Let Us Now Praise Famous Gullies

Providence Canyon and the Soils of the South

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Nature, Environment, Environmental Conservation & Protection, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, History
Cover of the book Let Us Now Praise Famous Gullies by Paul S. Sutter, University of Georgia Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Paul S. Sutter ISBN: 9780820348094
Publisher: University of Georgia Press Publication: December 15, 2015
Imprint: University of Georgia Press Language: English
Author: Paul S. Sutter
ISBN: 9780820348094
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Publication: December 15, 2015
Imprint: University of Georgia Press
Language: English

Providence Canyon State Park, also known as Georgia’s “Little Grand Canyon,” preserves a network of massive erosion gullies allegedly caused by poor farming practices during the nineteenth century. It is a park that protects the scenic results of an environmental disaster. While little known today, Providence Canyon enjoyed a modicum of fame in the 1930s. During that decade, local boosters attempted to have Providence Canyon protected as a national park, insisting that it was natural. At the same time, national and international soil experts and other environmental reformers used Providence Canyon as the apotheosis of human, and particularly southern, land abuse.

Let Us Now Praise Famous Gullies uses the unlikely story of Providence Canyon—and the 1930s contest over its origins and meaning—to recount the larger history of dramatic human-induced soil erosion across the South and to highlight the role that the region and its erosive agricultural history played in the rise of soil science and soil conservation in America. More than that, though, the book is a meditation on the ways in which our persistent mental habit of separating nature from culture has stunted our ability to appreciate places like Providence Canyon and to understand the larger history of American conservation.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Providence Canyon State Park, also known as Georgia’s “Little Grand Canyon,” preserves a network of massive erosion gullies allegedly caused by poor farming practices during the nineteenth century. It is a park that protects the scenic results of an environmental disaster. While little known today, Providence Canyon enjoyed a modicum of fame in the 1930s. During that decade, local boosters attempted to have Providence Canyon protected as a national park, insisting that it was natural. At the same time, national and international soil experts and other environmental reformers used Providence Canyon as the apotheosis of human, and particularly southern, land abuse.

Let Us Now Praise Famous Gullies uses the unlikely story of Providence Canyon—and the 1930s contest over its origins and meaning—to recount the larger history of dramatic human-induced soil erosion across the South and to highlight the role that the region and its erosive agricultural history played in the rise of soil science and soil conservation in America. More than that, though, the book is a meditation on the ways in which our persistent mental habit of separating nature from culture has stunted our ability to appreciate places like Providence Canyon and to understand the larger history of American conservation.

More books from University of Georgia Press

Cover of the book Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book Sounding the Color Line by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book Shadows of a Sunbelt City by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book Unfinished Business by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book Eyesores by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book Waveform by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book This Compost by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book The Dinner Party by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book The Current That Carries by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book Sudden Music by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book The Letters of Mark Twain and Joseph Hopkins Twichell by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book Keywords for Southern Studies by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book The Evening News by Paul S. Sutter
Cover of the book The Greatest Trials I Ever Had by Paul S. Sutter
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy