Local Author: Patrick L. Abbott

Patrick L. Abbott, author of Geology, Mission Trails Park, is a native San Diegan, and graduate of Herbert Hoover High School.  He earned his M.A. and PhD. degrees in geology at The University of Texas at Austin, and became a well loved, favorite, and long time geology professor at San Diego State University.  This book takes us through 126 million years of our park’s geological history.  Other books penned by Abbott include, The Rise and Fall of San Diego,  and  Natural Disasters which was his SDSU course textbook , now in its tenth edition.  All proceeds of “Geology, Mission Trails Park,”  are donated to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation.

In the  book’s preface , Abbott says, “My research has focused on reading the history stored in sedimentary rocks and fossils.  My love of teaching extends from classrooms to large lecture hall to TV news and TV series such as The Real Gilligan’s Island on TBS,  Serial Killer Earth on the History Channel, and So You Think You’d Survive on the Weather Channel.  During the past several years, and ongoing, it has been my pleasure to work for Smithsonian Journeys,  leading trips on all continents and across all oceans explaining how the Earth works and how it has influenced human history.”