LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Just in time to mark the fifth anniversary of its creation, a new book explores and celebrates the nature and history of the vast Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.

“Exploring the Berryessa Region: A Geology, Nature and History Tour,” published by Backcountry Press, is a collection of the work of several authors from Davis, including Bob Schneider, Eldridge and Judy Moores, Marc Hoshovsky and Peter Schiffman.

Created as a national monument on July 10, 2015, by then-President Barack Obama, the dream of making the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument had been the work of decades.

In November, the Board of Supervisors presented a proclamation declaring the town of Lucerne as the gateway to the National Monument following action by the Lucerne Town Hall in September.

One of the people involved in the advocacy for creating the National Monument is one of the book’s coauthors, Bob Schneider, who formerly worked with the nonprofit Tuleyome and today is involved with the California Native Plant Society and its efforts to protect the 9,000-acre Walker Ridge area.

He said Walker Ridge has remarkable plant life thanks to its serpentine soil, and he thinks it should be an area of critical environmental concern that’s added to the monument.

The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, he explained, was designated because of its plate tectonic geology, biological diversity, wildlife corridors, cultural history and recreational opportunities.

Two-thirds of the 330,780-acre National Monument is located within Lake County. It crosses Napa, Yolo, Solano, Lake, Colusa, Glenn and Mendocino counties, and cradles varied and different landscapes.

The authors consider it a complex of geological wonders, biological abundance and a rich history of human cultures, including the Lake Miwok, Patwin, Pomo and Wintun peoples.

They packed the book with photographs, graphics, detailed maps, and a concise overview of the region’s complex geology, and presented it in an easy-to-read style.

Schneider said it's the first book to truly delve into a study of the Berryessa region, and that there was not enough information about the region that’s readily available to the public.

He told Lake County News that the book took about two and a half years to write.

Inspiration for the book

Schneider said he arrived in Davis as a freshman in 1966, the same year that Eldridge Moores arrived as a lecturer on tenure track for a professorship in the UC Davis Geology Department, now Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Moores, who taught geology for 47 years, had a career that spanned all of Earth’s continents. His studies, including plate tectonics, helped revolutionize the understanding of the geological history of the Earth.

He would influence many people, among them John McPhee. The men would share many field trips exploring Northern California geology while Moores discussed plate tectonics, ophiolites and pull apart basins. Moores is the main subject in McPhee’s books, “Assembling California” and “Annals of the Former World.”

Moores, Schneider said, was one of the real pioneers in the field of plate tectonics. He told Schneider that this region was one of the best to observe plate tectonics, on par with the Mariana Trench or Afghanistan. “It’s a pretty exciting place.”

Eldridge and Judy Moores led public fund-raising field trips for more than 20 years to show people the fascinating geology of the Berryessa region.

“I was driven by curiosity to learn more about this region and I wanted to expand Eldridge’s tour notes into a more complete illustrated story, including nature and history, that was more broadly accessible and inspirational to others,” said co-author Marc Hoshovsky.

Schneider said work was under way on a project to document trips Eldridge Moores was leading around the region when, in 2018, Moores was killed in a fire while on a geology tour in the Quincy area. He was 80 years old.

“It was very unexpected and tragic and so nothing happened for a couple months,” Schneider said.

The project at that point was a 20- to 40-page pamphlet on Moores’ trips. “How do you dedicate a pamphlet?” Schneider asked.

They decided that wouldn’t suffice. Schneider said they wanted to dedicate the project to Moores. “We really needed a book for that. Eldridge was inspiring.”

So the authors added a lot more information and that pamphlet grew into a book that tells the region’s story, including how they worked to get a national monument.

Geology as a ‘foundational instrument’

Geology, the authors explain in their book announcement, is “a foundational instrument” shaping the Berryessa region’s complex landscape.

They discuss the region’s biological diversity, wildlife connectivity and recreational opportunities for many different use groups. “We wanted to tell that story and that’s kind of what we did,” said Schneider.

The book includes cultural and historical notes about the region through a mile by mile geologic tour of the southern part of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.

Stops along the tour offer windows into the distant and recent past – highlighting the geology that drives today’s biological processes.

Schneider credited illustrator Tim Messick and editor Amy Boyer, among others, for their work in bringing the book together. It’s published in an 8.5-inch by 11-inch format, which is more conducive to the many maps, illustrations and pictures.

“The printing came out really awesome,” Schneider said.

An initial printing of 1,500 books was done. Schneider said he and Judy Moores bought 800 of the books, with more than 300 already sold. Schneider said he’s getting great feedback on the books, with people asking for more copies.

The authors are donating their initial proceeds to local nonprofits, said Schneider.

Schneider said he’s honored, humbled, excited and proud to be a part of the process leading to the creation of the book. “It is a great group of folks that worked on it.”

Noting that he wasn’t the best student in college – he was often out climbing – Schneider said now he’s on the cover with Eldridge Moores, which he said is an honor and is emotional for him as well.

Schneider, who said he loves Lake County, is now thinking about a new writing project that would focus on the Cache Creek area, which would include a look at the Walker Ridge and Bear Valley areas.

The authors will host a Zoom webinar discussing the book and ways to use it across the Berryessa Region on Tuesday, June 30, at 7 p.m.

Register for the webinar by visiting www.backcountrypress.com .

To order, visit https://backcountrypress.com/book/exploring-the-berryessa-region/ . The paperback is $19.95, the ebook is $14.95 and the book and ebook combination is $27.95.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.