneous Rocks, Chapter 6 • 171
Weathering, Sediment, and Soil Production,
Interlude B • 192–193
The Formation of Sedimentary Rocks, Chapter 7 • 222–223
Environments of Metamorphism, Chapter 8 • 254–255
Rock-Forming Environments and the Rock Cycle,
Interlude C • 266–267

The San Andreas Fault, Fig. 11.10c • 392 Volcanoes, Chapter 9 • 286–287

Horsts and Grabens, Fig. 11.13e • 394 Faulting in the Crust, Chapter 10 • 320–321

Train of Folds, Fig. 11.15d • 396 The Collision of India with Asia, Chapter 11 • 402–403

Plunging Anticline, Fig. 11.15e • 396 The Record in Rocks: Reconstructing Geologic History,
Chapter 12 • 454–455
Flexural-Slip Fold, Fig. 11.16a • 397
The Earth has a History, Chapter 13 • 498–499
Passive Fold, Fig. 11.16b • 397
Power from the Earth, Chapter 14 • 536–537
Ramp Anticline, Fig. 11.17d • 398
Forming and Processing Earth’s Mineral Resources,
Slaty Cleavage, Fig. 11.18b • 399
Chapter 15 • 562–563
Horizontal Sandstone Beds, Fig. 12.4c • 439
The Hydrologic Cycle, Interlude F • 580–581
Chilled Margin, Fig. 12.4g • 440
Mass Movement, Chapter 16 • 602–603
Unconformity in Scotland, Fig. 12.8a • 443
River Systems, Chapter 17 • 642–643
Unconformity in a Roadcut, Fig. 12.8b • 443
Oceans and Coasts, Chapter 18 • 684–685
New York Outcrop, Ft. 12.1 • 466
Caves and Karst Landscapes, Chapter 19 • 724–725
Missouri Outcrop, Ft. 12.2 • 466
The Desert Realm, Chapter 21 • 784–785
Topographic Profile, Fig. BxF.1e • 575
Glaciers and Glacial Landforms, Chapter 22 • 820–821
The Oso, Washington Mudslide, Fig. 16.5b • 593
The Earth System, Chapter 23 • 840–841
Drainage Basins on a Ridge, Fig. 17.5b • 619
Floodplain in Utah, Fig. 17.17c • 630
Desert Pavement, Arizona, Fig. 21.20b • 787

viii
 Contents
Preface • xxi
See for Yourself: Using Google Earth™ • xxiv

PRELUDE
And Just What Is Geology? • 1
P.1 In Search of Ideas • 2
P.2 The Nature of Geology • 3
P.3 Themes of This Book • 5
BOX P.1 Consider This
The Scientific Method • 8

PA R T I
Our Island in Space
CHAPTER 1
Cosmology and the Birth of Earth • 12
1.1 Introduction • 13
1.2 An Image of Our Universe • 13
BOX 1.1 Science Toolbox
Force and Energy • 16
BOX 1.2 Consider This
How Do We Know That the Earth Rotates? • 20
1.3 Forming the Universe • 21
BOX 1.3 Science Toolbox
Atoms, Molecules, and the Energy They Contain • 24
1.4 We Are All Made of Stardust • 26
Geology at a Glance
Forming the Planets and the Earth-Moon System • 30–31
End-of-chapter material • 33

ix
 CHAPTER 2
Journey to the Center of the Earth • 36
2.1 Introduction • 37
2.2 Welcome to the Neighborhood • 37
BOX 2.1 Consider This
Comets and Asteroids—The Other Stuff of the Solar System • 39
2.3 Basic Characteristics of the Earth • 43
2.4 How Do We Know That the Earth Has Layers? • 47
2.5 What Are the Layers Made of? • 49
BOX 2.2 Consider This
Meteorites: Clues to What’s Inside • 50
2.6 The Lithosphere and Asthenosphere • 53
BOX 2.3 Science Toolbox
Heat and Heat Transfer • 54
Geology at a Glance
The Earth from Surface to Center • 56–57
End-of-chapter material • 58

CHAPTER 3
Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas • 61
3.1 Introduction • 62
3.2 Wegener’s Evidence for Continental Drift • 63
3.3 Paleomagnetism—Proving Continents Move • 67
BOX 3.1 Consider This
Finding Paleopoles • 71
3.4 The Discovery of Seafloor Spreading • 72
3.5 Evidence for Seafloor Spreading • 76
Geology at a Glance
Magnetic Reversals and Marine Magnetic Anomalies • 80–81
End-of-chapter material • 83

BLACK SEA
CHAPTER 4
Eurasian Plate
The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics • 86
Anatolian Plate 4.1 Introduction • 87
4.2 What Do We Mean by Plate Tectonics? • 87
BOX 4.1 Consider This
MED ITERRAN EAN SEA
Archimedes’ Principle of Buoyancy • 90
Arabian Plate

4.3 Divergent-Plate Boundaries and Seafloor Spreading • 92

4.4 Convergent-Plate Boundaries and Subduction • 96
4.5 Transform-Plate Boundaries • 98
4.6 Special Locations in the Plate Mosaic • 100
4.7 How Do Plate Boundaries Form, and How Do They Die? • 102
4.8 Moving Plates • 106
x Contents
 Geology at a Glance
The Theory of Plate Tectonics • 108–109
End-of-chapter material • 112

PA R T I I
Earth Materials
CHAPTER 5
Patterns in Nature: Minerals • 116
5.1 Introduction • 117
5.2 What Is a Mineral? • 118
BOX 5.1 Science Toolbox
Some Basic Concepts from Chemistry—A Quick Review • 120
5.3 Beauty in Patterns: Crystals and Their Structure • 122
5.4 How Can You Tell One Mineral from Another? • 127
5.5 Organizing Knowledge: Mineral Classification • 129
BOX 5.2 Consider This
Asbestos and Health: When Crystal Habit Matters! • 132
5.6 Something Precious—Gems! • 134
BOX 5.3 Consider This
Where Do Diamonds Come From? • 135
End-of-chapter material • 138

INTERLUDE A
Introducing Rocks • 141
A.1 Introduction • 141
A.2 What Is Rock? • 142
A.3 The Basis of Rock Classification • 144
A.4 Studying Rock • 147

CHAPTER 6
Up from the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks • 152
6.1 Introduction • 153
6.2 Why Do Melts Form? • 153
6.3 What Is Molten Rock Made of? • 158
6.4 Movement and Solidification of Molten Rock • 159
6.5 Comparing Extrusive and Intrusive Environments • 162
BOX 6.1 Consider This
Bowen’s Reaction Series • 164
6.6 How Do You Describe an Igneous Rock? • 166
Geology at a Glance
Formation of Igneous Rocks • 171
Contents xi
 6.7 Plate Tectonic Context of Igneous Activity • 174
End-of-chapter material • 180

INTERLUDE B
A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils • 183
B.1 Introduction • 183
B.2 Weathering: Forming Sediment • 185
Geology at a Glance
Weathering, Sediment, and Soil Production • 192–193
B.3 Soil • 195

CHAPTER 7
Pages of Earth’s Past: Sedimentary Rocks • 202
7.1 Introduction • 203
7.2 Classes of Sedimentary Rocks • 203
7.3 Sedimentary Structures • 215
7.4 How Do We Recognize Depositional Environments? • 220
Geology at a Glance
The Formation of Sedimentary Rocks • 222–223
7.5 Sedimentary Basins • 228
End-of-chapter material 230

CHAPTER 8
Metamorphism: A Process of Change • 233
8.1 Introduction • 234
8.2 Consequences and Causes of Metamorphism • 235
8.3 Types of Metamorphic Rocks • 241
8.4 Defining Metamorphic Intensity • 245
BOX 8.1 Consider This
Metamorphic Facies • 248
8.5 Where Does Metamorphism Occur? • 249
BOX 8.2 Consider This
Pottery Making—An Analog for Thermal Metamorphism • 252

Geology at a Glance
Environments of Metamorphism • 254–255
Sedimentary strata, Utah
End-of-chapter material • 258
Metamorphic rock, Utah

INTERLUDE C
The Rock Cycle in the Earth System • 261
C.1 Introduction • 262
Igneous rock forming, Hawaii

C.2 Pathways through the Rock Cycle • 262

xii Contents
 C.3 A Case Study of the Rock Cycle • 263
C.4 Cycles of the Earth System • 265
Geology at a Glance
Rock-Forming Environments and the Rock Cycle • 266-267

PA R T I I I
Tectonic Activity of a Dynamic Planet
CHAPTER 9
The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions • 272
9.1 Introduction • 273
9.2 The Products of Volcanic Eruptions • 275
9.3 Structure and Eruptive Style • 282
Geology at a Glance
Volcanoes • 286–287
BOX 9.1 Consider This
Volcanic Explosions to Remember • 290
9.4 Geologic Settings of Volcanism • 292
9.5 Beware: Volcanoes Are Hazards! • 298
9.6 Protection from Vulcan’s Wrath • 302
9.7 Effect of Volcanoes on Climate and Civilization • 305
9.8 Volcanoes on Other Planets • 309
End-of-chapter material • 309

CHAPTER 10
A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes • 312
10.1 Introduction • 313
10.2 What Causes Earthquakes? • 315
Geology at a Glance
Faulting in the Crust • 320–321
10.3 Seismic Waves and Their Measurement • 323
10.4 Defining the “Size” of Earthquakes • 328
10.5 Where and Why Do Earthquakes Occur? • 332
10.6 How Do Earthquakes Cause Damage? • 338
BOX 10.1 Consider This
The 2010 Haiti Catastrophe • 348
10.7 Can We Predict the “Big One”? • 350
10.8 Earthquake Engineering and Zoning • 354
BOX 10.2 Consider This
When Earthquake Waves Resonate—Beware! • 355
End-of-chapter material • 356

Contents xiii
 INTERLUDE D
The Earth’s Interior, Revisited:
Seismic Layering, Gravity, and the Magnetic Field • 359
D.1 Introduction • 360
D.2 The Basis for Seismic Study of the Interior • 360
D.3 Results from Seismic Study of Earth’s Interior • 362
BOX D.1 Consider This
Resolving the Details of Earth’s Interior with EarthScope • 370
D.4 Earth’s Gravity • 372
D.5 Earth’s Magnetic Field, Revisited • 375

CHAPTER 11
Crags, Cracks, and Crumples:
Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building • 379
11.1 Introduction • 380
11.2 Rock Deformation in the Earth’s Crust • 382
11.3 Brittle Structures • 387
BOX 11.1 Consider This
Describing the Orientation of Geologic Structures • 388
11.4 Folds and Foliations • 393
11.5 Causes of Mountain Building • 400
Geology at a Glance
The Collision of India with Asia • 402–403
11.6 Mountain Topography • 405
11.7 Basins and Domes in Cratons • 409
11.8 Life Story of a Mountain Range: A Case Study • 412
End-of-chapter material • 413

PA R T I V
History before History
INTERLUDE E
Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution • 418
E.1 The Discovery of Fossils • 418
E.2 Fossilization • 420
E.3 Taxonomy and Identification • 425
E.4 The Fossil Record • 428
E.5 Evolution and Extinction • 430

xiv Contents
CHAPTER 12
Deep Time: How Old Is Old? • 434
12.1 Introduction • 435
BOX 12.1 Consider This
Time: A Human Obsession • 436
12.2 The Concept of Geologic Time • 436
12.3 Geologic Principles Used for Defining Relative Age • 438
12.4 Unconformities: Gaps in the Record • 442
12.5 Stratigraphic Formations and Their Correlation • 445
12.6 The Geologic Column • 449
12.7 How Do We Determine Numerical Ages? • 453
Geology at a Glance
The Record in Rocks: Reconstructing Geologic History • 454–455
BOX 12.1 Consider This
Carbon-14 Dating • 457
12.8 Numerical Ages and Geologic Time • 460
End-of-chapter material • 464

CHAPTER 13
A Biography of Earth • 467
13.1 Introduction • 468
13.2 Methods for Studying the Past • 468
13.3 The Hadean and Before • 470
13.4 The Archean Eon: Birth of Continents and Life • 472
13.5 The Proterozoic Eon: The Earth in Transition • 476
BOX 13.1Consider This
Where Was the Cradle of Life? • 477
BOX 13.2 Consider This
The Evolution of Atmospheric Oxygen • 481
13.6 The Paleozoic Era: Continents Reassemble and Life Gets
Complex • 482
BOX 13.3 Consider This
Stratigraphic Sequences and Sea-Level Change • 486
13.7 The Mesozoic Era: When Dinosaurs Ruled • 487
13.8 The Cenozoic Era: The Modern World Comes to Be • 495
Geology at a Glance
The Earth has a History • 498–499
End-of-chapter material • 500

Contents xv
 PA R T V
Earth Resources
CHAPTER 14
Squeezing Power from a Stone: Energy Resources • 504
14.1 Introduction • 505
14.2 Sources of Energy in the Earth System • 507
14.3 Introducing Hydrocarbon Resources • 508
14.4 Conventional Hydrocarbon Systems • 510
BOX 14.1 Consider This
Types of Oil and Gas Traps • 514
14.5 Unconventional Hydrocarbon Reserves • 517
BOX 14.2 Consider This
Hydrofracturing (Fracking) • 522
14.6 Coal: Energy from the Swamps of the Past • 524
14.7 Nuclear Power • 529
14.8 Other Energy Sources • 531
14.9 Energy Choices, Energy Problems • 535
Geology at a Glance
Power from the Earth • 536–537
BOX 14.3 Consider This
Offshore Drilling and the Deepwater Horizon Disaster • 540
End-of-chapter material • 542

CHAPTER 15
Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources • 545
15.1 Introduction • 546
15.2 Metals and Their Discovery • 547
15.3 Ores, Ore Minerals, and Ore Deposits • 549
15.4 Ore-Mineral Exploration and Production • 555
15.5 Nonmetallic Mineral Resources • 557
BOX 15.1 Consider This
The Amazing Chilean Mine Rescue of 2010 • 558
BOX 15.2 Consider This
The Sidewalks of New York • 560
Geology at a Glance
Forming and Processing Earth’s Mineral Resources • 562–563
15.6 Global Mineral Needs • 564
End-of-chapter material • 567

xvi Contents
PA R T V I
Processes and Problems
at the Earth’s Surface
INTERLUDE F
Ever-Changing Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle • 572
F.1 Introduction • 572
F.2 Shaping the Earth’s Surface • 574
BOX F.1 Consider This
Topographic Maps and Profiles • 575
F.3 Factors Controlling Landscape Development • 577
F.4 The Hydrologic Cycle • 579
Geology at a Glance
The Hydrologic Cycle • 580–581
F.5 Landscapes of Other Planets • 582
BOX F.2 Consider This
Water on Mars? • 584

CHAPTER 16
Unsafe Ground:
Landslides and Other Mass Movements • 586
16.1 Introduction • 587
16.2 Types of Mass Movement • 588
BOX 16.1 Consider This
What Goes Up Must Come Down • 592
16.3 Why Do Mass Movements Occur? • 598
BOX 16.2 Consider This
The Storegga Slide and North Sea Tsunamis • 599
Geology at a Glance
Mass Movement • 602–603
16.4 Where Do Mass Movements Occur? • 606
16.5 How Can We Protect against Mass-Movement Disasters? • 608
End-of-chapter material • 612

CHAPTER 17
Streams and Floods: The Geology of Running Water • 614
17.1 Introduction • 615
17.2 Draining the Land • 615
17.3 Describing Flow in Streams: Discharge and Turbulence 621
17.4 The Work of Running Water • 623

Contents xvii
 17.5 How Do Streams Change along Their Length? • 626
17.6 Streams and Their Deposits in the Landscape • 628
17.7 The Evolution of Drainage • 636
17.8 Raging Waters • 640
Geology at a Glance
River Systems • 642–643
BOX 17.1 Consider This
The Johnstown Flood of 1889 • 645
17.9 Vanishing Rivers • 650
BOX 17.2 Consider This
Calculating the Threat Posed by Flooding • 651
End-of-chapter material • 652

CHAPTER 18
Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts • 655
18.1 Introduction • 656
18.2 Landscapes beneath the Sea • 657
18.3 Ocean Water and Currents • 662
BOX 18.1 Consider This
The Coriolis Effect • 666
18.4 Tides • 667
BOX 18.2 Consider This
The Forces Causing Tides • 670
18.5 Wave Action • 672
18.6 Where Land Meets Sea: Coastal Landforms • 675
18.7 Causes of Coastal Variability • 683
Geology at a Glance
Oceans and Coasts • 684–685
18.8 Coastal Problems and Solutions • 688
End-of-chapter material • 692

CHAPTER 19
A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater • 694
19.1 Introduction • 695
19.2 Where Does Groundwater Reside? • 696
19.3 Characteristics of the Water Table • 701
19.4 Groundwater Flow • 703
19.5 Tapping Groundwater Supplies • 705
BOX 19.1 Consider This
Darcy’s Law for Groundwater Flow • 706

xviii Contents
 BOX 19.2 Consider This
Oases • 709
19.6 Hot Springs and Geysers • 710
19.7 Groundwater Problems • 713
19.8 Caves and Karst • 719
Geology at a Glance
Caves and Karst Landscapes • 724–725
End-of-chapter material • 726

CHAPTER 20
An Envelope of Gas:
Earth’s Atmosphere and Climate • 728
20.1 Introduction • 729
20.2 The Formation of the Atmosphere • 730
20.3 General Atmospheric Characteristics • 732
BOX 20.1 Consider This
Air Pollution • 733
BOX 20.2 Consider This
Why Is the Sky Blue • 734
20.4 Atmospheric Layers • 736
20.5 Wind and Global Circulation in the Atmosphere • 738
BOX 20.3 Consider This
The Earth’s Tilt: The Cause of Seasons • 742
20.6 Weather and Its Causes • 744
20.7 Storms: Nature’s Fury • 750
20.8 Global Climate • 761
End-of-chapter material • 766

CHAPTER 21
Dry Regions: The Geology of Deserts • 768
21.1 Introduction • 769
21.2 The Nature and Location of Deserts • 769
21.3 Producing Desert Landscapes • 773
21.4 Deposition in Deserts • 778
21.5 Desert Landforms and Life • 779
Geology at a Glance
The Desert Realm • 784–785
BOX 21.1 Consider This
Uluru (Ayers Rock) • 786
21.6 Desert Problems • 789
End-of-chapter material • 793

Contents xix
 CHAPTER 22
Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages • 795
22.1 Introduction • 796
22.2 Ice and the Nature of Glaciers • 797
BOX 22.1 Consider This
Polar Ice Caps on Mars • 802
22.3 Carving and Carrying by Ice • 808
22.4 Deposition Associated with Glaciation • 813
22.5 Other Consequences of Continental Glaciation • 819
Geology at a Glance
Glaciers and Glacial Landforms • 820–821
22.6 The Pleistocene Ice Age • 826
BOX 22.2 Consider This
So You Want to See Glaciation? • 827
22.7 The Causes of Ice Ages • 831
End-of-chapter material • 836

CHAPTER 23
Global Change in the Earth System • 838
23.1 Introduction • 839
Geology at a Glance
The Earth System • 840–841
23.2 Unidirectional Changes • 842
23.3 Cyclic Changes • 844
23.4 Global Climate Change • 847
BOX 23.1 Consider This
Global Climate Change and the Birth of Legends • 852

BOX 23.2 Consider This

Goldilocks and the Faint Young Sun • 854
23.5 Human Impact on Land and Life • 858
23.6 Recent Climate Change • 862
23.7 The Future of the Earth • 873
End-of-chapter material • 874

Appendix: Additional Maps and Charts • A-1

Glossary • G-1
Credits • C-1
Index • I-1

xx Contents

Narrative Themes
Why do earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and landslides happen?
What causes mountains to rise? How do beautiful landscapes
develop? How have climate and life changed through time?
When did the Earth form, and by what process? Where do
we dig to find valuable metals, and where do we drill to find
oil? Does sea level change? Do continents move? The study of
geology addresses these important questions and many more.
But from the birth of the discipline, in the late 18th century,
until the mid-20th century, geologists considered each question
largely in isolation, without pondering its relation to the others.
This approach changed, beginning in the 1960s, in response to
the formulation of two paradigm-shifting ideas that have uni-
fied thinking about the Earth and its features. The first idea,
called the theory of plate tectonics, states that the Earth’s outer
shell, rather than being static, consists of discrete plates that
slowly move, relative to each other, so that the map of our planet
continuously changes. Plate interactions cause earthquakes and
volcanoes, build mountains, provide gases that make up the
atmosphere, and affect the distribution of life on Earth. The
second idea, the Earth System perspective, emphasizes that our
planet’s water, land, atmosphere, and living inhabitants are
dynamically interconnected, so that materials constantly cycle
among various living and nonliving reservoirs on, above, and
within the planet. In the context of this idea, we have come to
realize that the history of life is intimately linked to the history
of the physical Earth, and vice versa.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, Fifth Edition, is an introduc-
tion to the study of our planet that uses the theory of plate
tectonics as well as the Earth System perspective throughout,
to weave together a number of narrative themes, including:
1. The solid Earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, and life
interact in complex ways, yielding a planet that is
unique in the Solar System.
2. Most geologic processes involve the interactions of
plates, pieces of the outer, relatively rigid shell of the
Earth.
3. The Earth is a planet formed, like other planets, from
dust and gas. But, in contrast to other planets, the
Earth is a dynamic place where new geologic features
continue to form and old ones continue to be destroyed.
Preface
4. The Earth is very old—indeed, about 4.54 billion years
have passed since its birth. During this time, the map
of the planet and its surface features have changed,
and life has evolved.
5. Internal processes (driven by Earth’s internal heat) and
external processes (driven by heat from the Sun) interact
at the Earth’s surface to produce complex landscapes.
6. Geologic knowledge can help society understand, and
perhaps avoid or reduce, the danger of natural hazards,
such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and floods.
7. Energy and mineral resources come from the Earth
and are formed by geologic phenomena. Geologic
study can help locate these resources and mitigate the
consequences of their use.
8. Geology is a science, and the ideas of science come
from observation, calculation, and experiment. Thus,
people make scientific discoveries, and scientific
understanding advances over time.
9. Geology utilizes ideas from physics, chemistry, and
biology, so the study of geology provides an excellent
means to improve science literacy overall.
These narrative themes serve as the take-home message of the
book, a message that students hopefully will remember long
after they finish their introductory geology course. In effect,
they provide a mental framework on which students can orga-
nize and connect ideas, and develop a modern, coherent image
of our planet.
Pedagogical Approach
Educational research demonstrates that students learn best
when they actively engage with a combination of narrative text
and narrative art. Some students respond more to the words
of a textbook, which help to organize information, provide
answers to questions, fill in the essential steps that link ideas
together, and help a student develop a context for understand-
ing ideas. Some students respond more to narrative art—art
designed to tell a story—for visual images help students com-
prehend and remember processes. And some respond to ques-
tion-and-answer-based active learning, an approach where
xxi
 students can, in effect, “practice” their knowledge. Earth: Por-
trait of a Planet, Fifth Edition, provides all three of these learn-
ing tools. The text has been crafted to be engaging, the art has
been configured to tell a story, the chapters are laid out to help
students internalize key principles, and the on-line activities
have been designed to both engage students and provide active
feedback. As before, the book’s narrative doesn’t just provide a
dry statement of facts, but rather, it provides the story behind
the story—meaning the reasoning and observation that led
to our current understanding, as well as an explanation of the
processes that cause a particular geological phenomenon.
Each chapter starts with a list of Learning Objectives that
frames the most important pedagogical goals for each chapter.
Take-Home Message panels, which include both a brief sum-
mary and a key question, appear at the end of each section
to help students solidify key themes before proceeding to the
next section. Throughout the chapter, Did You Ever Wonder?
questions prompt students with real-life questions they may
have already thought about—answers to these questions occur
in the nearby text. See for Yourself panels guide students to key
examples of spectacular geologic features, using the power
of Google Earth™. They allow students to apply their newly
acquired knowledge to the interpretation of real-world exam-
ples. Each chapter then concludes with a chapter summary
that reinforces understanding and provides a concise study tool
at the same time. Review Questions at the end of each chapter
include two parts: the first addresses basic concepts, as defined
by Bloom’s Taxonomy; and the second, labeled On Further
Thought, stimulates critical thinking opportunities that invite
students to think beyond the basics.
To enhance active-learning opportunities, SmartWork
Online Homework has been specifically developed for Earth:
Portrait of a Planet, Fifth Edition. In addition to word ques-
tions, SmartWork also offers students visual drag and drop
questions and figure-labeling exercises, all of which come with
detailed feedback. SmartWork also boasts strong visual features
with questions based on videos and vivid animations that dis-
play geologic processes.
Organization
The topics covered in this book have been arranged so that stu-
dents can build their knowledge of geology on a foundation
of overarching principles. Thus, the book starts with cosmol-
ogy and the formation of the Earth, and then introduces the
architecture of our planet, from surface to center. With this
basic background, students are prepared to delve into plate
tectonics theory. Plate tectonics appears early in the book,
so that students can relate the content of subsequent chap-
ters to the theory. Knowledge of plate tectonics, for example,
xxii Special Features of this Edition
helps students understand the suite of chapters on minerals,
rocks, and the rock cycle. Knowledge of plate tectonics and
rocks together, in turn, provides a basis for studying volca-
noes, earthquakes, and mountains. And with this background,
students are prepared to see how the map of the Earth has
changed through the vast expanse of geologic time, and how
energy and mineral resources have developed. The book’s final
chapters address processes and problems occurring at or near
the Earth’s surface, from the unstable slopes of hills, down the
course of rivers, to the shores of the sea and beyond. This part
concludes with a topic of growing concern in society—global
change, particularly climate change.
In addition to numbered chapters, the book contains sev-
eral Interludes. These are, in effect, “mini-chapters” in that they
focus on topics that are self-contained but are not broad enough
to require an entire chapter. By placing selected topics in inter-
ludes, we can keep chapters reasonable in length, and can pro-
vide additional flexibility in sequencing topics within a course.
Although the sequence of chapters and interludes was
chosen for a reason, this book is designed to be flexible enough
for instructors to choose their own strategies for teaching geol-
ogy. The individual topics are so interrelated that there is not
always a single best way to order them. Thus, each chapter
is self-contained, reiterating relevant material where neces-
sary. For example, if instructors prefer to introduce minerals
and rocks before plate tectonics, they simply need to reorder
the reading assignments. A low-cost, loose-leaf version of the
book allows instructors to have students purchase only the
chapters that they need.
We have used a different approach in highlighting ter-
minology in Earth: Portrait of a Planet, Fifth Edition. Termi-
nology, the basic vocabulary of a subject, serves an important
purpose in simplifying the discussion of topics. For example,
once students understand the formal definition of a mineral,
the term can be used again in subsequent discussion without
further explanation or redundancy. Too much new vocabulary,
however, can be overwhelming. So we have tried to keep the
book’s key terms (set in boldface and referenced at the end of
each chapter for studying purposes) to a minimum. But, since
the field of geology has many important terms, we have also
set other, less significant but still useful, terms in italic when
first presented, to provide additional visual guidance for stu-
dents. As in previous editions, we take care not to use vocabu-
lary until it has been completely introduced and defined.
Special Features of this Edition
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, Fifth Edition, contains a number of
new or revised features that distinguish it from all competing
texts.
WHAT A GEOLOGIST SEES figures created just for SmartWork.
Narrative Art, What a Geologist Sees,
and See for Yourself
It’s difficult to understand many features of the Earth System
without being able to see them. To help students visualize
these and other features, this book is lavishly illustrated with
figures that try to give a realistic context for the particular fea-
ture, without overwhelming students with too much extrane-
ous detail. The talented artists who worked on the book have
used the latest computer graphics software, resulting in the
most sophisticated pedagogical art ever provided by a geosci-
ence text. Many figures have been updated with an eye toward
improving the 3-D visualization skills of students. They have
also been reconfigured to make them more friendly and intui-
tive. In addition to the art, the book also boasts over 1,000
stunning photographs from all around the world. Many of the
photographs were taken by the author, specifically to illustrate
the exact concept under discussion. Where appropriate, pho-
tographs are accompanied by annotated sketches named What
a Geologist Sees. These figures allow students to see how geolo-
gists perceive the world around them and to encourage stu-
dents to start thinking like geologists.
Throughout the book, drawings and photographs have
been integrated into narrative art, which has been laid out,
labeled, and annotated to tell a story—the figures are drawn
to teach! Subcaptions are positioned adjacent to relevant parts
of each figure, labels point out key features, and balloons pro-
vide important annotation. Subparts are arranged to convey
time progression, where relevant. The color schemes of draw-
ings have been tied to those of relevant photos, so that stu-
dents can easily relate features in the drawings to those in the
photos. Further, all the art in this edition has been reworked
to achieve a consistent style, using standard colors and textures
for similar features across the book.
Google Earth™ provides an amazing opportunity for
students to visit and tour important geologic sites wherever
they occur. Throughout the book, we provide See for Yourself
panels, which provide coordinates and descriptions of geologic
Special Features of this Edition xxiii
 See for Yourself: Using Google Earth™

Visiting the SFY Field Sites Identified in the Text crater at its top. By zooming out to higher elevation, you can
instantly perceive the context of the given geologic feature—
There’s no better way to appreciate geology then to see it first-
for example, if you fly up into space above Mt. Fuji, you will
hand in the field. The challenge is that the great variety of
see its position relative to the tectonic plate boundaries of the
geologic features that we discuss in this book can’t be visited
western Pacific. The thumbnail below (on the right) shows the
from any one locality. So even if your class takes geology field
view you’ll see of the same location if you tilt your viewing
trips during the semester, you’ll at most see examples of just
direction and look north.
a few geologic settings. Fortunately, Google Earth™ makes it
possible to fly to spectacular geologic field sites anywhere in
the world in a matter of seconds—you can take a virtual field
trip electronically. In each chapter in this book, See for Yourself
panels identify geologic sites that you can explore on your own
personal computer (Mac or PC) using Google Earth™ soft-
ware, or on your Apple/Android smartphone or tablet with the
appropriate Google Earth™ app.

To get started, follow these three simple steps:

Check to see if Google Earth™ is installed on your per-
1 sonal computer, smartphone, or tablet. If not, down-
load the free software from earth.google.com or the
app from the Apple or Android app store.
Each See for Yourself panel in the margin of the chapter
2 links to Google Earth™ videos describing basic functions, and
provides a thumbnail photo of a geologically interest-
ing site, as well as a very brief description of the site.
The panel also provides the latitude and longitude of
the site.
Open Google Earth™ and enter the coordinates of the
3 site in the search window. As an example, let’s find Mt.
Fuji, a beautiful volcano in Japan. We note that the
coordinates in the See for Yourself panel are as follows:
View looking down. View looking north.
Need More Help? If you’re having trouble, please visit
wwnorton.com/rd/SeeEarth5. There, you will find a video
showing how to download and install Google Earth™, addi-
tional instructions on how to find the See for Yourself sites,
links to any hardware and software requirements. Also, notes
addressing Google Earth™ updates will be available at this site.
We also offer a separate book—the Geotours Workbook
(ISBN 978-0-393-91891-5), by Scott Wilkerson, Beth Wilk-
erson, and Stephen Marshak—that identifies additional inter-
esting geologic sites to visit, provides active-learning exercises
linked to the sites, and explains how you can create your own
virtual field trips.

Latitude 35°21’41.78”N
Longitude 138°43’50.74”E
Type these coordinates into the search window of Google
Earth™ as:
35 21 41.78N, 138 43 50.74E
with the degree, minute, and second symbols left blank. When
you click enter or return, your device will bring you to the
viewpoint right above Mt. Fuji, as illustrated by the following
thumbnails.
Google Earth™ contains many built-in and easy-to-use
tools that allow you to vary the elevation, tilt, orientation,
and position of your viewpoint, so that you can tour around
the feature, see it from many different perspectives, and thus
develop a three-dimensional sense of the feature. In the case
of Mt. Fuji, you’ll be able to see its cone-like shape and the

xxiv Special Features of this Edition

Another random document with
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fearless plain-speaking. If it came to her knowledge she would turn
Puddle out bag and baggage, and that would leave Stephen alone. No,
she dared not speak plainly because of the girl for whose sake she
should now, above all, be outspoken. But supposing the day should
arrive when Stephen herself thought fit to confide in her friend, then
Puddle would take the bull by the horns: ‘Stephen, I know. You can
trust me, Stephen.’ If only that day were not too long in coming—
For none knew better than this little grey woman, the agony of mind
that must be endured when a sensitive, highly organized nature is first
brought face to face with its own affliction. None knew better the terrible
nerves of the invert, nerves that are always lying in wait. Super-nerves,
whose response is only equalled by the strain that calls that response
into being. Puddle was well acquainted with these things—that was
why she was deeply concerned about Stephen.
But all she could do, at least for the present, was to be very gentle
and very patient: ‘Drink this cocoa, Stephen, I made it myself—’ And
then with a smile, ‘I put four lumps of sugar!’
Then Stephen was pretty sure to turn contrite: ‘Puddle—I’m a brute
—you’re so good to me always.’
‘Rubbish! I know you like cocoa made sweet, that’s why I put in
those four lumps of sugar. Let’s go for a really long walk, shall we,
dear? I’ve been wanting a really long walk now for weeks.’
Liar—most kind and self-sacrificing liar! Puddle hated long walks,
especially with Stephen who strode as though wearing seven league
boots, and whose only idea of a country walk was to take her own line
across ditches and hedges—yes, indeed, a most kind and self-
sacrificing liar! For Puddle was not quite so young as she had been; at
times her feet would trouble her a little, and at times she would get a
sharp twinge in her knee, which she shrewdly suspected to be
rheumatism. Nevertheless she must keep close to Stephen because of
the fear that tightened her heart—the fear of that questioning, wounded
expression which now never left the girl’s eyes for a moment. So
Puddle got out her most practical shoes—her heaviest shoes which
were said to be damp-proof—and limped along bravely by the side of
her charge, who as often as not ignored her existence.
 There was one thing in all this that Puddle found amazing, and that
was Anna’s apparent blindness. Anna appeared to notice no change in
Stephen, to feel no anxiety about her. As always, these two were
gravely polite to each other, and as always they never intruded. Still, it
did seem to Puddle an incredible thing that the girl’s own mother should
have noticed nothing. And yet so it was, for Anna had gradually been
growing more silent and more abstracted. She was letting the tide of
life carry her gently towards that haven on which her thoughts rested.
And this blindness of hers troubled Puddle sorely, so that anger must
often give way to pity.
She would think: ‘God help her, the sorrowful woman; she knows
nothing—why didn’t he tell her? It was cruel!’ And then she would think:
‘Yes, but God help Stephen if the day ever comes when her mother
does know—what will happen on that day to Stephen?’
Kind and loyal Puddle; she felt torn to shreds between those two,
both so worthy of pity. And now in addition she must be tormented by
memories dug out of their graves by Stephen—Stephen, whose pain
had called up a dead sorrow that for long had lain quietly and decently
buried. Her youth would come back and stare into her eyes
reproachfully, so that her finest virtues would seem little better than
dust and ashes. She would sigh, remembering the bitter sweetness,
the valiant hopelessness of her youth—and then she would look at
Stephen.
But one morning Stephen announced abruptly: ‘I’m going out. Don’t
wait lunch for me, will you.’ And her voice permitted of no argument or
question.
Puddle nodded in silence. She had no need to question, she knew
only too well where Stephen was going.

With head bowed by her mortification of spirit, Stephen rode once

more to The Grange. And from time to time as she rode she flushed
deeply because of the shame of what she was doing. But from time to
time her eyes filled with tears because of the pain of her longing.
 She left the cob with a man at the stables, then made her way
round to the old herb-garden; and there she found Angela sitting alone
in the shade with a book which she was not reading.
Stephen said: ‘I’ve come back.’ And then without waiting: ‘I’ll do
anything you want, if you’ll let me come back.’ And even as she spoke
those words her eyes fell.
But Angela answered: ‘You had to come back—because I’ve been
wanting you, Stephen.’
Then Stephen went and knelt down beside her, and she hid her
face against Angela’s knee, and the tears that had never so much as
once fallen during all the hard weeks of their separation, gushed out of
her eyes. She cried like a child, with her face against Angela’s knee.
Angela let her cry on for a while, then she lifted the tear-stained
face and kissed it: ‘Oh, Stephen, Stephen, get used to the world—it’s a
horrible place full of horrible people, but it’s all there is, and we live in it,
don’t we? So we’ve just got to do as the world does, my Stephen.’ And
because it seemed strange and rather pathetic that this creature should
weep, Angela was stirred to something very like love for a moment:
‘Don’t cry any more—don’t cry, honey,’ she whispered, ‘we’re together;
nothing else really matters.’
And so it began all over again.

Stephen stayed on to lunch, for Ralph was in Worcester. He came

home a good two hours before teatime to find them together among his
roses; they had followed the shade when it left the herb-garden.
‘Oh, it’s you!’ he exclaimed as his eye lit on Stephen; and his voice
was so naïvely disappointed, so full of dismay at her reappearance,
that just for a second she felt sorry for him.
‘Yes, it’s me—’ she replied, not quite knowing what to say.
He grunted, and went off for his pruning knife, with which he was
soon amputating roses. But in spite of his mood he remained a good
surgeon, cutting dexterously, always above the leaf-bud, for the man
was fond of his roses. And knowing this Stephen must play on that
fondness, since now it was her business to cajole him into friendship. A
degrading business, but it had to be done for Angela’s sake, lest she
suffer through loving. Unthinkable that—‘Could you marry me,
Stephen?’
‘Ralph, look here;’ she called, ‘Mrs. John Laing’s got broken! We
may be in time if we bind her with bass.’
‘Oh, dear, has she?’ He came hurrying up as he spoke, ‘Do go
down to the shed and get me some, will you?’
She got him the bass and together they bound her, the pink-
cheeked, full-bosomed Mrs. John Laing.
‘There,’ he said, as he snipped off the ends of her bandage, ‘that
ought to set your leg for you, madam!’
Near by grew a handsome Frau Karl Druschki, and Stephen praised
her luminous whiteness, remarking his obvious pleasure at the praise.
He was like a father of beautiful children, always eager to hear them
admired by a stranger, and she made a note of this in her mind: ‘He
likes one to praise his roses.’
He wanted to talk about Frau Karl Druschki: ‘She’s a beauty!
There’s something so wonderfully cool—as you say, it’s the whiteness
—’ Then before he could stop himself: ‘She reminds me of Angela,
somehow.’ The moment the words were out he was frowning, and
Stephen stared hard at Frau Karl Druschki.
But as they passed from border to border, his brow cleared: ‘I’ve
spent over three hundred,’ he said proudly, ‘never saw such a mess as
this garden was in when I bought the place—had to dig in fresh soil for
the roses just here, these are all new plants; I motored half across
England to get them. See that hedge of York and Lancasters there?
They didn’t cost much because they’re out of fashion. But I like them,
they’re small but rather distinguished I think—there’s something so
armorial about them.’
She agreed: ‘Yes, I’m awfully fond of them too;’ and she listened
quite gravely while he explained that they dated as far back as the
Wars of the Roses.
 ‘Historical, that’s what I mean,’ he explained. ‘I like everything old,
you know, except women.’
She thought with an inward smile of his newness.
Presently he said in a tone of surprise: ‘I never imagined that you’d
care about roses.’
‘Yes, why not? We’ve got quite a number at Morton. Why don’t you
come over to-morrow and see them?’
‘Do your William Allen Richardsons do well?’ he inquired.
‘I think so.’
‘Mine don’t. I can’t make it out. This year, of course, they’ve been
damaged by green-fly. Just come here and look at these standards, will
you? They’re being devoured alive by the brutes!’ And then as though
he were talking to a friend who would understand him: ‘Roses seem
good to me—you know what I mean, there’s virtue about them—the
scent and the feel and the way they grow. I always had some on the
desk in my office, they seemed to brighten up the whole place, no end.’
He started to ink in the names on the labels with a gold fountain pen
which he took from his pocket. ‘Yes,’ he murmured, as he bent his face
over the labels, ‘yes, I always had three or four on my desk. But
Birmingham’s a foul sort of place for roses.’
And hearing him, Stephen found herself thinking that all men had
something simple about them; something that took pleasure in the
things that were blameless, that longed, as it were, to contact with
Nature. Martin had loved huge, primitive trees; and even this mean little
man loved his roses.
Angela came strolling across the lawn: ‘Come, you two,’ she called
gaily, ‘tea’s waiting in the hall!’
Stephen flinched: ‘Come, you two—’ the words jarred on and she
knew that Angela was thoroughly happy, for when Ralph was out of
earshot for a moment she whispered:
‘You were clever about his roses!’
At tea Ralph relapsed into sulky silence; he seemed to regret his
erstwhile good humour. And he ate quite a lot, which made Angela
nervous—she dreaded his attacks of indigestion, which were usually
accompanied by attacks of bad temper.
Long after they had all finished tea he lingered, until Angela said:
‘Oh, Ralph, that lawn mower. Pratt asked me to tell you that it won’t
work at all; he thinks it had better go back to the makers. Will you write
about it now before the post goes?’
‘I suppose so—’ he muttered; but he left the room slowly.
Then they looked at each other and drew close together, guiltily,
starting at every sound: ‘Stephen—be careful for God’s sake—Ralph—’
So Stephen’s hands dropped from Angela’s shoulders, and she set
her lips hard, for no protest must pass them any more; they had no
right to protest.

CHAPTER 21

T hat autumn the Crossbys went up to Scotland, and Stephen went

to Cornwall with her mother. Anna was not well, she needed a
change, and the doctor had told them of Watergate Bay, that was why
they had gone to Cornwall. To Stephen it mattered very little where she
went, since she was not allowed to join Angela in Scotland. Angela had
put her foot down quite firmly: ‘No, my dear, it wouldn’t do. I know
Ralph would make hell. I can’t let you follow us up to Scotland.’ So that
there, perforce, the matter had ended.
And now Stephen could sit and gloom over her trouble while Anna
read placidly, asking no questions. She seldom worried her daughter
with questions, seldom even evinced any interest in her letters.
From time to time Puddle would write from Morton, and then Anna
would say, recognizing the writing: ‘Is everything all right?’
And Stephen would answer: ‘Yes, Mother, Puddle says everything’s
all right.’ As indeed it was—at Morton.
But from Scotland news seemed to come very slowly. Stephen’s
letters would quite often go unanswered; and what answers she
received were unsatisfactory, for Angela’s caution was a very strict
censor. Stephen herself must write with great care, she discovered, in
order to pacify that censor.
Twice daily she visited the hotel porter, a kind, red-faced man with a
sympathy for lovers.
‘Any letters for me?’ she would ask, trying hard to appear rather
bored at the mere thought of letters.
‘No, miss.’
‘There’s another post in at seven?’
‘Yes, miss.’
‘Well—thank you.’
She would wander away, leaving the porter to think to himself: ‘She
don’t look like a girl as would have a young man, but you never can tell.
Anyhow she seems anxious—I do hope it’s all right for the poor young
lady.’ He grew to take a real interest in Stephen, and would sometimes
talk to his wife about her: ‘Have you noticed her, Alice? A queer-looking
girl, very tall, wears a collar and tie—you know, mannish. And she
seems just to change her suit of an evening—puts on a dark one—
never wears evening dress. The mother’s still a beautiful woman; but
the girl—I dunno, there’s something about her—anyhow I’m surprised
she’s got a young man; though she must have, the way she watches
the posts, I sometimes feel sorry for her.’
But her calls at his office were not always fruitless: ‘Any letters for
me?’
‘Yes, miss, there’s just one.’
He would look at her with a paternal expression, glad enough to
think that her young man had written; and Stephen, divining his
thoughts from his face, would feel embarrassed and angry. Snatching
her letter she would hurry to the beach, where the rocks provided a
merciful shelter, and where no one seemed likely to look paternal,
unless it should be an occasional seagull.
But as she read, her heart would feel empty; something sharp like a
physical pain would go through her: ‘Dear Stephen. I’m sorry I’ve not
written before, but Ralph and I have been fearfully busy. We’re having
a positive social orgy up here, I’m so glad he took this large shoot. . . .’
That was the sort of thing Angela wrote these days—perhaps because
of her caution.
However, one morning an unusually long letter arrived, telling all
about Angela’s doings: ‘By the way, we’ve met the Antrim boy, Roger.
He’s been staying with some people that Ralph knows quite well, the
Peacocks, they’ve got a wonderful old castle; I think I must have told
you about them.’ Here followed an elaborate description of the castle,
together with the ancestral tree of the Peacocks. Then: ‘Roger has
talked quite a lot about you; he says he used to tease you when you
were children. He says that you wanted to fight him one day—that
made me laugh awfully, it’s so like you, Stephen! He’s a good-looking
person and rather a nice one. He tells me that his regiment’s stationed
at Worcester, so I’ve asked him to come over to The Grange when he
likes. It must be pretty dreary, I imagine, in Worcester. . . .’
Stephen finished the letter and sat staring at the sea for a moment,
after which she got up abruptly. Slipping the letter into her pocket she
buttoned her jacket; she was feeling cold. What she needed was a
walk, a really long walk. She set out briskly in the direction of Newquay.

During those long, anxious weeks in Cornwall, it was borne in on

Stephen as never before how wide was the gulf between her and her
mother, how completely they two must always stand divided. Yet
looking at Anna’s quiet ageing face, the girl would be struck afresh by
its beauty, a beauty that seemed to have mollified the years, to have
risen triumphant over time and grief. And now as in the days of her
childhood, that beauty would fill her with a kind of wonder; so calm it
was, so assured, so complete—then her mother’s deep eyes, blue like
distant mountains, and now with that far-away look in their blueness, as
though they were gazing into the distance. Stephen’s heart would
suddenly tighten a little; a sense of great loss would descend upon her,
together with the sense of not fully understanding just what she had
lost or why she had lost it—she would stare at Anna as a thirsty
traveller in the desert will stare at a mirage of water.
 And one evening there came a preposterous impulse—the impulse
to confide in this woman within whose most gracious and perfect body
her own anxious body had lain and quickened. She wanted to speak to
that motherhood, to implore, nay, compel its understanding. To say:
‘Mother, I need you. I’ve lost my way—give me your hand to hold in the
darkness.’ But good God, the folly, the madness of it! The base
betrayal of such a confession! Angela delivered over, betrayed—the
unthinkable folly, the madness of it.
Yet sometimes as Anna and she sat together looking out at the
misty Cornish coast-line, hearing the dull, heavy throb of the sea and
the calling of sea-gulls the one to the other—as they sat there together
it would seem to Stephen that her heart was so full of Angela Crossby,
all the bitterness, all the sweetness of her, that the mother-heart
beating close by her own must surely, in its turn, be stirred to beat
faster, for had she not once sheltered under that heart? And so
extreme was her need becoming, that now she must often find Anna’s
cool hand and hold it a moment or two in her own, trying to draw from it
some consolation.
But the touch of that cool, pure hand would distress her, causing her
spirit to ache with longing for the simple and upright and honourable
things that had served many simple and honourable people. Then all
that to some might appear uninspiring, would seem to her very fulfilling
and perfect. A pair of lovers walking by arm in arm—just a quiet,
engaged couple, neither comely nor clever nor burdened with riches;
just a quiet, engaged couple—would in her envious eyes be invested
with a glory and pride passing all understanding. For were Angela and
she those fortunate lovers, they could stand before Anna happy and
triumphant. Anna, the mother, would smile and speak gently, tolerant
because of her own days of loving. Wherever they went older folk
would remember, and remembering would smile on their love and
speak gently. To know that the whole world was glad of your gladness,
must surely bring heaven very near to the world.
One night Anna looked across at her daughter: ‘Are you tired, my
dear? You seem a bit fagged.’
The question was unexpected, for Stephen was supposed not to
know what it meant to feel fagged, her physical health and strength
were proverbial. Was it possible then that her mother had divined at
long last her utter weariness of spirit? Quite suddenly Stephen felt
shamelessly childish, and she spoke as a child who wants comforting.
‘Yes, I’m dreadfully tired.’ Her voice shook a little; ‘I’m tired out—I’m
dreadfully tired,’ she repeated. With amazement she heard herself
making this weak bid for pity, and yet she could not resist it. Had Anna
held out her arms at that moment, she might soon have learnt about
Angela Crossby.
But instead she yawned: ‘It’s this air, it’s too woolly. I’ll be very glad
when we get back to Morton. What’s the time? I’m almost asleep
already—let’s go up to our beds, don’t you think so, Stephen?’
It was like a cold douche; and a good thing too for the girl’s self-
respect. She pulled herself together: ‘Yes, come on, it’s past ten. I
detest this soft air.’ And she flushed, remembering that weak bid for
pity.

Stephen left Cornwall without a regret; everything about it had seemed

to her depressing. Its rather grim beauty which at any other time would
have deeply appealed to her virile nature, had but added to the gloom
of those interminable weeks spent apart from Angela Crossby. For her
perturbation had been growing apace, she was constantly oppressed
by doubts and vague fears; bewildered, uncertain of her own power to
hold; uncertain too, of Angela’s will to be held by this dangerous yet
bloodless loving. Her defrauded body had been troubling her sorely, so
that she had tramped over beach and headland, cursing the strength of
the youth that was in her, trying to trample down her hot youth and only
succeeding in augmenting its vigour.
But now that the ordeal had come to an end at last, she began to
feel less despondent. In a week’s time Angela would get back from
Scotland; then at least the hunger of the eyes could be appeased—a
terrible thing that hunger of the eyes for the sight of the well-loved
being. And then Angela’s birthday was drawing near, which would
surely provide an excuse for a present. She had sternly forbidden the
giving of presents, even humble keepsakes, on account of Ralph—still,
a birthday was different, and in any case Stephen was quite
determined to risk it. For the impulse to give that is common to all
lovers, was in her attaining enormous proportions, so that she
visualized Angela decked in diadems worthy of Cleopatra; so that she
sat and stared at her bank book with eyes that grew angry when they lit
on her balance. What was the good of plenty of money if it could not be
spent on the person one loved? Well, this time it should be so spent,
and spent largely; no limit was going to be set to this present!
An unworthy and tiresome thing money, at best, but it can at least
ease the heart of the lover. When he lightens his purse he lightens his
heart, though this can hardly be accounted a virtue, for such giving is
perhaps the most insidious form of self-indulgence that is known to
mankind.

Stephen had said quite casually to Anna: ‘Suppose we stay three or

four days in London on our way back to Morton? You could do some
shopping.’ Anna had agreed, thinking of her house linen which wanted
renewing; but Stephen had been thinking of the jewellers’ shops in
Bond Street.
And now here they actually were in London, established at a quiet
and expensive hotel; but the problem of Angela’s birthday present had,
it seemed, only just begun for Stephen. She had not the least idea what
she wanted, or what Angela wanted, which was far more important;
and she did not know how to get rid of her mother, who appeared to
dislike going out unaccompanied. For three days of the four Stephen
fretted and fumed; never had Anna seemed so dependent. At Morton
they now led quite separate lives, yet here in London they were always
together. Scheme as she might she could find no excuse for a solitary
visit to Bond Street. However, on the morning of the fourth and last day,
Anna succumbed to a devastating headache.
Stephen said: ‘I think I’ll go and get some air, if you really don’t need
me—I’m feeling energetic!’
‘Yes, do—I don’t want you to stay in,’ groaned Anna, who was
longing for peace and an aspirin tablet.
 Once out on the pavement Stephen hailed the first taxi she met; she
was quite absurdly elated. ‘Drive to the Piccadilly end of Bond Street,’
she ordered, as she jumped in and slammed the door. Then she put
her head quickly out of the window: ‘And when you get to the corner,
please stop. I don’t want you to drive along Bond Street, I’ll walk. I want
you to stop at the Piccadilly corner.’
But when she was actually standing on the corner—the left-hand
corner—she began to feel doubtful as to which side of Bond Street she
ought to tackle first. Should she try the right side or keep to the left?
She decided to try the right side. Crossing over, she started to walk
along slowly. At every jeweller’s shop she stood still and gazed at the
wares displayed in the window. Now she was worried by quite a new
problem, the problem of stones, there were so many kinds. Emeralds
or rubies or perhaps just plain diamonds? Well, certainly neither
emeralds nor rubies—Angela’s colouring demanded whiteness.
Whiteness—she had it! Pearls—no, one pearl, one flawless pearl and
set as a ring. Angela had once described such a ring with envy, but
alas, it had been born in Paris.
People stared at the masculine-looking girl who seemed so intent
upon feminine adornments. And some one, a man, laughed and
nudged his companion: ‘Look at that! What is it?’
‘My God! What indeed?’
She heard them and suddenly felt less elated as she made her way
into the shop.
She said rather loudly: ‘I want a pearl ring.’
‘A pearl ring? What kind, madam?’
She hesitated, unable now to describe what she did want: ‘I don’t
quite know—but it must be a large one.’
‘For yourself?’ And she thought that the man smiled a little.
Of course he did nothing of the kind; but she stammered: ‘No—oh,
no—it’s not for myself, it’s for a friend. She’s asked me to choose her a
large pearl ring.’ To her own ears the words sounded foolish and
flustered.
 There was nothing in that shop that fulfilled her requirements, so
once more she must face the guns of Bond Street. Now she quickened
her steps and found herself striding; modifying her pace she found
herself dawdling; and always she was conscious of people who stared,
or whom she imagined were staring. She felt sure that the shop
assistants looked doubtful when she asked for a large and flawless
pearl ring; and catching a glimpse of her reflection in a glass, she
decided that naturally they would look doubtful—her appearance
suggested neither pearls nor their price. She slipped a surreptitious
hand into her pocket, gaining courage from the comforting feel of her
cheque book.
When the east side of the thoroughfare had been exhausted, she
crossed over quickly and made her way back towards her original
corner. By now she was rather depressed and disgruntled. Supposing
that she should not find what she wanted in Bond Street? She had no
idea where else to look—her knowledge of London was far from
extensive. But apparently the gods were feeling propitious, for a little
further on she paused in front of a small, and as she thought, quite
humble shop. As a matter of fact it was anything but humble, hence the
bars half-way up its unostentatious window. Then she stared, for there
on a white velvet cushion lay a pearl that looked like a round gleaming
marble, a marble attached to a slender circlet of platinum—some sort
of celestial marble! It was just such a ring as Angela had seen in Paris,
and had since never ceased to envy.
The person behind this counter was imposing. He was old, and
wore glasses with tortoiseshell rims: ‘Yes, madam, it’s a very fine
specimen indeed. The setting’s French, just a thin band of platinum,
there’s nothing to detract from the beauty of the pearl.’
He lifted it tenderly off its cushion, and as tenderly Stephen let it rest
on her palm. It shone whiter than white against her skin, which by
contrast looked sunburnt and weather-beaten.
Then the dignified old gentleman murmured the price, glancing
curiously at the girl as he did so, but she seemed to be quite
unperturbed, so he said: ‘Will you try the effect of the ring on your
finger?’
 At this, however, his customer flushed: ‘It wouldn’t go anywhere
near my finger!’
‘I can have it enlarged to any size you wish.’
‘Thanks, but it’s not for me—it’s for a friend.’
‘Have you any idea what size your friend takes, say in gloves? Is
her hand large or small do you think?’
Stephen answered promptly: ‘It’s a very small hand,’ then
immediately looked and felt rather self-conscious.
And now the old gentleman was openly staring: ‘Excuse me,’ he
murmured, ‘an extraordinary likeness. . . .’ Then more boldly: ‘Do you
happen to be related to Sir Philip Gordon of Morton Hall, who died—it
must be about two years ago—from some accident? I believe a tree fell
—’
‘Oh, yes, I’m his daughter,’ said Stephen.
He nodded and smiled: ‘Of course, of course, you couldn’t be
anything but his daughter.’
‘You knew my father?’ she inquired, in surprise.
‘Very well, Miss Gordon, when your father was young. In those days
Sir Philip was a customer of mine. I sold him his first pearl studs while
he was at Oxford, and at least four scarf pins—a bit of a dandy Sir
Philip was up at Oxford. But what may interest you is the fact that I
made your mother’s engagement ring for him; a large half-hoop of very
fine diamonds—’
‘Did you make that ring?’
‘I did, Miss Gordon. I remember quite well his showing me a
miniature of Lady Anna—I remember his words. He said: “She’s so
pure that only the purest stones are fit to touch her finger.” You see,
he’d known me ever since he was at Eton, that’s why he spoke of your
mother to me—I felt deeply honoured. Ah, yes—dear, dear—your
father was young then and very much in love. . . .’
She said suddenly: ‘Is this pearl as pure as those diamonds?’
And he answered: ‘It’s without a blemish.’
 Then she found her cheque book and he gave her his pen with
which to write out the very large cheque.
‘Wouldn’t you like some reference?’ she inquired, as she glanced at
the sum for which he must trust her.
But at this he laughed: ‘Your face is your reference, if I may be
allowed to say so, Miss Gordon.’
They shook hands because he had known her father, and she left
the shop with the ring in her pocket. As she walked down the street she
was lost in thought, so that if people stared she no longer noticed. In
her ears kept sounding those words from the past, those words of her
father’s when long, long ago he too had been a young lover: ‘She’s so
pure that only the purest stones are fit to touch her finger.’

CHAPTER 22

W hen they got back to Morton there was Puddle in the hall, with
that warm smile of hers, always just a little mocking yet pitiful too,
that queer composite smile that made her face so arresting. And the
sight of this faithful little grey woman brought home to Stephen the fact
that she had missed her. She had missed her, she found, out of all
proportion to the size of the creature, which seemed to have
diminished. Coming back to it after those weeks of absence, Puddle’s
smallness seemed to be even smaller, and Stephen could not help
laughing as she hugged her. Then she suddenly lifted her right off her
feet with as much ease as though she had been a baby.
Morton smelt good with its log fires burning, and Morton looked
good with the goodness of home. Stephen sighed with something very
like contentment: ‘Lord! I’m so glad to be back again, Puddle. I must
have been a cat in my last incarnation; I hate strange places—
especially Cornwall.’
Puddle smiled grimly. She thought that she knew why Stephen had
hated Cornwall.
 After tea Stephen wandered about the house, touching first this,
then that, with affectionate fingers. But presently she went off to the
stables with sugar for Collins and carrots for Raftery; and there in his
spacious, hay-scented loose box, Raftery was waiting for Stephen. He
made a queer little sound in his throat, and his soft Irish eyes said:
‘You’re home, home, home. I’ve grown tired with waiting, and with
wishing you home.’
And she answered: ‘Yes, I’ve come back to you, Raftery.’
Then she threw her strong arm around his neck, and they talked
together for quite a long while—not in Irish or English but in a quiet
language having very few words but many small sounds and many
small movements, that meant much more than words.
‘Since you went I’ve discovered a wonderful thing,’ he told her, ‘I’ve
discovered that for me you are God. It’s like that some times with us
humbler people, we may only know God through His human image.’
‘Raftery,’ she murmured, ‘oh, Raftery, my dear—I was so young
when you came to Morton. Do you remember that first day out hunting
when you jumped the huge hedge in our big north paddock? What a
jump! It ought to go down to history. You were splendidly cool and
collected about it. Thank the Lord you were—I was only a kid, all the
same it was very foolish of us, Raftery.’
She gave him a carrot, which he took with contentment from the
hand of his God, and proceeded to munch. And she watched him
munch it, contented in her turn, hoping that the carrot was succulent
and sweet; hoping that his innocent cup of pleasure might be full to the
brim and overflowing. Like God indeed, she tended his needs, mixing
the evening meal in his manger, holding the water bucket to his lips
while he sucked in the cool, clear, health-giving water. A groom came
along with fresh trusses of straw which he opened and tossed among
Raftery’s bedding; then he took off the smart blue and red day clothing,
and buckled him up in a warm night blanket. Beyond in the far loose
box by the window, Sir Philip’s young chestnut kicked loudly for supper.
‘Woa horse! Get up there! Stop kicking them boards!’ And the
groom hurried off to attend to the chestnut.
 Collins, who had spat out his two lumps of sugar, was now busy
indulging his morbid passion. His sides were swollen well-nigh to
bursting—blown out like an air balloon was old Collins from the evil and
dyspeptic effects of the straw, plus his own woeful lack of molars. He
stared at Stephen with whitish-blue eyes that saw nothing, and when
she touched him he grunted—a discourteous sound which meant:
‘Leave me alone!’ So after a mild reproof she left him to his sins and his
indigestion.
Last but not least, she strolled down to the home of the two-legged
creature who had once reigned supreme in those princely but now
depleted stables. And the lamplight streamed out through uncurtained
windows to meet her, so that she walked on lamplight. A slim streak of
gold led right up to the porch of old Williams’ comfortable cottage. She
found him sitting with the Bible on his knees, peering crossly down at
the Scriptures through his glasses. He had taken to reading the
Scriptures aloud to himself—a melancholy occupation. He was at this
now. As Stephen entered she could hear him mumbling from
Revelation: ‘And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions;
and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.’
He looked up, and hastily twitched off his glasses: ‘Miss Stephen!’
‘Sit still—stop where you are, Williams.’
But Williams had the arrogance of the humble. He was proud of the
stern traditions of his service, and his pride forbade him to sit in her
presence, in spite of their long and kind years of friendship. Yet when
he spoke he must grumble a little, as though she were still the very
small child who had swaggered round the stables rubbing her chin,
imitating his every expression and gesture.
‘You didn’t ought to have no ’orses, Miss Stephen, the way you runs
off and leaves them;’ he grumbled, ‘Raftery’s been off ’is feed these last
days. I’ve been talkin’ to that Jim what you sets such store by!
Impudent young blight, ’e answered me back like as though I’d no right
to express me opinion. But I says to ’im: “You just wait, lad,” I says,
“You wait until I gets ’old of Miss Stephen!” ’
For Williams could never keep clear of the stables, and could never
refrain from nagging when he got there. Deposed he might be, but not
yet defeated even by old age, as grooms knew to their cost. The tap of
his heavy oak stick in the yard was enough to send Jim and his
underling flying to hide curry-combs and brushes out of sight. Williams
needed no glasses when it came to disorder.
‘Be this place ’ere a stable or be it a pigsty, I wonder?’ was now his
habitual greeting.
His wife came bustling in from the kitchen: ‘Sit down, Miss Stephen,’
and she dusted a chair.
Stephen sat down and glanced at the Bible where it lay, still open,
on the table.
‘Yes,’ said Williams dourly, as though she had spoken, ‘I’m reduced
to readin’ about ’eavenly ’orses. A nice endin’ that for a man like me,
what’s been in the service of Sir Philip Gordon, what’s ’ad ’is legs
across the best ’unters as ever was seen in this county or any! And I
don’t believe in them lion-headed beasts breathin’ fire and brimstone,
it’s all agin nature. Whoever it was wrote them Revelations, can’t never
have been inside of a stable. I don’t believe in no ’eavenly ’orses
neither—there won’t be no ’orses in ’eaven; and a good thing too,
judgin’ by the description.’
‘I’m surprised at you, Arth-thur, bein’ so disrespectful to The Book!’
his wife reproached him gravely.
‘Well, it ain’t no encyclopaedee to the stable, and that’s a sure
thing,’ grinned Williams.
Stephen looked from one to the other. They were old, very old, fast
approaching completion. Quite soon their circle would be complete,
and then Williams would be able to tackle Saint John on the points of
those heavenly horses.
Mrs. Williams glanced apologetically at her: ‘Excuse ’im, Miss
Stephen, ’e’s gettin’ rather childish. ’E won’t read no pretty parts of The
Book; all ’e’ll read is them parts about chariots and such like. All what’s
to do with ’orses ’e reads; and then ’e’s so unbelievin’—it’s aw-ful!’ But
she looked at her mate with the eyes of a mother, very gentle and
tolerant eyes.
And Stephen, seeing those two together, could picture them as they
must once have been, in the halcyon days of their youthful vigour. For
she thought that she glimpsed through the dust of the years, a faint
flicker of the girl who had lingered in the lanes when the young man
Williams and she had been courting. And looking at Williams as he
stood before her twitching and bowed, she thought that she glimpsed a
faint flicker of the youth, very stalwart and comely, who had bent his
head downwards and sideways as he walked and whispered and
kissed in the lanes. And because they were old yet undivided, her heart
ached; not for them but rather for Stephen. Her youth seemed as dross
when compared to their honourable age; because they were undivided.
She said: ‘Make him sit down, I don’t want him to stand.’ And she
got up and pushed her own chair towards him.
But old Mrs. Williams shook her white head slowly: ‘No, Miss
Stephen, ’e wouldn’t sit down in your presence. Beggin’ your pardon, it
would ’urt Arth-thur’s feelin’s to be made to sit down; it would make ’im
feel as ’is days of service was really over.’
‘I don’t need to sit down,’ declared Williams.
So Stephen wished them both a good night, promising to come
again very soon; and Williams hobbled out to the path which was now
quite golden from border to border, for the door of the cottage was
standing wide open and the glow from the lamp streamed over the
path. Once more she found herself walking on lamplight, while
Williams, bareheaded, stood and watched her departure. Then her feet
were caught up and entangled in shadows again, as she made her way
under the trees.
But presently came a familiar fragrance—logs burning on the wide,
friendly hearths of Morton. Logs burning—quite soon the lakes would
be frozen—‘and the ice looks like slabs of gold in the sunset, when you
and I come and stand here in the winter . . . and as we walk back we
can smell the log fires long before we can see them, and we love that
good smell because it means home, and our home is Morton . . .
because it means home and our home is Morton. . . .’
Oh, intolerable fragrance of log fires burning!

CHAPTER 23
 1

A ngela did not return in a week, she had decided to remain another
fortnight in Scotland. She was staying now with the Peacocks, it
seemed, and would not get back until after her birthday. Stephen
looked at the beautiful ring as it gleamed in its little white velvet box,
and her disappointment and chagrin were childish.
But Violet Antrim, who had also been staying with the Peacocks,
had arrived home full of importance. She walked in on Stephen one
afternoon to announce her engagement to young Alec Peacock. She
was so much engaged and so haughty about it that Stephen, whose
nerves were already on edge, was very soon literally itching to slap her.
Violet was now able to look down on Stephen from the height of her
newly gained knowledge of men—knowing Alec she felt that she knew
the whole species.
‘It’s a terrible pity you dress as you do, my dear,’ she remarked, with
the manner of sixty, ‘a young girl’s so much more attractive when she’s
soft-don’t you think you could soften your clothes just a little? I mean,
you do want to get married, don’t you! No woman’s complete until she’s
married. After all, no woman can really stand alone, she always needs
a man to protect her.’
Stephen said: ‘I’m all right—getting on nicely, thank you!’
‘Oh, no, but you can’t be!’ Violet insisted. ‘I was talking to Alec and
Roger about you, and Roger was saying it’s an awful mistake for
women to get false ideas into their heads. He thinks you’ve got rather a
bee in your bonnet; he told Alec that you’d be quite a womanly woman
if you’d only stop trying to ape what you’re not.’ Presently she said,
staring rather hard: ‘That Mrs. Crossby—do you really like her? Of
course I know you’re friends and all that—But why are you friends?
You’ve got nothing in common. She’s what Roger calls a thorough
man’s woman. I think myself she’s a bit of a climber. Do you want to be
used as a scaling ladder for storming the fortifications of the county?
The Peacocks have known old Crossby for years, he’s a wonderful
shot for an ironmonger, but they don’t care for her very much I believe
—Alec says she’s man-mad, whatever that means, anyhow she seems
desperately keen about Roger.’