Some information on geology
Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, "the earth") and λογος (logos, "word", "reason")) is the science and study of the solid matter of a celestial body, its composition, structure, physical properties, history and the processes that shape it. In this book, the term Geology will apply to the Earth in particular.
Geology can be split into two main branches: historical and physical. Historical geology attempts to understand the origins, composition, systems and changes of the Earth.
History
According to the widely accepted Big Bang theory, the Universe began at some point in space and time around 15,500,000,000 years ago, as evidenced by the doppler effect observed in all stars and a 3 degree Kelvin background radiation observed elsewhere.
In about 10E-43 seconds, physics became defined and gravity separated from other forces. The Universe was 10E32 K in temperature.
At 10E-35 seconds, the Universe expanded to the size of a softball and the strong nuclear force separated. Energy turned into quarks and electrons and their anti-matter counterparts. The temperature was 1027 K.
At 10E-6 seconds quarks began to bind into protons and neutrons; matter and antimatter destroyed each other and the balance turned out to be in favor of matter. The Universe was about the size of our solar system and 1013 K hot.
1 second after its inception, the electromagnetic and weak nuclear forces appeared as the Universe cooled to 109 K.
3 minutes later, protons and neutrons fused into nuclei.
After 100,000 years, the electrons and the nuclei came together to form atoms; photons separated from matter and there was light.
In the next 1,000,000,000 years the Universe became clumpy as galaxies began to take shape.
Ever since then, the Universe has cooled down to 3 K, galaxies have developed, generations of stars have passed, creating heavier elements, and life has appeared.
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains about 200,000,000,000 stars and lies 1 million light years from its nearest neighbor.
The solar system was formed around 4,600,000,000 years ago as dust collapsed into the protostar that was to become the Sun, and into planetesimals orbiting it.
The inner planets, from Mercury to Mars, are solid because the solar winds have driven gases away and have a core; the outer planets are larger and consist of gas.
The Earth has a solid crust made of silicates, a mantle also made of silicates, and a core made of iron. The outmost layer is called the lithosphere (100-200km deep); it is followed by a plastic asthenosphere (150-400km deep). The crust lies above a solid mesosphere that goes down to 2900km. The core has an outer liquid iron shell around 2100km deep--responsible for our magnetic field--and an inner solid iron core (the iron in the center of the earth is solid because of the pressure applied to it).
The history of the Earth can be divided into two eons: Azoic (without life), and Phanerozioc(with life); the Phanerozoic eon can be split into three main eras: Paleozoic (early life), Mesozoic (middle life), and Cenozoic (recent life). Geologists are wont to further divide these eras into periods as follows: Paleozoic into Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian; the Mesozoic into Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous; and the Cenozoic into the Paleogene and the Neogene. Because these divisions were made based on the patterns of fossils and before any reliable method for dating rocks was discovered, their lengths vary and their names are mostly related to the place where they were first analyzed at.
Plate Tectonics
Because of the interactions between the lithosphere, the asthenosphere, and the mantle underneath, our planet's crust is governed by 'plate tectonics.'
Volcanism
There are three(3) types of lavas formed by volcanoes. Mafic, Intermediate, and Felsic.
Mafic(Basaltic)
Intermediate(Andesitic)
Felsic(Rhyolitic)