Physical Geology - First University of Saskatchewan Edition

Reviewed by Patrick Kennelly, GIS Program Director, Central Oregon Community College on 9/21/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a comprehensive textbook on what is typically covered in introductory physical geography or geology courses. It includes material that would typically be found in a Physical Geography: Landforms and Geology and a Physical Geography: Climate and Weather course. In addition, it includes some things that would be covered in an introductory geospatial techniques course such as Intro to GIS, such as geographic grid system, map projections, public land surveys, etc.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found the book to be unbiased and error-free. I did not see anything incorrect in this book, and would have no concerns about students being mis-informed by the contents of this book.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I think the book is relevant and up-to-date. One of the nice things about an introductory physical geography course like this is that major ideas do not tend to change overnight, which allows such books to have a bit of a longer shelf life. Topics are arranged into traditional topics for such a book, which I would expect means that future updates would be relatively easy to make and not provide any specific challenges with implementation.

Clarity rating: 5

I found the writing of this book to be clear and easy to understand. Terminology is unavoidable in physical geography, but I thought the author did a good job of explaining terms on their first use, helping the reader to understand the terms in the broader context of physical geography. I also appreciated the summary sections at the end of units which reiterated the most critical elements of each unit.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and how each unit is organized into a framework. Headers are used effectively, and figures come with informative captions. The formatting seems consistent and well done throughout the entire book.

Modularity rating: 4

I think it would be quite easy to use this textbook in a modular fashion. Furthermore, this would be required if the Landforms and Geology class and the Climate and Weather class were being offered in different semesters/terms. The two seem a bit integrated in this textbook but given the clear indication of the topic of each unit it would be trivial to pull out the relevant units for each class. That said, there would be plenty of content for a Landforms and Geology class (about 12 units as I would divide them), leaving the first 7 units for a Climate and Weather class. This is a bit lean on the latter, especially since some of those 7 units have more to do with the broader study of geography in general (or GIS and astronomy in particular) than climate and weather. A hard cut would be that only units 5, 6, and 7 relate directly to climate and weather, so you may want to consider if this is enough for such a physical geography course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I find the topics to be arranged in a logical and clear format, both in the ways that the units are arranged and in the organization of the material within particular units.

Interface rating: 4

One thing that I felt could use some work is the green Boxes that the author includes. There are three types. The first is Pin It, which appears about 20 times in the book but is clustered in some chapters. These are links to external web sites. Another type of box introduced early is "Think about it", but either these don't appear as green boxes in the text or I am missing something. The final is a URL/QR code that links out the author's YouTube channel. It appears once at the beginning, but could be so much more effective if links were distributed throughout the book linking to his specific YouTube videos on the relevant topic. His videos are really great, so this would be such a bonus.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't see any grammatical errors in my perusal of the book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Nothing culturally insensitive or offensive in any way is included in this book. On the other hand, it's hard to promote diversity in a physical geography course. The pictures n this text tend to be from the author's field trips in North America and some include students who tend to take physical geography courses. The only historical portrait is that of the European scientist, Alfred Wegner.

Comments

A great resource for a traditional course in physical geography, including landforms/geology and climate/weather, although the content for the former is more exhaustive than that for the latter.

Reviewed by Patrick Kennelly, GIS Program Director, Central Oregon Community College on 3/10/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book offers fairly comprehensive textbook materials for someone teaching a physical geology or physical geography course. The two topics without dedicated chapters in this book that may appear in other physical geography books are shorelines and deserts. All of the other topics have dedicated chapters and cover topics such as plate tectonics, volcanoes, geologic structures, earthquakes, rocks and minerals, mass wasting, streams, glaciation, and groundwater at a good level of detail.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have not yet used this book to teach a class, but the accuracy of the content that I have reviewed appears to be high.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

It is nice to see that Karla Panchuk has updated Steve Earle's open education textbook. I find the current version relevant and up-to-date, and think that it could be used to teach a physical geology/geography course for a good amount of time. This new USask Edition contains 18 chapters that were updated in 2019 (1st U of S Ed.), one chapter that was updated in 2017 (2nd Adapted Ed.), and two chapters from the Steven Earle's 1st edition. I am glad that the author included the ones from Earle's first edition, especially the one on groundwater.

Clarity rating: 5

I find the textbook to be clear and well written. The organization of topics within the chapters follows a logical sequence and explains scientific ideas in a clear manner. It also uses practical, common sense analogies and similar to underscore some of the big scientific ideas. Additionally, I found the photos and illustrations to be some of the best I have seen in a physical geology book such as this. They are beautiful and engaging. I don't know if high resolution images are available to use for class powerpoint presentations, but I plan to look into this.

Consistency rating: 5

I thought the text and organization was consistent throughout the book. Each chapter begins with learning objectives, followed by the body of the content logically organized into sub-topics. This is followed by a chapter summary, review questions, references, and answers to review questions. The terminology seems to be used consistently throughout the textbook as well.

Modularity rating: 5

I found the book to have good modularity. In many cases, the chapter topics align so well with my course outline that it would be easy to assign a chapter reading for each topic. In other cases, the sub-topics organized by header could be chosen to best align with the course outline. For example, Chapter 8 deals with weathering, sediment and soil. The author does a nice job of transitioning from one topic to another, but any of these three topics could also serve as a reading for any of these topics.
I would also note here that this book is designed to support the typical lecture side of a physical geology course. An instructor using this book would need to find another resource for labs.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

As I mentioned under modularity, I like the organization of this book. Chapters align well with my typical course topics, and sub-sections identified by headers further help to organize materials. In other cases, illustrations help to tie together text discussion from the book.

Interface rating: 4

I downloaded and read the book as a pdf file, which I like. For my classes, sometimes I attach an entire textbook like this to the class summary in our learning management system. If I am using OERs from multiple textbooks, I may upload chapters on a weekly basis for that week's reading. This pdf file does not have internal links, so that someone can click on a chapter in the table of contents and go right to that chapter, but this is a pretty minor issue. The author includes links to the references and some others in callout boxes, etc. It could be good to have even more of these to link to animations, lectures using this material, etc.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any significant grammatical issues in this textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The textbook is not culturally insensitive, but it definitely was designed to have a Canadian focus with regards to examples of physical geology landforms. It is difficult to find opportunities to talk about inclusivity of races and ethnicities in a scientific textbook, but chapters in this book on geological resources and the geologic history of western Canada may offer some opportunities for future revisions.

Reviewed by Sean Daniels, Adjunct Faculty, Linn-Benton Community College on 5/29/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text is very comprehensive, covering all of the topics in the depth that would be expected of an introductory Physical Geology course.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Mostly spot on. On page 379, with the bottom paragraph, that begins with “constructed on limestone supported by beds of gypsum and anhydrite.”, the paragraph begins in the middle of a paragraph from which the beginning portion of the text is missing. The text refers to a dam, so I’m guessing this text refers to another topic relating Earth Science and humans, and needs to be removed from this section and placed in the correct area of the OER. Some minor. There are minor issues that Kevin Hefferan treats in his review of the OER text which could be dealt with, but I’m not going to re-invent the wheel by stating them here.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The information provided in the text has abundant current data, with my favorite part being the section on Earth-System change. Not using hyperlinks in the modules is a great move, as often times these links can become broken or dead. There are hyperlinks in the reference materials but I did not find any dead ones.

Clarity rating: 5

Topics are explained in detail with supporting figures, images, and text.

Consistency rating: 5

The text uses the same format throughout and this makes it easily digestible for the reader

Modularity rating: 5

The modules are clearly laid out in the TOC. Placing the formation of the Solar System and Earth as a first chapter is a great approach that gives perspective to the formation of minerals, rocks, and the relevant Earth processes that follow. The modules essentially work from the interior of the Earth outward.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization and flow of the text is solid. Each module starts with learning objectives, followed by explanatory text, figures, and images. These data are in turn followed by exercises, and summarizing questions which are supported by detailed self-check answers where students can correct places where their understanding of a topic or question was off the mark. Chapter 21 from Steve Earle depicts the Geologic History of Western Canada in great detail, I learned a lot here. Instructors dealing with other geologically distinct zones would have to adapt material from other sources to build upon their own Geologic History presentation. This is a complex subject which is normally dealt with in a Historical Geology course, but is relevant of course to users in Canada. The first part of the section could be adapted to a Geologic History of North America course, but an instructor would have to develop more information to convey for instance, the Geologic History of North America or other regions globally.

Interface rating: 5

Text and font are consistent and I did not experience any issues in legibility in reading the PDF.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any grammatical errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The images featuring people should be updated to represent more diverse groups. Nearly all of them were of Caucasian men. The importance of diversity in the presentation of a field is important to encourage engagement by all groups. I did not find any bias in the text of the book however so it has been written with this topic in mind.

Comments

Overall, this is a very comprehensive OER textbook that could be employed for an introductory Physical Geology course. The text is visually-rich, and has abundant supporting data and text. The format is clear and concise with a layout that will provide a nice academic experience for students learning about this subject

Reviewed by Vijay Vulava, Professor, College of Charleston on 2/19/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The coverage in each chapter of this book is more than adequate for my introductory class students. Each chapter is well laid out and has sufficient details for students.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not find any obvious errors. All concepts that I reviewed and assigned to my students for learning are accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The concepts and content are current. Given the online format, it may be easy for the authors to incorporate new case studies or broad developments in the field.

Clarity rating: 5

Clear and easy to understand. There is not too much jargon but having a glossary at the end of each chapter will be a useful addition.

Consistency rating: 5

The well-organized format of each chapter is consistent. Starts with a description of learning objectives (LO) and then each LO is covered in a section. Each chapter ends with a summary and examples/problems to consider.

Modularity rating: 5

The well-organized format of each chapter is consistent. Starts with a description of learning objectives (LO) and then each LO is covered in a section. Each chapter ends with a summary and examples/problems to consider.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The well-organized format of each chapter is consistent. Starts with a description of learning objectives (LO) and then each LO is covered in a section. Each chapter ends with a summary and examples/problems to consider.

Interface rating: 4

I like the web-based interface, but the section controls need a better location. Currently, they are at the bottom of the browser and are easy to miss. It took me a couple of tries to get used to that interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The topic of this book does not allow any cultural issues in detail, but it is easily conceivable that related topics could be included. For example, mining for Earth's resources disproportionately affects indigenous and local communities even today. The impact of geological and natural hazards and the associated government response disproportionately affect people in certain communities, regions, or countries. These connections between geology and human could be explored and will make a great textbook for students of environmental geology courses as well.

Comments

Excellent overall textbook. I look forward to updated versions as well as a lab manual in geology as well.

Reviewed by Kevin Hefferan, Associate Professor, Massachusetts Maritime Academy on 6/15/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Karla Panchuk's Physical Geology textbook is excellent. It contains a wealth of fundamental physical geology information, updated references, online links, excellent images, hands on exercises, some phonetic pronunciation of geologic terms and is reader friendly. The Earth materials section, minerals and rocks, is very good. The hydrologic component is good but would be improved with incorporating groundwater and karst into Karla's text. These topics are at the end of the text as Earl's Chapter 14 and perhaps this is a work in progress. The surficial landform part of the text would be further improved by including chapters on deserts and coastal processes. The Earth system changes and resource chapters are excellent.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is accurate, unbiased and largely error free. However, some corrections and considerations are listed below.
Chapter 1. Figure 11.2 should be labelled Figure 1.2.
Chapter 3. Karla ought to define mafic and felsic before using them on page 3. Mafic (70-90 % DCM) and felsic (<40% DCM) refer to the % of dark colored minerals (DCM) and strictly speaking are not directly related to % silica. Percent silica classification includes terms ultrabasic, basic and silicic. The mafic/basic and felsic/silicic issue is a commonly accepted error in introductory texts and is in part due to the desire to reduce use of confusing geologic terms.
Chapter 5. Figure 5.37. Plagioclase has two planes of cleavage at ~90 degree angles
Chapter 5. page 18. Sulfur forms from sublimation from a gas.
Chapter 7, page 7 and 10. same as comments for chapter 3 above.
Chapter 7. page 9. Figure 7.11a doesn't make sense
Chapter 7. page 13. DCM ranges are unusual. What is your source?
Chapter 9. Diagenesis should be discussed in this chapter as you mention it in Chapter 10 but do not define it anywhere.
Chapter 9. You should also mention law of lateral continuity and cross-cutting relations.
Chapter 10. Figure 10.2. Shale is usually shown being converted to slate, phyllite or mica schist. Your figure shows it being converted to a granite gneiss.
Chapter 10. page 2. No estimate for low end temperatures that initiate metamorphism. While low end temperatures are highly variable, they are typically estimated to be at 100-200 C. Also diagenesis is mentioned here so see comment for Chapter 9.
Chapter 10. page 4. Time is highly variable and should not be related only to millions of years. As you later state, impact metamorphism and contact metamorphism can be almost instantaneous so the 1 mm/Ma analogy is not always accurate.
Chapter 10. page 8. slate, phyllite and tuff can also form from tuff as well as shale/mudstone protoliths.
Chapter 10, page 11. No mention of skarns here although you do mention them on page 24.
Chapter 10, page 13. "If metamorphic rock is heated enough"?? What is the temperature range of "enough"?
Chapter 10. page 15. This is the first mention of temperature in C.
Chapter 10, page 16. No mention of index minerals or faces so far but you do mention blueschist here.
Chapter 10, page 17-18. No mention of time with respect to contact metamorphism.
Chapter 10, page 19. Dynamic metamorphism in shear zones with somewhat elevated temperatures should be discussed.
Chapter 10, page 19. Discussing facies before index minerals in unusual particularly since index minerals were first developed and were followed (and somewhat based on) by index minerals.
Chapter 10, Figure 10.35. The foliated rock type and facies range designations are questionable. Are there no schists in the amphibolite facies? Are there no gneiss in granulites? Do slates only occur in zeolite and clay and not in greenschist facies?
Chapter 10, page 21. Index minerals should be discussed earlier and perhaps show different protolith compositions (basalt and shale are both commonly used).
Chapter 11. page 4. Calderas can form by more than 1 process. The 2nd process you describe with Santorini's eruption.
Chapter 11, page 21. No phonetic spelling for "Eyjakjallajokull"? Everyone would appreciate that!
Chapter 11. page 23. Provide an example of a composite volcano in a rift zone.
Chapter 16. No mention of the 2011 Japanese Tsunami.
Chapter 13. Photos for synclines and anticlines are not up to the standard for other images in this text. No mention or images of monoclines, basins or domes either. Also no mention of oblique faults or shear zones.
Chapter 13. Interesting to have strike and dip presented near the end of this chapter. I would prefer attitude presented in the beginning as it obviously relates to folds and faults.
Chapter 14. Figure 14.15. No mention of point bar or cut bank. Point bars are discussed later in the chapter but not cut banks.
Chapter 14. page 10. Discharge is only briefly mentioned and not well defined. How is it calculated? Provide an example.
Chapter 14. Groundwater and karst are sorely missing in this chapter although they are presented at the very end of this text.
Chapter 15. Table 15.1 rates of motion are not accurate. Landslides and slumps are not limited to mm or cm/year but can be deadly fast.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is up to date and written in an engaging fashion. I love the fact that references are provided, many of which are available on line. This is unusual for an introductory textbook but I think it is great. Updates will be relatively easy to implement.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is lucid and written in a digestible fashion. Phonetic spelling of terms is a great idea and could be expanded upon.
Pronouncing geologic jargon can be embarrassing to us all, but especially for introductory students in a lecture hall.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework. I suggest in earlier comments improvements in text content flow but this text is excellent as is.

Modularity rating: 5

This text is readily divisible and strong in all components.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I have already made some comments on the organization of content, but an author will not please everyone all the time.
Geologic time should be early in the text. In discussing mineral properties, I suggest starting with luster, followed by hardness ad cleavage as that is the order by which minerals are commonly identified in introductory courses. Glaciers should precede climate change (or Earth system change).

Interface rating: 5

This text is free of interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Minimal errors were observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not insensitive or offensive in any way.

Comments

Karla Panchuk's Physical Geology textbook is an excellent open education resource that I highly recommend. This text provides a wonderful framework enhanced by excellent images, hands on exercises and scientific references many of which are available online. Karla's textbook is up to date and comprehensible. I believe students will enjoy the writing style and the subject content.
Physical Geology focuses largely on Canadian geology but should appeal to readers worldwide because of its excellence.

Reviewed by Richard Ashmore, Instructor, Community College of Aurora on 5/28/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This textbook covers all of the major areas of concentration seen in the most popular of current physical geology texts produced by the major publishing companies. In addition, the material presented in the textbook is covered at the level expected of in an introductory, college science course. A glossary is provided, but there are no hyperlinks to the chapter where each term is introduced as are in the OER textbook by Steven Earle (Physical Geology, 2nd ed., 2019) with which this text is based. The hyperlinks, like seen in the textbook by Earle, would be very helpful. Like Earle’s textbook, this textbook also does not contain an index. That is surprising and very unfortunate, especially considering that it does not have the hyperlinks in its glossary like in Earle’s textbook. I’m sure making an index is tedious work, but this textbook would be greatly enhanced with the addition of an index.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As far as I can tell, I do not see or remember finding anything glaringly incorrect with this the material presented in this textbook.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The textbook is up-to-date on the latest understanding of the concepts presented. It is also very well referenced throughout. It is also very modular based. So, it’s easy to separate the chapters from the whole PDF document.

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook is written at the college-level and is appropriate for an introductory course in Physical Geology.

Consistency rating: 5

I do see consistency throughout the text in regards to terminology used. I tell my students, "In geology, there are often at least five different ways to say the same thing." This textbook handles terms and their usage very well. I didn’t see multiple terms being used interchangeably that mean, essentially, the same thing. For example, I’ve seen the terms ‘stress’ and ‘pressure’ used interchangeably within the same chapter in other textbooks. This can be confusing to students, and, I’m happy to report, I did not see situations like this in this textbook.

Modularity rating: 4

The textbook is very modular. It is easy to split the different chapters into their own PDF files. When I use OER textbooks in my classes, I do this when presenting a new chapter or two within each new module in my LMS course shell. Still, I do give students a link to the entire textbook as one PDF (they are typically very large PDF files, such as this textbook), because the individual chapters are often hyperlinked to other parts of the textbook. Unfortunately, I do not see any hyperlinking within this textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization is very clear and orderly. For the most part, the chapters are arranged in a very similar order to almost every other geology textbook I have used/reviewed. I do like that this textbook places the Plate Tectonics chapter near the beginning of the text. In the textbook by Earle, with which this textbook was based, the Plate Tectonics chapter is placed toward the back of the textbook. Most physical geology textbooks have adopted the style of presenting Plate Tectonics at the beginning of their texts since it is the fundamental unifying theory of all geological processes. So, having the Plate Tectonics chapter near the beginning of the textbook is very nice to see!

Interface rating: 4

The text size and font style used makes this textbook physically easy to read. I just wish the hyperlinks seen in the textbook by Earle were also in this textbook as well.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I do not see any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I do not notice any culturally insensitive or offensive language used within the textbook. That said, it would be nice to see a segment of each chapter devoted to the work of a current, innovative scientist involved in a research related to the material presented in the chapter . . . especially focusing on research contributed by women and minorities. In the US, the geosciences are need of diversity. We need to do all we can to show our students that anyone with an interest in science can make a career out those interests, regardless of their gender, age, race, sexual orientation, etc.

Comments

Overall, this is a great textbook! I’m very glad it exists. I also like that the author has developed and made available for download a set of editable PowerPoint lecture files for each chapter. This is not necessary, but it is nice to see as it can be a great resource for both faculty and students in certain situations.

Reviewed by Mark Brazo, EdD, Adjunct Instructor, George Fox University on 4/24/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The coverage of the subject area is most excellent.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

There is a high level of accuracy in this text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text does a nice job of covering topics in a manner that is very relevant and timeless. Coverage utilizes many Canadian geologic examples which is not surprising with a Canadian publisher.

Clarity rating: 5

This text is easy to follow & read.

Consistency rating: 5

There are many internal references that direct the reader to another portion of the text for further information on the topic.

Modularity rating: 4

The modularity of sections within the individual chapters present. At the end of each chapter is a review blurb for each section. It would be helpful for the section topics to be published in an extended table of contents and at the beginning of each chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the text provides a more than adequate , logical flow.

Interface rating: 4

No significant issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

no noticeable grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The textbook is culturally sensitive.

Comments

Overall this is a very good textbook for a Geology course and will be utilized in the course I'm teaching this fall.

Reviewed by Janine Roza, Geology Instructor, Umpqua Community College on 1/18/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I found this textbook to be extremely comprehensive, as it covered all of the traditional topics in a physical geology textbook, plus included chapters on Origin of Earth and Earth System Change. In addition I found it covered each topic in more than sufficient detail, as there were abundant additions to the previous Earle Edition. There is no glossary or index, however I don't think either is necessary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not find any content errors in this book.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Most of the chapters have been updated as of 2019 so they have very relevant content, and the author already states that they are in the process of creating another updated version, and welcomes comments/contributions.

Clarity rating: 5

The book was written in a clear manner.

Consistency rating: 5

The text framework is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook is divided up in chapters with subsections, which can be easily assigned. The only issue I faced was accessing the subsection online, I found it easier to download the whole textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I prefer the organization of the topics in this text to the original Earle edition, as I prefer to start with origin of earth, moving on to plate tectonics, followed by minerals etc. Although the chapters could easily be assigned in a different order to suit the needs of the instructor.

Interface rating: 3

The only issue I faced with this textbook was interacting with it in an online format. The subsections would not open without resetting the page.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any grammatical errors,

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is not offensive in any way. However I do think there could be more examples of diverse scientists, both currently working in the field and who contributed throughout history. For example, there is no mention of Marie Tharp in the discussion of ocean floor mapping.