Geology of New York : A Simplified Account

by Yngvar W. Isachsen

This 300 page book is profusely illustrated with nearly 200 figures. It explains how the State's bedrock was formed and how its landscape evolved. This publication is essentially a reprint of the 1st modifications include several changes in geologic age dates and in stratagraphic tables. Major improvements are the addition of a subject index, a list of illustrations, and a list of tables. The State's bedrock geology and glacial features are discussed by region so readers can focus easily on the many examples of geologic phenomena in every part of the state. A detailed table of contents and summaries at the beginning of each chapter guide the reader to specific information. Chapters 1-3 provide a context for grasping the big picture. This section discusses the enormity of geologic time to help the reader appreciate how slowly many spectacular geologic events unfold. It explains continental drift with the plate techtonic theory. This theory describes the earth as a heat engine that operates with incomparable slowness. Continents drift about, oceans open and close, mountains build and erode...This theory provides a theme that connects and explains the major events of geologic history. Chapters 4-10 describe the bedrock of New York State by region. These chapters focus not only on what type of rock is present but also on how it came to be there. The seven regions covered are the Adirondack Mountains, Hudson Highlands and Manhatten Prong, Hudson-Mohawk Lowlands and Taconic Mountains, Northern Lowlands and Tug Hill Plateau, Erie Lowlands and Allegheny Plateau, Newark Lowlands, and Atlantic Coastal Plain. Much of the section on surface deposits (Chapters 11-14) is devoted to the Ice Age. Chapter 12 sums up the history of the Pleistocene Epoch in New York State. Chapter 13 lists glacial features found across the state today. Also included in the section are chapters on the Tertiary period (before the Ice Age) and the Holocene Epoch (after the Ice Age). Chapters 15-18 discuss how the geologic environment influences human activity. Topics covered are mineral resources, surface water, groundwater, earthquakes, and engineering geology. Technical terms are defined when they first appear in the text and are compiled in a glossary, as well. The glossary, which defines 800 words and phrases, is an invaluable tool for readers with little or no background in geology. An appendix contains drawings of common fossils, a physiographic map of the U.S., a map of New York's fault systems, a series of 61 block diagrams showing the plate tectonic evolution of eastern North America, and a list of statewide maps related to geology that are available from the New York State Museum. This publication includes a separate full color folded sheet (22 X 56 inches, printed on both sides) titled the "New York State Geologic Highway Map", as part of its illustrations. This sheet includes four Plate 1, A View from New York and Surrounding Areas; Plate 2, Geologic Map and Cross Sections (both Plates 1 & 2 at 1:1,000,000 scale for easy comparison); Plate 3, Legend for the Geologic Map (layed out as a state-wide stratigraphic correlation chart); Plate 4 includes two New York regional maps, a physiographic map and a tectonic map and two index maps of New York, one of routes of geological field guides and one of points of geological interest. This Highway Map illustrates many of the concepts in the book.

300 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2000

Reviews

[Kirsten Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book -- when I finished I found myself wistfully thinking that I shoulda been a geologist.

You know the feeling you get when you look up at the night sky, and see all those stars, and a giddiness sets in that that universe could be so vast and old and impossible to understand?

I get the same giddiness when I think about geological history. How crazy that the spot where I grew up was once seabed sediment washed down from a mountain range that probably looked like the Himalayas do today, but was eventually completed eroded away.

I read the book for that reason: to understand what was under my feet when I was a kid, digging around in what I now know was Pleistocene era glacial till.

Plus it's well written. It's lively and even funny in places (sorry, I didn't make a note of the things that made me laugh or I'd give examples). (Or maybe it's just me, and people less geeky wouldn't think they're funny.)

Final question: why why why is this book no longer in print? NYS should reprint it. It's a treasure. We live in a print-on-demand world. There's no reason this book should be only available second-hand ...