Henderson, R, Johnson, D 2016, The Geology of Australia 3rd edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Description
This book documents the rich and spectacular heritage of the Australian continent over the last 4400 million years. Now in its third edition, The Geology of Australia provides a comprehensive overview of Australia’s geology, landscapes and Earth resources. Beginning with the Precambrian rocks that hold clues to the origins of life and the development of an oxygenated atmosphere, it goes on to cover the warm seas, volcanism and episodes of mountain building that formed the eastern third of the Australian continent. This illuminating history details the breakup of the supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana, the times of previous glaciations, the development of climates and landscapes in modern Australia, and the creation of the continental shelves and coastlines. This third edition features two new chapters on geological time and Paleozoic orogenic rock systems and mountain building, and new and updated illustrations and full-colour images. (Cambridge University Press | Information)
Chapters and sections
- Connections pp 1-10
- The progression of geological concepts pp 3-7
- Building Australian geological knowledge pp 7-10
- Australia’s present geological setting pp 11-21
- Stability pp 11-15
- Significant earthquakes pp 15-16
- Flatness pp 18-19
- Box 1.1 The science of geology and its specialities pp 20-21
- Summary pp 22-22
- A model of the earth pp 23-26
- Plate tectonics pp 27-32
- Divergent plate boundaries pp 27-29
- Convergent plate boundaries pp 29-31
- Transform plate boundaries pp 31-31
- Generation of continental margin rock assemblages pp 31-32
- Plate tectonics in perspective pp 32-33
- Within-plate volcanics pp 33-34
- Crustal stress and its consequences pp 34-37
- Minerals pp 38-43
- Oxides pp 38-39
- Box 2.1 Australian gemstones pp 40-42
- Sulphides pp 42-42
- Silicates pp 42-43
- Non-silicates pp 43-44
- Types of rocks pp 44-57
- Igneous rocks pp 45-47
- Volcanoes pp 47-51
- Box 2.2 Can we predict when a volcano will erupt? pp 51-51
- Sedimentary rocks pp 51-54
- Metamorphic rocks pp 54-56
- Box 2.3 Metamorphism pp 56-57
- The shaping of the landscape pp 58-66
- Weathering pp 58-59
- Box 2.4 The Australian regolith and soil pp 60-61
- Erosion pp 62-62
- Sediment transport pp 62-67
- Box 2.5 Caves pp 62-64
- Coastal and offshore areas pp 67-68
- Summary pp 68-68
- Developing a timescale pp 70-72
- Adding time units to the timescale pp 73-78
- Radiometric dating pp 74-77
- Box 3.1 The time significance of geological relationships pp 77-79
- Dating by magnetic signature pp 78-80
- Dating the seafloor pp 80-80
- Dating by the span of humankind pp 81-82
- Summary pp 83-84
The original Earth pp 85-88
Formation pp 85-86
Age pp 86-88
Heat loss pp 88-89
The Archean pp 89-96
Greenstones and komatiites pp 91-93
Metamorphism and granite emplacement pp 93-94
Sedimentary rocks pp 94-94
Banded iron formations pp 94-97
The Proterozoic pp 97-99
Large orebodies pp 98-99
Glaciations pp 99-100
The origin of life pp 100-106
Box 4.1 Wilpena pound and the ediacaran fauna pp 105-106
The Rodinian supercontinent breakup pp 107-107
Summary pp 107-108
- Assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent pp 109-110
- Orogenic processes and patterns pp110-112
- The Tasman Orogenic Zone pp 113-128
- The Delawarean Orogen pp 114-117
- Thomson Orogen pp 117-118
- The Lachlan Orogen pp 118-122
- The Mossman Orogen pp 122-124
- The New England Orogen pp125-129
- The historical record of the orogenic sedimentary systems pp 129-130
- Summary pp 130-130
- Part of Gondwana pp 131-134
- Box 6.1 The geology of Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa pp 132-134
- Seascapes and landscapes pp 135-140
- Box 6.2 Ancient plankton pp 140-141
- Deep crustal processes pp 141-145
- The Cooma complex pp 143-145
- Summary pp 146-146
- The setting and relationships pp 148-148
- A glaciated continent pp 148-157
- Indicators of glacial activity pp 149-151
- Evidence of glaciation pp 151-156
- Fossil evidence of cold climate pp 156-156
- Volcanic activity pp 156-158
- Development of the coal basins pp 158-169
- Peatlands pp 159-161
- Box 7.1 Glossopteris and the vegetation of the cold-climate Gondwana peatlands pp 161-162
- Carboniferous and Permian paleogeography pp 165-166
- Box 7.2 The Sydney basin pp 166-170
- Summary pp 170-170
- Warming of the inland plains pp 172-181
- Box 8.1 The great extinction pp 173-174
- The arid plains of the Triassic pp 174-178
- The lush plains of the Jurassic pp 179-182
- The Tasmanian dolerites pp 182-182
- Continental breakup and inland seas pp 183-185
- Cretaceous volcanism pp 186-187
- Rainforests, dinosaurs and sea monsters pp 187-193
- Box 8.2 The Great Artesian Basin pp 190-193
- Summary pp 194-194
- Australia emerges pp 196-203
- The second great extinction pp 198-199
- Landscape antiquity pp 199-204
- The rainforests pp 204-208
- Box 9.2 The Australian megafauna and its disappearance pp 206-207
- Brown coals pp 208-209
- Australian fauna through the Cenozoic pp 209-210
- Consequences from growth of the ice-gaps pp 211-212
- The arid interior pp 213-218
- Deserts and sand plains pp 214-216
- Salt lakes pp 216-216
- Box 9.3 The Nullarbor plain pp 217-219
- Summary pp 219-219
- Box 10.1 How are fossils preserved? pp 224-226
- Invertebrate fossils pp 227-233
- Foraminifera, radiolarians and diatoms pp 227-228
- Sponges, archaeocyathids, stromatoporoids, bryozoans and corals pp 228-229
- Echinoderms pp 229-230
- Shells pp 230-231
- Plant fossils pp 232-234
- Vertebrate fossils pp 234-240
- Fish pp 234-236
- Amphibians pp 236-237
- Reptiles pp 237-240
- Birds pp 240-240
- Mammals pp 240-241
- The Australian fossil record pp 241-249
- Box 10.2 Riversleigh pp 247-249
- Summary pp 250-250
- The volcanic provinces pp 251-264
- Box 11.1 Types of volcanic expressions pp 253-255
- Northern Queensland pp 255-258
- Central and southern Queensland pp 258-260
- Box 11.2 Basalt as a source of gemstones pp 260-261
- New South Wales pp 261-264
- Victoria and South Australia pp 264-265
- The seamount chains pp 265-266
- Origins of the Great Divide and Great Escarpment pp 267-270
- Summary pp 271-271
- The origin of the outline pp 274-277
- The continental shelf and slope pp 275-278
- Changing sea level pp 278-281
- Box 12.1 Australia’s exclusive economic zone pp 280-281
- Types of coasts pp 282-292
- Erosional coastlines pp 283-286
- Dispositional coastlines pp 287-290
- Box 12.2 Tsunamis pp 288-289
- Box 12.3 Beach erosion pp 291-293
- The Australian coastline pp 293-303
- The southwestern coast pp 293-293
- The western coast pp 293-294
- Box 12.4 The age of beach sand pp 295-295
- The northwestern coast pp 295-295
- The top end coast pp 296-296
- The northeastern coast pp 296-297
- The southeastern coast pp 297-304
- Box 12.5 Comparison of Sydney harbour and Port Philip pp 300-302
- Summary pp 304-304
- Australian coral reefs pp 306-307
- The Great Barrier Reef pp 307-324
- Box 13.1 Cyclones and the Great Barrier Reef pp 308-310
- Fringing reefs pp 310-313
- Shelf reefs pp 313-315
- Halimeda banks pp 315-315
- Reef foundations pp 315-315
- Reef deposits pp 316-317
- Reef growth pp 317-318
- Box 13.2 Britomart reef pp 318-318
- The continental slope and seaward trough pp 319-319
- Formation of the reef pp 319-323
- Box 13.3 Influence of the land on the Great Barrier Reef pp 323-325
- Summary pp 325-325
- Global wandering pp 328-328
- Supercontinent cycles pp 329-330
- Exhuming rock systems to uncover past cycles pp 331-336
- Pre-Rodinian rock systems pp 331-332
- Rock systems of Rodinian association pp 332-334
- Gondwana rock systems pp 334-335
- Pangea rock systems pp 335-336
- Rock systems associated with Pangean breakup pp 326-337
- Island Australia – near-surface layers of cover pp 337-337
- Climate cycles pp 337-340
- Changing patterns of life pp 341-344
- Summary pp 345-345
About the authors
Robert Henderson is an Emeritus Professor at James Cook University. He joined the academic staff of James Cook University in 1969 following a post- doctoral post as a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard University, and served as President of the Geological Society of Australia from 1998 to 2000.
David Johnson completed a BSc at the University of Sydney and a PhD at the University of Western Australia. He was a member of the academic staff at James Cook University from 1978 to 1998 and is now a retired geologist.
(James Cook University | Biographies)
Listen to David Johnson
In 2010, David Johnson was interviewed by Julia Browning on ABC Listen about the second edition of The Geology of Australia: ABC | The Geology of Australia. Open the page and lick on the podcast link.
A geologist marvels at this land of ours, using his particular skills of observation and his very own brand of wonder. David Johnson’s book designed for a non-professional audience, The Geology of Australia has apparently satisfied quite a hunger for knowledge because it’s just been listed in Cambridge University Press’s 10 top-selling books worldwide. It was first published five years ago but has just be re-released with two new chapters: on fossils and climate change.
There is also a transcript of an interview on ABC Listen with Robyn Williams and David Johnson from 2005. See ABC | In conversation: David Johnson.
Where to borrow
Libraries SA has multiple copies of the Geology of Australia, 3rd edition available through interlibrary loan: Click here.
Where to buy
The Geology of Australia, 3rd edition remains in print and can be purchased through store front and online bookstores. Publication details available through Worldcat | The Geology of Australia, 3rd edition.
References
- ABC Australia 2005, In conversation: David Johnson, viewed on 4 January, 2026, <https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/inconversation/david-johnson/3438450>. This page originally was an audio interview with David Johnson but is not only a transcript of the conversation.
- ABC 2010, The Geology of Australia, viewed on 3 February, 2026, <https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/saturdayextra/the-geology-of-australia/3112442>. This page provides a link to a podcast interview between Julia Browning and David Johnson about the 2nd edition of The Geology of South Australia.
- Cambridge University Press 2025, The Geology of Australia, 2nd edition, viewed on 29 December, 2025, <https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/geology-of-australia/E81F8CA875C14724F0BBF6C58B968B41>. This page provides details about the 2nd edition of The Geology of Australia by David Johnson.
- James Cook University Australia 2025, Publications by: David Johnson, viewed on 4 January, 2026, <https://tinyurl.com/2s3wkbnr>. This is a list of academic publications by Dr. David Johnson.
- James Cook University 2016, Frontpages (The Geology of Australia 3rd Edition), viewed on 4 January, 2026, <https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/7902/1/7902_Henderson_Johnson_2016_FrontPages.pdf>. This 8 page PDF contains biographical information about the two authors: Robert Henderson and David Johnson.
- Libraries SA 2025, TITLE=The TITLE=Geology TITLE=of TITLE=Australia AUTHOR=David AUTHOR=Johnson, viewed on 29 December, 2025, <https://onecard.network/client/en_AU/sapubliclibraries/search/results?qu=&qu=TITLE%3DThe+Geology+of+Australia+&qu=AUTHOR%3DDavid+Johnson+&dt=thumb&h=1>. This research result yields a listing for the 2009 2nd edition of The Geology of Australia by David Johnson.
- Libraries SA 2026, TITLE=The TITLE=Geology TITLE=of TITLE=Australia AUTHOR=David AUTHOR=Johnson, AUTHOR=Robert AUTHOR=Henderson, viewed on 4 January, 2026, <https://onecard.network/client/en_AU/sapubliclibraries/search/results?qu=&qu=TITLE%3DThe+Geology+of+Australia+&qu=AUTHOR%3DDavid+Johnson%2C+Robert+Henderson+&dt=thumb&h=1>. This research result yields a listing for the 2013 3nd edition of The Geology of Australia by David Johnson and Robert Henderson.
- National Library of Australia 2025, The geology of Australia / David Johnson, viewed on 4 January, 2026, <https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/4583842>. This page provides information including a chapter listing of the book by David Johnson.