The Practical Geologist | How to Apply Primitive Skills for Everyday Use

Geology is destiny—understand it and life gets easier.

Our ancestors grasped enough about their environment to fashion tools, start fires, erect shelters, and find water. The principles they discovered long ago still apply, and the science behind stronger concrete, usable marble, and more pure metals still stands. The ancients were the first rockhounds out of necessity, and the skills they perfected resonate from medicine to sanitation, from pottery to food preservation. 

The Practical Geologist traces the impact of geology on the first toolmakers in their trek toward civilization and details how understanding geology allowed for advances in agriculture, construction, weaponry, and the arts. The hacks, shortcuts, and rules described here are still vital for not just homesteaders, campers, hikers, and survivalists—the same geological factors assist us all as we struggle with ever-changing global conditions and reach for the stars.

There are many procedures and recipes sprinkled throughout this book, but there is no substitute for your own trial and error. Your mileage may vary on just about anything related to geology—your limestone may not be pure enough to convert to slaked lime, or your soil may have too much sand to turn into cob for housing. Your sand may be too round, or your water too full of calcium. The science is sound, but the ingredients you have at hand may require adjustments to the standard procedures, ratios, and recipes. This guide is meant to give you ideas, show you what’s possible, and inform you about how the ancients solved similar problems. Have fun, be patient, and keep at it—you never know when these skills may be absolutely vital once again.

Using full-color pictures, tables, diagrams, and simple language, The Practical Geologist covers the basics of geology and applies them directly to everyday situations, serving as a practical guide to co-existing in the physical world.

About the Author

Garret Romaine is an avid gold prospector, rockhound, and fossil collector with years of experience in the field. He is a long-time writer for Gold Prospectors magazine, and is the author of The Modern Rockhounding and Prospecting Handbook, Rocks, Gems and Minerals of the Southwest, Rocks, Gems, and Minerals of the Rocky Mountains, and Rockhounding Idaho, all from FalconGuides, as well as Gem Trails of Washington and Gem Trails of Oregon. Garret is a member of the Board of Directors of the Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Publisher: Falcon Guides
ISBN13: 9781493062133
Binding: Paperback / softback
Pub Date: Oct 14, 2022