The Restless Northwest: A Geological Story

The authour, Hill williams was a science writer for the Seattle Times for twentt-four years, not a professor of geology, there in lies his power as a story teller, and by God what a story. The story of our great NorthWest spans 175 million years, to a time when there was no Atlanic Ocean,to a world pushed together, all in a prehistoric hairball-"Pangaea" (MOM). This is a new look at a very complex history of the world, plate movement, over a incomprehinicble time span, but with the use of tons of maps, common but understandable nartive, this work is outstanding

Once, while hiking the North Cascade mountains with my uncle, Duwayne Marlo Anderson (a noted geologist), he pointed to a particular mountain and explained to me how it had moved, by the forces of plate tectonics, from a position far to the south, northward, up the coast, to be lodged in its current location in northwestern Washington. Four years later I found myself at Paradise, in Mt. Rainier National Park. I'd come there for a weekend of snowshoeing with my wife and her parents, but I'd inadvertently forgotten to bring the book I was reading ("The New Science of Evo Devo, Endless Forms Most Beautiful," by Sean B. Carroll). Desperate to find something to read (I feel naked without a book in tow) I found my way to the gift shop and stumbled across "The Restless Northwest" on display. Leafing through the book, I happened to turn to page 58, which describes two superterranes that were lodged against the northwest coast of ancient North America roughly 50 million years ago, pushed into place by the movements of the ancient Kula and Farallon plates. Here was the explanation for the mountain that my uncle had pointed out years earlier. I snatched up the book and read it cover to cover over the next 5 days. This is an absolutely great book. Hill Williams is a respected and accomplished science writer with a distinguished carrier. He understands the story, and has the writing skills to make it interesting. And what a story it is. Williams begins by taking us back 200 million years ago to the super continent Pangaea and describes how it broke apart, pulled in different directions by the forces of plate tectonics. He tells the story from a story teller's perspective, weaving the various narratives of plate tectonics, seafloor spreading, volcanism, glacial activity, etc. into the chronicle that describes how the Northwest came by its unique landscape. Of the many topics Williams covers, a few stand out in my mind as the most interesting. First on my list of favorites is his explanation of how the Rocky Mountains were formed. Second is the way he recounts the additions of superterranes and their part in forming the northwest corner of Washington, as well as the Canadian Rockies and Vancouver Island. Possibly the most interesting story he tells is that of the great basaltic floods that covered the Columbia River basin, flowing over much of eastern Washington, even following the course of the Columbia River all the way to the Pacific Ocean. My personal favorite, though, is his description of the great floods that accompanied the semi-cyclic emptying of ancient Lake Missoula. While those were the highlights for me, there were many other fascinating accounts, including massive underwater flows caused by earthquakes, and the earthquakes themselves, powerful enough to lift whole sections of the landscape by meters, while equally depressing other regions. And, of course, there is the story of the cascade volcanoes, symbol of the Pacific Nort

It isn't often one finds a simply written, slender volumethat covers this much ground (sorry). Williams uses analogyand simple illustrations to present a smack-up-to-dateunderstanding of Pacific Northwest Geology. Best of all,he does it in a way that draws the reader into the scientific process -- the geologists in the submarines exploring ocean vents and fairylike mineral castles,or scrambling through brush looking for places wherethe pattern of rocks changes dramatically very quickly,or frustrated in their efforts to gain access to layersdeeply embedded in the earth that might help answer their questions.From beaches in West Seattle, to tree rings underwaterin Lake Washington, Williams tells great stories ofthe puzzles presented in the earth around us, and thepeople who figure them out.

"The Restless Northwest" by Hill Williams is a well written commentary on those fundemental processes responsible for shaping our Pacific Northwest. Hill's straight-forward style of presenting technical subjects makes the book an excellent source of geologic information, particularly for the casual reader. His depth of understanding of complex processes and ability to explain them in a manner comprehensible to most readers is commendable. With numerous simple diagrams together with easily understood discussions, he has clearly explained such technical processes as plate tectonics, geologic terranes, the great floods from ancient Lake missoula and many others. Willams has a knack for accurately converting complex sientific data to a form well understood by the general public. I have read a number of books that attempt this challenge and in my opinion "The Restless Northwest, a geologic story" is one of the best of its kind.

Retired Seattle Times Science Writer Hill Williams has hit a home run with this book. His easy-to-read style takes the reader by the hand and leads him through the thousands of years of geologic upheaval that formed the breathtaking scenery in present day Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Williams is intimately familiar with his subject matter, writing and researching the Northwest for nearly 40 years with the Times, and he passes this on the knowledge to the reader in a way that is easy to understand. This is not a book for professional geologists, full of technical jargon. This book is written for anyone who has ever looked at Steamboat Rock, the rolling Palouse, the Columbia Gorge or the remains of Mt. St. Helens and said "Wow. I wonder how...."As a lifelong resident of Washington, I have always known how incredibly special and beautiful this area was. Until I read Williams' book, however, I had no idea how this beauty was created. Page by page, it was revealed to me with easy to grasp explanations and illustrations. I would recommend this book very highly to all who consider themselves curious.