Dr. Art Sylvester, will be presenting:
The Governor says pleasure driving and hiking are OK during this Covid-19 pandemic, and Nike says “Just Do It,” so get out there and be guided to some amazing geologic sights and landscapes with the fully revised and updated 2nd Edition of “Geology Underfoot in Southern California,” just published in April 2020. Whereas the first edition of “Underfoot” was all black and white, this 2nd edition has 120 dramatic, full-color photos and 53 color maps and illustrations. Not to be confused with “Roadside Geology of Southern California,” which guides readers to fascinating geologic sites that can be seen at 65 miles per hour from southern California highways, and also authored by UCSB’s Arthur Sylvester and illustrated by SBCC’s Libby Gans, “Underfoot” urges its readers to “get out of the car and onto the ground to experience the geology.” Some of the walks are as short as “from here across the street.” Others are trail hikes up to a few miles in length. “Underfoot’s” 21 vignettes take you over sand dunes at Guadalupe State Dunes National Wildlife Refuge; show you where to collect colorful pebbles at Moonstone Beach near Cambria; and how to decipher geologic history in the sea cliffs at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve near San Diego and Aliso Beach near Laguna. Learn about the origin of Morro Rock and its 12 sister volcanoes near San Luis Obispo. Wander among the ghostly remnants of the St. Francis dam site which failed with the loss of 400 lives in 1928. Climb Pisgah and Amboy volcanoes in the Mojave Desert and walk along the San Andreas fault between Wrightwood and Palmdale. Visit the narrow canyons in Rainbow basin near Barstow where budding young geologists learn how to geologize; and try to imagine a beautiful, once blue Lake Manix surrounded by luxuriant vegetation and plentiful animals in today’s barren Mojave Desert.
Arthur Sylvester earned his B.A. at Pomona College and M.A. and Ph.D at UCLA. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Norway during graduate studies and a research geologist at Shell Development Company before joining the faculty at UC Santa Barbara. He has done geologic research in Norway, Italy, and throughout California. He retired from active teaching in 2003 and then authored “Roadside Geology of Southern California,” and “Geology Underfoot in Southern California.” He is a member of AAPG, the Seismological Society of America, and a fellow of the Geological Society of America. Dr. Sylvester received Coast Geological Society's Distinguished Teaching Award in Education in 1994.
