Arroyos and environmental change in the American South-West by R.U. Cooke. (Oxford research studies in geography).  Oxford University Press. 1976. ISBN-10: ‎0198232136. 7 1/4" x 10" xii, 213 pages Hardcover with dust jacket. DUST JACKET: Has wear and bumping on the top edge. A 1/2" tear on the top of the back panel next to the flap with some associated folding and wear. A 3/4" tear on the top of the back panel along the spine. There is a bit of wear on the bottom edge of the dj. Light sun-fading. Is price-clipped. BOOK: Bright gilt lettering on the spine. Light cover edge wear. Erasure marks on the first blank page. Otherwise, no previous owner markings. No tears, folds or creases to pages. Binding is tight with no looseness to pages. Not ex-library, not remaindered and not a facsimile reprint. For sale by Jon Wobber, bookseller since 1978. LJ11a

      "This book deals with the rapid erosion and deep stream gullies (arroyos) which have become a feature of many valleys of America's South-western states since the middle of the 19th century. The nature and causes of entrenchment have been a matter of interest and practical concern to research workers in the environmental sciences and some fields of terrain management for many years, but the abundant records of environmental change in California and Arizona relevant to the study of historical arroyos have never been systematically collated and analyzed.
       The arroyo formation is a complex phenomenon and conclusions can never be wholly unequivocal but the drastic alteration in the valley floor environments that accompanied settlement in the 19th century is shown to be both hydraulically and historically the most plausible explanation. The study is of value to all concerned with environmental change in historical times, and especially to those with an interest in the fragile, semi-arid environments." from the blurb on the front flap of the dj.