My pleasure in speaking to you this morning is threefold.First, I am delighted to inaugurate the First Western National Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. The number, variety, and excellence of the papers on the program during the next three days attest to the wisdom of establishing a series of national meetings on the West Coast to complement the meetings the AGU holds each spring in Washington, D. C. It is clear that the splendid tradition of creativity in geophysical research in California has been augmented and enriched in recent years, and it is particularly fitting that this First Western National Meeting be held in Los Angeles which is the site of many developments in geophysics.