Best physical geology books according to redditors

Hey man. I have been helping students prepare for the FG exam for the past year or so. I am going to try and answer your questions as best as I can, but please feel free to ask more if you want.

1. Those REG Review guides will work fine. You can buy updates, if you like, from their website. However, I usually stress not to take REG Review as gospel. There are several errors within their study guide book, and the quizzes. I am not a big fan of the books, but they do give the individual a good place to start. If you see something in the book/quizzes that you feel is off, take the time to research it. It will help you tremendously.
   
   
2. There are many online practice tests for 101 courses, mineralogy, petrology, glaciology, and many more. They are usually study guides or practice tests from university classes, available online for students, or associated with textbooks. Search these out, or make your own study guides or quizzes. Use pictures and diagrams and construct fill in the blank practice quizzes.
   
   In regards to the practice exams, keep in mind two things-- they are much harder than the actual exam, and it is impossible to know everything.
   
   
3. Save your money, there are plenty of online resources. Email an old professor or TA and ask if they can give you some old quizzes or handouts (yes, I know this is easier said than done). I had a few professors send me some old tests, but I think I just got lucky.
   
   
4. Eh, pretty much. Add relative age dating.
   
   
5. I used my old textbook to study, but there are structural lab manuals online.
   
   Textbook-- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/structural-geology-of-rocks-and-regions-george-h-davis/1116750487/2674186308854?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Textbooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP20456&k_clickid=3x20456
   
   This is an older edition. But for $3; who gives a shit?
   
   Lab Manual-- http://www.usouthal.edu/geography/allison/GY403/StructuralGeologyLabManual.pdf
   
   
6. Study with friends. Run through some practice tests or exams and study what you missed. Remember that you will not know everything, and that is okay. The test is scored on a gradient, more or less. Stick with the basics.
   
   Be sure to set aside time to study and don't freak out.
   
   Hope I helped!
   
   Edit: Here are a few websites that may help you study:
   
   Physical Geology Textbook supplemental material:
   http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072402466/sitemap.html?Qui
   
   More Physical Geology practice quizzes:
   http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/Exams/ExamMaster.HTM
   
   Mineralogy and Geochem:
   
   http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/FundamentalsIndex.html
   
   I do not remember much geochem on the FG exam when I took it. But it doesn't hurt to brush up a little.
   
   Also, if you feel the need to purchase a historical book, I recommend "Evolution of the Earth" by Donald Prothero. Even though it pains me to recommend it, dude's a Class A creeper, the book is really good. Buy an older edition like the seventh or so. The only difference I remember between seventh and eighth edition are a few side notes about hominids. Pretty much moot between the two.

Outcomes of the Life of a Geologist is an excellent narrative introduction to geology that I think would pique your interest.

For a more rigorous or sciency introduction, you could look at intro geology textbooks. this was the one my course used (now in 10th edition).

But perhaps a better way to approach this, depending on where you're going to school, might be to just try to learn some things about the local geology. This will help you to get more out of your courses, if they have field components. The local rocks can be a gateway to all kinds of interesting topics, since they are marked by all the crazy shit that's happened to them over thousands to millions of years. For example, lots of rocks in New Hampshire have striations from the last glacial maximum. Let me know if you would like help finding sources/guiding an inquiry in this vein.

PS don't let this subreddit scare you in terms of careers. But DO take the excellent advice here in mind moving forward. You will have many opportunities to distinguish yourself to professors/employers through courses, internships, supervised research...take advantage of these!

Best of luck

The only thing I can think of is "befriend a geologist who enjoys hiking" (I'm keen if you live in Queensland! But unlikely!).

While not the answer you're looking for... why don't you learn some basic geology yourself? You could then make your own assumptions on why the landscape looks a certain way, or why you're finding certain rocks in an area.

I found a entry course online but I can't attest to how good it is. Or if you're looking for something a bit more this textbook can be really interesting to someone who has an interest in earth science and will cover all the basics! I know it's a scientific textbook but it's a great read if you are interested in learning about the basics of earth science.

Check out the Princeton Field Guide. It's really nice and around $20. If you're looking for the spiritual side of things, I don't have the know-how to provide a recommendation but if you're interested in the mineral themselves you may like it. It has lots of beautiful images and the descriptions are really good. They'll tell you the environments where they form, what their crystal systems look like, how they tend to break (you'll want to know that for drilling your holes and such - I imagine you'd drill perpendicular to cleavage for less fracture).

As far as fancy rock names, you'll just put that together with experience. You can pick up an old edition Earth by Tarbuck for $10 online and that'll tell you all of your basics and from there you can easily branch out.

It can be confusing and frustrating at first, but just keep at it and it'll all come together with some experience. I can recommend things for days, but those books really helped me get a grip on the variety.

If you have any other questions, I'm super happy to help!

Princeton: http://www.amazon.com/Minerals-World-Princeton-Field-Guides/dp/069109537X

Earth: http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Introduction-Physical-Geology-8th/dp/0131148656/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407769493&sr=1-9&keywords=earth+tarbuck

Read this: http://www.amazon.com/Geology-Underfoot-Death-Valley-Owens/dp/0878423621

My personal favorite experience was hiking through an old mining valley (sorry I don't remember the name of it) where we found huge chunks of kyanite and stuff.

Death Valley is beautiful if you can appreciate it and there's a good amount of stuff you can see by just stopping at road cuts or doing scenic routes like artist drive.

That being said, if your party doesn't want to experience heat and you drag them out to hike in Death Valley in the summer, they will probably hate you-it gets hots. I'd recommend keeping it restricted to a drive through experience, get out and see the salt flats and stuff but avoid long hikes.

It's definitely worth the detour either way though. But it's certainly possible I'm not giving it as good of a review as it deserves. I've only been a few times and it's a very large area. Wait for more responses before you let mine affect your enthusiasm.

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Introduction-Physical-Geology-Edition/dp/0131148656

One of my Geology Texts - OK I was 2nd Ed. However, for my degree it wasn't great. I personally thought a good 16-18yr old book when studying geography and geology - when I got to Uni I bought the book and I'm not sure I got more from it than 10 or 20 pages.

Geology/geography is pretty interesting in its own right, and learning about it can help you make your maps more 'realistic'. Granted, that may or may not be what you want, but it's a start. Understanding how rivers form, how glaciers form landforms, and how things like mountain ranges, deserts, islands, and other massive landforms form can really help you make a convincing map that doesn't appear so alien that you have to come up with a whole new set of physics rules to justify it.

I recommend getting an older geology 101 textbook if you're like me and get distracted when you try and read things on the internet. Sure, you can get most of the information online for free, but you can get used, old editions of textbooks for cheap and then you have something you don't need internet acces or even power for. You can get this one for <$20 used, and it's pretty decent. I'm sure there's better/cheaper options out there, but this is what I used in my geology class and it's really interesting.

I recommend "Earth: an introduction to physical geology" by Tarbuck, Lutgens and Tasa. It was my first undergrad geo text. Good overview of all the geologic systems and perfect for a beginner.

https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Introduction-Physical-Geology-Edtion/dp/0321820940

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Introduction-Physical-Geology-8th/dp/0131148656/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331078232&sr=1-12

I've been self studying this book for some of my competitions - DOE science bowl/science Olympiad (high school senior) and I really like it. I found it recommended in this subreddit a while ago and decided to give it a go.

Scotty?

Johnson knew it was a scam and still was friends with Scotty, Johnson willfully built the castle because he fell in love with the area and the climate and lifestyle helped his health.

http://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/death-valley-scotty.htm

Also, with the huge size of the park and the drastic geological differences that occur within the boundaries, there are many different elements present.

Here are some good books about the geology of the area/history and hiking.

http://www.amazon.com/Geology-Underfoot-Death-Valley-Owens/dp/0878423621

http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Death-Valley-Natural-Wonders/dp/0965917800/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427481871&sr=1-1&keywords=hiking+death+valley

http://www.amazon.com/Important-California-history-autobiography-detailing-ebook/dp/B00AQN23CY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427481886&sr=1-1&keywords=death+valley+in+49