Rocks and Minerals of California (Third
revised edition)

By: Vinson Brown, David Allan, and James
Stark
This 200 page book takes you on trips
and hikes through all parts of California
while increasing your knowledge of the
rocks and minerals found on the trail with
detailed pictures. Most rocks and minerals
have a bewildering set of colors and only
in the metallic minerals is color really
important. For this reason it is vital to tie
the pictures with significant features that
show how to use hardness, color, specific
gravity, luster, texture, crystal shapes and
so on systematically to identify what you
have found.