Fire, Faults & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin (Northwest Naturalist Book) [Paperback]

Marge Mueller (Author), Ted Mueller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997 | Series: Northwest Naturalist Book

Distributed by the University of Nebraska Press for the University of Idaho Press

A wonderous collection of soaring cliffs, deep coulees, basalt dike walls, water-filled potholes, flood carved caves and broad channels of one-time rivers spreads across eastern and central Washington and northern Oregon. Fifty-three trips are targeted to assist readers in finding and understanding the area's major geologic features. Ninety-five black and white photographs and 80 maps and illustrations accompany the text.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marge and Ted Mueller are outdoor enthusiasts and environmentalists who have explored the Pacific Northwest for over 40 years and have instructed mountain climbing through the University of Washington. This is their eleventh book on the Pacific Northwest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Caxton Press (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893012068
• ISBN-13: 978-0893012069
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #994,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geology > Specific Locations
  • #77 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geology > Volcanology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read for the amateur geologist/hiker, January 6, 2003

By 

James Perkins (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fire, Faults & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin (Northwest Naturalist Book) (Paperback)

Growing up in Oregon's Willamette Valley, basalt cliffs have watched over my life. More flood basalt and Rocky mountain gravels and mud are under my feet, and for most of my life I've lived within the shores of glacial lake Allison. When I go the rugged Pacific coast I look at beautiful haystack rocks and headlands where the same lava streams flowed, or I climb volcanic peaks just inland. Flood-wrenched lavas greet me in my travels up the Columbia and Snake Rivers, through the gorge, coulees and hills and through the valley of the Grande Ronde to overlook the Snake River canyon, over a mile deep. Fossils lie beneath similar formations in John Day country.

Fire, Faults & Floods bring the processes that created this to life. It would be useful and handy enough as a guidebook for traveling to various places and interpreting them with short hikes and drives. However, it goes way beyond this, interesting enough to hold your attention as you turn each page, filling in more and more details and drawing them into a cohesive whole.

If you have money and interest left after this book, for a more historically-oriented story of Harlan Bretz, and additional local details, pick up a companion book "Cataclysms on the Columbia" by Allen, Burns, Sargent, and Sargent.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Imagination Falters!, June 3, 2000

By 

H. J. Bergman (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fire, Faults & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin (Northwest Naturalist Book) (Paperback)

This book tells of events so implausible that even your imagination will have difficulty comprehending them. If I have any complaint about the book it is that it fails to sufficiently emphasize how amazing it is, for example, that molten lava once upon a time ran nearly 400 miles before coming to its stopping place. The authors seem to almost be afraid that if they point up the apparent absurdity of it all, the reader would decide the whole book was a well written hoax! It was not a hoax, though, and the story of what happened in the Pacific Northwest once upon a time is well told. It is of greatest interest, obviously, to those of us who live here in the midst of the results of fire, fault and flood, but, for those elsewhere with vivid imaginations, it is a cracking good book. This is one time when what actually happened is more exciting than anything one's imgination can possibly conjure up!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overlooked Beauty, April 30, 2000

By 

B. Somers - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fire, Faults & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin (Northwest Naturalist Book) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. But I may be different that you. I like rocks, massive basalt cliffs, immense coulees, and the beauty of arid lands. These and much more can be found in this wonderful book by Marge and Ted Mueller. If you're excited about these things then this may be a book you'd enjoy also, especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. This book is really more than just a basic, easy-to-read geological primer of the Columbia River Basin. It is a trip-planner with detailed instructions on how to go and see the stuff for yourself. I've already been to a couple of the locations and have another short trip planned for this fall. This book is exactly what I hoped it would be when I bought it from Amazon.com. I've never found another book quite like it. Enjoy!