CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY,
THE LIBRARY

GEOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY SOURCES
Compiled by J. Kramer
Revised by D. Metzger

  

EUREKA   (COMPUTER CATALOG  http://eureka.lib.csus.edu/ )
Library of Congress (LC) call number areas for browsing materials related to Physical Geography

GEOLOGY
QC 851-999
QE 1-350
QE 65-350
QE 72-182
QE 89-90
QE 351-399.2
QE 420-499
QE 500-625
QE 521-545
QE 640-699
QE 701-996.5
Meteorology. Climatology
Geology (General)
Geology of geographic areas (worldwide)
United States
California
Mineralogy (including meteorites and tektites)
Petrology
Dynamic and structural geology
Volcanoes and earthquakes
Stratigraphy
Paleontology
RELATED EARTH SCIENCES
GB 400-649
GB 651-5030
GC 63-1581
QH 359-425
TA 705-710.5
TC 1-1645
TN 1-257
TN 260-580
TN 600-799
TN 799.5-948
TN 950-997
Geomorphology, landforms
Hydrology, water-snow-ice, natural disasters
Oceanography
Evolution
Engineering geology, rock and soil mechanics
Hydraulic engineering
Mining engineering and mineral industries (general)
Economic geology, mining, ore deposits
Metallurgy
Nonmetallic minerals
Building and ornamental stone

REFERENCE SOURCES
Glossary of Geology.   ref/QE/5/G56/1997
Encyclopedia of Earth System Science.   ref/QE/5/E514/1992 (in 4 volumes)
MacMillan Encyclopedia of Earth Science.   ref/QE/5/E5137/1996 (in 2 volumes)
Magill's Survey of Science: Earth Science Series.   ref/QE/28/E12/2001 (in 5 volumes)
Geologic Atlas of California.   2 North Ref Desk Coll /QE/89/C3 (1958-69)
Issued by the California Division of Mines and Geology. Consists of 27 colored map sheets showing the regional distribution and inter-relationships of the various rock units and major geologic structures present in California. Each of the 27 individual map sheets may be purchased separately from the Division. A state map unit (formations) map sheet cross index is provided. Reference is made to the appropriate USGS topographic maps covering each of the 27 major map sheets.
California Water Atlas.   2 North Ref Desk Coll/G/1526/C3/C3/1979
Large, beautifully illustrated color atlas treating every aspect of water supply, delivery and use in California: the nature of the water environment; the changes people have made in that environment; the history of water development; artificial water systems; water pricing and consumption; industrial-recreation-energy uses; water quality and future policy. Numerous maps and graphic charts. Narrative and graphic elements have been developed as "equal partners". Major chapters are Natural Endowment, Advent of Human Settlement, Colorado River, Great Valley Systems, Operation of Modern Water Systems, Economics of Water, Commercial and Recreational Water Use, Water Quality, and Unresolved Questions for the Future. Updated version available, http://atlas.resources.ca.gov has 70 data sets to use.
Soil Surveys of California.   ref/S/599/C3/U5 (1901-current)
Issued by the US Department of Soils and Plant Nutrition. Soil surveys of California by county or large geographic area. Soil maps and interpretations are included; discussion of the formation and classification of the soils in the area; soil laboratory data provided when available; climate and general agricultural information are covered. Also discussed are engineering uses of soils, soil suitability for drainage, irrigation, recreation, wildlife, and community planning. Published cooperatively with the assistance of the University of California Agricultural Experiment Station.
Monthly Climatic Data for the World.   ref/QC/982/U5 (1969-1999), some years on microfiche
Issued by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://www5.ncdc.noaa.gov/pdfs/mcdw/mcdw.html  Organized by country. Divided into two major sections: Surface Data Tables (pressure, temperature, precipitation, sunshine) and Upper Air Data Tables (pressure, temperature, vector wind).
Climatological Data: California.   ref/QC/984/C2/U4 (1966-1998), some years on microfiche
Also issued by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/climatedata.html#MONTHLY Monthly with annual summaries. Organized by basin (eg., North Coast Drainage, Sacramento Drainage, etc.). Records temperature, precipitation, evaporation, wind. 
Local Climatological Data: Sacramento.   ref/QC/984/C2/U43 (1965-current)
Also issued by the NOAA. Monthly records from the Sacramento Executive Airport include temperature, precipitation, wind, and sunshine.  Some of the data is available electronically at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/pdfs/lcd/lcd.html  You must first choose a year, then a station abbreviation (Sacramento Executive Airport is SAC). Eventually there will be a listing of a filenames consisting of a year/month/station abbreviation, i.e., 200103SAC.pdf is for March, 2001 Sacramento Executive Airport. The datafiles are accessible by authorized users only--so if you are a CSUS IP authenticated user, it should work. However, the system is quirky and may turn you away. If this happens try again later.
Local Climatoglical Data: Other Cities  http://www5.ncdc.noaa.gov/pubs/publications.html#LCD
Summarizes temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, wind speed and direction observations for several hundred cities in the U.S. and its territories. Monthly and annual. See note above for access.

INDEXES TO USGS, DWR & CDMG PUBLICATIONS
Department Publications. ref/TD/224/C2/A32 (1922-current), located behind Reference Desk
Issued by the California Department of Water Resources. Indexes the Bulletin series of the agency. More than 200 publications are indexed covering virtually every aspect of water in California: ground and surface water, dams, pollution, economic and social effects, etc. Some are online at http://www.publicaffairs.water.ca.gov/information/pubs.cfm 
California Geology Magazine Index 1948-1986 Ref TN24C2A42
Consolidated Index of Publications. ref/TN/24/C2/A4 (1880-1943)
Issued by the California Division of Mines and Geology. Subject index to approximately 170 bulletins and reports of the State Mineralogist. Also indexes the Division's periodical publications: California Geology, California Journal of Mines & Geology (ceased publication), and the Mineral Information Service (ceased publication).
List of Available Publications. ref/TN/24/C2/A41 (1944-current)
An annual update to the above. Also indexes the Special Report, County Report, Miscellaneous Publications and various map series published by the Division.
Publications of the Geological Survey. ref/QE/75/U5 (1879-2001)
Issued by the USGS. A catalog with geographic and subject indexes that cover books, reports, maps, and charts published by the USGS. The Library has a large, current collection of their Bulletin, Circular, Professional Paper, and Water Supply Paper report series. Also searchable online through the Publications Warehouse at  
New Publications of the Geological Survey. ref/QE/75/U5/suppl
Monthly update to the above. Discontinued January 1, 2005. Available  online for the years 1995-2004 at http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications

Paper Indexes
Bibliography and Index of Geology. 2 North Index Area (1933-1999)
See GeoRefS under Electronic Indexes for online availability.
Claims to be the most comprehensive geological index. Arranged by author with an extensive subject index appended. Each monthly issue is divided into 29 broad subject fields (eg., petrology, areal geology, geo-chemistry, etc.). Monthly issues are cumulated annually into a 4 volume set: a 2 volume catalog and a 2 volume subject index. Indexes over 1,000 periodicals. During 1933-1968 it was titled Bibliography and Index of Geology Exclusive of North America.
Environmental Periodicals Bibliography. Lower Level  Index Area QHZ/5322/.E2/E5w (1973-1996)
See  Environmental Policy Index under Electronic Indexes for online availability.
Lower Level (1973-1980). Issued 6 times per year with an annual index by author and subject. Only periodicals are indexed. Broad coverage including: human ecology, air, energy, land resources/agriculture, marine/freshwater resources, water pollution/management, nutrition/health, etc.
Mineralogical Abstracts. 2 North IndexArea Table (1961-2001) QEZ 6031 .M56
Includes citations to journal articles on references to articles on mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrology. No electronic equivalent.

Selected Electronic Indexes
The following databases are suggested for research and can be accessed through the Library's Database and Periodicals Index page located at:
          http://www.library.csus.edu/databases/ 

GeoRefS
This is the computer-based equivalent of the Bibliography and Index of Geology (described above). GeoRef has over 2 million references to geoscience literature and its coverage is congruent with the Bibliography and Index of Geology back to 1785.
Environmental Policy Index
This is the computer-based equivalent of the Environmental Periodicals Bibliography (described above). This database indexes periodicals from 1973 to the current year.
EI Village/EI Compendex Web.  
Ei Engineering Village is the home of Compendex®, the most comprehensive interdisciplinary engineering database in the world, offering over five million summaries beginning in 1970, of journal articles, technical reports, and conference papers and proceedings. Primarily engineering-oriented, but includes environmental concerns, toxics, water-land-air resources, urban planning, transportation, etc. Scope of coverage includes the United States and international areas. Also contains Web links to subject specialties.
Applied Science & Technology 
Especially good for engineering and the applied aspects of earth science back to 1983.
ScienceDirect 
Full text access to ~1,500 scientific and technical journals, including many in the geological sciences.

INTERNET SITES
USGS Home Page.http://www.usgs.gov
Provides links to contacts, fact sheets, Internet resources, publications and data.
American Geological Institute (AGI). http://www.agiweb.org
This website offers, free of charge, the GeoRef Preview Database which provides access to the new bibliographic references going into the GeoRef database for one week (see the description of GeoRef above). Articles may be searched by subject, journal and keyword. For example, a recent search under the subject "environmental geology" yielded 760 citations for that single week of coverage.
California Division of Mines and Geology    http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/index.htm
Is no longer a separate entity. It is now part of the Dept. of Conservation. Loaded with links to a variety of sites and sources including resource recycling, earthquakes, farmland and open space, minerals, mining and a variety of other topics.
California Digital Conservation Atlas  http://atlas.resources.ca.gov 
According to their introduction, "The Atlas brings together data from a variety of local, state, and national sources, and allows users to mix and match those layers of information at different scales for creating custom maps." Data sets include vegetation, wetlands, watersheds, urban areas, soils, farmlands, conservation plans, projects and more.
Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network. http://www.ciesin.org/
This website embodies environmental themes and provides extensive interactive applications, data resources, GIS services, and programs.
Geological Society of America (GSA) http://www.geosociety.org
The mission of the GSA is to advance the geosciences, to enhance the professional growth of its members and promote the geosciences in the service to humankind. SomeGSA publications are available full-text at this site while others are only indexed. Contains a good geologic time scale.
Guide to Resources and Research in Geology
http://library.csus.edu/guides/metzgerd/geology/webpage13.htm 
Developed for CSUS students doing research using our Library and databases.
Selected Websites for Geoscientists  
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/branner/research_help/earth_sciences/sites.html
A Guide developed for the 2001 GSA Annual meeting; links to data sources such as earthquake and environment information, live access to climate data, planetary data, and the USGS. It contains indexes to journal articles and technical reports, and lists the abstracts and tables of contents to many earth science journals. It provides access to maps, media, photos, software, directories, selected government agencies worldwide, associations and a few selected university geosciences libraries. 
U.S. Global and Climate Data http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/climatedata.html
An interactive graphing tool designed to allow visual browsing of the data available online at the the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). An amazing resource!
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Questions/comments to:
Deborah Metzger, Science Reference Librarian
metzger@csus.edu
California State University, Sacramento
Last updated 9/19/05
dm