Join Dr. Devon Orme for an in-depth exploration of Montana’s ancient geology, focusing on the Precambrian sedimentary layers of the local LaHood Formation. This presentation takes audiences back to the world that existed prior to the Cambrian explosion, shedding light on the primitive life forms preserved within Montana's rock record and the starkly barren landscapes they inhabited.

Orme will then contrast these primordial formations with adjacent Paleozoic rocks, offering a vivid, side-by-side look at the extraordinary transition into an era teeming with diverse life.

Dr. Orme is an Associate Professor at Montana State University. She holds a Doctorate and Master of Science in Geosciences from the University of Arizona and was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Earth and Planetary Science from University of California Santa Cruz. Devon’s research focuses on sedimentary basin analysis and the tectonic-thermal history of orogenic systems.

Her field areas center on mountains along ancient convergent margins in the western U.S. and Asia, namely Montana, California, Tibet, and Nepal. She has earned numerous NSF and USGS grants, including the prestigious NSF CAREER award, and several educational mapping initiatives to support students at MSU.  She enjoys teaching the Sedimentology, Geochronology, and Summer field geology course in Montana and is the Graduate Student Coordinator for the Department of Earth Sciences.