Roadside Geology of Washington

Let's say you have a craving for geology, which is one of the hottest subjects on the planet (you know, molten rock and such). Let's say you want to drive a particular route through Washington State. This book is organized by route (just like the other books in the series) so you can have an expert's explanation of what geologic features you are looking at and how they were formed.Imagine a time of massive flooding when glacial Lake Missoula burst out of the ice dam and drenched most of Eastern Washington with 500 cubic miles of water more than 30 times. You can easily find the evidence today with the help of this book.Imagine a time when the northern end of Puget Sound was blocked by glacial ice, the level of water in the sound was about 100 feet higher than today, and all the rivers draining into the South Sound were dammed up and forced to escape to the South, through modern-day Black Lake and down the Chehalis River Valley.Some people worry about Mt. Rainier erupting again, which of course it will. But imagine the numerous and relatively recent mudflows off Mt Rainier which were not even associated with an eruption. Some of these mudflows contained up to a cubic mile of material with the consistency of liquid bricks. The inundated areas are now inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people. All you folks in Sumner and Orting, good luck in the next one!Once I wanted to be a Geologist, but the projects took too long to complete. If you have this book, at least the explanation is fast and easy to understand for the non-geologist such as myself. All the books in this series are fun to read when traveling through the subject areas.Thanks, Steve Willie, Olympia, WA

I had this book many years ago and lost it. But I remember many key things in it because of the excellent explanations combined with the fact that Washington state is one of the most geologically interesting places on planet earth. Just like our climate, geologically speaking, we have it all. One night I was describing to my father how Western Washington used to be an island that docked onto the West coast of the N American continent.... and he said he wished he had the book. So, I found it here and gave it to him. Now I get to read it a bit when visiting him.

This book gives a good overview of how the state of Washington was formed and what you can expect to see in general areas. If, however, you are expecting to be told exactly where to go to see specific formations you're in for a disapointment. Instead of "As you travel 6.4 miles north of the intersection of highway xyz look at the road cut on the west side of the highway and here's what you'll see..." we get a lot of "Here's a picture of what you might find near, just north of, around, a few miles from, inbetween this town and that town... etc."The best you can get from this book is the ability to cruise around a given area and hope you stumble on to something that resembles the formations pictured in the book. Guys, guys, we all have maps of Washington, tell us where to stop!

This is a great book for anyone who likes rocks and wonders about the scenery as they travel along.

Used book had more writing in it than I expected. Other than that, book was in good condition.

I always watch for David Alt's books when I look for geology information. I have several "Roadside" books for different states and others of his geology books like the Missoula Floods book.

My 13 year old son and I just finished a 1000 mile trip son through Washington, Idaho, and Montana. This series of books was our companion. My son read it aloud as we drove. We both learned a lot about the Columbia river basin, and the cascade mountains.After reading it, my son could spot and identify the different general rock types and color changes described.An excellent companion with good diagrams and short sections that convey the most important (and observable) facts.

this is a great book i would recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered at what made the interesting formations along the road when on a long trip. it now sits on my desk within easy reach for review. a great introduction to the active geology that shaped the land we live upon.