Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments x
The Geology of Southern Idaho 1
The Basics 2
Southern Idaho through Time 8
Vignettes
1 The Catastrophic Bonneville Flood 15
Celebration Park
2 Stone in the City of Trees 27
Boise Urban Geology
3 Boise's Iconic Mesa 39
Table Rock
4 Idaho's Sandbox 51
Bruneau Dunes State Park
5 The Dammed River 59
Bliss Landslide and Lava Dam
6 Ancient Lakeside Property 67
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
7 Thinking Outside the Box 77
Box Canyon
8 Niagara of the West 85
Shoshone Falls and the Snake River Canyon
9 Surreal Sculptures 95
Black Magic Canyon
10 Carved by Ice 105
Redfish Lake and the Sawtooth Range
11 Fossilized Forests 115
Malm Gulch
12 A Shocking Impact 129
Leaton Gulch
13 Shake, Rattle, and Roll! 141
The Borah Peak Earthquake
14 Lunar Lavascape 153
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
15 The Roof of the Snake River Plain 167
Big Southern Butte
16 Fit for a King 179
Kings Bowl
17 A Tale of Two Granites 187
City of Rocks National Reserve
18 Precious Stone in the Gem State 197
Spencer Opal
19 Yellowstone's Last Gasp in Idaho 205
Henrys Fork Caldera
20 One Tuff Cone 217
North Menan Butte
21 Travertine Terraces 225
Soda Springs Geyser and Formation Cave
22 Trilobites Unite! 237
Spence Gulch
23 Subterranean Splendor 249
Minnetonka Cave
GPS Coordinates of Selected Locations 260
Glossary 264
Sources of More Information 273
Index 281
Geologic Time Scale 292