Over the Mountains

Introducing An Aerial View of Geology series.

Geology is thrilling. It's the Earth in all its splendor. Unfortunately, geology texts rarely communicate that sense of excitement.

Enter Michael Collier, geologist, writer and one of America's premier aerial photographers. For over 20 years, he has piloted his Cessna 180 to inaccessible locations and returned with stunning photographs that lay bare the Earth's workings.

Over the Mountains, the first book in Michael Collier's new series, focuses on geology's most spectacular subject in a most spectacular way. It includes:

• Detailed and breathtaking large-format color photographs covering the geology of every major mountain range in the United States
• Clear, easy-to-understand text, diagrams and captions that explain and illuminate the geologic processes shown in the photographs.

After exploring the pages of Over the Mountains, readers will never think of mountains -- or geology -- in the same way again.

The Aerial View of Geology series is based on the life work of Michael Collier who for 20 years has been taking aerial photographs of the earth's geology. Stunning photographs combined with clear, well-diagramed text illuminate geological processes.

VOYA

Writer/photographer Collier expresses his passion for geology through awe-inspiring aerial photographs that reveal how mountains were formed and modified across the eons of time. What is even more astounding is that he took the pictures while piloting his Cessna 180 plane through rugged regions such as the Fairweather Range in Glacier Bay National Park. His technical and clear prose conjures vivid scenes that send the imagination soaring-"clouds like prayer flags streamed over Mt. Foraker in the awestruck white world of the Alaskan ranges." Collier's love for the land is contagious, and his flying field trips over the mountains are thrilling. Seen from above, erosion becomes a sculptor shaping land mass in the manner of Michelangelo carving his David. Who knew geology could be so enthralling? The four sections of this book explore what mountains are, why some are peaked and others rounded, and why they are often strung together in ranges. According to the plate tectonic theory, the earth's surface is divided into seven huge plates that move like "irresponsible bumper cars" and their interactions create mountains. Their composition (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock) is described in flavors of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, and these visual images are easy to remember. Dramatic pictures by far outweigh the prose and speak so forcefully, almost making the explanations superfluous. Buy for classroom use, reference in school and public libraries, or for anyone who has a love of "mountain majesties" or photographic art.

In 2005, Michael Collier received the American Geological Institute's Outstanding Contribution to Public Understanding of Geosciences Award for his decades of work. His photographs appear regularly in major magazines and newspapers. His geology books have won the National Outdoor Book Award, the National Park Service Director's Award and the U.S. Geological Survey's Communications Award.