Stratigraphy and Geologic Time
The International Commission on Stratigraphy; note especially the GeoWhen Database
"Understanding Geologic Time", an online interactive introductory exercise from the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP)
Stratigraphy Exhibit of UCMP
Online text of Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology
William "Strata" Smith's "A Geological Map of England and Wales and Part of Scotland "
Some mnemonics for the Phanerozoic Periods, and other related issues, can be found on the Mnemomania! page of the Geological Society
Paleogeography and Plate Tectonics
Global Earth History website of paleogeographic reconstructions by Northern Arizona University geology professor Dr. Ron Blakely
Paleomap Project of University of Chicago geology professor Chris Scotese
Plate Tectonics online exhibit of UCMP
Evolution, Paleontology & Systematics
"Getting Into the Fossil Record", an introductory exercise about taphonomy from UCMP
Understanding Evolution, a website for K-12 teachers. It also works as a GREAT introduction/reveiw of the topic, its history, and related disciplines for college undergradutes (or graduates, or private citizens, or pretty much anyone else!)
"What Did T. rex Taste Like?", an interactive online exhibit on cladistics from UCMP
The Tree of Life Project, an online attempt to map out the phylogenetic relationships of all organisms living and extinct
UCMP Phylogeny Exhibit, a less technical equivalent of the Tree of Life Project
Darwin and Wallace's 1858 paper
The Origin of Species, online text
The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History Department of Paleobiology homepage, with exhibits
Excellent comprehensive site about Trilobites, the "poster children" for the Paleozoic!
An Introduction to Ichnology, the study of trace fossils
The History of Historical Geology in Five General Audience Books
Okay, I could have picked a bunch of other possibilities, but here's a series of readings that will take you through the history of the science of geology (with an emphasis on historical geology) in the form of books written for the general audience. NOTE: as these are not always written by geologists, there are cases where the authors make some factual errors.
17th Century: Cutler, Alan. 2003. The Seashell on the Mountaintop: A Story of Science, Sainthood, and the Humble Genius Who Discovered a New History of the Earth. Dutton Books.
18th Century: Repcheck, Jack. 2003. The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of Earth's Antiquity. Perseus Publishing.
Late 18th-early 19th Century: Winchester, Simon. 2002. The Map that Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology. Perennial Press.
Mid-19th Century: Aydon, Cyril. 2002. Charles Darwin: The Naturalist Who Started a Scientific Revolution. Carroll & Graf Publishers. [only one of a number of good Darwin biographies!]
Early 20th Century: Powell, James Lawrence. 2001. Mysteries of Terra Firma: The Age and Evolution of the Earth. Free Press.