Arriving in the mail...

yesterday was a copy of Arches National Park Geology Tour by Ragland and Tasa. It consists of a small, very well illustrated color booklet and an accompanying CD. The diagrams and images are excellent, but the simplified geologic map is much too small and should have been placed on a full page.

Additionally, one minor contradiction presents itself upon first glance. Balanced Rock is suggested as an example of the old age stage of arch development, and the scattered blocks of rock at its base are speculatively attributed to a fallen arch. Yet in a subsequent discussion of the same feature, the historic collapse of Chip Off the Old Block (a small pinnacle) in the mid-1970s is mentioned, which is the source of many of the fallen blocks. (See my post related to the missing Chip.)

In sum, my first impression is that this is a nice introductory guide to the unique geology of this gem of a park, targeted to the curious tourist.