Description:
The northwestern margin of the Santa Catalina Mountains, located within
Catalina State Park and the adjacent Coronado National Forest, contains a variety
of spectacular geologic features (Map A). Because of the relatively sparse
desert vegetation, all of them are easy to recognize and photograph.
Some of these features occur throughout much of the western United States.
Others are unique to landscapes produced by the weathering and erosion of granite.
This booklet is your field guide to the geology of this splendid desert landscape. It
is a hiker’s guide; excursions on foot to the geologic features described in the text are
encouraged. This book is written for the visitor who has an interest in geology, but may
not have had formal training in the subject. It may also help ensure that the visiting
geologist does not overlook some of the features described.
To set the stage, I have briefly described the area’s geologic setting and geologic
history. In the following pages, emphasis is given to descriptions of geologic features
that are common in this landscape. Precise locations are provided for those features that
have more limited distribution.
Includes more than 30 images and illustrations and six maps.