I just finished reading 101 American Geo-Sites You’ve Gotta See, one of the latest publications by geology-friendly (and Missoula-based) Mountain Press. I’m grateful to the the publishers for sending me a review copy.
It’s a nicely written and produced book highlighting sites across the United States of America of geological interest. The book is organized in a series of two-page spreads. On the left is a one-page write-up of the site, often using historical tie-ins and introducing key geologic concepts. On the right is a page dedicated to illustrations: photos and simple “cartoon” sketches elucidating the geology of the site. I’ve been to some of the sites author Albert Dickas describes in the book, but not others. I found his descriptions of the sites I was familiar with to be accurate and engaging. As for the ones I’ve not yet visited, in many cases I was inspired to go see them. Many I had not heard of, while others are famous places I’ve just missed over the years. The book is good fodder for your mental geo-map – spots you’ll want to route your next road trip through!
Here’s the list. Bolded locations are ones that I have personally visited. I encourage fellow geo-bloggers to copy and paste this list into a blog post of their own, and use the highlighting to similar effect. The person with the most sites visited, wins.
1. Wetumpka Crater, Alabama
2. Exit Glacier, Alaska
3. Antelope Canyon, Arizona
4. Meteor Crater, Arizona
5. Monument Valley, Arizona
6. Prairie Creek Pipe, Arkansas
7. Wallace Creek, California
8. Racetrack Playa, California
9. Devils Postpile, California
10. Rancho La Brea, California
11. El Capitan, California
12. Boulder Flatirons, Colorado
13. Interstate 70 Roadcut, Colorado
14. Florissant Fossil Beds, Colorado
15. Dinosaur Trackway, Connecticut
16. Wilmington Blue Rocks, Delaware
17. Devil’s Millhopper, Florida
18. Stone Mountain, Georgia
19. Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
20. Borah Peak, Idaho
21. Menan Buttes, Idaho
22. Great Rift, Idaho
23. Valmeyer Anticline, Illinois
24. Hanging Rock Klint, Indiana
25. Fort Dodge Gypsum, Iowa
26. Monument Rocks, Kansas
27. Ohio Black Shale, Kentucky
28. Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
29. Four Corners Roadcut, Kentucky
30. Avery Island, Louisiana
31. Schoodic Point, Maine
32. Calvert Cliffs, Maryland
33. Purgatory Chasm, Massachusetts
34. Nonesuch Potholes, Michigan
35. Quincy Mine, Michigan
36. Grand River Ledges, Michigan
37. Sioux Quartzite, Minnesota
38. Thomson Dikes, Minnesota
39. Soudan Mine, Minnesota
40. Petrified Forest, Mississippi
41. Elephant Rocks, Missouri
42. Grassy Mountain Nonconformity, Missouri
43. Chief Mountain, Montana
44. Madison Slide, Montana
45. Butte Pluton, Montana
46. Quad Creek Quartzite, Montana
47. Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska
48. Scotts Bluff, Nebraska
49. Crow Creek Marlstone, Nebraska
50. Sand Mountain, Nevada
51. Great Unconformity, Nevada
52. Flume Gorge, New Hampshire
53. Palisades Sill, New Jersey
54. White Sands, New Mexico
55. Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
56. Shiprock Peak, New Mexico
57. State Line Outcrop, New Mexico
58. American Falls, New York
59. Taconic Unconformity, New York
60. Gilboa Forest, New York
61. Pilot Mountain, North Carolina
62. South Killdeer Mountain, North Dakota
63. Hueston Woods, Ohio
64. Big Rock, Ohio
65. Kelleys Island, Ohio
66. Interstate 35 Roadcut, Oklahoma
67. Mount Mazama, Oregon
68. Lava River Cave, Oregon
69. Drake’s Folly, Pennsylvania
70. Hickory Run, Pennsylvania
71. Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania
72. Beavertail Point, Rhode Island
73. Crowburg Basin, South Carolina
74. Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
75. Mammoth Site, South Dakota
76. Pinnacles Overlook, South Dakota
77. Reelfoot Scarp, Tennessee
78. Enchanted Rock, Texas
79. Capitan Reef, Texas
80. Paluxy River Tracks, Texas
81. Upheaval Dome, Utah
82. Checkerboard Mesa, Utah
83. San Juan Goosenecks, Utah
84. Salina Canyon Unconformity, Utah
85. Bingham Stock, Utah
86. Whipstock Hill, Vermont
87. Great Falls, Virginia
88. Natural Bridge, Virginia
89. Millbrig Ashfall, Virginia
90. Catoctin Greenstone, Virginia
91. Mount St. Helens, Washington
92. Dry Falls, Washington
93. Seneca Rocks, West Virginia
94. Roche-A-Cri Mound, Wisconsin
95. Van Hise Rock, Wisconsin
96. Amnicon Falls, Wisconsin
97. Green River, Wyoming
98. Devils Tower, Wyoming
99. Fossil Butte, Wyoming
100. Steamboat Geyser, Wyoming
101. Specimen Ridge, Wyoming
If I were making a list like this, I’d add the following sites:
102. Purgatory Chasm, Rhode Island
103. Volcanic Tableland (Bishop Tuff), California
104. Ringing Rocks, Montana
105. The Whaleback, Pennsylvania
106. Compton Peak, Virginia
107. Jockey’s Ridge, North Carolina
108. Mauna Kea summit, Hawaii
109. Tumbling Run, Virginia
110. Adirondacks, New York
Solutional Caves in Granite, Needles, Black Hills, SD
Sequence of Sea Caves due to Isostatic Rebound, Acadia NP, Maine
Craters of the Moon, Idaho
Purgatory Chasm is already # 33
It’s the wrong Purgatory Chasm. Check the state.
I’ve been to all the places listed in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland (although I’m not sure if Catoctin Greenstone refers to the rock, or a specific town in Virginia – I’m unaware of a town or community named Catoctin Greenstone).
Having been born and raised in Mississippi, I probably visited the Petrified Forest many times as part of a school field trip. Very interesting classic Roadside America attraction.
I also find it surprising, I guess, that Sideling Hill in Maryland is not listed.
I’ll also plug two of my favorite places in my homestate of Mississippi.
1.) The Old Cove located in Webter County. My mother’s great grandfather once owned part of this remarkable area, so my family has had a long association with it. I used to visit it everytime I would visit my grandparents, who also lived in Webster County. The Old Cove is now preserved and managed by the Nature Conservancy of Mississippi.
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/mississippi/explore/weyerhaeuser-funds-study-of-old-cove.xml
2.) A more controversial spot in Mississippi is the supposed site of Kilmichael Impact Crater located just outside of Kilmichael, Mississippi. I have family that lives there and used to hike into the woods to ‘see’ the alleged site of the impact crater. I say ‘see’ because there really is nothing to see. It doesn’t look like a crater. It’s just land surrounded by pine trees. However, the controversy about the site is local legend in Mississippi. Some believe it happened, but I believe the consensus opinion among geologists is that an impact did not occur. The story about what might have happened, however, has always been interesting. The GPS cooridnates take you to a fairly isolated and quiet area. It’s interesting to contemplate what location ‘might’ have looked like thousands of years ago had it experienced meteor impact. It will likely never become a major tourist attraction, but it’s not for lack of effort by some I know in that part of Mississippi who see it as a potential draw. 🙂
Good Catch, Callan!
Here are some more sites:
Ice Glen, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Gooding City of Rocks, Idaho
Big Wood River Channel, Idaho
Thousand Springs, Idaho
My additions would be:
1. Champlain Thrust – Lone Rock Point, Burlington, VT
Example: http://written-in-stone-seen-through-my-lens.blogspot.com/2011/10/champlain-thrust-fault-at-lone-rock.html
2. Cambrian/Grenville unconformity – Alexandria Bay, NY
Example: http://gigapan.com/gigapans/26713
3. For the Adirondacks, I would be more specific and pick (as per Ron Schott) State Route 3 between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, NY, for all the Anorthosite roadcuts (since anorthosite is such a great rock type):
An example: http://gigapan.com/gigapans/86445
I’d add a Virginia one, too, but I can’t remember where the big Middle Ordovician reef outcrop of the Etna Formation was that I saw in Fred Read’s carbonate class – maybe I-64?
That “4 corners” one in Hazard, Kentucky is pretty amazing, as I recall.
Put up my list at http://hudsonvalleygeologist.blogspot.com/2012/06/geospots.html
Thanks!
I posted my list here: http://outsidetheinterzone.blogspot.com/2012/06/101-geo-sites-meme.html My exasperation with Lava River Cave being chosen as one of only two Oregon sites has resulted in me starting to compile a list of 100 Oregon geo-sites… my guess is that LRC will end up ranking in the 50-60 range, but I’m working on a rubric to make the ranking a little less arbitrary and subjective. http://outsidetheinterzone.blogspot.com/2012/06/oregon-geo-sites-comments-and-request.html
Here’s my list:
https://blogs.agu.org/georneys/2012/06/28/geo-sites-meme/
All the mentioned sites are worthy, but it seem erosional processes and tectonic features have gotten short shrift. Surely Grand Canyon, AZ, Yosemite, CA, Owens Valley, CA, the Columbia River Gorge and Scablands, and Niagara Falls should be included in a geological field education.