World Waterfall Database
Book Review

California Waterfalls

Brown, Ann Marie (author)

Avalon Travel, 2004
Edition 3
Format Paperback
Print Style Black and White
Book Type Guidebook
Page Count 526
ISBN 1-56691-770-0
In Print? No
Ratings
Picture quality (3)
Picture Quantity (2)
Accuracy of Content (5)
Thoroughness of Content (3)
Production Value (4)
Recommended

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.

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