Editorial Notes

Welcome to the latest volume of the Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, the eighty-fifth in our association's long history. From its inception, the Yearbook has celebrated the rich trove of geographic inquiry found in our region and beyond, while at the same time serving as the publication of record for all things relating to our annual meetings. This volume continues that tradition, complementing the original research of our members with the abstracts, awards, and related commentary from our October 2022 meeting in Bellingham, Washington.

Occasionally, unexpected connections and themes emerge from the manuscripts published in any given volume. This year, careful readers will note a distinctively reflective tone woven through the six articles found here, but also encouragement to continue the exploration, observation, and research that are our calling cards as geographers. As an example, one need only begin with the Presidential Address delivered by Steve Graves in Bellingham. Recounting his own awakening as a geographer, the importance of reading the landscape becomes clear, and he directs us back to the enthusiasm and insightfulness of Larry Ford. The extensive slide collection of Larry's research and travels has now fortuitously made its way to California State University, Northridge, where it is being scanned and preserved for future researchers. Steve shares with us a small sample of the many images in the collection, considering them from a distinctly Fordian perspective and exhorting us to remember that being a geographer is an exceptionally rewarding way to move through the world.

Beyond the slide collections of Larry Ford and several other geographers, the rich array of resources found at Northridge also includes the extensive Sanborn Map Collection now housed its own dedicated space within the Department of Geography. In a collaborative effort, Jim Craine, Ron Davidson, Dave Deis, David Lawrence, Jack Swab, and the Los Angeles-based artist Deborah Scacco discuss the history and evolution of the Sanborn atlases, the provenance of the Sanborn Map Collection at California State University, Northridge, and three distinct examples of the value they provide for interpreting past urban landscapes. We are reminded that maps can and should be used expansively, informing not only academic but also artistic endeavors and ways to creatively connect the two.

Personal experience takes center stage for the remainder of the articles. Ray Sumner takes us far away from the urban West of the Sanborn Collection, reminiscing on her student adventures in North Queensland, Australia. Here, we are introduced to the remote Quinkan Country of the Cape York Peninsula, where a group of erstwhile geography students ventured into the field to accompany the pilot and author Percy Trezise and document long-forgotten Indigenous rock art. Hong-key Yoon, writing from New Zealand, shares his recollections of time spent with Carl Sauer at Berkeley in the 1970s, when Sauer drew the intellectual curiosity of a young PhD student from Korea. Drawing from a series of taped one-on-one conversations as well as the extensive body of Sauer studies, this article offers us a personal appreciation of Sauer's academic development and his well-known influence on geography in the twentieth century.

In a similar manner, the next article also turns our attention to the history of geography. Arising from a pandemic-inspired weekly remote roundtable, ten authors delve into the life and times of Carl Akatiff and his role as a friend, colleague, and teacher in the radical geography movement. Including Akatiff himself, the authors collectively argue that a deeper consideration for smaller stories and personal narratives enriches our overall understanding of what it means to engage the world from a geographical perspective.

Finally, Jeff Schaffer takes us to the landscapes of the Sierra Nevada, where he has devoted a lifetime of exploration and research to understanding their complex geomorphology. In this instance, he provides us with a field guide to six key sites that illustrate his thorough refutation of the late Cenezoic uplift theory of their origin.

Thus, we are reminded of how rewarding it is to be a geographer, and how fascinating is the world we see. This is also apparent in the range of research and...