In Memoriam: Ron Schott

I should be getting some sleep right now, as we are leaving early on our journey to the Colorado Plateau, but I received sad news today, and couldn't let the moment pass to mention the life of Ron Schott. He passed away unexpectedly, and long before his time. Ron was a modern geological pioneer, writing one the earliest geology blogs (The Geology Home Companion) which was a factor in my decision to begin blogging a decade ago. He was a leader in utilizing all forms of social media to promote geological knowledge, and was especially well known for his production of Gigapan images.

Early on, I learned of Ron because of the "Schott Rule" in the "Where on (Google) Earth?" web contest. He was so good at tracking down the location of the most obscure Google image that as I recall, he had to wait to give others a chance to find the location.

I was privileged to meet him several times when our paths crossed in the field. Most memorably, he met us outside Bakersfield late one rainy night when we were expected to arrive for camping on the first night of our yearly Death Valley trip. He actually made chocolate chip cookies for the entire crew.

Ron will certainly be missed. My condolences to his family and friends.