This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) supports fundamental research on borehole breakouts, which are distortions in the shape of oil, gas, and water wells that provide information about stresses within the Earth's crust. The $180,350 award to Carleton College will employ two research methods to study how geological layering (anisotropy) impacts the interpretation of stress directions from borehole breakouts. The first approach involves laboratory experiments using analog materials like sand, gelatin, and wax to isolate the effects of layer orientation, thickness, and strength on breakout formation. The second approach analyzes well log data from central California to identify patterns between breakout directions, bedding orientation, and lithology. The project aims to develop new statistical tools to better compare the experimental and field datasets, which may have broader applications. This research will involve training graduate and undergraduate students, as well as developing educational materials for high school students.