This book discusses Nevada in the context of the history of soil investigations; soil-forming factors; general soil regions; soil geomorphology; taxonomic structure of the soils; taxonomic soil regions; soil-forming processes; benchmark, endemic, rare, and endangered soils; and use of soils. With an average mean annual precipitation of 175 mm (7 in), Nevada is the driest state in the USA. More than three-quarters (89%) of the state has been mapped and the first soil survey was completed in 1909. Nevada is divided into 10 major land-resource areas and features two large deserts (the Great Basin Desert and the Mojave Desert), and over 100 north–south trending enclosed basins separated by mountain ranges (Basin and Range Province), several of which have peaks exceeding 3,400 m. Further, the soils of Nevada represent seven of the 12 globally recognized orders, 29 suborders, 69 great groups, and over 1,800 soil series, and some of the classic research on the origin of duripans and petrocalcic horizons was conducted in the state. This book presents the first report on the soils of Nevada and provides the first soil map of Nevada utilizing soil.

Water Gold Soil: The American River tells the story of a single flow of water in present-day California from origin to end use. Beginning at the river's headwaters in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the book follows the water through pipes and dams, past Sutter's Mill and the birthplace of the Gold Rush, to the corporate agricultural fields until it eventually disappears into the ground, finding veins in the soil. Including a short essay by Elizabeth Kolbert, the book brings together a series of narrative text, photographs, and archival images that represent the history of extraction in California and testify to the social and ecological consequences of watershed colonialism.

In any complete investigation of terrestrial ecosystems, rocks and soils must be considered. Soils are essential resources, providing water and nutrients for vascular plants, and mitigating the flow of water from the land. In addition, soil diversity is critical for biotic diversity. While there are many references on the agricultural perspective o