Life in Stone: Fossils of the Colorado Plateau

by Christa Sadler

Spanning the Four Corners area of the American Southwest, the Colorado Plateau is a remarkable landscape of impressive peaks, high plateaus, and deeply carved canyons. Locked in its colorful rock layers are the fossil remains of organisms that lived here millions of years ago. These rocks and their fossils tell stories of swamps and oceans, great slow-moving rivers and windblown dunes, tidal flats and tropical seas - all of which come to life as we unlock the secrets preserved in stone.
Grand Canyon Conservancy is the official nonprofit partner of Grand Canyon National Park.

Genres: Science, Palaeontology, Nonfiction, Geology

80 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Christa Sadler has worked in the outdoors in one form or another for more than twenty years. She is a geologist, educator, writer and naturalist with a serious addiction to rivers, deserts, mountains and, at times, chocolate. She received her Bachelor's degree in Physical Anthropology and Archeology from the University of California at Berkeley, and her Master's degree in Earth Sciences from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Reviews

[Corinna Bechko · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a neat little book! Centered entirely on the history of life on the Colorado Plateau, this slim volume packs a lot of history (not to mention photos and facts) into under 100 pages. The area is almost embarrassingly rich with fossils and the profusion can seem overwhelming as well as confusing. But thanks to the included clear graphics, maps, and calm expository voice of the author, I now have a much better idea of what was found where and why.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a quick read with excellent photos about fossils in the Colorado Plateau. I read it as part of the list of books to read provided for a tour my husband and I are going on in October. Highly readable and very informative.

[Kawsar Kamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fascinating to read about the rich history of time preserved in the Colorado plateau (an area encompassing Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico). Examination of the past at this scale provides an amazing perspective of our present and the future.

[Dot Seay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was short but packed with easy to understand information about the history in the Colorado Plateau that is revealed in the fossil formations that have been studied. The author has included a large number of pictures and drawings and has made this topic interesting.