David Alt
© 2004 Sandra Alt.
David Alt is a professor emeritus of geology at the University of Montana in Missoula. He is the author of more than thirty books, including: Rocks, Ice & Water: The Geology of Waterton-Glacier Park (Mountain Press, 1973); Physical Geology: A Process Approach (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1982); Profiles of Montana Geology: A Layman’s Guide to the Treasure State (Butte: Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1984)
Dr. Alt has also co-authored, with colleague Donald Hyndman, a highly successful series of roadside guides (all published by Mountain Press): Roadside Geology of The Northern Rockies; Roadside Geology of Northern California (1975); Roadside Geology of Washington (1984); Roadside Geology of Montana (1989); Roadside Geology of Idaho (1989); Roadside Geology of Oregon (1991); Northwest Exposures: A Geologic Story of the Northwest (1995).
His most recent book is Glacial Lake Missoula and its Humungous Floods (Mountain Press, 2001).
Professor emeritus of geology at the University of Montana and author of more than thirty books, David Alt has contributed an article on the granites that the expedition saw while crossing the Bitterroot Mountains and another article about the mineral reference book they carried on the journey.
Contributions
As a reference, Lewis purchased the second edition (1784) of Richard Kirwan’s Elements of Mineralogy. Although Lewis and Clark had the book at hand throughout the expedition, its usefulness as a field guide was limited.
The expedition camped amid very picturesque boulders of pink granite at Lolo Hot Springs, and crossed large masses of it on their way across Idaho.
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).