# Seeking in-depth Geology guide for Grand Canyon Trip



## WestBoundBaby (Jan 7, 2020)

Hey Buzzards, does anyone know of a good geology guide for a grand canyon trip?

I'm looking for something a little more in-depth, I have a background in geology and I'm hoping to take point on rock talk.

Leaving late feb... gonna be frosty 🤪

Thanks!


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## David L (Feb 13, 2004)

This Hamblin/Rigby pair of books is absolutely what you want. I take them on every GC trip, am always referring to them. Amazon has them, too.









colorado river guidebook for sale | eBay


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## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

Yep - and the last time I was at Marble Canyon they sold both volumes. One covers from Lees to Phantom, the other Phantom to the lake.


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## kwagunt2001 (Jun 9, 2008)

There's a bunch out there. USGS has lots of resources.





USGS Geologic Investigations Series I-2688: Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Coconino and Mohave Counties, Northwestern Arizona


U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2688: Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Coconino and Mohave Counties, Northwestern Arizona



pubs.usgs.gov


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## kwagunt2001 (Jun 9, 2008)

Another cool one:


Geologic Timeline of the Grand Canyon | AZGS Document Repository


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

You know, it'd be a lot simpler if you were a creationist, don't you? "...and all this was deposited while Noah was keeping the lions and tigers from eating the other animals... (but just don't ask me how the 13,000-foot thick Grand Canyon Supergroup got deposited, then tilted up and beveled off before the rest of the flood deposited the Tepeats, Temple Butte, Redwall, and all the other formations...)."


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## dsrtrat (May 29, 2011)

River Runners Guide to the Canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Marble Gorge and Grand Canyon edition.
George Simmons and David Gaskill
Published by Northland Press in cooperation with the Powell Society
Mile by mile description with emphasis on geologic features.
May be hard to find but worth looking for.


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## 2tomcat2 (May 27, 2012)

dsrtrat said:


> River Runners Guide to the Canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Marble Gorge and Grand Canyon edition.
> George Simmons and David Gaskill
> Published by Northland Press in cooperation with the Powell Society
> Mile by mile description with emphasis on geologic features.
> May be hard to find but worth looking for.


Amazon, 1979 Edition


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## kayakingphotog (May 25, 2007)

I purchased this book in 1990 while studying geology at the university of texas. Its the most in-depth geology book on the GC out there. You can get the first edition used for a small pittance compared w/the second edition. The first is fine. Lots of info........









Amazon.com: Grand Canyon Geology: 9780195050158: Beus, Stanley S., Morales, Michael: Books


Amazon.com: Grand Canyon Geology: 9780195050158: Beus, Stanley S., Morales, Michael: Books



www.amazon.com


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## SherpaDave (Dec 28, 2017)

My son was pretty excited to find this at a used book store. I figured we’d read it once... I was wrong. We read cover to cover. He still randomly pulls it out to read (well for me to read it to him).


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## king kong kev (Aug 31, 2006)

Here are a couple of links:

(1) Some good photos and descriptions of stratigraphy and canyon features. There are 4 parts to this series. Part 1:
Grand Canyon Rafting - part 1

(2) Recent updated geologic map by Karl Karlstrom:
Geologic Map of Eastern Grand Canyon, AZ:








(PDF) Geologic map of the eastern part of the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA [Paleoproterozoic ].


PDF | Record Details Title: Geologic map of the eastern part of the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona / Grand Canyon Association [and] Museum of... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate




www.researchgate.net





(3) Collection of recent Grand Canyon scientific papers (Timmons and Karlstrom editors).
Grand Canyon Geology: Two Billion Years of Earth’s History; GSA special paper 489:








(PDF) Introduction to Grand Canyon geology


PDF | On Nov 1, 2012, Karl E. Karlstrom and others published Introduction to Grand Canyon geology | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate




www.researchgate.net





(4) The Great Unconformity of the Grand Canyon by Jack Share





The Great Unconformity of the Grand Canyon and the Late Proterozoic-Cambrian Time Interval: Part I - Defining It


“It is time. Touch it. Trail your fingers over a billion years.” From A River Runs Through It , By Charlotte Grahame-Clark W...




written-in-stone-seen-through-my-lens.blogspot.com


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## WestBoundBaby (Jan 7, 2020)

Thank you all!!

I have made some purchases already and I'm getting stoked during my pre bedtime reads!


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## KrisG (Jun 22, 2012)

I was looking around the internet and found a PDF of the Hamblin and Rigby guides

Lees Ferry to Phantom Ranch: Guidebook to the Colorado River Part 1: Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park (byu.edu) 

Phantom to Lake Mead: Guidebook to the Colorado River, Part 2: Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park to Lake Mead, Arizona-Nevada (byu.edu) 

Hope these links work you. Both are interesting reading.


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## KrisG (Jun 22, 2012)

I tried the links after posting and they don't work. I am not computer savvy enough to know why. If you google grand canyon guide by hamblin and Rigby you can find the links and click on them and get them to work. maybe some one else can put up the right links. Thanks


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

the links took me straight to the PDF files of the guides, which I've just downloaded. They look like very detailed guidebooks with beautiful cross-sections and other information in them.


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## KrisG (Jun 22, 2012)

Andy, I am not sure what happened when I first tested the links, but yes they do work fine. I was looking around and found a few other books on line that might be of interest to some.

This is the parks geology guide that they use to train employees. It is not river specific, but has good general information
Grand Canyon Geology Training Manual - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) 

This is a USGS circular that covers the impact of Glen Canyon dam on the Grand Canyon. Has a lot of interesting stuff about sediments, and other impacts. Check out chapter 8. It is an excellent discussion of rapid formation, and says the dam has increased the pool and drop nature of the rapids as there is no annual high water flush to re-sort the side canyon flash floods: USGS Circular 1282 

Lastly, and this is a little off topic but Hamlin and Rigby also did a similar book on Cataract Canyon. It is a great read
Guidebook to the Colorado River, Part 3: Moab to Hite, Utah through Canyonlands National Park (byu.edu) 

I hope that you will enjoy these books. They are free, and you tax dollars paid for the top two.


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