Grand Canyon: Solving Earth's Grandest Puzzle

by James Lawrence Powell

Combines historical text with geomorphological and scientific evidence to chronicle the search by explorers, scientists, and academics to understand the cause and evolution of the Grand Canyon.

Genres: Science, History, Geology

320 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 2005

About the author

Dr. James L. Powell graduated from Berea College with a degree in Geology. He holds a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught Geology at Oberlin College for over 20 years.

He served as Acting President of Oberlin, President of Franklin and Marshall College, President of Reed College, President of the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, and President and Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

Powell currently serves as Executive Director of the National Physical Science Consortium. Asteroid 1987 SH7 is named for him.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some bits were really interesting but too much was overly confusing. Jumps back and forth in time and topic. Uses quotes indiscriminately. Could do with much better maps of the Grand Canyon and more diagrams of geological processes. The author doesn’t seem to know the purpose of his book and throws every fact he can think of in. Most importantly the one thing the book should have done is explain the Geology of the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately for me the descriptions of this are the worst part of the book mainly as the author can’t seem to decide what level of knowledge to aim at. Whole pages were just incomprehensible to me.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read that follows the history of the men who explored & charted the geology of the Grand Canyon. Some of the more interesting points is that it wasn't until the later part of the 20th century that we were able to understand what came first, the river or the valley. The book details how the exploration of the Grand Canyon played an important role in deducing plate tectonics, riverine systems and more.

[John Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

More history of geology in the Western US than geology. Interesting but a bit dry.

[Stephen Selbst · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of the exploration of the Grand Canyon, which is intertwined with the history of geology. Sometimes technical, but quite informative