Author Charlie Spencer shows you around the state from the flat, glaciated plains in the north to the knobs of rhyolite in the St. Francois Mountains in the south, and from the earthquake-formed sand boils on the Mississippi floodplain in the southeast to the layers of coal, shale, sandstone, and limestone on the Springfield Plateau and Osage Plains in the west.
The Missouri Handbooks are intended to bring the products of extensive research to the general public in nontechnical yet scholarly terms and in a convenient paperback format.
"Dinosaur tracks preserved in sandstone, knobs of granite rising from the plains, and springs cascading down limestone cliffs are just a few of the fascinating geologic features discussed in Roadside Geology of Oklahoma, a guide to more than 35 roads that crisscross the Sooner State. Longtime Oklahoma Geological Survey geologist Neil Suneson tells you what to look for along the roads, points you in the direction of nearby parks with interesting rocks and crystals, and recounts historical gems about radium mineral baths, coal mines, fossil excavations, and the early days of petroleum extraction, not to mention the rush for nonexistent gold in the Wichita Mountains. And lest you think nothing has happened recently, geologically speaking, in this Great Plains state, you'll learn about a fault that broke the land surface a meer 1,250 years ago and is capable of generating a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Suneson also gets you up to speed on more modern considerations such as groundwater depletion, petroleum fracking, and strip mine reclamation. Take this book along for a ride as you roll across the red plains east to the Ozark Plateau, west to the Panhandle, or south to the Ouachita, Arbuckle, and Wichita Mountains"--
