Great Lakes rocks : 4 billion years of geologic history in the Great Lakes Region / Stephen E. Kesler.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Landscaping the continent : the Holocene and Anthropocene -- Freezing the continent : Pleistocene glaciation of the Great Lakes Region -- Flooding the continent : Paleozoic-Mesozoic sediments and the Michigan Basin -- Rifting the continent : the Mesoproterozoic midcontinent rift and Grenville Province -- Building the continent : Paleoproterozoic basins, mountains, and meteorites -- Making a craton : Archean greenstone belts and granites -- Making the crust : solidification of the Hadean magma ocean -- Sustaining the continent : our geologic future.

The geologic story of the Great Lakes region is one of the most remarkable of any place on Earth. Great Lakes Rocks takes readers on this fascinating journey through geologic history, beginning with an investigation of the surface features-the hills and valleys, waterfalls and caves, and the Great Lakes themselves-encountered on a daily basis. As the book digs deeper into the past, readers learn about the amazing techniques geologists have used to reconstruct the events that shaped this region millions and even billions of years before humans set foot on Earth. Throughout, the book gives special attention to the link between the region's geology and its modern history, including the impacts of geology on settlement patterns, the development of industries, and the present-day economy. Other discussed topics include natural hazards that are geologic in nature, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, and coastal erosion, as well as information on rocks, minerals, and ancient life seen in fossils. Written for nonspecialist readers, this book provides a detailed but easy-to- follow introduction to the geology of the Great Lakes region, and it is an ideal fit for introductory geology courses, including those aimed at nonscience majors.