Geology Of National Parks [Paperback]

Ann G. Harris (Author), Esther Tuttle (Author), Sherwood D. Tuttle (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Kendall Hunt Pub Co; Pap/Cdr edition (November 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787299715
• ISBN-13: 978-0787299712
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent material. Well presented sans..............., March 4, 2005

By 

Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Geology of National Parks (Ring-bound)

This is an excellent textbook of geology and some history of our national parks. The text is organized by each park within geographic regions. This is great and helps one to read up on a specific park BEFORE visiting it so as to get the most out of the trip.

The layout, font size and pictures are great. The explanation of the geology behind the landscape is just beautiful and quite meaty. There is a CD that comes with the text and this is where I have a problem. The CD has great pictures of the parks but that is it. It would have been great if the CD came with some interactive stuff.

With the book size being formidible it would have been great to have a folded handout along with the CD so that one could actually use it on a field trip.

But all in all this is an excellent book and very useful to a non-geologist like myself.

I would have given it a 5-star except that there is no handy cutout that effectively summarizes the book for use in the field.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great desk reference, not really a textbook, December 11, 2003

By 

James G. Warden (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Geology of National Parks (Paperback)

"Geology of the National Parks" is filled to the brim with information, but it is less a textbook than a nice desk reference.

The book organizes the national parks according to their major geographical features. This works, but since many parks have the same or similar features, the same information is often repeated. Furthermore, the information on the parks is extremely detailed and extends beyond the geographic features that the book is organized by. A straight geographic or alphabetical ordering might have worked better. The index is adequate, though, which make up for this somewhat.

The writing is clear and understandable, though packed with information. If there is a geological process in a NP, it is in this book. The only problem is that the student never really gets an idea of geological processes on a continental or global scale because of the organization. Each park comes off as isolated.

Still, if you are an amateur geologist who enjoys the national parks, this is a great book to have in your collection. It really makes a person appreciate how unique and special each park is. But any professor looking to use this as a text really needs address the material like they would a GEOL 101 course and use the parks to address these larger geological processes. A biology or chemistry teacher wouldn't teach from an encyclopedia of those disciplines and the same care needs to be taken with this text.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 58 National Parks in COLOR., September 3, 2011

By 

G. L. Simms - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Geology of National Parks (Ring-bound)

In the last few years I've become intrigued by geology after visiting the western National Parks.

I've read and studied a few intro geology textbook to become educated enough to appreciate what underlies the beauty of our National Parks.

This book does a wonderful job of covering the geology underlying the beauty of 58 of our National Parks. IMHO it was worth the used price I paid for it. I do wish I'd gotten the CD to see what it contained.

For me the color pictures and illustrations make the book more interesting and enjoyable to read. It's just easier to learn.

I bought the book in 3-ring binder form so I can take one park out at a time and put it in a smaller binder to read. The book itself is 2 inches thick and cumbersome to read unless you're at a table. Taking out one of the 58 chapters makes it easier to work with.

I also have Geology of Utah's National and State Parks, also in COLOR, that goes into more detail for each park, but having looked at that book, this book covers each of the 58 parks well, but not in too much detail.

Having armchair geology as one of my hobbies, this book makes a wonderful addition to my library.

My basic geology book recommendation is EARTH, An Introduction to Physical Geology. I'd welcome other recommendations here too.

I have a college and professional science background and enjoy learning the "why" behind many things. That bores a lot of people so if you're the "art" type of person that want to watch eagles soaring over the Grand Canyon, I don't recommend this book for you.

I also enjoy watching eagles soar and ground squirrels play at the Grand Canyon!

For this price you might want to borrow it from a library or a university library to be sure it's for you.