Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country

Rather than a bunch of photographs that have too much detail in the background, this book uses drawings and paintings to show the plants, animals, habitats, and geology of this fascinating area. I prefer drawings because they show the important features in a minimal and artistic way. This is what you get in something like Welsh's Flora of Utah. Each plant and animal includes notes and commentary about what makes it special and important ecologically or ethnobotanically. Naturally they alone did not compile this book & it is an impressive & accurate effort of a large collection of dedicated people. I just wanted a book about the wildflowers found in the canyonlands, but I got a much more complete picture of all aspects of the natural world to be found in this area. You'll still need a hiking book and map, but otherwise this book concisely fits the bill.

I recently visited Arches and Moab for the first time and picked up this book while down there. This is a great book to carry in your pack as you hike or bike and generally explore the area. There were some facets that I felt were lacking. I found a few plants that I could not identify using this guide, and the I wish that there would have been information regarding seedlings of plants listed in the book. Other than that this is a great book to carry with you, it is a little wide to carry in a pocket, but great for packs and has a very sturdy binding.

If you can only take one book with you to the Colorado Plateau, this is it! It covers all the basics--wildflowers, animals and geology, as well as clear information and illustrations on topics such as cryptobiotic soil, desert varnish, pothole life and hanging gardens. It also has information on cacti, wildflowers, reptiles, birds, mammals and their tracks. For an "all-in-one" type of book, this is fabulous. After years and a dozen backcountry trips to the San Rafael Swell area in Utah, this is the book we grab when we want more information. It is the only book we put in one of our packs when we go on a hike or mountain bike ride. On a recent trip with family members who have never been to the area-- the book was indispensible. As we came across hanging gardens, potholes, cryptobiotic soil, desert varnish, lizards, bats, cacti, and wildflowers-- this guide provided the information we wanted, and it explained everything much better and more concisely than we could have done. For people interested in detailed information on specific topics like wildflowers or reptiles, then a more comprehensive guide would be a good companion to "A Naturalist's Guide to Canyon Country". (If you want information on hiking or canyoneering, then I would recommend books by Steve Allen and Michael Kelsy.) If you are going to the Colorado Plateau, take this book with you.

"A Naturalist's Guide to the Canyon Country" is an excellent overview of the natural history of the Colorado Plateau, and especially valuable for first time visitors and amateur naturalists. When my sister brought her family to visit this past June, we consulted this book every hour of every day. The adults and the children all found it invaluable for both identifying plants and animals and learning something about their life history. No, the guide is not all-encompassing, but most of the major players are here. I especially appreciated the inclusion of the little guys- especially the beetles lizards! We also appreciated the extremely sturdy binding, which held up well against all of the abuses that a 9-year-old could think of.

I have been visiting the four-corners every summer for 25 years and this is one of the most delightful books I have seen yet! In fact I just returned from my four-week summer 2000 trip and this Guide was my constant companion. Of the many guides and books I have collected over the years, this was the one that I carried in my Jeep, kept with me in my tent, and consulted on my hikes. As an academic biologist, I appreciate the accurate (and beautiful) paintings of the animals and plants that I routinely encounter on the Colorado Plateau. The selection of species is representative of those that a visitor will likely see. And the one thing that distinguishes this guide from the many others I have is the inclusion of interesting, yet concise, information about the different species pictured. Many guides merely help identify, while this one tells you something about what is identified. Each night above my desert tent a common nighthawk performed as the Guide described: "While they dive and climb during courtship, wind moving across their wing feathers produces a 'booming' sound. This has led to another common name: bullblasts." So much better than just color, pattern, length, scientific name. I have recommended this Guide already to anyone I know who is considering a first trip to the Colorado Plateau, and even to those who, as I have done, continue to visit canyon country every chance they get. The beautiful paintings alone are worth the price.