Skye W. Cooley
GEOLOGIST | WOODWORKER | ARTIST | MONTANAN
HOMETOWN
Mission Valley, MT
CURRENT POSITION
Hydrologist, Flathead Indian Irrigation Project
EDUCATION
BA Geology, Whitman College - Thesis: Pleistocene clastic dikes, south-central WA
MS Geology, University of Wyoming - Thesis: Proterozoic anorthosite, Laramie Range, WY
PhD Studies, Utah State University - Thesis: Paleohydrology of the Bear River, ID-UT
Sea Education Association Class W-130 aboard R/V Westward
Estwing Top Undergraduate Major Award, University of Wyoming Geology Field Course
WORK HISTORY
Intern, Exxon Mobil
Soil Scientist, Colville Indian Reservation
Owner, Cirque Geoscience Consultants
Adjunct Geosciences Faculty, Boise State University
Editor, GIS4Geomorphology.com
Owner, S.W. Cooley Art & Fine Woodworking
Owner, The Weatherside AirBnB
BIO
I am a Field Geologist specializing in geologic mapping, ancient soils, and geomorphology. I am particularly interested in the interplay between tectonics, topography, and climate. I've worked on a wide variety of projects in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains. Currently, I am mapping the surficial geology of the Mission Valley in northwest Montana and sorting out the geomorphic history of an unusual calcrete-bearing interval in eastern Washington State. The 20m-thick interval overlies ancient Scabland flood deposits, underlies most of the Palouse Loess, and is deformed by Quaternary faults in the Yakima Fold Belt. I work as the Hydrologist for the federally-owned Flathead Indian Irrigation Project (130,000-acres, 17 reservoirs, >1200 miles of canals).