Roadside Geology of Maine

Exploring Maine just got easier. Whether you plan to view the geology from the highway, the beach, or the top of Mount Katahdin, Roadside Geology of Maine distills each scene's geologic history into easily understood stories of rocks and landscape. In this odd and spectacular north country, where even standard geology is unusual, contorted layered rock shows the strain of surviving the collision of continents. Glaciers sculpted the battered bedrock and left behind some of Maine's most useful and aggravating geologic features. Readers will learn why ice-age delta mud--highly sought after for making bricks--challenges bridge engineers, and why Maine's plowed fields seem to produce more rocks than crops.

Author D. W. Caldwell divides Maine into four geographically distinct regions: the coast, the central slate belt, the mountains, and the north, and describes the geology of each region's major roads. Detailed maps guide readers through the Maine woods, locating glacially polished pink granite quarried for national monuments, 100-mile-long eskers meandering through boggy lowlands, frozen patterned ground in the alpine highlands, and pillow basalts along the coast. Geologic roadlogs include tours of Acadia National Park and some trails in Baxter State Park.