Customer Reviews

A Land in Motion: California's San Andreas Fault

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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The San Andreas Fault traverses much of California from the Mexican border to far in the north. Those who have never seen it sometimes picture this tectonic feature as a lurking menace ready to swallow whole towns at a second's whim. This highly accurate book dispels such misimpressions and passes along a good deal of valid scientific information in an interesting, understandable way.

The book shows in colored diagrams and easily read narrative how plate tectonics has worked to create this piece of California that is moving inexorably northwest. The writers clearly explain how and why earthquake-producing stresses build up in and along the fault. Brief, but spectacular, histories show what happens when these stresses are released.

The book is exceptional in that it discusses rather esoteric scientific concepts in a non-patronizing way. The text is neither dry, nor overly simplistic. Any person with a limited scientific background and a high school education can grasp the concepts being examined.

The photographs of such things as offset streams, scarps, trees with interrupted growth, and sag ponds are carefully selected, and beautifully crafted. These follow the text well, avoiding the liability of having to probe through the book to match the picture with the explanation. They will call you to come to California.

Two excellent features are discussion segments with geologists who work on solving the fault's mysteries, and a section on parklands in which San Andreas Fault features may be found.

I highly recommend this wonderful book to anyone planning a trip to California, anyone who has an interest in the Earth and its processes, and anyone who just likes a darn good read.

Michael Collier has beautifully written and photographed the geological history of the San Andreas Fault. In what COULD have been an extremely dry subject he has captured my imagination with the most gorgeous photos and his plain-speaking explanations of geology. It's literally a page turner, too, with the flip-page diagram, showing the movement of the tectonic plates. A beautiful book worthy of the coffee table and a wonderful addition to my reference library.

Having grown up in Southern California and experienced a number of earthquakes, I enjoyed reading some factual and interesting facts about them. The information on plate techtonics in the region adds to my understanding about the processes involved and the illustrations and photos are quite illuminating. Overall, this is an great read.

A GREAT illustrated discussion of the San Andreas fault [and allies] by a master storyteller and photographer. [Declaration: Michael is a former student]

Nice book. Fast reading. Excellent pictures. This book really hits home for Californians. Decent explanation of how the earth is moving.