Exploring the highest sierra

Written for the general reader with an interest in geology, natural history, and the early explorations of the US, this book is also a valuable guide for visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. It describes the arduous travels of the early explorers, including John C. Fremont and John Muir, and weaves the history of exploration together with modern geological information, showing the early naturalists contributions to geological thought. Over 200 illustrations include contemporary etchings and maps, modern photographs, and geological diagrams to help visitors understand the formation of the natural features, and all technical terms that may be unfamiliar to non-geologists are simply and succinctly defined. Maps showing the region's principal roads and trails define the mileage between all lookouts and points of interest, and a geological guide to the southern half of the John Muir wilderness trail is featured.

• Preface p. ix
• 1 Introduction p. 1
• 2 Exploration p. 21
• Probing the High Sierra: Fremont and Carson p. 23
• The Pacific Railroad Surveys: Blake and Williamson p. 30
• Breaking New Ground: Goddard and the Trail Blazers p. 34
• The California Geological Survey: Whitney, Brewer, King, and Hoffmann p. 39
• Exalting the Wilderness: John Muir p. 68
• Creating and Enlarging the National Parks p. 88
• 3 Mapping p. 97
• The Territorial Surveys: King and Wheeler p. 98
• The Scaling of Mount Whitney: Errors Compounded p. 118
• Measuring the Ground: The General Land Office p. 122
• Mapping the High Trails: LeConte, Solomons, and the Sierra Club p. 128
• Detailed Topographic Mapping: The U.S. Geological Survey p. 142
• Peaks, Valleys, and Rivers: The Basis of Place Names p. 161
• The Structures of the Land: Geologic Mapping p. 165
• 4 Time, Minerals, Rocks, and Plates p. 171
• The Geologic Time Scale p. 171
• Dating the Rocks: Radiometric Methods p. 175
• Building Blocks of Rocks: The Common Minerals p. 176
• Solidified Magma: The Igneous Rocks p. 179
• The Global View: Plate Tectonics and the Rise of the Sierra p. 185
• 5 Metamorphic Rocks p. 189
• The Four Terranes of Metamorphic Rock p. 192
• Rare Fossils: Key to the Age of Metamorphic Rocks p. 199
• Marble: The Birthplace of Caves p. 202
• The Origin and Assembly of the Metamorphic Terranes p. 206
• 6 Granitic Rocks p. 209
• Plutons and the Sierra Nevada Batholith p. 209
• Making Room for the Granite p. 219
• Structures of Granitic Rocks p. 221
• Field Criteria for the Relative Ages of Plutons p. 232
• The Age of the Sierra Nevada Batholith p. 234
• The Depth and Thickness of the Batholith p. 237
• Analyzing the Granitic Rocks p. 239
• Changes in Composition Across the Batholith p. 249
• Mafic Plutonic Rocks p. 254
• The Independence Dike Swarm p. 256
• Plate Tectonics and the Batholith p. 259
• 7 Mineral Deposits p. 263
• The Kearsarge District p. 265
• The Mineral King Bust p. 267
• Copper and Molybdenum Deposits p. 269
• The Tungsten Mines p. 270
• 8 Cenozoic Volcanic Rocks p. 273
• The Initial Volcanic Phase p. 275
• The Second Volcanic Phase p. 277
• The Third Volcanic Phase p. 277
• 9 Glaciers and Glaciation p. 285
• The Extent of Glaciation in the High Country p. 289
• Glacial Processes and Their Products p. 299
• The Causes and Timing of Glaciation p. 310
• 10 Landslides p. 315
• 11 Geologic Structures p. 319
• The Crustal Structure of the Sierra p. 319
• Faults in and near the Sierra Block p. 322
• The Nature of Joints p. 334
• Uplift and Erosion p. 343
• 12 Afterword p. 349
• Appendix Geologic Road and Trail Guides p. 357
• Kings Canyon Highway, State Route 180 p. 360
• State Route 198 and the Generals Highway p. 370
• The Mineral King Road p. 377
• The John Muir Trail p. 380
• The High Sierra Trail p. 388
• Glossary p. 395
• References Cited p. 409
• Index p. 421