Trek through a time warp
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Hiking the Grand
Canyon’s Geology
Lon Abbott, Terri Cook
The Mountaineers Books, $16.95
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Knowing that each step down a Grand Canyon trail can transport you 60,000 years back in geologic time can add to the exclamations of the Big Rim experience. This guide offers a snapshot of 2 billion years of Earth history lining 18 selected hikes in the canyon.
Not a rock jock? The first section of the book is a primer on the formation of the Earth that details the 16 distinct layers of rock in the canyon and the mind-blowing forces that made it so.
The hikes range from the stroll to the slog to the dangerous scramble up Lava Falls, and the usual tips and precautions are included. GPS coordinates accompany points of interest and trail- heads. The fun part comes when the authors turn pretty scenery into tales of ancient world cataclysm, inland tropical seas and middle-earth rumblings.
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Emmett Berg
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