Book Review
California Waterfalls
Brown, Ann Marie (author)
Avalon Travel, 2004
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Edition | 3 |
Format | Paperback |
Print Style | Black and White |
Book Type | Guidebook |
Page Count | 526 |
ISBN | 1-56691-770-0 |
In Print? | No |
Reviewed by Bryan Swan
Ann Marie Brown details more than 200 of California's waterfalls. The third edition is an extension of the first two editions. This is a fat paperback, the contents of which would serve to keep someone busy for a very long time. It is the go-to resource for California waterfalls.
The book, like the first two editions, is printed on recycled newsprint. On the one hand, I salute conservation efforts, but newsprint is a less than desirable medium particularly for printed photographs. The book doesn't waste much time on introductory material, merely a brief forward, a section on "how to use this book", and it's on to the waterfalls.
The waterfalls...California has 'em. Lots of them. While a dedicated study of USGS topographical maps in California should yield far, far more than 200 waterfalls, this is still a pretty thorough point of entry into the waterfall field. Each waterfall covered in the book is described in terms of Access & Difficulty, Elevation & Elevation Gain, and Best Season for visiting. There is a lot of descriptive narrative and in many cases, a small black and white photograph. At the close of each entry are Trip Notes and Directions. Each waterfall is rated from 6 to 10, but this clouds the issue in my opinion. Did Ms. Brown omit waterfalls that merited a rating of 1 to 5? On the whole, by viewing her editorial choices for this book, there seem to be some legitimate 1 star waterfalls. The system doesn't quite make sense.
The Bottom Line: If you don't have any of the Ann Marie Brown books, this is the edition you'll want to purchase. It's over 500 pages of solid waterfall information.