Customer Reviews

A Field Guide to the Grand Canyon 2nd Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the most thorough traditional field guide to the Canyon, complete with pictures of flora and fauna for identification in the field. It's perfect for day hikes along the rim or packed on raft trips, but if you're going on a long canyon trek on foot you may find it a bit heavy to pack. The great number of pages devoted to an overview of history, basic geology, trails, etc. are not really necessary on the trail and I have even considered cutting all that extraneous material out, as the field guide portions are excellent, but I shrink from slicing up a good book! Steve, how about a two-volume set next time, one for the armchair and one for the trail? Though there is information about Canyon hiking routes, this is not a trail guide; you'll want to get Scott Thybony's or Sharon Spangler's book for that, or one of several others that are available. But it is valuable reading for anyone planning to spend time in one of our most magnificent parks, and certainly worth tossing into your suitcase, if not into your backpack.

I agree with everything the previous reviewer said, except that I really like the overviews of Canyon geology and so on, and don't feel that those make to book too heavy to be useful as a field guide. This is probably the best and most informative guide for a hiker or visitor to the Grand Canyon to take along.

Handy easy-to-use guide to birds, flowers, cacti, wildflowers, reptiles, mammals, geology of the grand canyon. Nothing like it anywhere.

This book was a nice introduction to the geology, plant and animal life of the grand canyon. It is small enough to take in your pack and is fun to read once you've arrived at camp and try to identify the plants, animals and strata you saw. Not too much specific information about any one species, strata, etc., but good general intros to flora, cacti, etc. I'd recommend it if it's your first hike in the canyon and you're just looking for a simple book to become familiar with the names of thing. You can find it in the gift shops on both rims too.

I wanted to save weight on my hike to Phantom ranch so I bought this guide for my Kindle. Don't bother. Field guides need illustrations. This edition is a cheesy digitization of the dead-tree book filled with illustrations which were originally a) much larger; and b) printed in color. On my 7" b/w kindle, they were near useless.

I've used this book many times over the years and taken on several GC rafting trips. It is very concise and complete, accurate and interesting. Easy to read and use in the field. A must have book for any Grand Canyon library.

Great guide to the natural history and animals & plants of the Canyon. It is quite detailed. I was looking primarily for plant & animal identification to take hiking, but once at the Canyon, I ended up really enjoying reading about the rock types & history. Since I was backpacking, I ended up not taking it into the Canyon due to weight--it is dense for a book of it's size, but still found it helpful.

Loads of detail. Really liked this book.
- River and Desert Plants of the Grand Canyon by Kristin Huisinga, Lori Makarick and Kate Watters published 2006 by Mountain Press Publishing Company Missoula, Montana PO Box 2399, Missoula, Montana 59806 (406) 728-1900 Great book!
- "Guidebook to the Colorado River Part 1 Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon National Park (and Part 2 Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon National Park to Lake Mead Arizona-Nevada) Two BYU Geology Professors W. Kenneth Hamblin and J. Keith Rigby. Indepth mile by mile with some pictures etc. They are only $5 a piece. A publication of the Department of Geology, Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602.

Useful guide for visitors who are hiking, but limited use for river runners.