His leisure time was spent in collecting shells and plants, and he received an entrée to the Berlin Botanical Garden from Alexander von Humboldt.

Among other things he noted the more rapid flow of the center than of the sides, and the more rapid flow of the top than of the bottom of glaciers; described the laminated or ribboned structure of the glacial ice; and ascribed the movement of glaciers to a gradual molecular displacement rather than to a sliding of the ice mass as held by Horace Bénédict de Saussure.

For several years the Massachusetts Board of Education retained his services as a lecturer on geography and methods of instruction to the normal schools and teachers' institutes.

[5] Scientist James Dwight Dana described Guyot as "a fervently religious man, living as if ever in communion with his Heavenly Parent; a Christian, following closely in the footsteps of his Master.

His graded series of text books and wall maps were important aids in the extension and popularization of geological study in America.

In addition to text books, his principal publications were:[2] Guyot's Earth and Man lecture series describes how geography—particularly the distribution of continents, topography, and climate regions—determines the superiority or inferiority of human races in terms of beauty, physical ability, intelligence, and morality.

[9] Through these lectures, Guyot promulgated theories of scientific racism to a wide audience in New England, including the general public and teachers who were eager to incorporate this material into their classes.

In turn the term "guyot"—an isolated underwater volcanic mountain (seamount), with a flat top—was coined by Harry Hammond Hess and named after the eponymous building.