Alone in the Grand Canyon: An Account of the 1970s Geological Exploration of the Inner Gorge of the Grand Canyon (Colour Edition)

As a young graduate geologist from Leicester University in 1971, I felt I was the luckiest person in the world. I had just received funding to study the two-billion-year-old igneous and metamorphic rocks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. That summer I had worked as a field assistant for the Museum of Northern Arizona, locating and recording small dinosaur skeletons that had become exposed in the desert. This was not my area of expertise, but it did allow me to ascertain that a comprehensive study of the Grand Canyon had never been made; it was only just beginning. For the next four years I joined a select team of geologists who mapped and recorded all aspects of the 'Geology of the Grand Canyon', culminating in a book of the same name in 1974 and a detailed map in in 1976. Both became standard works of reference. I ran the rapids, slept under the stars and had enough adventures to last a lifetime. What an opportunity it was! I have always felt most privileged.Contents:Prologue: The Early Pioneers Explorations in the Early 1970s The Leicester Connection and the Earliest LifeformsFirst Steps in America, First Descent into the Inner Gorge, August 1970A Summer in Flagstaff, 1971Grand Canyon (River) Expeditions, September 1971Fun and Adventures in the Upper Granite Gorge, Spring 1972 Grand Canyon Diaries: Preliminary Reconnaissance Hitching a Ride The Incredible Rattlesnake ShowGrand Canyon Geology in BriefEnchanting Flora and Scary Creatures California Redbud, Catclaw Acacia and Sacred Datura Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and Gila MonstersTragedy at Grapevine Rapid, April 1973Mistakes and Mishaps: Our Final Group River Trip, September 1973Alone in the Grand CanyonAppendix: A Geological Excursion through the Upper Granite GorgeBibliography Read more