Principles of Geology

The catastrophism vs. uniformitarianism looks at the differences between these philosophies or opinions. Such include the age of Earth, geologic features formation processes (natural vs.

The principle of uniformitarianism states that natural laws and processes (chemical and physical) operating today have always operated in the past but not necessarily at

The law or principle of inclusions states that a rock containing another rock fragment is younger than the rock fragment or inclusion it encloses. For

The law or principle of cross-cutting relationships states that any geologic feature or rock body that cuts across or deforms another is the younger of

Steno’s law of lateral continuity states that strata or rock layers extend in all directions until they meet a barrier, tappers (or pinch-out), or grade

Steno’s law of superposition states that any rock bed in an undisturbed or undeformed sedimentary rock sequence is older than the one above and younger

Nicolaus Steno first proposed the law or principle of original horizontality in the mid-17th century. It states that sediments are always deposited in horizontal (or