Acknowledgments

I would not have been able to complete this project without the good wishes and help of many people:

My mentors in geology, Dr. John Beaulieu, Dr. Marvin Beeson, Dr. Scott Burns and Dr. Alan Yeakley
My thesis committee members, Dr. Beeson, Dr. Ansel Johnson, Dr. Dan Johnson and especially my advisor Dr. Yeakley
Other members of the Geology Department faculty who gave me such a wonderful education and so much support
Other PSU faculty members who helped teach me how to think, including Dr. Richard Brinkman and Dr. Pavel Smjetek
Other students of the department who helped me get through the program and made it fun, especially Carol Stack
Staff at the Oregon Department of Geology who nagged me to get my thesis done
Mother Nature for making the world so interesting
My family, who have always supported whatever crazy ideas I had

And most especially my husband Bob, who understands the cosmic significance of baseball.