Geology 101 for Dummies

Rock cycle (emphasis on "cycle")

Oh, woe is us: it's time to nudge the staff geologist awake and show him another freelancer's take on the topic to which he devoted more than forty years of his life. Not that he isn't usually an extraordinarily pleasant guy¹, but he can be a bit of a curmudgeon when people start spouting nonsense. Unfortunately, HubPages.com contributor ("Hubbie") IzzyM managed to spout quite a bit of said nonsense in the process of cobbling together her limited knowledge and a pile of misconceptions to write "Beginners [sic] Guide to Geology" for good ol' HP.

Izzy barfed up a little less than 800 words on the topic, some of which were accurate enough that we don't feel the need to slap her wrist with the staff ruler. So, we're going to point out some of her most bogus statements. But first, the staff's grammar curmudgeon wanted to highlight Iz's opening statement, a marvelous example of a run-on sentence:

"This guide is aimed at beginners in the study of geology which is the study of the origin, history and structure of the Earth, and for anyone interested in minerals and gemstones, like me, is a must to take up either as a hobby or a career."

OK, on to the bogosity:

• "The Earth is entirely made up of elements and minerals which are mixtures of elements." – Izzy forgot that it's also, for the most part, made up of rocks, which are mixtures of minerals
• "Our world is made up of rocks, molten or otherwise. " – Or maybe she did remember... but we should point out that the portion made up of "molten" rocks is quite small relative to the whole.
• "...there is a massive 10 miles of solid bedrock below us. " – A) the thickness of the "massive... solid bedrock" isn't constant and B) said thickness ranges from almost zero (at spreading centers) to more than 40 miles.

• "Below the mantle is the 3,000 mile outer core which is made of molten rock..." – first, the outer core is only 2200 km or about 1350 miles thick; and second, it isn't "molten rock."
• "...the inner core it is reckoned to be solid rock once again, with a depth of 900 miles" – First, she means thickness, not depth; and second, it's assumed to be solid nickel-iron... not "rock."
• "The planet is millions of years old. " –  Billions, actually; about 4½ of them.
• "Volcanoes push molten lava out from the outer core through weaknesses in the Earth’s mantle causing mountain ranges to form..." – Volcanoes "push" lava? WTF? And "from the outer core"?
• "When [the tectonic plates] move towards each other, they cause earthquakes..." – That would come as news to the people who live along the San Andreas Fault, Iz.
• "Sedimentary rock is the youngest type of rock..." – Please tell us this isn't another of those idiots who think the rock cycle is a one-way slope...

There is, of course, much more (some of it equally as doofus), but we're outta time. And we're outta here, too, leaving behind today's Dumbass of the Day award for one IzzyM. Feh.

¹ Much later: he was reading over our shoulder when we wrote that

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