Description
A Geology, Nature, and History Tour
Exploring the Berryessa Region tells the story of a landscape, just west of Sacramento and north of San Francisco, born through plate tectonic forces. The Berryessa Region anchors the southern end of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and holds geologic wonders including subduction zones, thrust faults, ophiolites, turbidites, mud volcanoes, and pull apart basins. These features nurture world-renowned biological diversity which, over time, has fostered a rich history of human cultures—including Native Americans. Today recreational opportunities draw new visitors with hiking, camping, birding, botanizing, horse riding, boating, and managed off-highway vehicle use. Regional ecosystem services include water, forests, and ranchlands.
Full of rich details, this book helps visitors explore this fascinating region by car and discover how regional diversity developed. Readers can use the mile by mile descriptions as a field guide to explore these geological, ecological, and historical features for themselves.
Inside the pages:
- Mile by mile driving descriptions showcasing geologic highlights
- 70+ full-color figures and maps
- Lively sidebars exploring region natural and cultural history
- Introduction to regional geological concepts
Book Reviews
“Where a transform fault develops any kind of bend — which is not uncommon — the bend will pull apart as the two sides move, opening a sort of parallelogram, which, among soft mountains, will soon be vastly deeper than an ordinary water-sculpted valley. Lake Berryessa lies in a pull-apart basin, and so does Clear Lake.” … Those two sentences are mine, legally, but they belong, in a much deeper sense, to Eldridge Moores, who taught me their meaning beside Lake Berryessa.
– John McPhee, author of Assembling CaliforniaThis is a beautiful example of what a community can do to protect, support, and explain a local region— in this case one of the most complex and interesting geologic and biological hotspots on the planet. It’s a guide for good actions of all kind, physical, political, spiritual. I know Eldridge Moores would have loved it, and now like him it can be an inspiration to us all.
– Kim Stanley Robinson, Science Fiction writer examining Nature and Culture. Hugo and Nebula award winner.
Jennifer Nuovo (verified owner) –
I really enjoyed this! Well researched and full of detail. Especially enjoyed the history of the Native American people’s and how the geography informed their lives. If you are on a car or walking tour of the area this will give you mile by mile detail that makes the beautiful scenery all the more fascinating
Brad Marston –
Exploration of the fascinating and complex geology of the region encompassed by the new Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. Beautiful geological maps and photos. This amateur geologist learned a lot from the book (and listening to a presentation by some of the authors). Co-author Eldridge Moores is the focus of John McPhee’s book “Assembling California” which could be read in conjunction.
Kim Bartlett (verified owner) –
I LOVED this collaborative work and publication of the Lake Berryessa region. I also enjoyed very much the zoom/utube presentation promoting it. As an adult learner and geology major I was blown away by the research presented to the community at large. It is a book that keeps giving as one trip through either the book or the region will not be enough, one must return over and over to gain the deeper understanding of the region the authors present to the reader. Absolutely a gem:) of a book. A big thank you to the authors and BackCountry Press for it’s making!
Charlene Simmons –
I am looking forward to slowly traveling on the byways of the Berryessa region, guided by the clear and informative descriptions on this lovely book. I will be well informed, because the beginning of the book offers a mini course in Geology, just what we need to understand the striations and faults that tilt in every direction in this geologically significant landscape.