Geology of the Great Basin

Preface

Writing a book on the geology of the Great Basin is like guiding a tour through a great art gallery. Some wish to stop and examine every picture and every detail. Others are anxious to view only the great masterpieces. I decided to describe only what I consider to be the great works of art, and so there is much left unsaid. But without knowledge and appreciation, the pictures might as well be turned to the wall. I hope this book will help reveal some of the beauties of the Great Basin. The earth does not easily share its secrets. Certainly, no one individual is privy to all the confidences it keeps. Thousands of geologists have been prying around the recesses and alcoves of the Great Basin for a century. The stories and concepts in this book are based on their observations and theories. This book is an attempt to synthesize their ideas for general understanding by nongeologists. Since the book is written for everyone, the usual method of scientific notation of sources is not used in this volume. The references include what I consider to be the most useful articles on Great Basin geology that will help take the reader deeper into the geological literature. These articles were most heavily relied on for this book. There are also no explicit references in the book to the illustrations used. These have been placed near the relevant text. Geologists utilize a precise method of capitalization when using the words early, middle, and late to describe geologic ages. The time spans referred to as periods demand a capital, whereas the larger time units, eras, and the smaller units, epochs, are lowercase. I have followed geologic convention in this book. The geological stories of the Great Basin are too fascinating to remain sequestered in the scientific literature. There they are often too scattered for easy access or are couched in a language undecipherable to nonscientists. The sole purpose of this book is to share the geologic tales that have been slowly and painstakingly pieced together since the first humans traversed this region. I hope they will continue to challenge and intrigue curious humans for millennia to come. Great Basin rocks, histories, and landscapes are unique. Nowhere else is preface x Preface the combination or the timing exactly the same. Nowhere else can these stories be told. They are the Great Basin. This book was reprinted in 2009 in a new format. There have been minor changes in the text, and the illustrations have been moved to more closely match the contiguous text. The ideas and basic scientific principles discussed in this book have not essentially changed since the original edition, although recent geological studies have added “frosting on the cake.” ...