Customer Reviews

Rocks and Minerals of California (Rock Collecting)

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

 

 

Good luck on finding mineral sites using this guide. While the minerals may be in the areas indicated, the maps are so crude that the likelihood of your finding the sites is very poor. I have tried using the guide for several years with almost no success.

Oh my...I have owned this book since before I even moved to California. I'm glad I didn't let this book's terrible quality stop me from moving to the mineral wonderland that is California. The problem with this book is that it is just small scale maps of california with freaking NUMBERS plopped all over some map. Ok, thanks a LOT for the number 14 (QUARTZ =) over Quartz Hill in Palmdale...yes, it IS made out of Quartz...massive white quartz. The ONLY way this book is of ANY use is if you were to use it in conjunction with other maps and even then, there are scores of better works to choose from on the subject. Don't waste your time.

Well worth what I paid for it. This book has lots of information and would make a good reference for the Geology of California.

The maps though, don't say what the major highways/roads are, so you'll need another map. I have the book Roadside Geology of North/Central California, and this book goes really well with it.

In some ways, Rocks and Minerals of California I think is more useful, despite the missing road ID. The book has sections of counties (not all but most) and minerals found in those areas. Also, quadrangle information, township/range locations of minerals is listed.

I love to go rockhounding in California, where I live. I can't understand, though, how this book is supposed to help me with my hobby. The maps in this book only show generalized areas where rocks and minerals can be found, by looking for very hard-to-find numbers on these maps. No information is given about collecting sites such as directions for finding these sites, descriptions of these sites, and descriptions of particular rocks and minerals that can be found at these sites. Listed on these maps are the names of cities and towns, but the names of roads and highways are not listed. The front of the book does give somewhat helpful information in identifying rocks and minerals, such as testing for specific gravity, using scratch tests, and checking cleavage, among other tips, but using this book to help in the collection of rocks and minerals just does not work. Much better books exist, in much easier-to-use formats. For finding rocks and minerals in California I use the GPS Guide to Western Gem trails along with two other books - Gem Trails of Northern California and Rockhounding California.