Geology Underfoot in Southern California

About this book

First published in 1993, this groundbreaking book is now fully revised and updated with the latest scientific information. Join a team of geologists as they use clear prose, concise illustrations, and dramatic full-colour photographs to tell the stories of 21 amazing geologic sites, 3 of which are completely new to the book – San Andreas Fault, Devils Punch Bowl, and St. Francis Dam. Reading the rocks like pages in a book, Geology Underfoot in Southern California offers an inside view of the southland's active and sometimes enigmatic landscape.

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Biography

Arthur Gibbs Sylvester was born, raised, and educated in southern California. After earning his BA in liberal arts at Pomona College and PhD in geology at UCLA, he joined a team of Shell Development Company research geologists to study the tectonic history of the Pacific margin of the United States. UC Santa Barbara lured him from Shell to teach courses in structural geology, field geology, and petrology. He led more than 300 field trips in southern California for student, industrial, and professional geologists. After retiring from active teaching in 2003, he and Libby O'Black Gans co-authored Roadside Geology of Southern California.

Robert P. Sharp (1911-2004) cowrote the first edition of this book when he was a professor emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech), where he taught generations of geology students, leading them on field trips across the state. He was an expert in sand dune physics and also planetary sciences. He received the Penrose Medal from the Geological Society of America, its highest honour, in 1977.

Allen F. Glazner, a former student of Bob Sharp's and his co-author on the first edition, received in PhD in geology form UCLA and is currently professor emeritus of geology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A native Californian, he has conducted geological research in the Sierra Nevada and the Mojave Desert since his undergraduate days at Pomona College. He is also the coauthor of Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley and Geology Underfoot in Yosemite.

Elizabeth O'Black Gans, Libby to most, earned a BS in geology from UC Santa Barbara, where she was introduced to plenty of awesome southern California geology, as well as to the art of map-making. Shortly after graduation, Libby started Gans Illustrations and began working on maps and scientific illustrations for publication. and was the first digital artist for the Dibblee Geology Foundation. Libby illustrated and co-authored Roadside Geology of Southern California in 2016.