Synopses & Reviews
The new DK Nature Guides form a comprehensive, accessible, and informative series of illustrated reference books that tackle key natural history subjects in DK's uniquely visual style. Produced in collaboration with expert consultants at the Smithsonian Institution, each guide is expertly written and will give you knowledge of the natural world at your fingertips.
From blue schist to blue granite, malachite to meteorites, and taconite to travertine, Nature Guide Rocks and Minerals is packed full of stunning images that reveal intricate details and unique characteristics of each rock and mineral.
Using close-up photographs of every specimen and profiles containing examples from all over the world, Nature Guide Rocks and Minerals brings revealing key facets and details perfect for quick identification.
Synopsis
Did you know culinary salt is the mineral halite? Or that the pigment vermillion is powdered cinnabar, a mineral whose name comes from the Persian for "dragon's blood"? Discover the extraordinary mineral treasures that form our planet and that today we use in everything, from makeup and cookery to agriculture and high-tech.
Nature Guide Rocks and Minerals is your essential collector's companion, with illustrated entries on hundreds of minerals, gems, and rocks from actinium to zirconium. Its breathtaking array includes organic minerals, such as pearls and corals, as well as silicates and "native elements" like gold.
Browse to find wonderful gems, including opals, or pyropes - a deep-red garnet the size of a hen's egg. Nature Guide Rocks and Minerals reveals each mineral's defining characteristics and explains how and where they were formed, how they were first identified, their uses, and their chemical composition.
Whether you are a geology student or starting your own collection, this fact-packed book is both a fascinating read and an essential identification guide.