(Part 2) Best geology books according to redditors

One of the main things to do in Baton Rouge is to eat delicious food.

• Enjoy exploring Louisiana Creole cuisine (surprisingly great Wikipedia article!) and Cajun cuisine. Two favorites: blackened redfish, and bread pudding.
  
• Eat the incredible seafood poboy (get it with sprouts, and hashbrowns on the side; apply tabasco liberally) at Louie's by LSU (open 24hrs, usually--closed sunday nights?).
  
• Be awed by the epic summertime thunderstorms that roll through almost every day around 2pm.
  
• Visit the observation deck at the top of the state capitol. It's open till 4pm. Prepare for your visit by reading All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (or watch either of the films--the 1949 film won best picture, and the 2006 re-make was filmed locally), a fictionalization of the rise and fall of Huey Long. Pick up a copy of the book at Cottonwood Books.
  
• Visit the Louisiana State Museum (by spanish town and the capitol; free).
  
• Try to get a tour of the ExxonMobil refinery.
  
• Two local obsessions: Raising Canes chicken fingers and LSU Football.
  
• Eat pizza at Capitol Grocery in Spanish Town, at 5pm (except Sunday). Sit outside and listen to some locals telling stories. Wander around Spanish Town and Arsenal Park.
  
• Run/bike/drive around the LSU lakes. Gawk at the amazing houses.
  
• Visit Mike the Tiger at LSU. While you're there, check out the special exhibitions at the LSU library.
  
• Eat delicious food at George's restaurant, an incredible dive bar under I-10. Favorites are the burgers (the 'heavy hitter' with avocado), the pastrami and swiss on rye, the ribeye sandwich. Legendary for their shrimp poboys, though I have never had one. Leave a dollar on the tar-encrusted ceiling.
  
• Play tennis or golf at City Park or visit the dog park
  
• See the crazy snake collection at Bluebonnet Swamp nature center
  
• Drink beers, eat red beans and rice, boudin balls, and hushpuppies at the Chimes by LSU. Tin roof amber is a great local beer (it's not on the menu, but they have it!). If it's your first time, start out with an Abita Amber and a fried alligator appetizer.
  
• Admittedly it isn't Cafe du Monde, and, after being razed by Walmart, the neighborhood ain't what it used to be, but you can still get your beignet fix at Coffee Call.
  
• Visit the new Tin Roof brewery (friday afternoons only) and enjoy free samples.
  
• See a show and get dinner at Chelsea's, also in the I-10 overpass area. One favorite is the grilled cheese on foccacia; goes well with a blue moon.
  
• Drink coffee at PerksGarden District Coffee (on Perkins Rd) or Highland Coffee (by LSU; always full of lots of studying students).
  
• Get a plate lunch at Zeeland Street Market (by Perks). Get the lunch special. On Wednesdays they have the best fried chicken in town. On Fridays get the fried catfish with mac and cheese on the side. Best time to arrive is just before the 12:00 noon crowds. Closed Sunday.
  
• Take a date to lunch at Yvette Marie's, a cute low-key restaurant in an antique store. I like the jalapeno chicken sandwich. If you're looking for something more traditional, you can't go wrong with their muffuletta sandwich.
  
• Ride in the monthly Critical Mass bike ride with approximately 200 other cyclists through the streets of the city. Last friday of every month, 6:30pm, LSU parade ground/clocktower. See also the bicycle events calendar.
  
• Go on a swamp tour with Marcus de la Houssaye (Lake Martin/Breaux Bridge), Ernest Couret (Butte La Rose), or Dean Wilson (Bayou Sorrel- afterwards, take the Plaquemine-Sunshine ferry across the river and eat lunch at Roberto's River Road Restaurant)
  
• Read Cherry Baton Rouge to hear about this week's goings-on.
  
• Listen to 91.1 KLSU (college radio station) and 89.3 WRKF (NPR affiliate).
  
• Find the river road ruins south of LSU.
  
• On the first friday of the month, go to Stabbed in the Art.
  
• Some other restaurants to look up: Parrain's Seafood; Juban's; Roberto's River Road Restaurant (Sunshine, LA)
  
• The Old State Capitol is beautiful, historic, and free to visit. On the river at North Blvd (by the Shaw Center).
  
• Stroll on the levee and watch the ships (barges) go by.
  
• If you are a civil engineering / geology nerd, you will enjoy reading John McPhee's book The Control of Nature (or read it online) which details the century-long but almost-certainly-doomed effort to control the Mississippi river. If this stuff interests you, drive up and visit the Morganza Spillway and Old River Control, about 1 hour drive north from Baton Rouge (maybe a bit shorter now due to the new Audubon Bridge). There is also the Bonnet Carré Spillway on the way to New Orleans. (Morganza is also the location of the "cafe scene" from Easy Rider; visit The Bear (bar) for some memorabilia.) Check out this beautiful overlay of some old geological maps showing the past courses of the Mississippi river onto Google Maps. Roadside Geology of Louisiana is good too.
  
• The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory is about 30 miles east and offers public tours on some fridays and saturdays. Contact them in advance. CAMD operates a synchrotron light source in town (across from Whole Foods); you might be able to get a tour there too.
  
• Get a group of friends together, bring a cooler full of beer, and go Tiki Tubing down the Amite River. If Tiki Tubing isn't quite your style, rent a kayak at the Backpacker and take it out on some local river or bayou. They have equipment that will let you carry a kayak on just about any vehicle.
  
• Head out to Zydeco Breakfast at Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge (1 hr drive west) early Saturday morning (8am). Or the cajun/zydeco dance at Whiskey River Landing Sundays at 4pm, or their neighbor McGee's Landing Sundays at noon (also: airboat rides). Listen to KRVS 88.7 FM on the way over.
  
• Tour Laura Plantation and stroll the grounds of Oak Alley Plantation. I've heard Laura Plantation has a much better, more historically-informed tour; skip the tour at Oak Alley and go directly for the mint juleps.
  
• Abita brewery, about 1.5 hours east, has free tours
  
• Feed the giraffes at Global Wildlife (near Hammond)
  
• Get an airplane flying lesson at Fly By Knight (Hammond)
  
• Go to Tsunami on the roof of the Shaw Center (art museum) for the best view of the river (thanks BiscuitCrisps). Great place for a drink! Also, check whether any events are going on at the Shaw Center or the co-located Manship Theatre. They often have interesting shows and films.
  
• The Cove has this city's best selection of whiskey (thanks malakhgabriel).
  

oh shit! How could I have forgotten?

• Chuck Palahniuk's Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon
  
  Palahniuk lives in the Portland area. You might know him as the author of Fight Club, Choke, Survivor, etc.
  
  Also, if you do any road tripping/camping, this is good:
  
  
• Roadside Geology of Oregon
  
  The Washington one is probably better since Washington is home to the Channeled Scablands.

I use the Nesse book (amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Optical-Mineralogy-William-Nesse/dp/0199846278 ) and it's set up pretty well with the first half of it being like an instructional text and the second half just being a giant reference of minerals and their properties. If that one's too expensive, you can pick up the previous edition for ~$30 or so. Definitely a book worth owning.

I used to be a creationist. I mean full on.

Then I read this book. It talks about how scientists searched for the age of the Earth through the centuries. About the same time, I wanted to prove that the things I believed were true, not because I believed in them but because they were true. Completely turned me around.

Hey man. I have been helping students prepare for the FG exam for the past year or so. I am going to try and answer your questions as best as I can, but please feel free to ask more if you want.

1. Those REG Review guides will work fine. You can buy updates, if you like, from their website. However, I usually stress not to take REG Review as gospel. There are several errors within their study guide book, and the quizzes. I am not a big fan of the books, but they do give the individual a good place to start. If you see something in the book/quizzes that you feel is off, take the time to research it. It will help you tremendously.
   
   
2. There are many online practice tests for 101 courses, mineralogy, petrology, glaciology, and many more. They are usually study guides or practice tests from university classes, available online for students, or associated with textbooks. Search these out, or make your own study guides or quizzes. Use pictures and diagrams and construct fill in the blank practice quizzes.
   
   In regards to the practice exams, keep in mind two things-- they are much harder than the actual exam, and it is impossible to know everything.
   
   
3. Save your money, there are plenty of online resources. Email an old professor or TA and ask if they can give you some old quizzes or handouts (yes, I know this is easier said than done). I had a few professors send me some old tests, but I think I just got lucky.
   
   
4. Eh, pretty much. Add relative age dating.
   
   
5. I used my old textbook to study, but there are structural lab manuals online.
   
   Textbook-- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/structural-geology-of-rocks-and-regions-george-h-davis/1116750487/2674186308854?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Textbooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP20456&k_clickid=3x20456
   
   This is an older edition. But for $3; who gives a shit?
   
   Lab Manual-- http://www.usouthal.edu/geography/allison/GY403/StructuralGeologyLabManual.pdf
   
   
6. Study with friends. Run through some practice tests or exams and study what you missed. Remember that you will not know everything, and that is okay. The test is scored on a gradient, more or less. Stick with the basics.
   
   Be sure to set aside time to study and don't freak out.
   
   Hope I helped!
   
   Edit: Here are a few websites that may help you study:
   
   Physical Geology Textbook supplemental material:
   http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072402466/sitemap.html?Qui
   
   More Physical Geology practice quizzes:
   http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/Exams/ExamMaster.HTM
   
   Mineralogy and Geochem:
   
   http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/FundamentalsIndex.html
   
   I do not remember much geochem on the FG exam when I took it. But it doesn't hurt to brush up a little.
   
   Also, if you feel the need to purchase a historical book, I recommend "Evolution of the Earth" by Donald Prothero. Even though it pains me to recommend it, dude's a Class A creeper, the book is really good. Buy an older edition like the seventh or so. The only difference I remember between seventh and eighth edition are a few side notes about hominids. Pretty much moot between the two.

Geodynamics by Turcotte and Schubert

( http://www.amazon.com/Geodynamics-Donald-L-Turcotte/dp/0521666244 )

THE bible on the area of geodynamics and geodynamica-modelling. It has both the theoretical and the geological part that you want (although more focussed on the physics stuff, since everything we know about the earth's core is pretty much derived from seismics).

If you live in the US, try a book in the Roadside Geology series from your state or one you can drive to. If not, try looking for books on local geology or guidebooks to nearby parks and natural attractions that have a good description of the geology in them.

The best way to learn about the rocks is to have your nose pressed against them, so go out and do some fun geological things with a guidebook in your hand telling you what everything is.

Another good book is The Practical Geologist which is an inexpensive basic guide that was similar to my Geology 101 lab book. Though I never read the whole thing in it's entirety; the only reason I bought it was because I sat in the arch on the cover once...

When I was starting as an undergraduate geologist, I bought this book. It is very basic, and does a very good job at explaining things. Now, as a teacher, I lend it to any student who seems to be struggling with the basic concepts. It's a start, a very good one at that.

The only thing I can think of is "befriend a geologist who enjoys hiking" (I'm keen if you live in Queensland! But unlikely!).

While not the answer you're looking for... why don't you learn some basic geology yourself? You could then make your own assumptions on why the landscape looks a certain way, or why you're finding certain rocks in an area.

I found a entry course online but I can't attest to how good it is. Or if you're looking for something a bit more this textbook can be really interesting to someone who has an interest in earth science and will cover all the basics! I know it's a scientific textbook but it's a great read if you are interested in learning about the basics of earth science.

How about gem and mineral specimens?

one more

Earth: Portrait of a planet by Stephen Marshak.
It's the by far best textbook I've read, it covers all aspects of geology on an understandable and basic level. The illustrations are also very well made. It might be a bit costly but the book helped me in all of my bachelor courses by giving a good overview :)

Nesse.

https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/mineralogy/optical_mineralogy_petrography.html

Annals of the Former World It is still on my to be read shelf at home, but my father in law is a geology buff who cannot recommend this book enough.

I can't speak for any specific trails or such, but I do recommend looking for the book Minnesota's Geology published by University of Minnesota Press. It is written by Dr Richard Ojakangas and Dr Charles Match, both former geology professors at University of Minnesota Duluth. It covers a lot of the interesting geology found in the state, with great coverage of the different bedrock types found throughout and how they relate to geologic history and Minnesota's place in it.

Here's an Amazon link to the book too: https://www.amazon.com/Minnesotas-Geology-Richard-Ojakangas/dp/0816609535

Another one you might like is called Roadside Geology of Minnesota, again by Dr Ojakangas: https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geology-Minnesota-Richard-Ojakangas/dp/0878425624

Short answer. There are many scientists working in the field of numerical geodynamic modeling. There are many models that iterate through geological history and track how the earth evolved to how it looks today. Simple plate tectonic models do this. Of course, as you delve deeper into the subject it becomes more and more complex and if you want to get to the details of a particular process (e.g., earthquake rupture and fault dynamics) you need more information and more sophisticated models.

There are several text books about numerical modeling applied to geological problems and geodynamics in general; Introduction to Numerical Geodynamic Modelling and Geodynamics are two great texts on the subject.

Read this: http://www.amazon.com/Geology-Underfoot-Death-Valley-Owens/dp/0878423621

My personal favorite experience was hiking through an old mining valley (sorry I don't remember the name of it) where we found huge chunks of kyanite and stuff.

Death Valley is beautiful if you can appreciate it and there's a good amount of stuff you can see by just stopping at road cuts or doing scenic routes like artist drive.

That being said, if your party doesn't want to experience heat and you drag them out to hike in Death Valley in the summer, they will probably hate you-it gets hots. I'd recommend keeping it restricted to a drive through experience, get out and see the salt flats and stuff but avoid long hikes.

It's definitely worth the detour either way though. But it's certainly possible I'm not giving it as good of a review as it deserves. I've only been a few times and it's a very large area. Wait for more responses before you let mine affect your enthusiasm.

It appears you are interested in geology. I would suggest picking up a copy of Roadside Geology of New York. This well-written series of books provides great geology background for each state. The questions you have posted above are very broad and difficult to answer...

You're not gonna find 'rocks' like what you're thinking of here for the most part.

Depending on how long you have before you come and if you're gonna be driving, search out "Roadside Geology of Louisiana" by Darwin Spearing for an interesting read.

It's worth mentioning that this is specifically geared towards creating atmosphere for carbon based bipedal humanoid lifeforms. I'll be make a video that deals with alien atmospheres soon.

As for the methane, the narrative laid out here didn't talk about it in any great length so it didn't make the video.

I worry though because I'm was using the 4th edition and perhaps things changed a bit come the 5th edition. :/

Don't forget a hand lens http://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Doublet-Magnifier-23-10/dp/B005WJIGIW

Here's another book you might like http://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geology-Texas-Series/dp/087842265X

i am a huge fan of reading , and the vast majority of books i have read have been the physical medium type. i tried downloading e-books and reading them on my laptop (at work), but it really was a strain on my eyes. i loved the idea of having all my books with me, but was hesitant to buy another "screen" to read on after the crappy laptop reading. then my local library got some of the original nooks, and i checked one out for a few weeks, and it really changed my opinion on e-readers. the convenience! there was only a few books that it came with from the library, but i found some of the books i was currently reading on a torrent site and found it much easier to read on on the nook. for example, i enjoy reading while laying on my side, if you reading a big hard cover you know how much a pain this can be. this was made 100 times easier with the nook. later on i had an opportunity to see a kindle, and to me it looked a little clearer, but didn't seem like a huge difference. it did seem like a nice user interface overall, and eventually when i buy one (which i definitely will) i'm leaning towards a kindle. i went to b&n and looked at the nook color, and though it looked nice for the color books, i think it would be lousy for regular books.

if you read a lot, but are hesitant to get an e-reader, i would suggest trying to borrow one from someone, i think you may be pleasantly surprised. they aren't for everyone. i am still going to support my library and local book store as there are a lot of books that just simply look better in paper (i have the entire definitive visual guide series for example).

for most books though, it's just about the story. i'm not one of those people that cares if the cover of my book is the movie version, or the "original" 1st edition version. i really could give two shits about the "art" or "smell" of books. for me, it's about the story, not the medium, and whatever conveys that story most efficiently gets my vote. i am an avid reader and and e-reader is a great tool in my reading toolbox to supplement my reading. it's not meant to "replace books".

Geology/geography is pretty interesting in its own right, and learning about it can help you make your maps more 'realistic'. Granted, that may or may not be what you want, but it's a start. Understanding how rivers form, how glaciers form landforms, and how things like mountain ranges, deserts, islands, and other massive landforms form can really help you make a convincing map that doesn't appear so alien that you have to come up with a whole new set of physics rules to justify it.

I recommend getting an older geology 101 textbook if you're like me and get distracted when you try and read things on the internet. Sure, you can get most of the information online for free, but you can get used, old editions of textbooks for cheap and then you have something you don't need internet acces or even power for. You can get this one for <$20 used, and it's pretty decent. I'm sure there's better/cheaper options out there, but this is what I used in my geology class and it's really interesting.

So, I work in Yellowstone and the rest of the state doesn't really recognize the tourist parts as really true Wyoming. The schedule you described is the Disney tour. Having worked with the Disney tour, it's kinda adventure on rails. It's not a mean criticism, there are few tours that aren't that way. I see the same people leading them every week. You'll be seeing and doing the same stuff every week with people who are way more interested in the Disney brand than they'll be interested in the state of Wyoming. If I'm wrong and you aren't with Disney, my advice is still mostly the same. Focus your attention on the specific places on the tour.

Read all of Yellowstone Resources and Issues.

Grand Teton has a recommended reading list for guides. In addition to that, the rest of both official sites are a trove of information in the "Learn about the Park" sections.

Check out Roadside Geology of Yellowstone Country for interesting features to point out while traveling between locations.

These may be helpful. /r/yellowstone /r/JacksonHole /r/GrandTetonNatlPark/


Maybe read some Edward Abbey for your soul. :) I do hope you have a great summer. I came for a summer, fell in love with Yellowstone and then found the rest of the state and decided to never leave.

http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Earth-Donald-Prothero/dp/0072826843

Best textbook on the matter

I got this book from a secret santa. I like it.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Geo-Sites-Youve-Geology-Underfoot/dp/087842587X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481992388&sr=8-1&keywords=geology+sites

This would be a good book to check out IMO: http://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geology-Minnesota-Series/dp/0878425624

I honestly think you're making this harder than it needs to be. A few good books should tell you all you need to know about the region. Buy now and read for the next 9 months, and you will appreciate the place so much more. The 'roadside geology' series is generally quite good. https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geology-Yellowstone-Country-William/dp/0878425810/
There are dozens of hiking guides, and more than a few books dedicated to the wildlife and fauna of the region.

Depending on the length of your vacation, you might consider also camping in an adjacent national forest. I camped for 5 days in the Wind River mountains to see the eclipse and saw moose, antelope, badgers, etc., in a gorgeous setting. And even with the eclipse pending, the people density was orders of magnitude lower than any place in Yellowstone. The Beartooth mountains NE of the park are some of the prettiest in the region.

Scotty?

Johnson knew it was a scam and still was friends with Scotty, Johnson willfully built the castle because he fell in love with the area and the climate and lifestyle helped his health.

http://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/death-valley-scotty.htm

Also, with the huge size of the park and the drastic geological differences that occur within the boundaries, there are many different elements present.

Here are some good books about the geology of the area/history and hiking.

http://www.amazon.com/Geology-Underfoot-Death-Valley-Owens/dp/0878423621

http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Death-Valley-Natural-Wonders/dp/0965917800/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427481871&sr=1-1&keywords=hiking+death+valley

http://www.amazon.com/Important-California-history-autobiography-detailing-ebook/dp/B00AQN23CY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427481886&sr=1-1&keywords=death+valley+in+49

For the Americans, everything on this list:

101 American Geo-Sites

What does this book say??

Rockhounding New England: A Guide To 100 Of The Region's Best Rockhounding Sites (Rockhounding Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762783656/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_6X26wb5VVT2AP

Rockhounding New York: A Guide To The State's Best Rockhounding Sites (Rockhounding Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762779004/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_KY26wbYF584VV

Roadside Geology of New York (Roadside Geology Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0878421807/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_dZ26wbRZZCT7B

The Collector's Guide to the Minerals of New York State (Schiffer Earth Science Monograph) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764343343/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_DZ26wbH96TSC2

--------

I've found rockhounding books usually have good intros and brief explanations which is good for beginners.

Chert is formed as deep ocean sediment which is lithified (compressed into rock by pressure of burial) then it gets uplifted and exposed as part of an accretionary wedge (scrapings off the ocean floor in a subduction zone). And that all happens over millions of years. If your interested in Geology I recommend a Roadside Geology book of your state. Pretty easy to read and helps you understand geologic processes.

Books like this

This is an excellent book https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geology-Washington/dp/0878421602

The book Measuring Eternity is not an anti-god or anti-religion book. It simply details the progression as humans learned how old the Earth, the Sun and the Universe are.

For a long stretch of our history, a lot of people thought the universe was 6,000 years old; because of religion. The book documents evidence that proves the universe is older than religion says (and younger than infinitely old).

Wikipedia is your friend. You CAN teach yourself stuff about any of the above. In highschool I decided to pursue playing guitar. Never got very good at it, but I decided to record myself playing anyway. I ended up liking making music with the computer more than practicing, so I did that for a while. Came out with an album with a friend and got some attention at school from it, pretty cool. Then I needed a website for our band, of course, so I learned how to do that by downloading dreamweaver and Flash. I ended up liking Flash the best, and now years later, I've programmed a good number of Flash games and made money from them. None of this stuff happened because of school. It was all because I followed what I wanted to do. (oh, and don't feel bad about pirating software for learning purposes, especially at your age. But also look into educational versions).

Not to say I didn't learn anything good in highschool. I learned a lot from my senior English class because the teacher obviously liked what he did, was good at teaching (taught at Notre Dame half the time, at the high school half the time) and challenged us. Learning how to write a good paper is so important. Oh and I use some basic trigonometry in programming the Flash games. No calculus stuff though.

Ok, my final comment, since you seem to love learning, are two of the coolest books I've read.

BBC Earth Story Part 1/8 This series is a great intro. In addition, if you want a book, or rather a series of books Annals of the Former World is a really accessible, easy to read (albeit a bit lengthy) book that I for one loved.

The best book I have yet seen that actually focuses on what graduate school is like and what it takes to succeed (as opposed to focusing more on the application process) is Gregory Semenza's <i>Graduate Study in the Twenty-First Century</i>. It's focused primarily on the Humanities but I suspect it would be generally useful for STEM prospectives as well. If I had to recommend one book to someone considering graduate school or just wanting to know what it is like to be a graduate student, this is the one.

http://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Study-Twenty-First-Century-Humanities/dp/0230100333

Some would argue there is no better book you can read than Graduate Study for the 21st Century. Many of my professors recommended it for anyone going into grad school for the humanities. Beware though—it is extremely honest.

There is a book called the Earth After Us by Jan Zalasiewicz that deals with what would happen if human civilisation suddenly ceased to exist and the geological evidence left behind. Even if you aren't a geologist it's really good reading and easy enough for anyone to understand.

That I agree with totally. In my opinion though that would probably spell the end of us as a species after a few generations.

If you like these kind of thought provoking scenarios might I suggest a book written by an old lecturer of mine. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Earth-After-Us-legacy-humans/dp/0199214972
It makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read.