SP19

Geologic and Natural History Tours in the Reno Area (Expanded Edition)

by Joseph V. Tingley, Kris Ann Pizarro, Christopher Ross, Becky Weimer Purkey, and Larry J. Garside, 2005.
Publication design by Jack P. Hursh

The new, expanded edition of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology’s Special Publication 19, Geologic and Natural History Tours in the Reno Area, greatly enhances the original 1995 publication. Much more than just a reprint, the new publication is being published in the 8.5- by 11-inch, landscape, spiral-bound format used in our popular earlier guidebooks, Traveling America’s Loneliest Road, and Geologic Tours in the Las Vegas Area. The new edition contains many more short stories about the geology, history, plants, and animals of the area which complement detailed logs of each of the trips. New maps and sketches have been added, and the work is illustrated with 303 black and white photos, and 77 spectacular color photos that document features described in the text.

Four trips are offered in this book. The first explores the Truckee River along the route of old Highway 40 from Reno to Verdi and the California state line, viewing granite exposures that were quarried for building materials in the early days of Reno, thick river gravels deposited by the ancestral Truckee River, and an active landslide. The second trip highlights the mineral formation and mining history of the Comstock Lode at Virginia City, then generally follows the route of the historical Virginia and Truckee Railroad to Carson City and north through Washoe Valley, passing sites of ore and lumber milling towns that supported the Comstock mines. This trip ends at the Steamboat Hot Springs geothermal area just south of Reno. A third trip follows the Mount Rose Highway over the Carson Range to Lake Tahoe and travels south along the eastern shore of the lake, viewing spectacular glacier-carved Sierra landscapes and miles of scenery featuring one of the world’s most beautiful alpine lakes. The route re-crosses the Carson Range at Kingsbury Summit, descends into Carson Valley, and ends at Carson City. The fourth trip begins in Sparks, follows the Truckee River east through the river canyon, then turns with the river and continues north to Pyramid Lake. This trip highlights features left on the landscape by ancient Lake Lahontan, visits points of interest within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation, passes by two historical mining districts, and returns to Sparks by way of Spanish Springs Valley.

Map

Table of Contents

Special Publication 19 (Expanded Edition), 184 pages,, $24.95