Interpreting the hazards and appreciating the privileges of living in a particular place draw upon insights from multiple disciplines. Seemingly self-evident, this perspective stands as a counterpoint to the depiction of scientific practice as unified and independent of discipline in standards for the education of all Americans. Inquiry adapts in distinctive ways to different kinds of problems. By deciphering the distribution and timing of the demise of cedar trees--ghost forests--U.S. Geological Survey geologist Brian Atwater uncovered the threat of great subduction zone earthquakes in Cascadia. In research that interprets place, diverse inquiries cohere and bind local citizens to an appreciation of their landscape. Practices characteristic of geological inquiry, organized to interpret place, emphasize temporally and geographically restricted solutions, not universal knowledge. The importance of such practices casts doubt on the merits of scientific unity promoted by standards-driven reform.