Being interested in fossils naturally leads into being interested in geology, because the two topics are inextricably intertwined. So I've accumulated quite a few books about geology, to go with my paleontology books. Also like my paleontology books, my geology books break down more or less naturally into a number of sub-topics.
First comes a list of books which are good "basic geology" books, for someone who's only casually interested in the subject.
Most of one shelf is taken up by geology textbooks.
Part of another shelf is devoted to books about earthquakes, volcanoes, and the theory of plate tectonics.
Geology is both a modern science and a historical science. Understanding how things got the way they are is a big chunk of understanding where things are going. So I have a number of books on the geologic history of various parts of the Earth.
The subject of caves and caving is sort of an add-on to geology, so I keep my books about caving in my geology collection.
In September 1999, I had a chance to visit one of the greatest places on Earth for rockhounds: the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. While there, I took time to see several other geological attractions in the same area, including the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
The Cascades Range of the northwestern USA are largely volcanic in origin. In 2002, a West Coast trip let me do a five-day driving tour of the Cascades Range, including visits to Lassen Peak, Lava Beds National Monument, Crater Lake, and Mount St. Helens.
