Today, as earth science curricula are evolving rapidly, many programs throughout the US are adopting new approaches to the study of earth materials. At many universities earth science departments are increasingly finding a single geological materials course to be an attractive requirement in lieu of the standard mineralogy-petrology sequence.

Minerals and rocks form the foundation of geologic studies. Excellent textbooks currently exist in mineralogy, igneous petrology, sedimentary petrology and metamorphic petrology. It is not our intention to compete with these textbooks. However, many universities have compressed separate mineralogy and petrology courses into a one- or two-semester Earth Materials course. Presently, no textbook adequately addresses the needs of an Earth Materials course. We have developed a textbook that encompasses the study of minerals, rocks as well as soil and water. This Earth Materials textbook is geared towards a one- or two-semester Earth Materials course, a combined mineralogy and petrology course, and can also be used by environmental scientists, engineering geologists, planners and laypersons interested in learning about minerals, rocks, soil and water in a comprehensive framework. We have attempted to create a readable, well illustrated textbook that is comprehensible and that weaves different disciplines into one cohesive fabric. Key features of this book include: * Equal coverage of mineralogy, sedimentary petrology, igneous petrology and metamorphic petrology * Copious field examples and regional relationships with graphics that illustrate the concepts discussed * Numerous case studies to show the uses of earth materials as resources and their fundamental role in our lives and the global economy, and their relation to natural and human-induced hazards * The integration of earth materials into a cohesive process-based earth systems framework * 2 color throughout with a 64 pages 4 color section A companion website is available for this title at www.wiley.com/go/hefferan/earthmaterials.