Magdalena Sandoval Donahue grew up in northern New Mexico, fascinated by the mountains and valleys of the high desert at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. She received a BS in Geological Sciences and a BS in Fine Arts from the University of Oregon, where she took structural geology from Marli Miller, her coauthor on this book. She obtained her MS and PhD from the University of New Mexico, and much of her research focused on the evolution of topography and mountain ranges in Colorado. She lives in Albuquerque with her husband, John, and three children.