I read John McPhee's book Basin and Range with great interest. In a sense, the book travels across the United States from New York to California, including the basins and ranges in between. More specifically, it gives a geological history of the trip across the United States from New York to San Francisco, mostly on Route 80, going through all the different land formations.
The book also travels through geologic history from the present back to the Triassic and Permian periods, covering the various geological epochs. Finally, it travels up and down mountains through elevation changes between basins and ranges.
The book provided a great introduction to geology. I was particularly interested in how it explained how gold and silver deposits arise from these minerals being dissolved and then precipitating out of solution and what it was like during the Nevada Silver Rush in the 19th century.
Overall, Basin and Range is a great read, which I would highly recommend.
Author: John McPhee
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