Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region (Volume 79) (California Natural History Guides)

This is a good overview of the geology of the San Francisco Bay Area, written in a language that minimizes the use of technical jargon, making it accessible to the layperson. This guide begins with an introduction to plate tectonics and the other forces that drive the fascinating and complex geology of the San Francisco Bay Area, followed by more in-depth coverage for each major geological region within this area (Marin County, San Francisco, San Francisco Peninsula, South Bay, East Bay, North Bay, and San Francisco Bay). The guide contains many illustrations and full color geological maps to help the reader comprehend the points being made in the text.I generally liked this guide, but felt that it had a couple of shortcomings that kept it from getting five stars from me. First, the guide should have provided some diagrams showing how the geology of the San Francisco Bay Area has changed over the millennia. While such diagrams would necessarily be approximate, they would still help the reader visualize some of the paleogeology that the guide tries to describe in its text. Without such maps, there were times when I felt a bit lost regarding what the text was trying to describe. Arthur D. Howard's "Geology of Middle California" provides some of these diagrams, but that book is fairly old (1979), and its diagrams probably could be updated based on new data collected since then.Second, the guide provides some coverage on specific locations to explore, such as Almaden Quicksilver County Park and Alum Rock County Park in the South Bay. However, such coverage is uneven from region to region. For example, the San Francisco Peninsula receives no such coverage, a missed opportunity to explore such wonderful geological locations as Point Ano Nuevo or the James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in more depth. And for the North Bay, only Goat Rock State Beach gets special attention from the guide. One would think that the Palisades of Napa Valley and the area around Mount Saint Helena might garner just a bit more attention.Despite its few shortcomings, however, this is an excellent introduction to the geology of the San Francisco Bay area, and one that I shall be referring to for some time to come. While a book of this type cannot go into much detail for any specific location or area, it does provide a framework for further study and investigation. And its full color, geological maps alone are worth the price of the book!

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and as an avid amateur naturalist, I have collected many regional nature guidebooks-- maybe most of them. I just received this book, having ordered it just based on the title and little else. What a pleasant surprise!-- It is probably the best regional natural history book I have ever seen.If you are an avid amateur naturalist like me, maybe the following is familiar: You pick up a nice general geology or rock atlas book, and find it beautiful and comprehensive; but when you try to match an actual local observation to this catalog of all possible rocks and structures in the world, you are left with uncertainty. And you quickly lose interest in this guesswork. Well, if you are in the Bay Area, you will feel extremely lucky when you get this book in your hands. It focuses on things you are likely to see here; it shows regional patterns to further help you understand what is what. As a result you will find the topic tangibly relevant, and your local explorations more interesting and fulfilling.Another amazing aspect of this book is its fullness and quality. You would expect a regionally focused work to be a glorified pamphlet of highlights. On the contrary, this book has the feel of an expensively produced comprehensive geology introduction. (Judging by the cover photo you might not realize (I didn't) that it's a relatively thick (300+ page) book.) It ties everything to the big picture of geologic time. It is full of shiny color photos and color-coded maps. It is extremely well written!-- the writing shows obvious care in making explanations simple and intuitive to nonspecialists. So it is as if we have been given a full geology introduction text (and a great one at that!) written from scratch completely focused on the Bay Area. I might call it the nearest thing I've seen to a "scientific cosmology of the Bay Area"!I'm not a specialist, but I can vouch for the contents in the following way. Over the years I've collected and bookmarked the most interesting and up-to-the-minute local geology content from the web. For instance, the USGS geologic quadrangle maps. This book seems to collect together all the same good stuff-- and reproduces them in summary form (but in color still!).In summary, I have not seen a guide written more lovingly for the Bay Area explorer.

CAUTION on ordering the Hardback version at $60+ or so. I had originally ordered the paperback at $18 and returned it as the print was too small for me to comfortably read [ I am over 70]. I live in the Bay Area and have a Geological Background - Doris Sloan is well known and respected here and the book itself is well done. So I ordered the Hardback version at $60 figuring it would be the same size as most hardbacks - about 61/2 x 91/2. Of course Iexpected the print to be larger and easier to read. and the photos and charts to be more legible. Unfortunately the hardback is the SAME SIZE as the Paperback - about 41/2 x 7 and the print is the same - very small and difficult to read [for me]. So for $42 more you get the same size book, but with a stiff cover. I guess the Hardback is out of print and therefore the premium price at 2nd hand sellers. The size info should be noted on the advertising for the Hardback.

Just begining to learn about the wonders of geology and particularly interested in what makes the bay area unique.This book contains lots of maps and info and interesting things to do around the bay area to learn about how the area was created.Most sections ( north bay, south bay, east bay, the bay itself, etc) have places to visit, explore that makes the book an interactive experience.I've gone to a few of the places and expect to explore more.

An excellent book for anyone interested in the geology of the San Francisco Bay Region (which has some of the most exciting and diverse geology anywhere). I especially like that it's organized by area, and at the end of each chapter tells you places to go to see the geology of that area.

The whole book.I am untrained in Geology, but found it very instructive and well written