Arizona State University professors Stephen J. Reynolds, Ph.D., and Julia K. Johnson have released a second edition of “Roadside Geology of Arizona,” published by Mountain Press of Missoula, Mont.
Reynolds said that the publishers had asked them to update the original edition of the 1983 book, which had been written by Halka Chronic, Ph.D. [1923-2013], a woman who lived in Oak Creek Canyon. Reynolds and Johnson said that they endeavored to make the book an easy read for a layman, omitting scientific terms where possible and including a range of graphics, such as tectonic and seismic maps and photos of mountain ranges and river canyons.
“Mountain Press allowed us to go beyond their typical layout, ”Johnson said. “And I think the book ended up being quite a bit more interesting. It takes a more regional approach than most of them do, and it comes from all this background knowledge of teaching.”
The Verde Valley is among the locations featured in the book, which discusses the route of State Route 89A over Mingus Mountain, the United Verde open pit mine in Jerome and local geographic formations including House Mountain, a shield volcano near Clarkdale. “The geology of Jerome is really, really cool,” Reynolds said “That mine was in a salt mine deposit that was formed on the sea floor 1.75 billion years ago.”
After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, Reynolds was employed to make a new geological map of Arizona and many of the maps in the book originated in his research. Additional illustrations were done by Chelsea M. Feeney. “I’ve done research in most parts of the state, when I was with the Arizona Geologic Survey and then as an ASU professor, my students and I mapped just tons of mountain ranges that have never been studied,” Reynolds said. The authors said they hoped the book would be a guide for people who wanted to explore the beauty of Arizona’s landscapes.
