Natural History: General- Death Valley National Park:
An Interpretive History
James W. Cornett
1996, Death Valley Natural History Association
A good overview illustrated with great color photographs. - Death Valley Geology, Ecology, Archaeology
Charles B. Hunt
1975, University of California Press
Informative text illustrated with black-and-white photographs. - California's Eastern Sierra: A Visitor's Guide
Sue Irwin
1991, Cachuma Press
Natural and human history and regional overviews, lots of information and beautiful color photographs. - Deepest Valley: A Guide to Owens Valley, its Roadsides and Mountain Trails
Jeff Putnam and Genny Smith, editors
1995, Genny Smith Books
A favorite now in its sixth edition, with sections written by the local experts on geology, history, flora and fauna from Bishop to Little Lake. - Natural History of the White-Inyo Range
Clarence A. Hall Jr., editor
1991, University of California Press
Here the local experts cover weather and climate, geology, plants, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and anthropology of these high desert mountains. Well-illustrated with line drawings and color photographs. - Deserts
James A. McMahon
The Audubon Society Nature Guides
1985, Chanticleer Press
A field guide to living things throughout North America's deserts - although not specific to our area, it has fascinating information on the biology of desert plants and animals.
Geology- An introduction to the Geology of Death Valley
Michael Collier
1990, Death Valley Natural History Association
A slim and lively volume with good diagrams and color photos. - Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley
Robert P. Sharp and Allen F. Glazner
1997, Mountain Press
If anyone in your family loves geology you always travel armed with the appropriate guide from Mountain Press. On-the-spot coverage of scarps, gulches, dunes, domes, craters, calderas, turtlebacks, pinnacles, desert pavement and sailing stones.
History- Death Valley to Yosemite:
Frontier Mining Camps and Ghost Towns
L. Burr Belden and Mary De Decker
1998, Spotted Dog Press
Includes the rip-roaring stories of several enterprises along the routes - Greenwater, Ashford Mill, Cerro Gordo, Kearsarge and Benton - along with colorful characters like Greenwater's Diamond Lil. - 101 Moments in Eastern Sierra History
Dave Babb
1999, Community Printing and Publishing
A collection of interesting, odd and amusing vignettes for "Hey, list to this! bring-along fun. - Naming the Eastern Sierra: From Dirty Socks to Bloody Canyon
Marguerite Sowaal
1985, Chalfant Press
Example: The popular story of the name Inyo (See Route1 Adobe PDF) may describe a mishearing, as there is no such word in the Paiute language. Chief George might have been using the Spanish "indio" in trying to make it clear that the mountains were Indian land! - The Water Seekers
Remi Nadeau
1997, Crest Publishers
The story behind the Los Angeles Aqueduct. - Mine in the Sky
Joseph M. Kurtak
2000, Sheridan Books
History of the Pine Creek tungsten mine. - Farewell to Manzanar
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston
1973, Houghton Mifflin
This highly readable, eloquent little memoir tells what it was like for a Japanese-American girl and her family relocated to Manzanar during WWII. Unforgettable. - Desert Padre: The Life and Writings of Father John J. Crowley
Joan Brooks
1997, Mesquite Press
Close-up of a lively personality who did much to make this region what it is today. - On Location in Lone Pine
Dave Holland
1990, The Holland House
Tells the story of movie making in the Lone Pine area since 1920, with photos and maps of the locations.
| Plants- Desert Wildflowers
Edmund C. Jaeger
1940, Stanford University Press
A favorite field guide for the California deserts, with an easy-to-use key and fine, accurate line drawings of all the flowers. Bring this with colored pencils and color the ones you identify. - Desert Wildflowers of North America
Ronald J. Taylor
1998, Mountain Press
A good field guide with color photographs identifying flowers found on most of the routes. - Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary
Ronald J. Taylor
1992, Mountain Press
Like the book above but covering the higher-elevation sagebrush country found on many routes. - Death Valley Wildflowers
Roxana S. Ferris
1983, Death Valley Natural History Association
A field guide to both color photos and detailed drawings to aid identification. - Trees of the Great Basin
Ronald M. Lanner
1984, University of Nevada Press
Where to find them, how to identify them, and in-depth looks at how each tree species interacts in its peculiar environment. Attractive, detailed pen-and-ink illustrations. - Shrubs of the Great Basin
Hugh N. Mozingo
1987, University of Nevada Press
As above but for shrubs, which are ubiquitous in this desert - learning about them is rewarding and you'll never call them all "sagebrush" again!
Birds and Other Animals- Watchable Birds of the Southwest
Mary Taylor Gray
1995, Mountain Press
A guide not only to bird identification but also the behaviors that make them fun to observe. The area covered includes Death Valley. - Watchable Birds of the Great Basin
David Lukas
1999, Mountain Press
These birds can be found in most part of Inyo County and this book will help you identify and enjoy them. - Birds of the Great Basin
Fred A. Ryser, Jr.
Not a field guide but a fat, satisfying book on the lives and captivating habits of the region's birds. - Western Reptiles and Amphibians
Peterson Field Guide by Robert C. Stebbins
1985 Houghton Mifflin
It's almost impossible to go out on a warm day in the desert without seeing a colorful or cleverly camouflaged lizard. This is a guide to identifying them, along with other scaly or slimy friends.
Exploring- Death Valley SUV Trails
Roger Mitchell
2001, Track & Trail Publications
A guide to 46 interesting four-wheeling excursions in Death Valley country. (Part of an SUV Trails Guide Series) - The Explorer's Guide to Death Valley National Park
T. Scott Bryan and Betty Tucker-Bryan
1995, University Press of Colorado
A guide much like the one you're reading but with 382 pages on Death Valley alone. - Hiking Death Valley: A guide to its Natural Wonders and Mining Past
Michael Digonnet
1999, Quality Books
Try this one when you're ready to leave the SUV and hi the trails. - Sierra Nevada Byways
Tony Huegel
2001, Wilderness Press
50 of the Sierra Nevada's best adventure roads. (Part of a Byway Guide series.) - A Land Between: Owens Valley, California
Rebecca Fish Ewan
2000, Johns Hopkins University Press
A thoughtful look at the connection between the ecology of a place - the interaction of living things in their environment - and its people.
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