Geology of the American Southwest: A Journey through Two Billion Years of Plate-Tectonic History

by W. Scott Baldridge

Overview

Scott Baldridge presents a concise guide to the geology of the Southwestern U.S. Two billion years of Earth history are represented in the rocks and landscape of the Southwest U.S., creating natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and Death Valley. This region is considered a geologist's "dream", attracting a large number of undergraduate field classes and amateur geologists. The volume will prove invaluable to students and will also appeal to anyone interested in the geology and landscape of the region's National Parks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521816397
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/13/2004
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

W. Scott Baldridge is a Research Scientist in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Mexico. He is currently an associate editor of the Geological Society of America Bulletin, and has been an associate editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research. In 1998 he received an Excellence in Geophysical Education Award from the American Geophysical Union, and in 2000 a Special Commendation Award from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. He has published widely in the scientific literature. His passion for field geology has taken him to all corners of the American Southwest, and beyond.

Table of Contents

Preface; Notes and abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Growth of a continent: formation and stabilization of continental lithosphere; 2. Tantalizing time; 3. The international connection: breakup of a supercontinent; 4. Stability to orogeny: transformation of the Western Margin; 5. Pangea! Collision with Gondwana; 6. Deserts to dinosaurs; 7. Western orogeny; 8. The modern Southwest; References; Glossary; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"The intended scope of this book is as majestic as the topic itself. Recommended." J.H. Beck, Boston College, CHOICE

From the Publisher