Presents the stories created by various native peoples to explain such natural wonders as the Hot Springs of Arkansas, the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls, Crater Lake, and the Hawaiian Islands.
The slower geologic processes are represented by myths associated with natural landforms, rocks and minerals, rivers and mountains, and other outstanding features of the landscape. Examples are also given to show some minor ways in which folklore and geology impinge on one another: misconceptions about geologic phenomena, such as earthquakes, which are so prevalent as to constitute a form of modern folklore, and conversely, ideas long considered to be pure folklore which may prove to have some basis in scientific fact. The most dramatic example of geomythology so far discovered is the theory the origin of the lost continent of Atlantis may be found in the Minoan civilization of Crete, which suddenly disappeared from view around 1450 B.C., about the time of a tremendous eruption know to have occurred in the nearby volcano, Santorin. This theory, variously developed by Marinatos and Galanopoulos, is examined in the light of new evidence gathered in Crete by Mrs.
Native American tales are set against scientific facts to explain how thunder, tornadoes, sunlight, rainbows, and other weather phenomena come into existence.
"Now, in this book, Chris Winitana re-tells fourteen of the favourite stories of the Maori people, accompanied by over one hundred colour photograghs by Andy Reisinger that show the paradise that was - and is - New Zealand. The book includes many of the best-known stories - the legends of Maui, Kupe, the Arawa canoe, Rona and the moon - and some less well known, such as the legend of the walking mountains, the fires of the earth, the flight of the greenstone people and the story of Wakatipu. The legends cover tribal areas from all around New Zealand, reflecting the breadth of the photography, from isolated Northland beaches to lofty alpine heights."--BOOK JACKET.
Myths, personal narratives and historical traditions reveal beliefs and customs of twelve Indian tribes who once lived in the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming