La Candelaria is the largest of the iron oxide Cu-Au(-Zn-Ag) deposits in the Punta del Cobre belt, which also hosts the Punta del Cobre district, sensu strictu. The Punta del Cobre belt lies within an Early Cretaceous continental volcanic arc/marine back-arc basin terrane. The volcanic arc and marine carbonate back-arc sequences are intruded by Early Cretaceous granitoid plutons that form part of the Chilean Coastal Batholith. The deposits of the Punta del Cobre belt occur along the eastern margin of the batholith within (e.g., La Candelaria) or just outside the contact metamorphic aureole (e.g., the Punta del Cobre district). Andesitic volcanic and volcaniclastic host rocks are intensely altered by biotite-quartz-magnetite. This style of alteration extends much further to the east of the intrusive contact than the metamorphic mineral associations in the overlying rocks that are clearly zoned outboard. Local areas of intense calcic amphibole veining that overprints all rock types occur within the contact metamorphic aureole.

This laboratory manual is based on our collective 70-plus years of teaching and coordinating introductory geology courses. Those experiences have helped us understand not only how students best learn geologic principles, but also how to stimulate their engagement with the material to enhance their learning process. Our manual provides (1) an up-to-date, comprehensive background that addresses the hands-on tasks at the core of any introductory geology course; (2) patient stepby-step explanations that are more easily understood by students than those in textbooks; (3) text and exercises that lead students to think like geologists, engaging them in solving real-life problems important to their lives; and (4) the passion and excitement that we still feel after decades as teachers and geologists.

Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology has been developed by the geoscience education community for the benefit of our students and is produced under the auspices of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). For decades and continuing through the present day, it has been the most widely adopted manual available for teaching laboratories in introductory geology and geoscience.

Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology is the most widely adopted, user-friendly manual available for teaching laboratories in introductory geology and geoscience. The manual has been produced under the auspices of the American Geological Institute (AGI) and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). It is backed up by an Internet site, GeoTools (ruler, protractor, UTM grids, sediment grain-size scale, etc.), Instructor Resource Guide, Instructor Slide Set, Instructor Transparency Set, and a Digital Image Gallery (DIGIT) CD-ROM.'