Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California: Coast to Foothills (California Natural History Guides)

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Field guides often provide little ecological information, or context, for understanding the plants they identify. This book, with its engaging text and attractive illustrations, for the first time provides an ecological framework for the plants and their environments in the coast and foothill regions of Southern California, an area that boasts an extremely rich flora. It will introduce a wide audience--from general readers and students to natural history and outdoor enthusiasts--to Southern California's plant communities, their ecological dynamics, and the key plants that grow in them.
Coastal beach and dune habitats, coastal and interior sage scrub, chaparral, woodlands, grasslands, riparian woodlands, and wetlands all contribute unique plant assemblages to Southern California. In addition to discussing each of these areas in depth, this book also emphasizes ecological factors such as drought, seasonal temperatures, and fire that determine which plants can thrive in each community. It covers such important topics as non-native invasive plants and other issues involved with preserving biodiversity in the ecologically rich yet heavily populated and increasingly threatened area. * 327 color photographs provide overviews of each plant community and highlight key plant species

* Describes more than 300 plant species
* Covers the counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, western Riverside, San Bernardino, and the Channel Islands
* Includes a list of public areas and parks for viewing Southern California's plant communities

Customer Reviews ::

This book is great - Larry Dougan - Ventura, Ca
This book is just what I was looking for. Great photos and descriptions of the plant life of California.

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California: The Great Exception

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In 1949, lawyer, historian, and journalist Carey McWilliams stepped back to assess the state of California at the end of its first one hundred years--its history, population, politics, agriculture, and social concerns. As he examined the reasons for the prodigious growth and productivity that have characterized California since the Gold Rush, he praised the vitality of the new citizens who had come from all over the world to populate the state in a very short time. But he also made clear how brutally the new Californians dealt with "the Indian problem," the water problem, and the need for migrant labor to facilitate California's massive and highly profitable agricultural industry. As we look back now on 150 years of statehood, it is particularly useful to place the events of the past fifty years in the context of McWilliams's assessment in California: The Great Exception. Lewis Lapham has written a new foreword for this edition.

"Still the single best analysis of California's distinctive path of economic and social development, by the state's most accurate observer." --Richard Walker, University of California, Berkeley

"The classic account of the titanic social conflicts that have shaped California as a unique state-nation on the Pacific." --Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz

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California Geology (2nd Edition)

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This interesting book uses plate tectonics as its central theme; it acquaints readers with California geology. Basic principles in the beginning of the book and tables of highlights for each province enable the reader to understand the whole picture of catastrophic national disasters, California history, mining methods, and societal impacts; it brings the lessons of geology closer to the everyday context of California life. After a comprehensive overview of the basic principles of geology, this book then focuses on the geological highlights of California (young volcanoes, deserts, the Mojave Desert, the Sierra Nevada, the Klamath Mountains, water, the Great Valley, the coast Ranges, earthquakes, faults, and seismic safety, the transverse ranges, and the peninsular ranges). The inside back and front covers of the book contain a wealth of readily available information, with comprehensive geologic, fault, relief, and mountain range maps. A handy desk reference for geologists, this book is also a source of information for anyone interested in the evolution of California's terrain.

Customer Reviews ::

Worth it - Ori Sartono - Fresno, CA
This book gets me through the California Supplemental Examination for my PG. It is easy to read and understand (if you are a geologist), without making the book less the substance.

I like how Harden pictures one geologic event. The examples of places names are a familiar one, thus (if you live long enough in California) you can relate to them.

It is definitely one to keep.

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