Until about 110 million years ago, the land we know as Oregon simply did not exist. The development of the state's distinctive and beautiful landscapes is a classic and dramatic tale, 400 million years in the making and greatly affected by global events. In the beginning, Oregon's foundations lay far off the Idaho seacoast as tropical volcanic islands. Collision with these exotic terranes produced the first land that was truly Oregon. Subsequent eruptions of volcanoes in central and eastern Oregon - where bananas grew and tiny horses browsed on figs and lotus leaves - built the coastline westward. As the climate cooled, Columbia River basalts and collision with a chain of offshore seamounts built Oregon's coast to today's position, while faulting uplifted now-familiar mountain ranges. When mastodons and dire wolves prowled the Willamette Valley at the end of the Ice Age, great floods from Montana transformed the valley into a 100-mile-long lake. Today, earthquakes and eruptions still shape our landscapes.

Geology is an extremely visual subject, and In Search of Ancient Oregon is a beautifully photographed, expertly written account of Oregon's fascinating geological story. Written by a passionate and professional geologist who has spent countless hours in the field exploring and photographing the state, In Search of Ancient Oregon is a book for all those interested in Oregon's present and past landscapes, plants, animals, and climates. It presents fine-art-quality color photographs of well-known features, including Mount Hood, Crater Lake, Smith Rock, Steens Mountain, the Columbia River Gorge, and Oregon's rugged coast, as well as scenic and more remote places, including Diamond Craters, the Owyhees, Abert Rim, Hells Canyon, the Wallowas, and Three Fingered Jack. Clear and compelling writing accompanies the more than 215 stunning photographs. Finally, here is a book that tells the tale of how Oregon's diverse landscapes, climates, and wildlife evolved - and what we may expect in the future.Until now, no book has presented this dynamic story in a way that everyone interested in Oregon's natural history can easily understand. Extraordinary photographs and the author's lucid explanations make this book both unique and essential for those curious about our own contemporary landscape.