Devil in the Mountain: A Search for the Origin of the Andes

How do high mountain ranges form on the face of the Earth? This question has intrigued some of the greatest philosophers and scientists, going back as far as the ancient Greeks. Devil in the Mountain is the story of one scientist, author Simon Lamb, and his quest for the key to this great geological mystery.

Lamb and a small team of geologists have spent much of the last decade exploring the rugged Bolivian Andes, the second highest mountain range on Earth--a region rocked by earthquakes and violent volcanic eruptions. The author's account is both travelogue and detective story, describing how he and his colleagues have pursued a trail of clues in the mountains, hidden beneath the rocky landscape. Here, the local silver miners strive to appease the spirit they call Tio-the devil in the mountain.

Traveling through Bolivia's back roads, the team has to cope with the extremes of the environment, and survive in a country on the verge of civil war. But the backdrop to all these adventures is the bigger story of the Earth and how geologists have gone about uncovering its secrets. We follow the tracks of the dinosaurs, who never saw the Andes but left their mark on the shores of a vast inland sea that covered this part of South America more than sixty-five million years ago, long before the mountains existed. And we learn how to find long lost rivers that once flowed through the landscape, how continents are twisted and torn apart, and where volcanoes come from.

By the end of their journey, Lamb and his team turn up extraordinary evidence pointing not only to the fundamental instability of the Earth's surface, but also to unexpected and profound links in the workings of our planet.

"This is Lamb at his best, telling gripping stories of the Earth, making the reader think s/he's sitting with him around the camp-fire during his field work. Lamb sheds some light on a world of science as rarely told; and the listener feels part of his field trip, warmed by the fire and a glass of local brew."--Maarten J. de Wit, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch

"If I were reading this book for the first time and didn't know what to do with my life, I would immediately enroll in the nearest geology program. This account of life on the Altiplano is a masterful integration of geological concepts and personal experiences."--Grant Heiken, past president, International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, and co-author of Volcanoes: Crucibles of Change and the forthcoming The Seven Hills of Rome

"In this very engaging book, Lamb masterfully blends personal anecdotes about trips to exotic places in different parts of the globe with the science of a fascinating range of geological phenomena and processes to explain how mountains in general and the Andes in particular are built."--S. George Philander, Princeton University, author of the forthcoming Our Affair with El Nio: How We Transformed an Enchanting Peruvian Current into a Global Climate Hazard.

Preface vii

Prologue xi

PART ONE

Chapter One

Devil in the Mountain 3

Chapter Two

A Mountain of a Problem 13

Chapter Three

A Geological Reconnaissance 38

Chapter Four

Jeeps, Motorbikes, and Other Things 65

PART TWO

Chapter Five

Looking for the Source of Ancient Rivers 85

Chapter Six

Putting Down Roots 121

Chapter Seven

A Curvaceous Shape 177

PART THREE

Chapter Eight

A Sort of Fudge Cake 207

Chapter Nine

The Subterranean Furnace 248

Chapter Ten

Putting Up Barriers 277

Selected Glossary 313

Further Reading 319

Index 327