ePub Parks and Plates: The Geology of Our National Parks; Monuments; and Seashores by Robert J. Lillie in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful on Plate Tectonics; pretty bad about the geology of the National Parks.By Naomi ManygoatsFor anyone trying to have a better understanding of plate tectonics; especially in the USA; this is a great book! It has wonderful; integrated; color illustrations. But if you want to learn about the geology of the National Parks; you will only get a mention of what tectonic environment that park is in; mostly by looking at the parks compiled in tables. And the geology is almost exclusively focused on the Plate tectonic environment. The diagrams mainly are very general diagrams explaining Plate tectonics; and are very good. But there are very few photos of the National Parks; and they are very small.For example; if you want to understand the Guadalupe Mountains National Park; you will find it in a table of Divergent Plate Boundaries. There is one sentence in the text about fault-blocking and volcanism in the Guadalupe Mts. NP; then a mention in another table of it being in the Rio Grande rift. But I see not even a mention of the fact that this park contain an exposure of one of the largest and most complete ancient reef sequences in the world; the same complex that extends to Carlsbad Caverns. (Caverns are mentioned in the book) in a very general way as well.This book was obviously intended to be read and studied cover to cover; likely as a textbook; not by geologists or interested armatures getting ready to go visit the parks. If you want to learn about a couple of specific parks before a vacation; this is not the book for you. If you really want to learn about the geology of the National Parks in detail; you are far better off with the Ann Harris book.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful Textbook for Geology of Southern Utah's National ParksBy G. L. SimmsOne of my favorite books on the geology of Utah's National Parks.Well written with color pictures and diagrams that make learning enjoyable; this is a great addition to my library on Southern Utah.It covers geology in depth; but in a way that's easy and fun (for me at least).An even simpler book is Geology Unfolded by Morris; Ritter; and Laycock. It's a much smaller book and does not delve deepely into detail; but it can be read in and evening for an overview of the different park's geology.My used copy was $35 and at that price; it was a great buy. Even at the full retail price I'd buy it again.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful (and highly useful) bookBy Stephen R. CollinsThis is a truly wonderful field guide to the tectonic evidence provided in our national parks. Organized by type of boundary (active vs. passive margins; rift zones; subduction zones; etc.); each section features a map showing the location of the relevant parks. The best features are the photographs on which explanatory diagrams are overlaid; illustrating sedimentary; volcanic; and metamorphosized deposits; like having a geologist at your elbow pointing them out. Can't wait to get out West to use it; although there are also a lot of Eastern features explored.