Authors: Deborah Reid Harden, Deborah Harden
ISBN-13: 9780131002180, ISBN-10: 013100218X
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Date Published: November 2003
Edition: 2nd Edition
Deborah R. Harden is a Professor in the Department of Geology at San Jose State University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in California geology and Earth-surface processes. Her particular interests are in landscape-forming processes, rivers, the effects of faults on streams, human impacts on watersheds, and California geology.
Before coming to San Jose State University, Dr. Harden worked as a geologist for a private engineering consulting firm and as a hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and B.S. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University, all in geology.
Dr. Harden has had the privilege and opportunity of visiting and studying geology and landscapes in many parts of the world, both professionally and with her family.
This interesting book uses plate tectonics as its central theme; it acquaints readers with California geology. Basic principles in the beginning of the book and tables of highlights for each province enable the reader to understand the whole picture of catastrophic national disasters, California history, mining methods, and societal impacts; it brings the lessons of geology closer to the everyday context of California life. After a comprehensive overview of the basic principles of geology, this book then focuses on the geological highlights of California (young volcanoes, deserts, the Mojave Desert, the Sierra Nevada, the Klamath Mountains, water, the Great Valley, the coast Ranges, earthquakes, faults, and seismic safety, the transverse ranges, and the peninsular ranges). The inside back and front covers of the book contain a wealth of readily available information, with comprehensive geologic, fault, relief, and mountain range maps. A handy desk reference for geologists, this book is also a source of information for anyone interested in the evolution of California's terrain.
Pt. I | Basic Principles of Geology | |
1 | Plate Tectonics and California | 3 |
2 | California's Rocks | 15 |
3 | Geologic Time, Dating Earth Materials, and California Fossils | 33 |
4 | Geologic Maps and Sources of Information | 47 |
Pt. II | Geologic Highlights of California | |
5 | Young Volcanoes: The Cascades, the Modoc Plateau, and the Long Valley Caldera | 55 |
6 | California's Deserts: Climate, Changing Environments, and Resources | 90 |
7 | The Basin and Range and Majove Desert: Old Rocks and Young Faults | 113 |
8 | The Sierra Nevada: Granite, Gold, and Glaciers | 141 |
9 | The Klamath Mountains: Accreted Terranes and a View of the Mantle | 194 |
10 | Water in California | 205 |
11 | The Great Valley: Sediments and Soils | 233 |
12 | The Coast Ranges: Mountains of Complexity | 252 |
13 | Earthquakes, Faults, and Seismic Safety | 289 |
14 | The San Andreas Fault System | 317 |
15 | The California Coast | 362 |
16 | The Transverse Ranges, the Los Angeles Basin, and the Offshore Islands: Compression and Rapid Change | 381 |
17 | The Peninsular Ranges | 414 |
Pt. III | California Geology: An Integrated View | |
18 | The Evolution of California Through Geologic Time | 427 |
19 | Geology and California Citizens | 439 |
Glossary | 453 | |
Place Index | 462 | |
Subject Index | 466 |