Böcker i California Natural History Guides-serien

Helps amateur and intermediate wildflower enthusiasts learn the names of the flowers located in some of California's accessible areas - from below the yellow pine belt in the Sierra Nevada westward to the coast. This guide includes 244 color photographs and 102 drawings.

Some of the most spectacular and famous spring wildflower displays in California occur in the state's deserts. This guide identifies more than 240 wildflowers in informative species accounts. It covers such popular destinations as Death Valley, Palm Springs, and Joshua Tree National Park.

Introduces California's mammals by describing techniques for recognizing their presence, and when possible, methods for watching them in their natural habitats. This guide includes 144 line drawings, 143 range maps, and 18 illustrated color plates. It gives overviews of mammal evolution, biology and anatomy, natural history, and conservation.

The Exclamation Damsel, Bison Snaketail, Powdered Dancer, Black Meadowhaw and Sedge Sprite are just a few of California's abundant dragonflies and damselflies. This reference is a complete guide to finding and identifying all 108 of the state's dragonfly and damselfly species.

A reference to the sharks, rays, and chimaeras found in California's waters - from the intertidal zone to 500 miles offshore. It includes information on the California marine environment, ecology and conservation, and shark biology.

The mild Mediterranean climate of the San Francisco Bay Region nurtures an enormous variety of trees. This guidebook, with easy-to-use keys, informative species accounts, and illustrations, should appeal to those who want an authoritative manual to carry into the field.

Yearly millions of people visit the area of rugged California coastline and wild mountains known as Big Sur. This book presents both a natural history of this beautiful region and a guide to its extensive public lands. It introduces the area's geology, climate, flora, fauna, and human history. It describes selected sites, trails, and features.

From majestic Redwoods to ancient Western Bristlecone Pines, California's trees have long inspired artists, poets, naturalists - and real estate developers. Illustrated color photographs and detailed black-and-white drawings, this book introduces each of the state's dominant forest types. It also describes the unique characteristics of the trees.

A guide that describes patterns of village life, and covers such subjects as Indian tools and artifacts, hunting techniques, and food.

California has a vast number of insect species: estimates run 30,000-35,000 or more, and even in the better known groups, new species occasionally are discovered. This book summarizes knowledge of this rich insect fauna. It selects about 600 of the more characteristic kinds of insects to represent the huge variety known.

Both American Indians and the pioneers knew and used many different plant species - for food, fibers, medicine, tools, and other purposes. This book offers guidance to identify more than 220 such plants. It also tells the reader how to prepare, cook, and otherwise use them.

Presents the most important uses of plants by early inhabitants of California, as well as methods of preparing the plants for use. This title deals with the subjects such as the Indian method of leaching acorn meal so it could be eaten, the medicinal value of Yerba Mansa, the use of other plants for making baskets, rope, and clothing, and more.

Possibly no comparable area on earth displays as many varieties of weather simultaneously as the San Francisco Bay Region. This book provides the tools necessary for understanding the grand show of nature that takes place around the San Francisco Bay - from Napa Valley in the north to San Jose in the south.

Offers a geologic travelogue of California's unusual soils and land forms and their associated plants - including serpentines, carbonate rocks, salt marshes, salt flats, and vernal pools - demonstrating along the way how geology shapes plant life.