Written for the non-scientist, this book describes the 500+ million years of geologic processes that have shaped the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau, a unique high-elevation region in western North Carolina. It explores why the area as a whole, and many of the individual mountains and waterfalls in and around the area, look like they do, and why some are different from others. Part geology text, part guidebook, it also is worthy of any coffee table with its high-quality, large-format printing and numerous photographs.