United States
£ GBP
Through the original writings and photography of renowned geologist Harold Rollin Wanless, this book paints a thorough and engaging picture of the White River Badlands' landscape, geology, biology, pioneer settlers, and how life was lived 100 years ago in a harsh, challenging, remote setting.
In the summer of 1920, Harold Rollin Wanless, fresh from an undergraduate geology degree at Princeton, spent the first of three summers in the Badlands of South Dakota camping, hiking, and collecting fossil vertebrate skulls. Harold produced a fascinating and thorough diary and report, illustrated with over 100 image plates, in which he explains the geology, biology, and climate of this famous area. Wanless became deeply involved with and vividly records the life, hopes, trials and character of the new homesteading pioneers of the area, and the people and livelihoods he encountered are reflected in the diary as well.
This is an engaging look at the history, environment, people and geological character of a unique portion of the American West. Combining a first-hand look at the White River Badlands and its people a century ago with the fossil history contained in its Cenozoic sediments gives a well-rounded historical presentation.
This diary was found, compiled, and edited by Drs. Harold Rogers Wanless (the diarist's son and an accomplished geologist himself) and Emmett Evanoff. In the introductory and concluding chapters of this book, they provide a broader perspective of Harold Rollin Wanless's life and his significant achievements beyond the Badlands venture described here. In addition, this narrative – written "only" a century ago – provides a stark contrast with how we travel, communicate, conduct research and survive today, yet shows that human curiosity and kindnesses have not changed.
Part I. Introduction
Chapter 1: Fossil Hunting in the Badlands of South Dakota
Chapter 2: Harold Rollin Wanless and Researching the Badlands
Part II. 1920 Expedition
Chapter 3: June 20 to June 26 - Chicago to Scenic
Chapter 4: June 27 to June 29 - Freight Train to Interior
Chapter 5: June 30 to July 3 - Collecting Fossil History at Cedar Pass and the Wall
Chapter 6: July 4 to July 8 - White River and the Rain
Chapter 7: July 9 to July 13 - Back to Scenic and Hart Table
Chapter 8: July 14 to July 17: Finding the Giant Pig
Chapter 9: July 18 to July 22 - Farmers, Fossils and Heat
Chapter 10: July 23 to July 26 - Jerks and Gentlemen
Chapter 11: July 27 to July 29 - The Past = The Key to the Present
Chapter 12: July 30 - Nearly Trapped on Sheep Mountain
Chapter 13: July 31 to August 3 - Collecting in Bear Creek Pocket
Chapter 14: August 4 to 5 - Research Back up Sheep Mountain
Chapter 15: August 7 to 9 - Wild Stallions & Broken Springs
Chapter 16: August 10 to 12 - Golf Ball Hail and Fossil Dogs
Chapter 17: August 13 to 15 - Sabre-Tooth Tigers
Chapter 18: August 16 to 18 - Final photos and samples
Chapter 19: August 19 to 22 - Shipping and Heading Home
Part III - 1921 and 1922 Expeditions to the Badlands
Chapter 20: Summer 1921 Tackling the West in the Rachael Jane
Chapter 21: Summer 1922 Completing an Ancient Story
Part IV - Harold Rollin Wanless and the Badlands after the 1920s
Chapter 22: Harold's Life and Science after 1922
Harold Rogers Wanless has been at the University of Miami since 1971 in Marine Geology and Geophysics, Geological Sciences (Chair from 1998-2017), and most recently in the Department of Geography and Sustainable Development. His B.A. degree was in Geology at Princeton University, his Master's in Marine Geology at Miami, and his PhD at Johns Hopkins University. He has focused on Modern to Cambrian sediments and sea level.
Emmett Evanoff has been at the University of Northern Colorado since 2004 in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. He earned his B.S. degree in Geology at the University of Wyoming and his Master's and PhD degrees in Geology at the University of Colorado. His research has focused on sedimentology of volcanoclastic rocks including the White River Group of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. He has worked in the White River Badlands of South Dakota since 1997.
