California's Amazing Geology

About this book

California has some of the most distinctive and unique geology in the United States. It is the only state with all three types of plate boundaries, an extraordinary history of earthquakes and volcanoes, and many rocks and minerals found nowhere else. The Golden State includes both the highest and lowest points in the continental USA and practically every conceivable geological feature known. This book discusses not only the important geologic features of each region in California but also the complex geologic four-dimensional puzzle of how California was assembled, beginning over two billion years ago. The author provides an up-to-date and authoritative review of the geology and geomorphology of each geologic province, as well as recent revelations of the tectonic history of California's past. There are separate chapters on some of California's distinctive geologic resources, including gold, oil, water, coastlines, and fossils. An introductory section describes basic rock and mineral types and fundamental aspects of plate tectonics, so that students and other readers can make sense of the bizarre, wild, and crazy jigsaw puzzle that is California's geological history.

In this second edition, the book has an entirely new final section, "California's Environmental Hazards and Challenges", with new chapters on California's landslides, air and water pollution, renewable energy, and the future of climate change in California.

Contents

Chapter 1. The Golden State
Chapter 2. Building Blocks
Chapter 3. Dating California
Chapter 4. The Big Picture
Chapter 5. Earthquakes and Seismology
Chapter 6. Young Volcanoes
Chapter 7. The Broken Land
Chapter 8. Gold, Glaciers, and Granitics
Chapter 9. Mantle Rocks and Exotic Terranes
Chapter 10. Oil and Agriculture
Chapter 11. The San Andreas Fault System
Chapter 12. Melanges, Granitics, and Ophiolites
Chapter 13. Compression, Rotation, Uplift
Chapter 14. Granitics, Gravels, and Gems
Chapter 15. Assembling California
Chapter 16. California's Gold
Chapter 17. California's Oil and Gas
Chapter 18. California's Water
Chapter 19. California's Coasts
Chapter 20. California's Fossil Resources
Chapter 21. California's Slippery Slopes
Chapter 22. California's Air and Water Pollution
Chapter 23. California's Renewable Energy Resources
Chapter 24. Climate Change and California's Future Environment

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Biography

Donald Prothero has taught college geology and palaeontology for 45 years at Caltech, Columbia, Cal Poly Pomona, Occidental, Knox, Vassar, Glendale, Mt. San Antonio, and Pierce Colleges. He earned his B.A. in geology and biology (highest honours, Phi Beta Kappa, College Award) from the University of California, Riverside in 1976, and his M.A. (1978), M.Phil. (1979), and PhD (1982) in geological sciences from Columbia University. He is the author of over 50 books (including eight leading geology textbooks and several trade books), and over 400 scientific papers, mostly on the evolution of fossil mammals (especially rhinos, camels, and pronghorns) and on using the Earth's magnetic field changes to date fossil-bearing strata. He has been on the editorial boards of journals such as Geology, Paleobiology, Journal of Paleontology, and Skeptic magazine. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, the Paleontological Society, and the Geological Society of America, and also received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Science Foundation. He served as President of the Pacific Section SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) in 2012, and served for five years as Program Chair of the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology. In 1991, he received the Charles Schuchert Award for outstanding palaeontologist under the age of 40. In 2013, he received the James Shea Award of the National Association of Geology Teachers for outstanding writing and editing in the geosciences. In 2015, he received the Joseph T. Gregory award for service to vertebrate palaeontology. In 201,6 he was named a "Friend of Darwin" by the National Center for Science Education. In 2023, he was named a "Distinguished Speaker" by the Palaeontological Association. He has been featured on numerous TV documentaries, including Paleoworld, Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, Prehistoric Monsters Revealed, Monsterquest, Prehistoric Predators: Entelodon and Hyaenodon, Conspiracy Road Trip: Creationism, as well as Jeopardy! and Win Ben Stein's Money.