Great Plains Geology

About this book

Great Plains Geology concisely guides readers through the geological development of the Great Plains region. It describes the distinct features of fifty-seven geologic sites, including fascinating places such as Raton Pass in Colorado and New Mexico, the Missouri Breaks of Montana, and the Ashfall Fossil Beds in Nebraska. Great Plains Geology addresses the tricky question of what constitutes the Great Plains, showing that the region is defined in part through its unique geologic features.

Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. What Is the Great Plains?
2. Geologic History of the Great Plains
3. Visiting the Great Plains Sites in Canada
      Site 1. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Alberta
      Site 2. Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta
      Site 3. Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta and Saskatchewan Site
      Site 4. T. rex Discovery Centre, Saskatchewan
      Site 5. Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan Sites in the United States Montana
      Site 6. Giant Springs State Park
      Site 7. Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument
      Site 8. Pompeys Pillar National Monument
      Site 9. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
      Site 10. Judith Mountains North Dakota
      Site 11. Theodore Roosevelt National Park
      Site 12. Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site South Dakota
      Site 13. Slim Buttes
      Site 14. Badlands National Park
      Site 15. Mount Rushmore National Memorial
      Site 16. Wind Cave National Park
      Site 17. Jewel Cave National Monument
      Site 18. Hot Springs Mammoth Site
      Site 19. Petrified Forest, Black Hills
      Site 20. Big Bend of the Missouri River Wyoming
      Site 21. Devils Tower National Monument
      Site 22. Pine Bluffs Archaeological Site Nebraska
      Site 23. Toadstool Geological Park
      Site 24. Hudson-Meng Bison Kill Research Center
      Site 25. Pine Ridge
      Site 26. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
      Site 27. Scotts Bluff National Monument
      Site 28. Chimney Rock National Historic Site
      Site 29. Courthouse and Jail Rocks
      Site 30. Ash Hollow State Historical Park
      Site 31. Sand Hills Region
      Site 32. Snake River Falls
      Site 33. Fort Falls and Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge
      Site 34. Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park
      Site 35. Niobrara State Park
      Site 36. Harlan County Lake Kansas
      Site 37. Monument Rocks
      Site 38. Castle Rock Colorado
      Site 39. Castle Rock
      Site 40. Section Boundary, Raton/Colorado Piedmont
      Site 41. Comanche National Grassland
      Site 42. El Huerfano
      Site 43. Spanish Peaks New Mexico
      Site 44. Raton Pass
      Site 45. Sugarite Canyon State Park
      Site 46. Capulin Volcano National Monument
      Site 47. Clayton Lake State Park
      Site 48. Section Boundary, Raton/Pecos Valley
      Site 49. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
      Site 50. Blackwater Draw Clovis Culture Site Texas
      Site 51. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
      Site 52. Llano Estacado Escarpment
      Site 53. Enchanted Rocks State Park
      Site 54. Gault Archaeological Site
      Site 55. Balcones Fault Zone
      Site 56. Confluence of Pecos River and Rio Grande
      Site 57. Seminole Canyon State Park

Afterword
Appendix 1. Geologic Subdivisions of the Great Plains
Appendix 2. Chronology of the Development of Some Geological Concepts
Appendix 3. Cautions for Travelers on the Great Plains
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

R. F. Diffendal, Jr. is professor emeritus in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is the author of Lewis and Clark and the Geology of the Great Plains.