Book Review: Geology Underfoot in Illinois
Book Review: Geology Underfoot in Illinois
By: Raymond Wiggers
Reviewed by: Lynn Peterson
Rating: Fascinating!
Through a series of vignettes or essays, Raymond Wiggers paints a lovely picture of the Illinois beneath our feet or the treads of our tires in “Geology Underfoot in Illinois.” It’s too easy to take Illinois for granted as we try to get through the rural parts of it as quickly as possible, but Wiggers challenges that approach and encourages us to take another look at Illinois, particularly the geology.
Using this book, you could travel the entire state of Illinois and find interesting geologic features wherever you go. Much of Illinois’s geology has been affected by the glaciations of ice ages past, and Wiggers shows you where the best examples of moraines, rerouted rivers, and glacial till can be located. He even discusses some of the state’s caves and the faults that helped shape the land. This book doesn’t just stick with what can be seen above ground, it also delves into the state’s richness of minerals. Lead, coal, gravel, and even oil are found in this state. On my most recent trip to Southern Illinois, I saw oil derricks planted among the soybean fields, courtesy of the underlying Pennsylvanian bedrock described throughout the book.
While I enjoyed this book, what is missing is any significant mention of the New Madrid Fault Zone. Its earthquakes of 1811-1812 do get mentioned on p. 128 and p. 246-247, but there is no mention of the flooded forests or sandblows that resulted from the quake and can still be seen today. He also does not mention than an earthquake along the New Madrid is a very real, present-day possibility, not just an aberration of the early 19th century.
New Madrid aside, if you’d like to learn why Illinois really isn’t boring you’d do well to read “Geology Underfoot in Illinois.” Learning about the features makes any road trip much more enjoyable.
