Big Black Boring Rock: Essays on Northwest Geology

This collection of essays on the geology of the Pacific Northwest is written by geologist Steve Reidel. Reidel is an expert on Columbia River Basalt, the primary rock of the Columbia Basin, the semi-arid region of Washington State where most of the essays are set. The book collects a series of highly readable and witty essays Reidel has been writing for more than a decade for the Tri-City Herald, the daily newspaper of the Tri-Cities (Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick), Washington. Written in plain language, Reidel makes geology, an often difficult field to understand, accessible for all readers. The book is divided into four parts. The Making and Shaping of the Columbia Basin, part one, covers the creation of the Basin from the massive flows of lava covering 100,000 square miles-the largest on Earth-to the walls of water 600 feet deep created by Ice-Age floods that sculpted the region. Landmarks, part two, describes the creation and stories behind Tri-Cities landmarks such as Rattlesnake Mountain and the Two Sisters. The essays included in part three, Geohazards, focus on Cascade Mountain volcanoes, such as Mount St. Helens; area earthquakes; and regional tsunamis. Part four takes readers from the Tri-Cities to explore geologic wonders scattered around the region such as the Gorge at George Washington, Gingko Petrified Forest, and Beacon Rock State Park.Stephen P. Reidel is the author of 'Big Black Boring Rock: Essays on Northwest Geology' with ISBN 9781574771565 and ISBN 1574771566.