The Mountains That Remade America : How Sierra Nevada Geology Impacts Modern Life

From ski towns to national parks, fresh fruit to environmental lawsuits, the Sierra Nevada has changed the way Americans live. Whether and where there was gold to be mined redefined land, mineral, and water laws. Where rain falls (and where it doesn’t) determines whose fruit grows on trees and whose appears on slot machines. All this emerges from the geology of the range and how it changed history, and in so doing, changed the country. __The Mountains That Remade America__ combines geology with history to show how the particular forces and conditions that created the Sierra Nevada have effected broad outcomes and influenced daily life in the United States in the past and how they continue to do so today. Drawing connections between events in historical geology and contemporary society, Craig H. Jones makes geological science accessible and shows the vast impact this mountain range has had on the American West. From ski towns to national parks, fresh fruit to environmental lawsuits, the Sierra Nevada has changed the way Americans live. Whether and where there was gold to be mined redefined land, mineral, and water laws. Where rain falls (and where it doesn’t) determines whose fruit grows on trees and whose appears on slot machines. All this emerges from the geology of the range and how it changed history, and in so doing, changed the country.
 
The Mountains That Remade America combines geology with history to show how the particular forces and conditions that created the Sierra Nevada have effected broad outcomes and influenced daily life in the United States in the past and how they continue to do so today. Drawing connections between events in historical geology and contemporary society, Craig H. Jones makes geological science accessible and shows the vast impact this mountain range has had on the American West. "From ski towns to national parks, fresh fruit to environmental lawsuits, the Sierra Nevada has changed the way Americans live. Where there was gold to be mined (and where there was not) redefined land, mineral, and water laws. Where rain falls (and where it doesn't) determines whose fruit grows in trees and whose appears on slot machines. All this emerges from the geology of the range and how it changed history, and in so doing, changed America. The Mountains That Remade America combines geology with history to show how the particular forces and conditions that created the Sierra Nevada have influenced broad outcomes and daily life in the United States in the past and continue to do so today. Making connections between events in historical geology and contemporary society, Craig H. Jones makes geological science accessible and shows the vast impact this mountain range has had on the American West."--Provided by publisher. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue Introduction 1. An Asymmetric Barrier 2. A Golden Trinity 3. A Placer for Everyone 4. Fossil Rivers, Modern Water 5. Lode Gold 6. “A Property of No Value” 7. Granite, Guardian of Wilderness 8. Big Trees, Big Battles 9. Mountains Adrift 10. What Lies Beneath 11. Paradoxes and Proxy Wars Notes References Illustration Sources Index