Exploring Glacier National Park (Exploring Series) [Paperback]

David Rockwell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Exploring Series | Publication Date: May 1, 2002

Glacier National Park in northern Montana offers visitors the chance to be immersed in a pristine landscape, and an opportunity to experience the Rocky Mountain West in all its unspoiled glory.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

One of the jewels in the national park system, Glacier National Park encompasses the dramatic landscape where the vast watersheds of the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Hudson Bay converge. Here plants and animals unique to those three basins come together, making it one of the richest, most diverse natural places in North America. Wolves, grizzly bears, and moose wander its woods and high alpine meadows. Western redcedar, whitebark pine, and glacier lily thrive and mingle on the slopes of its glacial valleys.

 

Author and naturalist David Rockwell explains the evolution of the park's geology from the erosion of Australian mountains more than a billion years ago to the glaciers that gave Glacier National Park its distinctive landscape. He explores the natural history of the plants and animals of the park's six distinct regions. You'll learn about the park's greatest predators, grizzly bears, mountain lions, and wolves, and about their complex relationship with their prey. The result is a fascinating and intimate portrait of one of the world's last truly wild places. (6 x 9, 320 pages, color photos, b&w photos, maps)

About the Author

David Rockwell has worked in the field of natural resource conservation for more than 25 years as a consultant, manager, writer, and teacher. His previous books include Nature of North America and Giving Voice to Bear. He lives in Dixon, Montana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 1st edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762723548
• ISBN-13: 978-0762723546
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Montana

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Survey of the Geology, Flora, and Fauna of Glacier, August 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Exploring Glacier National Park (Exploring Series) (Paperback)

Obviously this is not a book intended to help you plan a trip to Glacier National Park, so the one-star review below was evidently given simply out of ignorant spite at having bought the wrong book!

If, however, you are looking for a book that discusses the geology, the flora, and the fauna of the stunning wilderness that is Glacier National Park, you can hardly do better than this one. And, if you have a brain that's turned on and are travelling in the park for any considerable length of time, as I did recently, believe me, you will have hundreds of questions about how that mountain got shaped that way or why those flowers only grow in this region or when the big-horned sheep are likely to be visible--and you will be looking for such a book.

This book discusses the different habitats and ecological niches that the park comprises, from the McDonald Creek Valley to the Alpine, includes checklists of native plants and animals, where in the park to find particular species, maps, and beautiful full color photos, and provides enough background on general principles of geology and ecology that you won't need any other resource.

On my visit to the park I saw many people with separate books for animals, for birds, for flowers, and so on. But this book has it all. I highly recommend it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting insight into the rocks and wildlife of Glacier, March 15, 2006

By 

Sophie Harrison (Oxford, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exploring Glacier National Park (Exploring Series) (Paperback)

This is a comprehensive review of the geology and natural history of the Glacier area and will enhance a visit to the Park. It is not a guidebook in the traditional sense of listing accommodation and restaurants, itineraries etc. It has some colour photos, although most are black and white.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A background natural history for your visit to Glacier NP, November 3, 2008

By 

Arthur Digbee (Indianapolis, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Exploring Glacier National Park (Exploring Series) (Paperback)

This is *not* a travel guide or a hiking book. Instead, it is intended to provide a background in natural history for any visit to Glacier NP.

It does this admirably. The chapters on geology emphasize the "big picture" story of how these mountains were formed, and where you can see particular formations. Rockwell does not get lost in the details of rock type and strata names, as all too geologists do.

The book also has several chapters on habitats such as aspen parklands, the North Fork Valley, Macdonald Creek, subalpine and alpine. Again, Rockwell avoids a dry description of plants and animals and instead tells stories of how the habitat as a whole works.

Finally, Rockwell includes some tour-guide material, such as where to find particular kinds of geologic formations or animal habitats from the road.

If you'd like greater depth than you'll get from the visitors' centers, while still being accessible to laypeople, this book would be an excellent choice.