Arizona is a great place for artistic reference of geologic landscapes. This is where I spent 2 1/5 years working on a Masters in Biology, just to drop out and go into computer science. The author of these three volumes was born in Phoenix and studied geology at the U of A in Tuscon but is now a poet and practicing physician. These are coffee table books so they don't have a lot of text. But the photography is awesome:
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The full-color photos in this volume are uniformly stunning and are expertly used by Collier to illustrate how mountains form, evolve, deteriorate, and die. Without reverting to textbook prose, the author covers the fundamentals of mountain geology: rock types, plate tectonics, and erosion, employing his photographs and illustrations to further explicate these principles. It is one thing to write about glaciers, fault zones, plateaus, erosion, alluvial fans, subduction, and volcanoes. It is altogether a higher level of accomplishment to render all of these aspects of geology in photographs as beautiful as they are informative. Collier has put his 50-year-old Cessna 180 and arsenal of photographic equipment to good use, spending thousands of hours in the cockpit, traveling to remote regions of the Earth, up mountain faces, down into canyons, constantly in search of the best shot. He has found many best shots, and readers will enjoy them all. This is an excellent choice for all teen collections.—Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA
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Over the Rivers is the second volume in the exciting Aerial View of Geology series. As as a geologist, one of America's premier aerial photographers and a gifted science writer, Michael Collier is exceptionally well qualified to present these spectacular landscapes and stunning aerial photographs that vividly demonstrate geological processes.
Vivid text and clear captions guide readers through the exciting photographs, enhancing their understanding of fundamental geological processes. Collier explores, for example:
How a 6,000-foot-deep canyon was carved out by the erosive power of a single river
How violent tectonic forces millions of years ago vaulted a river over a mountain
Why one river takes its time meandering, another suddenly drops over a cliff, and a third slowly separates into a sprawling delta.
Over the Rivers inspires as it informs, and dazzles as it enlightens.
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Geologist, photographer, author and pilot Collier presents a third volume of aerial photography (following Over the Mountains and Over the Rivers), this time examining coastal processes: how waves interact with promontories, dunes, sand spits, barrier islands and human constructions. Collier describes basic wave behavior-how they're generated, how they move-as well as more unfamiliar phenomena like active and passive plate margins in his initial overview. The next section is regional, featuring the Gulf of Mexico, the Southern and Northern Atlantic, the Great Lakes, the Pacific and Alaska, explaining how these coastlines' formation affected the resulting landforms. Collier then looks at the human footprint: expensive beach houses built on impermanent barrier islands, artificial islands formed by dredging, hazardous runoff from industrial and residential development, and damaging recreational implements like dune buggies. Coastal wetlands make a familiar (dis)appearance; many have been lost forever to negligence and development, just as their enormous importance becomes clear. Spot maps, a continental overview map, and a helpful glossary are all included, as well as a short reading list worth pursuing should this beautiful, informative volume intrigue.
Amazon gave me a recommendation for the Over the Mountains title once. There are lots of great images in it.