Rough Hewn Land

"Rough-Hewn Land tells the geologic story of the American West--the story of its rocks, rivers, mountains, earthquakes, and mineral wealth, including gold. It tells it by taking you on a 1000-mile-long field trip across the rough side of the continent from the California coast to the Rocky Mountains. This book puts you on the outcrop, geologic hammer in hand, to explore the evidence for how the spectacular, rough-hewn lands of the West came to be. When North America broke free from Eurasia and Africa some 200 million years ago, it triggered a cascade of violent geologic events that shaped the West we see today. As the west-moving continent crunched across the seabed of the ancient Pacific, islands and assorted pieces of ocean floor collected against its prow to build California--and plant gold there too. Meanwhile, mountains squeezed upward from California to Colorado, and vast quantities of molten rock seeded the crust with precious metals while spewing volcanic fire across the land. Later, the land stretched like an accordion to form the washboard-like Basin and Range province and Great Basin within it, while California began to crackle along the San Andreas fault. Throughout the West today, a near-constant drumroll of earthquakes testifies to a world still reshaping itself in response to the ceaseless movements of the Earth's tectonic plates. Rough-Hewn Land weaves these stories into the human history of the West. As we follow the adventures of John C. Frémont, Mark Twain, the Donner party, and other historic characters, we see how geologic forces have shaped human experience, just as they direct the fate of the West today"--

The dramatic journeys of the 19th century Gold Rush come to life in this geologist’s tour of the American West and the events that shaped the land. In 1848, news of the discovery of gold in California triggered an enormous wave of emigration toward the Pacific. The dramatic terrain these settlers crossed is so familiar to us now that it is hard to imagine how frightening—even godforsaken—its sheer rock faces and barren deserts once seemed to them. Hard Road West brings their perspective vividly to life, weaving together the epic overland journey of the covered wagon trains and the compelling story of the landscape they encountered. Taking readers along the 2,000-mile California Trail, Keith Meldahl uses settler’s diaries and letters—as well as his own experiences on the trail—to reveal how the geology and geography of the West shaped our nation’s westward expansion. He guides us through a landscape of sawtooth mountains, following the meager streams that served as lifelines through an arid land, all the way to California itself, where colliding tectonic plates created breathtaking scenery and planted the gold that lured travelers west in the first place. “Alternates seamlessly between vivid accounts of the 19th-century journey and lucid explanations of the geological events that shaped the landscape traveled.”—Library Journal

"Meldahl tells the scientific story of the Southern California coast by blending research from geology and oceanography with a compelling narrative and clear illustrations that take readers out in the field with the author to learn about the processes that have generated the coast as it exists today and how the region will change in the future. The author's geographic scope spans from San Diego to Point Conception, taking in coastal portions of San Diego, Orange, Ventura, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara counties"--Provided by publisher.

Color photos of the Escalante and the Paria river canyons and the adjacent plateau into which these rivers, with the help of rain & wind, have sculpted surreal, brightly colored galleries. The text by Charles Bowden deals with Mormon heroes, the Hole-in-the-Rock migration, and with John D. Lee, infamous for his part in the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

This long-awaited book by Dr. Robert Eves, professor of geology at Southern Utah University, tells the story of the formation of Zion Canyon in 132 pages, and contains more than 120 of the most inspiring photos of Zion National Park ever published. This is one of Zion Natural History Association's most popular publications.

The Driftless Land, a collection of essays by Kevin Koch, is a search for the spirit of place among the bluffs, woodlands, and prairies of the Upper Mississippi River valley. The Midwest is commonly known for its flatlands, for oceans of corn pressing towards the horizon beneath a big sky. Lesser known are the steep hills and bluffs, the ravines and towering rock outcroppings where the upper Mississippi carves its meandering path. These rugged lands amid the prairies are known as The Driftless Area, a 20,000 square-mile region of northeast Iowa, northwest Illinois, southeast Minnesota, and southwest and central Wisconsin, bypassed by most of the glaciers. Koch observes, "You can 'love nature' and 'love the land'--but you won't know place until you've walked slowly and attentively through Lost Canyon or the Kickapoo Valley Reserve or Swiss Valley or Trempealeau Mountain, and then returned to learn what you can about them." Hidden within the woodlands are the imprints of human history and the deeper geological story as well, the story of a land untouched by the ancient onslaught of leveling glaciers. The result is a call to know place deeply, whatever place you inhabit.

After ten years in New Zealand, Joe Bennett asked himself what on earth he was doing there. Other than his dogs, what was it about these two small islands on the edge of the world that had kept him - an otherwise restless traveller - for really much longer than they seemed to deserve? Bennett thought he'd better pack his bag and find out. Hitching around both the intriguingly named North and South Islands, with an eye for oddity and a taste for conversation, Bennett began to remind himself of the reasons New Zealand is quietly seducing the rest of the world.

Some 100 color photos by a professional Texas photographer and science teacher showcase these gregarious rodents in their natural habitat. Graves discusses their varieties, habits, biology, range, and role in the ecosystem. Includes information on habitat decline by state since 1870, and where they can still be seen.

The experience of seeing the Grand Canyon is difficult to describe but impossible to forget. Some people are content to see the massive chasm from a viewpoint along the rim; others want to see it from end to end and understand the natural processes that shaped this one-of-a-kind spectacle. It is for the latter that this book has been prepared. Anatomy of the Grand Canyon is not a geology textbook encumbered with language unintelligible to the average reader. Rather, it is a visual tour from the canyon's rims, the Colorado River, and the air; from the beginning of the Grand Canyon at Lees Ferry, to its conclusion 277 miles downstream at the Grand Wash Cliffs. Though the panoramic photographs are magnificent, their higher purpose is to show important geologic information. Supported by text, diagrams, and maps that are easy to understand, these photographs tell an amazing story. Author-photographer W. Kenneth Hamblin has packed a lifetime of geologic study into a volume that is at once inspiring and instructive, and has given the reader access to the Grand Canyon's most intriguing secrets. For them, the thrill of discovery awaits.