Nearly all information in the book is built around 2,600 photographs and stunning illustrations, rather than long blocks of text. These annotated illustrations help students visualize geologic processes and concepts, and are suited to the way most instructors already teach. To alleviate cognitive load and enable students to focus on one important geologic process or concept at a time, the book consists entirely of two-page spreads organized into 20 chapters. Each chapter is a learning cycle, which begins with a visually engaging two-page spread about a compelling geologic issue. Each two-page spread is a self-contained block of information about a specific topic, emphasizing geologic concepts, processes, features, and approaches. These spreads help students learn and organize geologic knowledge in a new and exciting way. Each chapter ends with an “Investigation” that challenges students with a problem associated with a virtual place.

Inquiry is embedded throughout the book, modeling how scientists investigate problems. The title of each two-page spread and topic heading is a question intended to prompt readers to think about the topic and become interested and motivated to explore further for answers. Most two-page spreads contain a Before You Leave This Page checklist that highlights what is important and what is expected of students before they move on. This list contains learning objectives for the spread and provides a clear way for the instructor to indicate to the student what is important. The items on these lists are compiled into a master What-to-Know List provided to instructors, so they can delete or add entries to suit learning goals and to distribute to students before they begin reading the book.

New to This Edition
• The entire text has been significantly revised for clarity and concision.
• Every chapter incorporates significant additions and improvements, including new photographs, revised figures, and reorganization.
• New fonts improve readability on portable electronic devices.
• More than 180 new photographs represent a wider geographic diversity and provide more detail and clarity about various processes and features, whether on land, in the atmosphere, or in the water.
• The text includes new and revised figures.
• New spreads and information focus on sedimentary environments and impact craters and revised coverage on climate change.
• The text reflects new ideas and provides new data on topics such as Pluto, comets, satellite temperatures, and sea-level rise.
• Text boxes are numbered to guides student to read in a specific order.McGraw-Hill’s Connect (available as an optional, add-on item) is the only integrated learning system that empowers students by continuously adapting to deliver just what they need, when they need it, and how they need it, so that class time is more effective. Connect allows the professor to assign homework, quizzes, and tests easily and automatically grades and records the scores of the student’s work. Problems are randomized to prevent sharing of answers and also may have a multistep solution to guide students’ learning along if they experience difficulty.