E. S. McGee

Elaine S. McGee wrote for the U.S. Geological Survey and is best known for Acid Rain and Our Nation's Capital: A Guide to Effects on Buildings and Monuments. That book explains, in an accessible way, how pollution and rain damage marble and limestone on famous structures in Washington, D.C., blending science with close observation.

USGS records also show her as the author of a 1987 open-file report on garnet xenocrysts from kimberlites in Montana and Michigan, a more technical study connected with diamond potential. Other listings tie her name to Colorado Yule Marble: Building Stone of the Lincoln Memorial, suggesting a continuing interest in stone, monuments, and the geology behind them.

Taken together, her published work suggests a scientist and author who could move comfortably between public-facing science writing and specialized geological research. Even from a small body of widely visible publications, her focus comes through clearly: the materials that shape the built world, and the earth science that explains how they change over time.