The Zen of Full Timing - Living Comfortably
The Buddha taught that Attachment was suffering. Attachment having to do with, on one level, the amount of stuff one has. Well if preparing to be full-timers doesnt bring you face to face with the ...
Forum Discussion
4X4Dodger wrote:
Sounds great. I wish I knew more about geology. I often look at the rock formations around me and wonder about their origination. I tried to get a good geology textbook from the library but none of them really were what I wanted.
Do you have any recommendations of a good reference guide to geology kind of like the National Geographic or Sibley guides for birds?
Geology is an extremely varied field, one can be an expert in one area and clueless in another. I’m somewhat of a generalist. However, since much of my career has been in petroleum geology, my knowledge tends to be concentrated in the study of sedimentary rocks (sandstone, siltstone, shale, conglomerates, carbonates etc.) and their deposition since these rocks are where most hydrocarbons are sourced and/or trapped (accumulated). My mid-career foray into environmental geology was mainly studying groundwater issues. I’m not much of a mineralogist, though I can typically tell if a rock is igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic and I can typically make an educated guess from that point about exactly what the rock or mineral is. In college (nearly four decades ago) the go-to reference book was written by Dana. I’ve picked up other books over the years but I don’t currently have them with me. My advice is find a reference book that summarizes useful field identification techniques such as scratching to test for hardness or putting a drop of dilute acid on to test for reactivity. Supplement with a field guide that has good reference photos. Finally, purchase a good, at least 10x, hand lens.
BTW thanks for asking, I need to dig out my mineral books. I’m planning on wintering in Arizona next year and it’d be a shame if I didn’t get any rock hounding done.
Steve
