California's amazing geology

Book

California's amazing geology / Donald R. Prothero.

Summary:

"California has some of the most distinctive and unique geology in the United States. It is the only state with all three types of plate boundaries, an extraordinary history of earthquakes and volcanoes, and it has many rocks and minerals found nowhere else. The Golden State includes both the highest and lowest point in the continental US and practically every conceivable geological feature known. This book discusses not only the important geologic features of each region in California, but also the complex geologic four-dimensional puzzle of how California was assembled, beginning over 2 billion years ago. The author provides up-to-date and authoritative review of the geology and geomorphology of each geologic province, as well as recent revelations of tectonic history of California's past. There are separate chapters on some of California's distinctive geologic resources, including gold, oil, water, coastlines, and fossils. An introductory section describes basic rock and mineral types and fundamental aspects of plate tectonics, so that students and other readers can make sense of the bizarre, wild, and crazy jigsaw puzzle that is California's geological history."--Page 4 of cover.

Record details

ISBN: 9781498707916
ISBN: 1498707912
Physical Description: xv, 480 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), maps (chiefly color) ; 27 cm
Publisher: Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, [2017]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Part I. Fundamentals of geology. The Golden State -- Building blocks : minerals and rocks -- Dating California : stratigraphy and geochronology -- The big picture : tectonics and structural geology -- Earthquakes and seismology -- Part II. Geologic provinces of California. Young volcanoes : the Cascades and Modoc Plateau -- The broken land : the Basin and Range province -- Gold, glaciers, and granitics : the Sierra Nevada -- Mantle rocks and exotic terranes : the Klamath Mountains -- Oil and agriculture : the Great Valley -- The San Andreas fault system -- Mélanges, granitics, and ophiolites : the coast ranges -- Compression, rotation, uplift : the transverse ranges and adjacent basins -- Granitics, gravels, gems, and geothermal springs : the peninsular ranges and Salton Trough -- Assembling California : a four-dimensional jigsaw puzzle -- Part III. California's geological resources. California's gold -- California's oil and gas -- California's water -- California's coasts -- California's fossil resources.