Although millions of Americans and international travelers take road trips through North America every year, most have no understanding of how the landscape came to be. North America's Natural Wonders provides everything these travelers need to understand the landscape. Written by a career geologist with decades of experience in the field, it guides readers through the most iconic, geologically significant scenery in North America and explains what they are seeing.
Volume I focuses on western North America, including the Canadian Rockies, the Southwest, Great Basin, and Tetons-Yellowstone Country. The trips detailed in this volume include stops at the glaciers and mountains of Banff National Park, the Grand Canyon, numerous parks in Utah, and the geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone. It also features lesser known but equally interesting geologic formations and how to access these sites.
Volume II focuses on central and eastern North America, including the Appalachians of Virginia and West Virginia, the Colorado Rockies, Austin-Big Bend Country, and the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. The trips detailed in this volume include stops at the Blue Ridge in Shenandoah National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Big Bend National Park, Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak, the Colorado Mineral Belt, Aspen and the Maroon Bells, giant salt-cored uplifts of the La Popa Basin, Mexico, and many others. It also features lesser known but equally interesting geologic formations and how to access these sites.
This detailed guide will help the curious layman, the rock hound, the geology student, and the professional geologist understand what they are seeing when they look at a roadcut, quarry, or landscape. A full understanding of natural formations will enhance the traveler's experience beyond simple sightseeing.
Gary L. Prost obtained his BSc in geology from Northern Arizona University in 1973, an MSc in geology from Colorado School of Mines in 1975, and his PhD in geology from Colorado School of Mines in 1986.
Over the past 45 years, he has worked for Norandex (mineral exploration), Shell U.S.A. (petroleum exploration worldwide), the U.S. Geological Survey (geologic mapping, coal), the Superior Oil Company (mineral and oil exploration), Amoco Production Company (worldwide oil exploration, remote sensing, and structural geology), Gulf Canada (international new ventures), and ConocoPhillips Canada (Canadian Arctic exploration, gas field development, oil sands development, and reservoir characterization).
He spent over 20 years working as a satellite image analyst in the search for hydrocarbons and minerals in more than 30 countries. During this time, he applied structural geology and remote sensing to exploration, development, and environmental projects. He spent the next 25 years working mostly in Latin America and Canada on regional studies, new ventures and frontier exploration, and oil and gas field development.
His most recent work has been in public outreach, leading field trips and educating the public on topics of geological interest.
He is the principal geologist for G.L. Prost GeoConsulting of El Cerrito, California, and has been a registered professional geologist in Wyoming (United States) and in Alberta and the Northwest Territories (Canada).
He has published three books: The Geology Companion: Essentials for Understanding the Earth (Taylor & Francis, 2018), Remote Sensing for Geoscientists: Image Analysis and Integration (third edition, Taylor & Francis 2013), and the English-Spanish and Spanish-English Glossary of Geoscience Terms (Taylor & Francis, 1997). He is already at work on his next volume, Geologic Tours of the World--South America's Natural Wonders.
