During the late afternoon of Good Friday, 1964, at 17: 36 h local time, a great earthquake struck the sparsely inhabited mountainous area of northern Prince William Sound in south-central Alaska (see Fig. 1.1). Waves from the earthquake source spread through the Earth and caused serious damage over more than 20,000 square km. In the area of significant damage, or meizoseismal area, the largest city affected was Anchorage, some 130 km from the earthquake's center (see Fig. 1.2).
In the well-to-do suburb of Turnagain Heights, on a high cliff overlooking Cook Inlet, Mr. Robert B. Atwood, editor of the Anchorage Daily Times, afterwards recorded his experience.<...>

THIS book is intended for the use of students studying geology for the first time, particularly those entering the Advanced Level and First Year University examinations. It is not in any way an exhaustive treatise on geological maps, but is meant to serve as an introduction to their interpretation and solution. The book should not be regarded as an end in itself, nor should the somewhat mechanical manner of this early treatment be more than a means of developing the capacity for the three-dimensional viewing of a geological map and an appreciation of the patterns developed in rock relationships. Diagram maps must lead very quickly to the study of geological maps of specific areas of country: the ideal maps for such study are those produced by the Geological Surveys of such countries as Great Britain, Australia and the Americas.

My thanks are due to Professor F. H. T. Rhodes and to Dr. R. L. Austin for reading the manuscript and making many helpful suggestions. I would also thank Mrs. Greir Lewis for her help in the preparation of some of the diagrams and the Secretarial staff of University College, Swansea, for their help in typing the manuscript. I owe a particular debt of thanks to Mr. H. McKee who has prepared the index, and to Dr. K. G. Stagg who has read the proofs and helped in correcting them.

This book is written as a practical field manual to be used by geologists engaged in mineral exploration. It is also hoped that it will serve as a text and reference for students in Applied Geology courses of universities and colleges. The book aims to outline some of the practical skills that turn the graduate geologist into an explorationist:. It is intended as a practical 'how to' book, rather than as a text on geological or ore deposit theory. An explorationist is a professional who searches for ore bodies in a scientific and structured way. Although an awkward and artificial term, this is the only available word to describe the totality of the skills which are needed to locate and define economic mineralization.

Understanding the relationships between strata forms the basis for much geological knowledge – and these patterns are displayed on geological maps. Dominique Frizon de Lamotte and colleagues from the CY Cergy Paris Université, on the outskirts of Paris, have put together this lavishly illustrated manual to assist in these endeavors. As they note, the observation, interpretation and construction of 3D models lies at the heart of applied geology and has driven many of the great discoveries in the science. This book is about structural geology – especially interpreting the geometry of layered strata where they become folded and faulted. The starting point is the geological map, and the challenge – understanding and communicating this understanding to others – has been at the forefront of the skill set required by geologists since the birth of the science. <...>