A fully updated edition of this beautifully illustrated, encyclopedic guide to planet Earth

Explore and understand the natural and human wonders of our planet

Now in its third edition, this landmark encyclopedia both celebrates our planet and explains the science underpinning the forces and processes that have made and shaped it. Artworks, photographs, terrain models, and maps are used in combination to capture the beauty and power of landscapes and natural events and to show their hidden sides, explaining for example how an earthquake is triggered and how burning fossil fuels is driving a climate emergency.

Directory sections placed throughout the book provide systematic and in-depth reference guides to core scientific information, such as more than 100 types of rocks and minerals. Similar sections contain visual profiles of some of the undisputed wonders of the natural world, from the Andes and Himalayas to the Grand Canyon, Sahara Desert, and Amazon Rainforest.

Thoroughly revised and updated to include new and spectacular landscape photography and capture the latest developments in fast-changing areas of geology and Earth science – including Earth history, climate change, and urban geography – this is an indispensable visual reference book for anyone who wants to understand how our planet works.