Roadside Geology of Texas

Roadside Geology Series #4

by Darwin Spearing

The geologic panorama of Texas is as wide as the state is big, sweeping from volcanic mesas and thrusting mountains in the west to red canyons of the Panhandle, along tropical sand barriers of the Gulf Coast, and across central limestone plateaus onto hard granitic terrain in the center of the state. Texas is bless with rocks of all ages, as well as an incredible array of natural geologic resources. Darwin Spearing will tell you about the rocks as you come to them--describing what they are, when they formed, what they mean, and how they fit into the big picture of the geology of Texas.

Genres: Science, Geology, Reference, Nonfiction, Nature

418 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

Reviews

[Daniel Chaikin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

A little bit of driving lately got me through a lot of this book. From our Houston suburban home, a year ago we made it to Big Bend National Park. Then, in the covid world we found an isolated house near Fredericksburg, TX, in the Texas Hill Country, and did some driving around the ancient rocks exposed around Llano, TX. Then recently snuck off to Canyon, TX to hike Palo Duro Canyon state park. Suddenly I have read a lot, and learned a lot. What I imaged as a state of (Cretaceous) flat limestone running off into Tertiary hills and coastal flats has a chunk of the Paleozoic Ouachita fold belt (one-time mountain range) poking out in Marathon, where it intersects the younger Rocky Mountains trend that brings up Precambrian rocks outside El Paso. And all this is surrounded by massive basin and range volcanics centered on Fort David, Tx - the Davis Mountains. And that doesn't cover the Pennsylvanian and Permian plains and the step up to the Llano Estacado - preserved by the little river call the Pecos - the edge generating cliffs and one of the largest canyons in North America - Palo Duro Canyon. And there's that little hill southeast of Austin that was once explosive volcanic dome and island, or the Permian reef eroded almost back to it's original shape in the Guadalupe Mountings. If you can't follow all this, then maybe this is a good book for you. There is more to Texas than Hill Country and dinosaur footprints.

While I don't know anything about Darwin Spearing, I thought he did a nice job covering all this. He captures the big picture and local gems, and manages the balance of giving enough visuals and info to have a lot offer without getting bogged down into too much detail. Fun stuff, much of it I found surprising. It works best to read entire chapters instead of just individual highway sections.

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57. Roadside Geology of Texas by Darwin Spearing
published: 1991
format: 391-page paperback
acquired: 1999 ?
read: Nov 22 – Dec 3
time reading: 11 hr 17 min, 1.8 min/page
rating: 4

[Thomas Warger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book at the suggestion of a geology professor neighbor. I had told him I was working in Amarillo. He told me that was the middle of one of the largest flat places on earth. I said I could believe that. He said, "But did you know there is a mountain range buried there just beneath the surface?" So, I needed to read this book. I read others in this series for other places I traveled.

[Mike W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has travelled with us for nearly 20 years. We pull it out when we go to a new part of Texas to learn about the geology of our amazing state. It's broken up by region/highways.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So helpful through Texas! I also love the joy & silliness in the language.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like geology but I haven't studied it in over 20 years. I thought I ought to brush up on geology. This seemed to be the most user-friendly text available on Amazon so I bought it.

It's dry. No doubt about it but geology is a dry subject unless you happen to enjoy it. I broke up this book into many, many sections. Sometimes I even forgot that I was reading it. Because the book is divided up into sections, though, it was easy to join up again with the book and hop on the roads across Texas.

It's dated. It needs updating with websites (when available) and I'd love to see GPS coordinates for some of the sites. When this was written, I don't think this tech was a ubiquitous.

The author knows his stuff. And he's traveled Texas to prove it. I loved how he used pennies for size comparison (I've known authors who forget that trick). I also loved the photos, although I wish they'd been color so I could see the fine details better between colors.

I'm keeping this as a reference book. There are several sites I'd love to visit some day, e.g. the meteor sites. The driving directions are still good--Texas highways don't change all that much.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keep it in your car. Otherwise you'll kick yourself when you are driving hundreds of miles on I-10 in west Texas and wondering about all the amazing mountains and rock cuts. (Argh - spring break trip without my Roadside Geology of Texas!!)

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for new geologists to get an initial overview of the state. Excellent resource for amateur geologists looking for a layman level book on the history of the state and for a listing of further resources.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book to have. We like to take it with us when we drive around to different state parks and through Texas. It is very easy to read and use, I only wish I could remember more of it!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll never look at a landform the same way again.

[Deborah McKown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keep it in the car!

[ANNE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!