Crow's Range

Crow's Range

Author: David Beesley

Publisher: University of Nevada Press

Published: 2017-04-04

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 0874176344

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John Muir called it the "Range of Light, the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain chains I’ve ever seen." The Sierra Nevada—a single unbroken mountain range stretching north to south over four hundred miles, best understood as a single ecosystem but embracing a number of environmental communities—has been the site of human activity for millennia. From the efforts of ancient Native Americans to encourage game animals by burning brush to create meadows to the burgeoning resort and residential development of the present, the Sierra has endured, and often suffered from, the efforts of humans to exploit its bountiful resources for their own benefit. Historian David Beesley examines the history of the Sierra Nevada from earliest times, beginning with a comprehensive discussion of the geologic development of the range and its various ecological communities. Using a wide range of sources, including the records of explorers and early settlers, scientific and government documents, and newspaper reports, Beesley offers a lively and informed account of the history, environmental challenges, and political controversies that lie behind the breathtaking scenery of the Sierra. Among the highlights are discussions of the impact of the Gold Rush and later mining efforts, as well as the supporting industries that mining spawned, including logging, grazing, water-resource development, market hunting, urbanization, and transportation; the politics and emotions surrounding the establishment of Yosemite and other state and national parks; the transformation of the Hetch Hetchy into a reservoir and the desertification of the once-lush Owens Valley; the roles of the Forest Service, Park Service, and other regulatory agencies; the consequences of the fateful commitment to wildfire suppression in Sierran forests; and the ever-growing impact of tourism and recreational use. Through Beesley’s wide-ranging discussion, John Muir’s "divinely beautiful" range is revealed in all its natural and economic complexity, a place that at the beginning of the twenty-first century is in grave danger of being loved to death. Available in hardcover and paperback.


Carleton Watkins

Carleton Watkins

Author: Carleton E. Watkins

Publisher: Getty Publications

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 606

ISBN-13: 1606060058

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This is an opulently illustrated catalogue of the entire remaining mammoth photographs of Carleton Watkins (1829-1916). The work will contribute not only to a fuller understanding of this pioneering photographer but also portray the barely explored frontier in its final moments of pristine beauty.


Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Author: Elizabeth Wenk

Publisher: Wilderness Press

Published: 2021-11-09

Total Pages: 866

ISBN-13: 0899977863

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The Essential Guide for Hikers, Backpackers, and Equestrians Yosemite National Park is a hiker’s paradise. Many people return time and again to experience its multifaceted landscapes. With 800-plus miles of maintained trails and several hundred more just beyond the park’s boundaries, the options for exploration are endless. It would take years to visit every corner of the park—yet each trail yields new wonders to admire. Fortunately, expert hiker Elizabeth Wenk helps you choose where to go and what to see in this meticulously updated guidebook. Yosemite National Park describes almost every trail in Yosemite and most of the trails just outside the park. The routes are divided into 96 trips of varying length and difficulty, each with a standalone map that complements the author’s trip description. Take in the stunning views of the Pothole Dome hike in less than an hour. Plan a family backpacking trip along the remarkably flat Twenty Lakes Basin. Enjoy endless views of El Capitan on the Valley Loops Trail. Discover granite slabs, subalpine lakes, rugged peaks, and endless flowers on the Clark Range Circuit. This classic book leads you to sequoias, waterfalls, and canyons in Yosemite and the surrounding Emigrant, Hoover, and Ansel Adams wilderness areas. In this book you’ll find 96 routes along popular and less-frequented trails Detailed trip narratives that let you know what to expect At-a-glance icons highlighting the best spots for views, camping, swimming, and more Comprehensive information on lodging, permits, and other park activities Descriptions of the region’s history, geology, flora, and fauna BONUS: This guide comes with the Yosemite National Park and Vicinity Topographic Map—a separate, foldout, full-color map that shows roads, campgrounds, restricted areas, and all major trails in the park and its surroundings. If you’re planning a visit to Yosemite, you must have this book!


A Natural History of California

A Natural History of California

Author: Allan A. Schoenherr

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2017-07-03

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 0520290372

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In this comprehensive and abundantly illustrated book, Allan A. Schoenherr describes the natural history of California—a state with a greater range of landforms, a greater variety of habitats, and more kinds of plants and animals than any area of equivalent size in all of North America. A Natural History of California focuses on each distinctive region, addressing its climate, rocks, soil, plants, and animals. The second edition of this classic work features updated species names and taxa, new details about parks reclassified by federal and state agencies, new stories about modern human and animal interaction, and a new epilogue on the impacts of climate change.


Granite Landscapes of the World

Granite Landscapes of the World

Author: Piotr Migon

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2006-01-19

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 019155684X

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Outcrops of granitic rocks cover a large proportion of the Earth's surface and host a range of spectacular landforms and landscapes, from extensive plains dotted by inselbergs to deeply dissected mountain ranges. They are often strikingly beautiful, but more importantly, they provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of geomorphic evolution both in the past and at present. The book offers a comprehensive view of the geomorphology of granite areas, examining individual landforms and their assemblages. Weathering processes, and the phenomenon of deep weathering in particular, are given much emphasis as these are fundamental to the understanding of the geomorphic evolution of granite areas. Granite landforms directly related to weathering, such as boulders, tors, inselbergs, and features of surface microrelief are examined in respect to their characteristics and origin. Patterns of slope evolution are shown in the context of both rock slopes and deeply weathered terrains. Granite geomorphology in the coastal, periglacial and glacial context is presented to show how the characteristics of granite control landform evolution in these specific environments. In the closing part a variety of geological controls is reviewed and their primacy over other factors is advocated, followed by an attempt to provide a typology of natural granite landscapes. Finally, certain specific ways of human transformation of granite landscapes are presented. The book will be useful to a range of earth science disciplines, including geomorphology, igneous petrology, engineering geology and soil science. Cultural geographers and people dealing with conservation of geological heritage should find it of interest. Examples from all parts of the world and extensive referencing ensure that it will act as an up-to-date guidebook to the fascinating world of granite geomorphology.


Geomorphological Fieldwork

Geomorphological Fieldwork

Author:

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2014-12-06

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0444634185

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Geomorphological Fieldwork addresses a topic that always remains popular within the geosciences and environmental science. More specifically, the volume conveys a growing legacy of field-based learning for young geomorphologists that can be used as a student book for field-based university courses and postgraduate research requiring fieldwork or field schools. The editors have much experience of field-based learning within geomorphology and extend this to physical geography. The topics covered are relevant to basic geomorphology as well as applied approaches in environmental and cultural geomorphology. The book integrates a physical-human approach to geography, but focuses on physical geography and geomorphology from an integrated field-based geoscience perspective. - Addresses fluvial and karst landscapes in depth - Focuses on field-based learning as well as educational geomorphology - Conveys experiential knowledge in international contexts


A Sense of Place

A Sense of Place

Author: Yosemite National Park (Agency : U.S.)

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 9780160904127

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[This book passes] on at least the basics of the special and unique considerations that undergird excellence of design in Yosemite -- from foreword.