June 11, 2002

New Book Reveals Secrets of The Magic Valley

The world’s richest cache of horse fossils suggests a history more chaotic than that envisioned by Charles Darwin, according to a new book about Idaho’s Magic Valley. A string of fossils dating back thousands of years points to a lost world — a dying river that beckoned and later preserved the bones of vast herds of early horses. Groups of animals discovered just as they died contradict Darwin’s theory of linear evolution, suggesting instead a world that was changing faster than species could adapt.

Secrets of the Magic Valley and Hagerman’s Remarkable Horse (240 pp., $34.95), edited by Boise State history professor Todd Shallat, explores this and other “secrets” about one of Idaho’s least understood regions in a richly illustrated and easy-to-read format.

“Simply put, Secrets of the Magic Valley is better edited and more handsomely designed than any other regional overview yet published in Idaho,” said Cort Conley, author of Idaho for the Curious and director of the Idaho Commission for the Arts.

From descriptions of the area’s seven natural wonders (Shoshone Falls, Malad Gorge, Hagerman Horse Quarry, Box Canyon, Gooding City of Rocks, Niagara Springs and Shoshone Ice Caves) to the truth about the supposed 1861 Almo massacre, the book offers a rich and varied view of how the area’s geologic and human history helped shape its present. Secrets of the Magic Valley is broken into nine easily digestible chapters, each loaded with interesting historical information, photos, maps and graphics. Topics, ranging from prehistoric geologic formation to the changes wrought by the modern automobile, incorporate research in geology, history, politics and folklore.

Early chapters focus on the history and ecology of the region. Catastrophic events such as fires, floods, volcanic eruptions, extreme drought and landslides have forged a bizarre geology of subterranean rivers bursting through vertical canyons. The geologic record shows that the crust of the Earth in that area is relatively shallow, allowing what lies under the surface to well up for millennia, just as it still does at nearby Yellowstone National Park. In addition, floodwaters from the ancient Lake Bonneville cut directly through the area, exposing a vast and detailed fossil record. In later chapters the text touches on prehistoric peoples and tools as well as the evolution of the fur trade and exploration, Native Americans, the Oregon Trail, and ranching and farming. It also examines the politics of water on the Idaho Snake River Plain.

Secrets of the Magic Valley grew out of research internships for Boise State history students at the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. “This alliance between a university and agencies allowed us to do something we couldn’t do by ourselves,” said Shallat. The university invested time, expertise and the labor of students into the four-year project, while the National Park Service provided paleontologists and funding through the non-profit Hagerman Fossil Council.

Boise State students involved with the project include Kathryn Baxter, Jennifer Flint, Julie Gale, Mathew Henbest and Ambrose Richardson. Former Boise State artist Adele Thomsen told the pictorial story with more than 300 photographs and historical prints.

Secrets of the Magic Valley is available through Black Canyon Communications and at area bookstores. Copies may also be purchased through the Boise State history department, (208) 426-1255, with $14 from the sale of each book benefiting Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society.

Contact:
Todd Shallat
Boise State history department
(208) 426-3701

Media Contact:
Kathleen Craven
Boise State communications and marketing
(208) 426-3275

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For a review copy of the book, contact Black Canyon Communications at (208) 345-9900 or P.O. Box 9501, Boise, ID 83707.