Assembling+II+ES

Emma Smith "Assembling California II"

In “Assembling California II” McPhee is alongside geologist Eldridge Moores as he pieces together the history of California. This article starts off with a very detailed and scientific account of the geological makeup of California and how it came to be that way. This was a time when the theory of plate tectonics was just being flushed out. McPhee quotes a number of geologists’ works to show the wide range of ideas circulating at that time about plate tectonics. It seemed as I was reading this section that the goal of many of these geologists was just to be right. The geologists wanted their ideas to be heard, and it doesn’t seem to be from an environmental protectionist position.

As the story continues we get more environmental tones with Moores. McPhee writes that “When Moores looks out upon landscapes, he sees beneath them other landscapes. Like most geologists, he carries in his head a portfolio of ancient scenes, worlds overprinting previous worlds.” McPhee goes into detail about Moores love of history. A landscape isn’t just what is seen. It’s the whole history of the earth and people and stories that were born from it. McPhee weaves myth and history with the geology of the land throughout this piece. When Moores and McPhee are in places like Cyprus and Macedonia McPhee tells us about the people and battles that were fought thousands of years ago. But it all comes back to the land. There is a sense as McPhee describes ancient history that people owe a great deal to the earth and what it produces. In Cyprus people discovered copper and then made iron. Civilizations were built on the strength of the earth. Like many of McPhee’s environmental pieces the message isn’t obvious. But in the character of Moores we see true reverence and connectedness to the land.

What I found most interesting about this article was the section on Moores childhood. His father and grandfather were both gold miners in the harsh climate of middle America. His father said “Huh, geologists, they think they can see through solid rock.” McPhee seems to be suggesting in this part that geologists and gold miners aren’t so different. I expected McPhee to talk about gold miners as people ruining land that must be preserved. But his story of Moores family is full of honest work and little reward. For Moores father and grandfather mining was the only way to survive, and there was something noble about that. Moores and his father shared a love of music, and I think that this artistic sensibility is seen in Moores as he looks at landscapes. He doesn’t just see what is on the surface, but marvels at the wonder of creation. He has a deep curiosity to find out how the world came to be this way. As a child Moores hated the mining life, and even yelled once to his parents that he couldn’t wait to get the hell out of this place. He was only ten. McPhee talks about how Moores came to choose geology. He writes, “He may not have cared how the gold got out of the mountains but he did want to know how the mountains came there to receive gold.”

I found this quote especially interesting. Moores says “I don’t have gold fever. When I get it I stamp it out. I avoid the study of ore deposits…” McPhee is pointing towards humans natural inclination to be corrupted by the prospect of wealth. The gold rush history of California is so interesting because it was so tragic in some ways. People gave up everything just to find a spec of gold. Moores realizes what studying and fixating on gold can do. But he doesn’t want to see the earth that way. He has to make conscious decisions to see the earth as something beautiful in and of itself, and not something to be ripped apart.

McPhee is tackling some intricate concepts and terminology in this piece. At first it was difficult to get my mind around what he was talking about. I was lost in the geological language. Yet, McPhee always has a way of bringing even the most complicated ideas down to an interesting and understandable level. This is an example of the great imagery he uses throughout this piece to describe the land: “The Cyprus ophiolite, great slab of the ocean-was bents upon the slope of Africa. It was draped, hung, arched, folded-not quite like Dali’s watches, but the image would do.”