Allow yourself to be taken back into deep geologic time when strange creatures roamed the Earth and Western North America looked completely unlike the modern landscape. Volcanic islands stretched from Mexico to Alaska, most of the Pacific Rim didn’t exist yet, at least not as widespread dry land; terranes drifted from across the Pacific to dock on Western Americas’ shores creating mountains and more volcanic activity. Landscapes were transposed north or south by thousands of kilometers along huge fault systems. Follow these events through paleogeographic maps that look like satellite views of ancient Earth. Accompanying text takes the reader into the science behind these maps and the geologic history that they portray. The maps and text unfold the complex geologic history of the region as never seen before. Winner of the 2021 John D. Haun Landmark Publication Award, AAPG-Rocky Mountain Section

In revising his now classic work on the geology of North America, Philip B. King has devoted attention both to the new concepts of global tectonics and to new facts obtained from fieldwork in recent years. From its overview of the natural history of continents, to the sections describing the characteristics and history of each region, this remains a fundamental text on continental geology. Originally published in 1977. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"A praiseworthy introduction to the lore of maps and a mine of information for the amateur map-maker."—O.M. Miller, American Geographical Society "This book should be welcomed by all students of mapping, for it will take them in uncomplicated stages through the complexities of compiling a map. . . . Mr. Greenwood is to be congratulated on an excellent book."—C.J. Angus, Canadian Geographical Journal "For the baggy and middle-aged who cannot afford skiing in Austria or sailing off Bimini, Greenhood invites his readers to a sort of intellectual excitement which neither skiing nor sailing could equal. . . . Unless you work professionally with maps to the degree that a navigator does, for instance, this book will fascinate and enthrall you."—Monroe Bush, American Forests "A teacher who wishes to go into the classroom with a storehouse of knowledge and ideas will find this a remarkable book. It is easy to read, and each page contains information which can be fed into the work in progress no matter which area of the world is being studied."—Instructor