Canyonlands Country - Geology of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks

Donald L. Baars
1993 - University of Utah Press
ISBN 0-87480-432-9

This is a great book to get if you are going to be concentrating your travels in southeastern Utah around the Moab area. The first half of the book gives a thorough geological history of Canyonlands Country from 1.8 billion years ago up to the present. It contains enough detail to satisfy even the most serious layperson. The second half presents a series of detailed geological tours of Arches NP, Canyonlands NP (Island in the Sky, Needles and The Maze districts), and Meander, Cataract, Labyrinth, and Stillwater Canyons.

 

Geology of Utah

William Lee Stokes
(c) 1986 Utah Museum of Natural History, University of Utah - Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Department of Natural Resources
ISBN 0-940378-05-1

This book is the result of William Lee Stokes’ career of over 50 years dealing with the mapping and interpretation of Utah geology. It is a treasure-trove of information relating to the geology of the entire state. The geologic story is told chronologically, with each successive chapter dealing with a later epoch in the geological history of the state. Examples of topographic features resulting from each epoch are given. This book is written on a semi-technical level and is definitely not light reading. However, if you want the absolute best reference on the geology of Utah for the serious layperson, this is it.

 

Pages of Stone - Geology of Western National Parks and Monuments - Part 4: Grand Canyon and the Plateau Country

Halka Chronic
(c) 1988 The Mountaineers
ISBN 0-89886-155-1

In addition to giving a great introduction to the geology of the Colorado Plateau, this book gives good descriptions of the geology of virtually all of the parks and monuments in the plateau. This is a good book to get if you are planning on, or have already, visited most of the parks and monuments in this region. It’s not as in-depth as some of the other geology books listed here, but it gives more than enough information for the casual layperson.

 

Roadside Geology of Utah

Halka Chronic
(c) 1990 Mountain Press Publishing Company
ISBN 0-87842-228-5

There is a book from the "Roadside Geology" series which covers the geology of individual states from Alaska to Virginia. I love this series - I bought the Colorado version when I lived there and I have the Arizona version for when I travel through that state. Like the title states, this book describes the geology behind the landscapes which are visible from major highways that crisscross the state. It is written in "terms the layman will enjoy and the geologist will appreciate." The book contains a general introduction to the major theories of geology along with some specifics relating to plateau country. In addition to the geology along the highways, the book also includes a brief summary of the geology of the national parks and monuments in Utah.

 

Scenes of the Plateau Lands and How they Came to Be

William Lee Stokes
(c) 1969 William Lee Stokes - Starstone Publishing Company
ISBN - None

At only 66 pages long, I would term this to be a booklet. It's an extremely general introduction to the major elements of plateau country. However, even though it's written for the complete novice it gets to the heart of all the major scenery makers in plateau country - mesas, buttes, canyons, badlands, spires, arches, naural bridges, sand dunes, cliffs, arroyos and even the color of the rocks. It's a fast read and is a good starting point for your explorations of the geology of Red Rock Country.

 

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