Hadassah at Tonya’s book party

Now Available

Book Description
With its stunning Monterey Bay views and unmatched scenery, UC Santa Cruz is arguably the most beautiful university campus in the world. This guide to UCSC’s history, geology, plants, fungi and animals offers an in-depth look at an extraordinary landscape. From banana slugs to bobcats, redwood groves to rolling meadows, caves to quarries, you’ll learn about the campus’s wealth of wildlife, geologic features and cultural imprints.

In paperback, this 375-page guide includes more than 125 photos, drawings, diagrams and maps in its detailed chapters on human history, geology, plants, fungi and animals. Also included are helpful species lists of the plants and animals found on campus lands. Truly, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in the rich natural history of the UCSC campus and the southern Santa Cruz Mountains.

Praise for The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus, Second Edition

“The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus pulls you right in and is a joy to read. I will go further: this kind of local natural history will be an important part of 21st Century biology. It bristles page after page with phenomena that invite research at all levels.”

–Edward O. Wilson,
University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

“In an era when human contact with nature is declining, this wonderful book serves as a model for other introductory guides to local natural history. Use it to have more contact with real reality, as opposed to virtual reality. I wish we had a book like this for the Stanford area.”

–Paul R. Ehrlich,
Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University