Assembling the Pacific Northwest: Seeing Oregon and Washington's geology - Dr. Marli Miller

On Tuesday evening, November 9th, Dr. Marli Miller, Associate Research Professor and Senior Instructor II in geology at the University of Oregon, photographer and author, gave a lecture on Assembling the Pacific Northwest: Seeing Oregon and Washington's geology. This was a virtual event for the Lake Lewis chapter of IAFI. With its spectacular mountain ranges, lush valleys and tumbling rivers, the Northwest landscape attracts nature lovers and travelers from around the world. But the rain-soaked coast range, snow-covered volcanoes and expansive high desert didn’t appear overnight. They formed through a variety of geologic processes over millions of years. On November 9, geologist and photographer Marli Miller outlined the geology of Oregon and Washington as seen along our federal and state highways. Beginning with our plate tectonic setting, she described the process of continental growth that forms the underlying but diverse basement of the region, followed by a photographic “roadtrip” up the Columbia Gorge to illustrate many of the younger features. Along the way, details of the Pacific Northwest’s geology create a rich, ever-expanding story. Marli Miller is the author of Roadside Geology of Oregon, 2nd Edition, Roadside Geology of Washington, 2nd Edition, which she wrote with Darrel Cowan of the University of Washington, and most recently Oregon Rocks! A Guide to 60 Amazing Geologic Sites. She teaches a variety of geology courses and studies fault zones in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon.