Aerial Geology: A High-Altitude Tour of North America's Spectacular Volcanoes, Canyons, Glaciers, Lakes, Craters, and Peaks

by Mary Caperton Morton

Sit back and enjoy a new view

Aerial Geology is an up-in-the-sky exploration of North America’s 100 most spectacular geological formations. Crisscrossing the continent from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Great Salt Lake in Utah and to the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, Mary Caperton Morton brings you on a fantastic tour, sharing aerial and satellite photography, explanations on how each site was formed, and details on what makes each landform noteworthy. Maps and diagrams help illustrate the geological processes and clarify scientific concepts.

Fact-filled, curious, and way more fun than the geology you remember from grade school, Aerial Geology is a must-have for the insatiably curious, armchair geologists, million-mile travelers, and anyone who has stared out the window of a plane and wondered what was below.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Geology, Nature, Travel, Photography, Art

648 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2017

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not particularly familiar with North American landscape but this book gave me great insight and more than a few WOW! moments. The geological information is easily read and understood which is always a relief to a non-scientific brain!

My WOW! moments included the extraordinary Mono Lake in California, the colourful rocks in Death Valley, The Wave in Arizona and The Badlands, South Dakota. Unfortunately for the book, most of these moments were in the first half and although I didn't get bored, the second half of the book is much less spectacular, although still interesting. The photography is excellent on the whole and I enjoyed seeing her dog pop up occasionally.

With thanks to NetGalley and Timber Press for an ARC.

[Miri Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took this book home intending to flip through its beautiful large pages, look at the photos, and return it in a day or two. I’ve ended up keeping it three weeks, reading a few pages a day, because there is so much interesting information presented in easily-navigable layers, and you can take as much or as little time as you like.

I started out just reading the small boxes with headlines like one of the only east-west mountain ranges in North America (about the Uinta Mountains where my in-laws live), or a slice of Mexico’s west coast that was sheared off by earthquake action (about the stiletto heel of Mexico’s boot, otherwise known as the Baja California Peninsula), or 3-billion-year-old diamonds brought to the surface by volcanic conduit (in Arkansas, of all places). But soon I was pulled into the bigger blocks of text on each page spread, and I learned so many fascinating things about the actual earth underneath us.

I learned that there’s a mountain peak in New Hampshire that gets hurricane-force gusts of wind 100 days of the year, and that the world’s largest bas-relief carving is of the leaders of the Confederacy in Georgia.

I learned that Lake Tahoe is basically a death trap, sitting atop three fault lines that are overdue for an earthquake, which—because the lake is so deep—could cause a tsunami big enough to destroy all the homes around the lake within seconds.

I learned a new word for the next time I play Boggle with Mike’s family (ooid, a shell that forms around single grains of sand and gets compressed into limestone in the Everglades), and that Niagara Falls has moved seven miles upstream from where it started out 10,000 years ago, and that enough water passes over it to fill an Olympic swimming pool every second.

I learned that Mount Rushmore’s another thing we stole from Native Americans (don’t know about you but I am shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU). It was called the Six Grandfathers by the Lakota Sioux, and used to be the site of spiritual quests before some live white guys decided to display dead white guys on it (done by the same artist as the one in Georgia, who I just this second learned was a member of the KKK because of course he fucking was).

I re-learned some things, too, that I know I would have been taught in school as a child but didn’t retain the information. For example, that glaciers form when snow doesn’t melt from year to year, but keeps packing down under new snow and hardening until it’s heavy enough to start sliding down the mountain, carving valleys and dragging along dirt and rocks that collect toward the end, and sometimes as swirly patterns within the glacier. The Finger Lakes in New York were carved by glaciers, and they totally look it.

I read about Pingualuit Crater, which is somehow one of the world’s deepest lakes even though it has no inlets or outlets, but is filled solely by rainwater and snowmelt (and therefore has a unique, isolated population of fish). Also in Quebec is Lake Manicouagan, a lake which looks like someone forgot to use a coaster; that’s actually a huge central island in the middle.

Rain that falls on Triple Divide Peak in Montana ends up flowing to three different oceans—to the Columbia River on the west, and out to the Pacific Ocean; to Hudson Bay on the northeast (part of the Arctic Ocean); and to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico on the southeast (part of the Atlantic Ocean). To me, even more incredible than such a distinct three-way divide is the fact that water from that one mountain peak can travel thousands of miles across the continent. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find any photos online that show the peak as well as Morton’s own photography does in this book; happily, that page is available in the Google Books preview.

Until the most recent phase of my life, I would have said geology was one of the least possibly interesting sciences, and I think that is because I associate it with the color brown. I picture deserts like Utah and Arizona, sedimentary rock, possibly some sand dunes, and it’s all brown and beige and the thing about nature that seizes my soul is color, especially green. But there are astonishing colors in this book, and even the brown parts are less (metaphorically) brown than I thought they were. Guys, this planet is fucking gorgeous—not just the stuff on top of it but the actual earth we’re standing on.

I am so curious now, and would love to see a book like this for the other six continents—although there was definitely an element of excitement here that came from things being local. I haven’t seen most of these geological features myself, but some I have (Bear Lake in Utah/Idaho, Shiprock in New Mexico) and some are just familiar because they’ve shown up in movies and textbooks my whole life. This book is lovely and educational and entertaining, and I will be buying a copy sometime to keep on my coffee table. If you’ve bothered to make it to the end of this post, the subject matter is clearly interesting enough to you that you’ll want to check it out yourself.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nicely-printed, oversize atlas-style book of just what the title says. As always, you should read the publisher's blurb first (top of page). The color reproduction is good, and many of the photos are excellent. And she includes a mention of what commercial flights might take you over the feature. So, why just three stars? Three stars is still a good rating from me, but I'm a professional geologist, so many of the descriptions struck me as simplistic or old-hat. And many of the photos aren't taken from the air, or are dim satellite photos that don't show the feature well. Perhaps I'm being a little unfair to the book, but so be it. See if your public library has a copy and try it for yourself.

My gold standard for aerial photos of geological features remains "Geology Illustrated" by John S. Shelton, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and I commend that classic book to your attention.

I know of the author from her long-running travel blog "Travels with the Blond Coyote" https://theblondecoyote.com/ which is well worth checking out.

[Willy Marz Thiessam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Caperton Morton's book "Aerial Geology" is a bit misleading. She shows us aerial, satellite, landscapes shots, and up and close views of North America's rich geology. It works like a travel book where you don't have to travel as she brings the feel of it to you with the excellent descriptive power of her writing, and varied, stunning and rich pictures and diagrams of what she is describing. If you want to learn about geology and be entertained this is the book for you.

Particularly interesting to me for sheer beauty were the sections on Lake Okeechobee, and the Gold Lakes. For oddity and amazement I would recommend the section on the Granite Spires of the Bugaboo or the Wave on Coyote Butte. Some parts inspire a visit like Goosenecks State park that is so well described and inviting in its description.

I'm not sure why this book is called Aerial Geology as its a heck of a log more than that.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. As a non-American I was fascinated to see all the different landscapes, and to see how much of the continent is unsuitable for farming. The photos start in the Alaskan volcanic region and work their way down south and over from west to east, then back up the east coast to the north.

Along with the spectacular scenery we get explanations of the processes involved in the formation of the rocks or erosions and an idea of the age of each visible feature from canyons to river meanders. I did spot a couple of errors and incorrectly explained issues, especially in processes like continental movements and subduction of seabed rock under continental rock (because it contains heavier elements, not because it is waterlogged) but most readers will be buying the book for the selected photos.

Ideal for the young geology or geography student, fascinating and sometimes using NASA photos. The age could be anywhere from eight to college entry.

I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bird's Eye View of a Continent"

This beautiful photography book is huge, and it is filled with aerial photos and satellite images of 100 locations. Each location includes a 2-4 page spread that gives a locator map, tips on spotting it from an airplane, and detailed geographical information, as well as full color photos. Important sights are covered; such as the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado, and the Grand Canyon. But, many lesser known but equally important geological sights are included so any reader is sure to learn much new information.


I’d never heard of the Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas, where anyone can mine for diamonds. But, I would love to take my Minecrafting nephews and nieces there one day to do some real mining for real diamonds.


There are the extremes of the Uinta Mountains and the Great Salt Lake . There is the ethereal beauty of exquisite spots like Zion National Park, sitting halfway down the Grand Staircase in a canyon carved by the Virgin River. There is the colorful beauty of the ‘Pictured Rocks’ on the Great Lakes. Tiny Maine is surrounded by almost 4000 miles of coastline; so much so that it is home of over fifty lighthouses. Then there is Palo Duro, the ‘Grand Canyon of Texas.’ There is the Bay of Fundy with its semidiurnal tides.


The book describes Chaco Canyon with pueblos running north to south, aligned east to west to allow the native astronomers to track the sun’s equinoxes. It tells of the drowning of the Mississippi Delta, since the shores are so tightly controlled all along the Mississippi now by the US Army Engineers that the delta loses land every day. Lost land would have provided more of a buffer from Hurricane Katrina in Mark Twain’s time. Man battles to control the sea, and loses on one end or the other. Save lives here to lose them there.


There’s the natural marvels; like Utah’s Rainbow Bridge and New Mexico’s Ship Rock. Devils Tower juts up from the flatlands of Wyoming, visible for miles around. The Spanish Peaks lying between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico and the Colorado Rockies formed by a couple of volcanic intrusions underground. As a result, they are surrounded by dikes of igneous rock, some higher than 100 feet. While the surrounding sedimentary rocks erode from wind and rain, the volcanic rock stands solid, unbending.


Morton gives basic information on important mountain climbing locations throughout. She gives the location of ‘fourteeners’ (mountain peaks that exceed 14,000 feet) across the continent, and mentions aspects of technical climbing vs. amateur climbs. Geologic activity and formations are covered; like quiet quakes, maars, dikes, laccoliths, plugs, stocks, and sills from underground eruptions.


The book covers people living in oft devastated regions, like the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Native ancestral Puebloans hollowed out Cliffside cave dwellings in the pyroclastic deposits of a supervolcanic eruption that collapsed at Valles Caldera.


Much history comes through; like the tragic story of Canyon De Chelly’s native massacres in Arizona, and man-made carvings in the rocks, like Mount Rushmore and the Confederate Generals on Stone Mountain in Atlanta. Native population origins are described; such as ancient cultures displaced by the Apache, who were in turn displaced by the Comanche and the Kiowa… who were in turn displaced by the US government.


This picturesque work covers a variety of the visible natural wonders across the North American continent. There are the Sweeping Saint Anthony Sand Dunes juxtaposed on the landscape of Idaho, The White Sands New Mexico gypsum deposits. Great Sand Dunes stacked against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a southern range of the Rockies. And, it illustrates how dunes form in different shapes: dome, crescent, parabolic, transverse, star dunes, reversing dunes, barchan, and nebkha or coppice dunes. The author explains how Medano Creek carries sediments blown into the mountains back to the dune field, playing an important role in continuing the cycle of dune building.


Morton shares much of the wild beauty of Utah: from the red, pink, yellow, orange, and white sandstone of ‘Red Rock Country’ in Canyonlands National Park, to the Gooseneck of San Juan River to the Grand Staircase that descends across Southern Utah down into the Grand Canyon. But, a locator map shows how the 100 locations covered are spread across the North American continent.


I enjoyed the huge hardbound edition I found at Barnes & Noble. I highly recommend this beautiful work done by Mary Caperton Morton. She travels the continent writing about geological topics in travel books, magazines, and in her blog, The Blond Coyote.

[Andrew Blok · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is VERY fun to look at. The pictures are beautiful and I learned a fair amount about the geology of North America. Thinking about the processes by which mountains and valleys and canyons are made is pretty mind boggling. Coupled with great aerial photos of places familiar and not, the reading experience was fairly enjoyable.

For the incredible diversity of locations and geographical features, the book started to feel a bit repetitive. It might be an excellent book to have around, but reading straight through it was a bit too much all in a row. I'm definitely glad this book caught my eye while I was browsing, but I am glad to be done reading it.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has made me a better human- I learned SO MUCH about our continent and its history through the relatively layperson-friendly geological descriptions and the STUNNING pictures! It would have been nice to have more computer-generated diagrams illustrating the formation of each geological phenomenon- those are hard to visualize just by reading. I now have a HUGE checklist of things I want to see when I travel! Highly recommend, even if this is a subject that only mildly interests you- the book does a fabulous job of keeping the reader engaged.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is what my dreams are made of.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not going to lie. I requested to review this book because of the title Aerial Geology. Truthfully, I'm not really sure when my interest in geology began. I do know, Dad purchased a rock and mineral book for me when I was in grade school and I carried it everywhere. In the years since then, I've become more facinated. In part, due to the fact that our state is known for the Isotelus, on display in the Smithsonian. What is a Isotelus? It's a trilobite "three-lobed creature" that existed between 430 and 480 million years ago.

I digress. This book, Aerial Geology, begins with Geology 101. Here you are introduced to the all important subject of plate tectonics. This gives us all a better understanding of how the 100 spectacular formations in this book were created. And make no mistake, the images are SPECTACULAR. This book was made in part due to the Nasa's Visible Earth project.

As this will be a short review, I'll only point out a few of the 100 formations.

I paused a long time at the page on Mt. Denali "great one". For most of our lives, we've known it as Mount McKinley but the name changed back in 2015. The fact that it's rising a half and inch a year has aroused my interest. Anyway, the section on Wickersham Wall is well detailed and I now have an explanation for some questions I had about it.

My brother hiked the 2180 mile Applachian Trail back in 1998. I forget now how many pairs of shoes he went through or rolls of duct tape for that matter. Regardless, I do not recall any articles that explain the trek to Mt. Katahdin or the history quite like this. I absolutely love it! If you don't know much about the trail - just basically imagine getting on an oldfoot path and hiking - I mean HIKING- from Georgia to Maine.

My family is spread out to the East and South. So, when I travel, I gravitate towards those areas. With this said, I realize, I've limited myself in seeing many beautiful land formations. I would enjoy seeing a Meteour Crater. And while some people have been frolicing in Yosemite National Park, my only experience with it is through this book and the works of Ansel Adams.

Since, I love fossils, it was wonderful to see the section on Walcott Quarry and the "Stone Bugs" image from Yoho National Park. That would be in my top 5 places. Others would be, Glacier Bay, Pictured Rock, Dinosaur National Monument and the Canadian Rockies.

Bottom Line: In reviewing, Aerial Geology by Mary Caperton Morton, I was elated with all the images of North America's 100 most remarkable landforms. Team that, with Mary having a master’s in science writing and you've got a book that is a wealth of history and an outright pleasure to read.

Reviewed ARC for Net Galley

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very attractive as well as useful book. I’ve been to a number of these places and can verify that the information is good for those who casually like and have some interest in geology. It is amazing how many different processes are involved in the creation of all these wonders. Many are very easily accessible. I was just in Hell’s Canyon two weeks ago and was aware of some information but this book definitely added to my knowledge. Love the aerial photos. Mary Caperton Morton has a book on National Parks of the world coming out in 2022. I’ll be looking for that and getting out my hiking boots!

[Mhd]

Library book. Sadly, NOT printed in USA...there's something wrong with a book about North America being printed on another continent. That's the only reason I didn't give it 5-stars. A coffee table book with substance. Mostly it's one site per open 2-pages with photos and brief essay. Beautiful and extremely interesting. Did you know White Sands is not sand??! Even for the places I've been, the photos are revealing and the discussion was novel & substantive: no gloss here!

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of this, this is a gorgeous book. The photos are beautiful and excellent illustrations of the wonders of North America. The writing is clear and understandable, perfect for a pop science book. I enjoyed seeing where I’ve been and where I want to go next!

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

memorable photos, informative geology.
***
A review I 'liked'
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Karen Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

A listing of major North American geologic features with aerial views and short descriptions and backstories. There's a lot I didn't know about my home continent!!

[BookDragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[harvey jade hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

ngl i do be craving that mineral

[Michelle Mallette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geologist and science writer Mary Caperton Morton takes us on an aerial tour of our continent, serving as a guide to the spectacular formations that, Rockies aside, likely mystify us as we look out the window on our cross-country flights. What is that canyon/lake/river? Morton expertly guides us through what she terms 100 geological wonders, using photos and satellite images. The photos themselves are beautiful, and Morton explains how each formation developed using accessible language and clear diagrams to help readers understand the science. This is a full-colour coffee table book, but it is fascinating reading. The book spans the full continent, from Alaskan glaciers to the craters of Mexico, but a full two-thirds is devoted to the West, the best part, of course! I loved seeing images of familiar formations such as the fossil beds of Yoho National Park or Mount St. Helens’ still visible blast zone, and start to understand the big continental picture through a geologist’s eyes. The full-colour photos are spectacular, and are sure to inspire readers to build on their travel bucket list. My thanks to Timber Press for the advance reading copy provided in exchange for my honest review.
See my full review at https://mmbookshelf.wordpress.com/201...

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate traveling by air.
I'm not of planes falling out of the sky or anything like that. I have lots of faith in Newton's Laws and Bernouli's Principle. The plane and physics aren't the problem. In fact, I can only think of two positives in air travel: it's fast, and the view out the window (if you can wrangle a window seat) is fascinating. This book is that view plus lots of information about how that view came to be, minus all the annoying people, the cramped seats, the long waits, or the brat who kicks the back of your seat from St. Louis to Seattle.

Filled with lots of aerial and satellite photos, many from NASA's various projects, it's beautiful to look at, but Morton also knows how to write about geology in an engaging way. I read the e-book and was impressed with the graphics, so I can only imagine how gorgeous the print version must be.

Much of the material is the same that was covered in The Great Courses National Geographic series on National Parks that I watched recently, but less technical and repetitive. Each North American feature listed is described in one or two pages and at least one aerial photograph. (Most have several photos.) And for those who do find themselves in the unfriendly skies, Morton includes tips on what to look for in order to locate exact geographic points during flight.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, interesting look at American geology

Mary Caperton Morton starts with a simple-to-understand introduction to geology and then brings the geology to life with well-written but concise articles and great photographs on various geological features of North America. My one quibble with the book is that of the 100 geological wonders she discusses, 84 were in the United States, so I am not confident that the most interesting geology of North America is well represented. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book and can recommend it for anyone interested in geology.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this time of year, I read (or more accurately, skim through) a lot of these coffee-table type books which feature artwork, photography, maps and graphs, etc. They are meant to be looked at while offering specific info depending upon the topic. This book was the best of the bunch this year. Amazing images, most of which were aerial photos of the natural landmarks or the unique geographical places of North America. The info was historical and scientific, yet concise and enlightening. The experience was one of remembering with new appreciation the places I have already visited and encouraging me to hit the road and see some of them I have not.

[Norma J. Engelberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to visit most of places mentioned

As a literal overview of North American geology, this book shows the diversity in geological processes that shaped our continent. There is a lot of repetition as the author explains over and over how certain rock forms were created, probably because readers often skip around to various features. The repetition does make it easier to remember the names of geological formations. This book would be a better read in a print format, as the photos are too small to see clearly in an ebook.

[James H. Jaqua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent way to gain an understanding of the geological history of North America. A minor knowledge of geology is helpful, but not necessary to enjoy the history of the continent. The book is written in such a manner that the terms and descriptions are readily understood. For those with a limited knowledge of geological events it will broaden your grasp of how our planet works.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely FASCINATING book! And I learned so much. Beautiful book and very interesting. Just enough information to whet your appetite, but not enough to overwhelm you.

Excellent if you want to travel but can't or are just in such poor shape that you can't GET to some of these places.

Seeing the geology from the air was just 'way-cool.'

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

From reviews I gather that there are some mistakes in this book, but this doesn't concern the amateur rock nerd in me. The photos are unique, the explanatory graphics are well-done, and the descriptive blurbs are intriguing. I bought the book in hardcover so I could scrutinize the photos more easily than the Kindle allows.

[Donna Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has many beautiful pictures of the geologic features of North America. I love the placement on a silouette of North America, but I wish there had been a few more maps included to enhance the geography. Be sure to read all the descriptions, I enjoyed the extra tidbits that were included there even though I was an Earth Science major. I would love to have one of these for my classroom!

[Tawney · Rating 4 out of 5]

One hundred North American geological features shown and explained. Quite a few were new to me and there were facts to be learned about both the famous and more obscure. The ebook may not have the impact of a coffee table book, but does allow zooming in on the photographs. Somewhat repetitive, but that's probably because it's a book that can be dipped into at any point.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book that could be enjoyed by a wide variety of people and in a wide variety of ways -- just the photos, the captions, the text, as a springboard for further study, and more. It's the kind of book I was always looking for when I had younger kids around. I think I'll leave it out and see what happens :-)

[Nefertari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing tour of some of the geological wonders of this continent, with explanations that I, as a non-geologist, can understand. Would love to see the author tackle the geological wonders of other continents.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely gorgeous aerial journey through the North American continent - a definite feast for the eyes and a great reminder of the importance of protecting the beauty of our environment.