Description:
A passionate science educator presents a natural and environmental history of Mount Rainier National Park and the surrounding region. Jeff Antonelis-Lapp explores geologic processes, plant and animal communities, weather and climate influences, and what linked the iconic mountain with the people who traveled to it. He intersperses his own direct observation and study of organisms, as well as personal interactions with other experts. Topics include geology, archaeology, indigenous villages and use of resources, climate and glacier studies, alpine and forest ecology, rivers, watershed dynamics, keystone species, threatened wildlife, geological hazards, and current resource management.
2020 Banff Mountain Book Competition Finalist, Mountain Environment and Natural History category
Brief description:
Jeff Antonelis-Lapp taught writing and Native American studies on western Washington Indian reservations for The Evergreen State College for 10 years before teaching environmental education, natural history, and writing on campus until 2015. Prior to that, he held several positions in adult and continuing education for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and was a classroom teacher. He holds an M.Ed. in science education from the University of Washington.
Review Quotes:
"An inherently interesting, impressively informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented work of seminal scholarship."
--Midwest Book Review