{"product_id":"rivers-in-rock-elora-gorge-field-companion-and-natural-history-9781771125802","title":"Rivers in Rock: Elora Gorge Field Companion and Natural History","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis richly illustrated book is both\u003cbr\u003ea visitor's guide to one of southwestern Ontario's most striking landforms -\u003cbr\u003ethe Elora Gorge on the Upper Grand River - and a thorough, accessible introduction\u003cbr\u003eto its natural and recent human history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book introduces rivers that flow in\u003cbr\u003ebedrock, between rock walls and through precipitous gorges, unlike the subdued\u003cbr\u003eterrain that the last Ice Age bequeathed most of southwestern Ontario. It then leads\u003cbr\u003ethe visitor to three viewpoints on and three excursions through the gorge, with\u003cbr\u003ea wealth of information about its rocks, fossils, caves, cliffs, rockslides, \u003cbr\u003erockfalls, floods and erosional processes. It takes the reader through five \"ages\"\u003cbr\u003eof the gorge. In the First Age the gorge bedrock originated as reef limestone\u003cbr\u003e430 million years ago in prehistoric tropical seas. The Second Age saw the gorge rocks make a great, 400-million-year\u003cbr\u003ejourney from tropical seas to the heart of a continent via plate tectonics. In\u003cbr\u003ethe Third Age, the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet created conditions 17,000 to\u003cbr\u003e15,000 years ago in which ice lobes, glacial lakes and meltwater spillways\u003cbr\u003einteracted to incise the gorge in an ice-free area known as the Ontario Island.\u003cbr\u003eIn the Fourth Age the gorge, nestled in an immense forest, developed at a\u003cbr\u003eslower pace moderated by dense woods, fallen branches and beaver dams. In the\u003cbr\u003eFifth Age, the gorge entered the Anthropocene as European settlers came to disrupt\u003cbr\u003eand dominate its development and unlock its secrets. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFull of original photographs, maps and\u003cbr\u003ediagrams, \u003ci\u003e Rivers in Rock\u003c\/i\u003e is an authoritative guide to\u003cbr\u003ethe Elora Gorge that will fascinate visitors and researchers alike.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eKenneth Hewitt is Professor Emeritus of Geography at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario. He studies geomorphology, disasters and mountain environments in the Karakoram Himalaya and beyond. His books include Interpretations of Calamity (1983), Elora Gorge: A Visitor's Guide (1995), Regions of Risk (1997) and Glaciers of The Karakoram Himalaya (2014). He lived in Elora for 33 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Wilfrid Laurier University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50918443057426,"sku":"9781771125802","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f6f529fb-b738-43e5-b14e-a33c55067951.jpg?v=1738885368","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/rivers-in-rock-elora-gorge-field-companion-and-natural-history-9781771125802","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}