Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Map of the Philippines showing location of Mount Pinatubo and the Pasig-Potrero River draining off the volcano's east-
ern flank.
Alarmed, we climbed up through narrow side channels that had cut down through the
volcanic debris—the only other way out of the canyon. By the time we reached the top of
the side canyon we could see our lunch spot, several hundred feet below, submerged be-
neath a roaring torrent of bouncing boulders. We perched for the afternoon, trapped on the
ridgetop but enthralled by walls of water crashing down the canyon. Here in front of us was
a graphic illustration of what had drawn me to geology in the first place: Earth's appear-
ance of being stable—of being solid as a rock—only held some of the time.
In the early nineteenth century, the conventional view was that grand catastrophes re-
shaped landscapes in a geologic jiffy. The idea that the slow pace of everyday change could
shape and reshape the world was considered delusional fantasy. By the end of the cen-
