2012 BOOK REVIEWS 263

OTHER

Okanagan Geology South: Geologic Highlights of the South Valley,

By Murray A. Roed and Robert J. Fulton, (editors). 2011. Okanagan Geology Committee, , British Columbia. 237 pages. 24.95 USD. Paper. The Okanagan area is a popular tourist and retire - landscape specialist. There is plenty of variety in fea - ment destination, not least because of its pleasant cli - tures to be visited and explored. I especially liked the mate, attractive scenery and abundant wineries. This mix of late Quaternary and older geologic features colourful and informative geology guidebook will be highlighted in this section. Roed has spent much of his useful to the many visitors who travel along the val - career in surficial mapping and clearly knows this area ley as well as residents who are more familiar with well. The focus on the modern landscape is welcome the landscape and want to know more about the place and refreshing and distinguishes this volume from most where they live. It covers the area from to traditional roadside geology guides. Summerland. With the assistance of ten other contrib - Other sections of the book are equally interesting. utors, Roed and Fulton have compiled an account of I enjoyed Roed’s discussion of Geologic Pioneers the basic geology of the region and geologic highlights (Chapter 1), including G. M. Dawson from the nine - at specific places, accompanied by more detailed dis - teenth century, Hugh Bostock and Hugh Nasmith from cussion of mining, geologic hazards, surface and the mid-20th century, and more recent workers, espe - groundwater resources, and the relationship between cially a notable contingent from the Geological Survey geology and wine. of Canada, including Fulton. This section illustrates The heart of the book, and probably the section that how recent work and new interpretations have built on will be of most interest to travellers, is Chapter 4 (High - the solid groundwork of earlier survey and mapping lights of Residential Centres) compiled by Roed (pages efforts. The historical theme is taken up again in Chap - 68 –135). The Okanagan Valley is not particularly ter 6 on Mining and Exploration by Brian Hughes, urbanized, but there are several small communities an d Roed and Jennifer Clarke, which concentrates mainly service centres strung out along the valley, and this ac - on gold production. Chapter 9 on Geology and Wine count takes the form of a journey from south to north, by Fulton zooms out the spatial focus and places the visiting each in turn. The discussion covers Osoyoos, area in a wider regional context by inclusion of a soil Oliver, , , , and Sum - landscape map that extends to the northern Okanagan merland, with side trips to , east of Okanagan Valley. He discusses the terroir of several specific vine - Lake, and the White Lake area, southwest of Okanagan yards and notes the geological and climate factors that Falls. Specific locations of interest, usually about six or may influence wine characteristics. so, are shown on geologic maps for each of the eight Mountain valleys are especially prone to abrupt geo - areas of focus. These are usually places that the reader logic dangers, and the Okanagan Valley is often in the can visit and, book in hand, relate the description to news because of rock-falls, landslides or debris flows. what they can see in the landscape. However, the inclu - In Chapter 5 (Geologic Hazards), Roed, with Norman sion of co-ordinates (decimal lat/long) for these places Williams, Jennifer Clarke, and Nigel Skermer, provides would have been helpful. a survey of some particularly well-known events, in - The floor of the Okanagan Valley is largely mantled cluding the debris flow at Testalinden Creek in 2010. in recent surficial deposits (glacial, fluvioglacial, aeo - This flow received widespread media coverage and lian, fluvial, and lacustrine materials), whereas the steep raised awareness of the suddenness and destructiveness mountain slopes constraining the valley are mostly of such events. Intense and heavy rainfall is often im - bedrock. The accompanying maps show both surficial plicated in these episodes, and yet the Okanagan Val - (in colour) and bedrock (in black and white) geology, as ley is characterized as a dryland area. Hence surface well as major structural features, such as faults. They water (Chapter 8 by Don Dobson) and groundwater are based in part on recent (2011) bedrock geology (Chapter 7 by Laurie A. Neilsen-Welch, Diana M. maps by Andrew Okulitch. The bedrock units are amal - Allen, and Roed) resources are very important and gamated into six main categories, five based on tempo - good water management is essential to support the ral groupings (e.g., Jurassic to Cretaceous), whereas the burgeoning human population of the region. A chap - sixth is based on lithology and comprises mostly plu - ter dealing explicitly with climate and related factors, tonic and intrusive metamorphic rocks spanning ages such as storms, avalanches, and forest fires, would be from probable Devonian to Cretaceous. These broad a worthwhile enhancement to a future edition. categories probably mask some geological complexity, The book is abundantly illustrated, with many colour but they do make the maps clear and understandable. photographs and some black-and-white historic photo - This region offers abundant opportunities for the graphs. Sidebars amplify selected topics and provide hard-rock enthusiast as well as the geomorphologist and historical and cultural insights; these include contri - 264 THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST Vol. 126

butions by Ken Murray and David Gregory. Several The book is well designed, with a two-column for- cross-sections and block diagrams help to explain con- mat that makes it easy to read, despite various typos. It cepts and relate structures and landscape elements to is printed on glossy heavy stock paper which unfortu- each other. A particularly attractive and unusual feature nately over-strains the binding; my copy was starting is the inclusion of six acrylic paintings by Murray Road, to split after a couple of readings. I have some doubts five showing scenes in the Okanagan area and one of of its physical durability. However, I have no doubts Mount St Helens. His painting of McIntyre Bluff and about the book’s educational durability as a travel and forms the cover image. Roed joins the geology guide. Any visitor or resident of the south small but eminent group of Canadian geologists, such Okanagan area will find it a valuable resource and a as A. P. Coleman, who have also been talented and per- stimulus to exploration of their surroundings. ceptive artists. ALWYNNE B. BEAUDOIN Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta