Customer Reviews

Geology of the North Cascades: A Mountain Mosaic

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This superb book is a guide to the geology and natural history of the North Cascades-a wild, nearly roadless mountain range in northern Washington State. The book is not only an indispensable visitors' guide that describes key viewpoints and outcrop features along roads and trails in the region, but also explains to the novice, how the North Cascades came into being in wonderfully lucid language. It explains the ongoing geologic processes that presently shape this rugged country as well as the long history of tectonic processes that assembled the underpinnings of the range and led to the distribution of the varied rock units exposed on the peaks and gorge walls. The book is exceptionally well illustrated with dozens of exquisite, annotated sketches as well as colored photographs. This is simply the most authoritative and accessible resource available on the geologic story of this unique and beautiful region written by scientists that have spent decades walking and mapping the terrain and puzzling over how it evolved to its present state. It is a peerless quide to the area.

This book is without a doubt the best non-technical description you will find on the geologic/tectonic evolution of the North Cascades of Washington State, and I am certain it will remain so for several years. The information presented in this book is synthesized from more than a century of field work conducted by numerous investigators, not least of which include the authors. I would recommend purchasing two copies (as I have): one for your library bookshelf and another for the rough-and-tumble environment of a backpack...