Riley Black

Riley Black, who previously wrote as Brian Switek, is the author of the books Skeleton Keys, My Beloved Brontosaurus, and Written in Stone. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Articles

Feature

Public Lands Preserve More Than What's on the Surface

By Riley Black | Jun 21 2021
Inside a paleontology quest through Grand Staircase–Escalante and Deep Time
public lands
Bright illustration shows a female hiker walking through curvy redrock.

You Need This Crust

By Riley Black | Jan 9 2021
Microbiotic soils are millimeters-high worlds unto themselves and sequester carbon like nobody’s business
science, America's National Parks, hiking, travel
A desert landscape with red mesas in the background, and small terra-cotta circles around segments of the desert.

The Utah Monolith Is Just the Latest Tale of Desert Trash

By Riley Black | Dec 19 2020
One Utahn’s take on the unsettling patterns behind the monoliths
public lands
Eyewitness

A Search for Fossils Unearths a New Life

By Riley Black | May 4 2020
It felt like a test—how badly did I want this?
hiking
Illustration shows a person walking in Monument Valley. The center of the valley is overlaid by the torso of a person, with their head as part of the clouds.
Books

In Neil Shubin's New Book, Everyone's a Time Capsule

By Riley Black | Mar 7 2020
"Some Assembly Required" takes the evolutionary long view
books
Some Assembly Required

Tracking Dinosaur Stomping Grounds

By Riley Black | Jul 27 2019
Jurassic footsteps lie among the wonders outside Moab, Utah