Introduction to earth sciences is full of colorful illustrations and presented in an engaging format.

Includes index.

Africa is bigger... or smaller...than Greenland - depending on your map -- Shadows and a camel...are all you need to measure the Earth -- Conditions on Earth...are just right for life -- Two dozen rabbits...changed the landscape of Australia -- Water, water everywhere...but barely a drop to drink -- Nets, ropes and plastic bags...were found inside a whale -- No environment on Earth..is too extreme for bacteria -- All the bacteria on Earth...outweigh all the human beings -- Deserts bloom with flowers...after rainstorms -- Shyness...prevents some trees from touching -- The great dying...killed almost all the species in the sea -- We're living in an ice age...but it won't last much longer -- To experience Mars on Earth...scientists visit the Atacama Desert -- Sand can sing...whistle and even roar -- Sand thieves...are stealing entire beaches -- The world's biggest waterfall...is an underwater waterfall. -- Astronomers of the future...will see a different North Star -- Without the Moon...the Earth would seesaw catastrophically -- A creaking sinkhole...is releasing poisonous gases -- The conscience pile...is built of guilt, remorse, and petrified wood -- Massive earthquakes...make the Earth ring like a bell -- Plastiglomerate...is rock made of junk -- A new supercontinent...is slowly forming -- The Earth is a giant magnet...that defends us from certain death -- Seabird droppings...help keep the Arctic cool -- Gravity can be weaker...in different parts of the world -- Rain as red as blood...once fell in India -- We live in the 99th age...of the 34th epoch, 12th period, 3rd era in the 4th eon -- Vulcan Point is an island...in a lake...on an island...in a lake...on an island -- There's a rare kind of lightning...that looks like jellyfish -- A hole in the atmosphere...is healing itself -- Seemingly lifeless glaciers...are actually teeming with tiny creatures -- You'll need to change your look...to suit Earth's changing climate -- Boulders are bigger...than cobbles...and cobbles are bigger than pebbles... -- Graffiti...could save a species -- The driest place on Earth...is in Antarctica -- When islands form...new wildlife gradually develops -- Every tree on Earth...recorded the invention of nuclear bombs -- A pack of wolves...changed the course of a river -- When valleys talk...submarines listen -- An accidental bubble...helps to keep the Earth safe -- Zastrugi, firn and frazil...are all types of snow and ice -- The remotest place on Earth...is closer to space than it is to dray land -- 1,600 balloons a day...help weather forecasters get it right -- Tsunami stones...remind us of disasters yet to come -- Arctic foxes...are excellent gardeners -- Antarctica was covered in forest...100 million years ago -- Antarctica froze...after the Himalayan mountains rose -- Diamonds travel...at supersonic speeds -- From cosmic dust...entire planets were born -- The oldest thing on Earth...is older than the Earth itself -- Burning Mountain...has been blazing for 6,000 years -- Surfing the Pororoca...can carry you miles inland -- Underground goblins...poisoned miners -- Arlene...is the most common storm name -- A Venezuelan thunderstorm...helps sailors find their way -- Terns travel so far in their lives...they could fly to the Moon and back three times -- The Boring Billion...was a billion years of nothing -- Helium is escaping...and eventually Planet Earth will run out -- You don't need an umbrella...to shelter from phantom rain -- Earth is smellier...after a rainstorm -- An underground rainforest...is growing in the world's largest cave -- A vampire and a monster..came out of a volcano -- North America's highest peak...has more than 40 names -- Desolation and despair...await visitors to the Southern Ocean -- Sailing stones...drift across the desert at night -- Crystals as big as buses...are growing inside a Mexican cave -- Hollywood snow...once came from the Californian desert -- Many, many mini moons...orbit Earth at any time -- As Earth gets hotter...animals get smaller -- All the gold mined on Earth...came from outer space -- Pterosaurs couldn't fly...in 21st century skies -- A future president...turned the American west into a chessboard -- A third man...haunts climbers on the highest peaks -- Costumes, wigs and props...were once essential on polar expeditions -- A fleet of rubber ducks...helped to track how the oceans move -- The Black Death...made the planet colder -- A sprinkling of dust...can melt an Alpine glacier -- Vog, laze and lavanadoes...make deadly volcanoes even more dangerous -- Yesterday and Tomorrow...are separated by a few miles of icy seawater -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday...happen all at once -- A prehistoric network of caves...was carved out by giant sloths -- Fossilized chicken bones...will leave a lasting record of human existence -- The greatest threat to life...is humans -- There could be a new continent...submerged beneath the sea -- Bright blue fire...spews from an Indonesian volcano -- One of Tutankhamun's gems...was created by a meteorite strike -- Ultramarine blue...was once more valuable than gold -- Chimborazo beats Everest...to be the highest point on Earth -- Living bridges grow...in the wettest place on Earth -- Two to Earth's largest rivers...don't mix when they meet -- Super corals...could save the world's reefs -- Rogue waves...are common but unpredictable and unexplained -- An iron curtain...created a green belt -- Desert dust fertilizes...the Amazon Rainforest -- An underwater meadow...is older than the pyramids -- Life on Earth won't last forever...but how it enads is a matter of chance -- Where on Earth? The numbers on this map of the world show the locations of some of the '100 things' described in this book -- 10 things to do...to protect Planet Earth -- Glossary (This glossary explains some of the words usesd in this book. Words written in italic type have their own entries) -- Index -- Making this book...took a team of armchair explorers.