In 1848 news of the discovery of gold in California triggered an enormous wave of emigration toward the Pacific. Lured by the promise of riches, thousands of settlers left behind the forests, rain, and fertile soil of the eastern United States in favor of the rough-hewn lands of the American West. The dramatic terrain they struggled to cross is so familiar to us now that it is hard to imagine how frightening-even godforsaken-its sheer rock faces and barren deserts seemed to our forebears. Hard Road West brings their perspective vividly to life, weaving together the epic...
In 1848 news of the discovery of gold in California triggered an enormous wave of emigration toward the Pacific. Lured by the promise of riches, thous...
Unfold a map of North America, Keith Heyer Meldahl writes, and the first thing to grab your eye is the bold shift between the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. In this absorbing book, Meldahl takes readers on a 1000-mile-long field trip back through more than 100 million years of deep time to explore America s most spectacular and scientifically intriguing landscapes. He places us on the outcrops, rock hammer in hand, to examine the evidence for how these rough-hewn lands came to be. We see California and its gold assembled from pieces of old ocean floor and the relentless movements of...
Unfold a map of North America, Keith Heyer Meldahl writes, and the first thing to grab your eye is the bold shift between the Great Plains and the Roc...
The author tells the scientific story of the Southern California coast: its mountains, islands, beaches, bluffs, surfing waves, earthquakes, and related phenomena. He takes readers from San Diego to Santa Barbara, revealing the evidence for how the coast's features came to be and how they are continually changing.
The author tells the scientific story of the Southern California coast: its mountains, islands, beaches, bluffs, surfing waves, earthquakes, and relat...
