A Search for the Origin of the Andes
Buch, Englisch, 352 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 565 g
ISBN: 978-0-691-12620-3
Verlag: Princeton University Press
How do high mountain ranges form on the face of the Earth? This question has intrigued some of the greatest philosophers and scientists, going back as far as the ancient Greeks. Devil in the Mountain is the story of one scientist, author Simon Lamb, and his quest for the key to this great geological mystery. Lamb and a small team of geologists have spent much of the last decade exploring the rugged Bolivian Andes, the second highest mountain range on Earth--a region rocked by earthquakes and violent volcanic eruptions. The author's account is both travelogue and detective story, describing how he and his colleagues have pursued a trail of clues in the mountains, hidden beneath the rocky landscape. Here, the local silver miners strive to appease the spirit they call Tio-the devil in the mountain. Traveling through Bolivia's back roads, the team has to cope with the extremes of the environment, and survive in a country on the verge of civil war. But the backdrop to all these adventures is the bigger story of the Earth and how geologists have gone about uncovering its secrets. We follow the tracks of the dinosaurs, who never saw the Andes but left their mark on the shores of a vast inland sea that covered this part of South America more than sixty-five million years ago, long before the mountains existed. And we learn how to find long lost rivers that once flowed through the landscape, how continents are twisted and torn apart, and where volcanoes come from. By the end of their journey, Lamb and his team turn up extraordinary evidence pointing not only to the fundamental instability of the Earth's surface, but also to unexpected and profound links in the workings of our planet.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
Weitere Infos & Material
Preface vii
Prologue xi
PART ONE
Chapter One
Devil in the Mountain 3
Chapter Two
A Mountain of a Problem 13
Chapter Three
A Geological Reconnaissance 38
Chapter Four
Jeeps, Motorbikes, and Other Things 65
PART TWO
Chapter Five
Looking for the Source of Ancient Rivers 85
Chapter Six
Putting Down Roots 121
Chapter Seven
A Curvaceous Shape 177
PART THREE
Chapter Eight
A Sort of Fudge Cake 207
Chapter Nine
The Subterranean Furnace 248
Chapter Ten
Putting Up Barriers 277
Selected Glossary 313
Further Reading 319
Index 327
