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Generous Gift Launches the GSA Geologic Mapping
Award in Honor of Florence Bascom
A generous gift by Candace E. Walker, daughter About the GSA Geologic
of former GSA member George W. Walker Mapping Award in Honor of
(1921–2014), will provide significant ongoing Florence Bascom
support for the recently established GSA Geologic
Mapping Award in Honor of Florence Bascom. This award recognizes distin-
The gift honors Walker’s 43-year career (1943–1986) with the guished geoscientists whose
U.S. Geological Survey. Employing a “rapid reconnaissance”* outstanding geologic mapping has
approach to mapping, Walker contributed significantly to the led to a greater understanding of
Geologic Map of Oregon, among the first produced in digital fundamental geological processes
format. “Walker’s maps remain important despite, in some cases, and concepts.
nearly 50 years of progress. Subsequent detailed mapping has
improved our knowledge but has not changed the broad under- Florence Bascom (1862–1945)
standing first imparted by George’s work.”* Walker also served was a woman of firsts in the geosci-
as USGS Bureau Chief, Western Minerals Resources Branch ences: the first woman hired by the U.S.
(1972–1976), in Menlo Park, California, USA. More information Geological Survey (1896), the first woman to
about George W. Walker’s career, publications, and tributes can present a paper to the Geological Society of Washington (1901),
be found on the GSA Foundation website at www.gsafweb.org/ and the first woman officer of GSA (vice president, 1930).
news-events/. Bascom’s Ph.D. dissertation showed petrographically that rocks
previously considered sediments were metamorphosed lava flows.
An expert on the crystalline rocks of the Appalachian Piedmont,
Bascom created excellent geologic maps from field observations
made on horseback. Recruited by Bryn Mawr in 1895, she
developed the geology program and trained many women who
became professional geoscientists, including Louise Kingsley
and Katherine Fowler-Billings, among many others. Bascom was
recognized as a four-starred geologist in the first edition of
American Men of Science (1906). Bascom’s contributions to
Piedmont geology are still utilized by geologists working in
that area.
Geological Map of Oregon by George W. Walker and Norman S. MacLeod, 1991. YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED! GSA TODAY | www.geosociety.org/gsatoday
The GSA Foundation continues to seek contributions to
reach the Geologic Mapping Award Fund’s US$50,000 goal.
Income generated by the fund will support travel expenses for
awardees to attend the GSA Annual Meeting, where the award
will be presented. Gifts may be made at www.gsafweb.org or
sent to GSA Foundation, P.O. Box 9140 Boulder, CO 80301-
9140, USA. Please contact Chris Tallackson, Director of
Development, at +1-303-357-1007, ctallackson@geosociety.org,
about gifts of securities, retirement account assets, or including
the GSA Foundation in your estate plans.
*Quotes from Field Guide to Geologic Processes in Cascadia: Oregon Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries Special Paper 36, edited by George W. Moore, Oregon
State University, 2002.
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