Geology topics
Research about Washington
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Washington.
Geologic map of the Cape Disappointment-Naselle River area, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties, Washington
The Cape Disappointment-Naselle River area is in southwestern Washington at the mouth of the Columbia River. The area encompasses several major estuaries and their adjacent highlands, which reach elevations of about 2,000 feet. Rainfall is abundant and produces heavy vegetation and deep weathering of the bedrock. Natural bedrock exposures are restricted to stream courses along larger drainages, although a network of logging roads provides excellent access to most of the area and widespread, but somewhat ephemeral, exposures of bedrock.
Report on list of structures recommended for seismic instrumentation in the Puget Sound area, Washington
No abstract available.
Water resources data, Washington, water year 1987
The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with State, local, and other Federal agencies, obtains a large amount of data pertaining to the water resources of Washington each water year. These data, accumulated during many water years, constitute a valuable data base for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the State. To make these data readily available to interested parties outside the Geological Survey, the data are published annually in this report series entitled "Water Resources Data - Washington."
Water resources data, Washington, water year 1988
Water-resources data for the 1988 water year for Washington consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels of wells. This report contains discharge records for 202 gaging stations; stage only records for 6 gaging stations; stage and (or) contents for 38 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 28 streamflow-gaging stations, and 9 ungaged streamsites; water levels for 77 observation wells; and water quality for 1 observation well. Also included are data for 13 crest-stage partial-record stations and 112 partial-record or miscellaneous streamflow stations. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4a, 4b, 5, 6a, 6b, 35a, and 35b. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Washington.
Hydrology of the Castle Lake blockage, Mount St. Helens, Washington
The debris avalanche that occurred during the May 19, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens blocked South Fork Castle Creek and created Castle Lake. Stability of the blockage was of concern, and a digital model that simulates three-dimensional groundwater movement in the blockage was constructed as part of the analysis used in a follow-up study that assessed the blockage 's stability. Slug test results in the debris avalanche deposits and model results indicate that the average horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the blockage material is approximately 2.5 ft/day, whereas the ratio of horizontal to vertical hydraulic conductivity is approximately 10 to 1. The model was calibrated to seasonally high groundwater levels and groundwater discharge. Model-predicted recharge rates for this time period were 0.97 cu ft/sec. Most of the recharge (81%) results from the infiltration of precipitation, whereas discharge by seeps through the blockage accounts for 81% of the total discharge. Because water levels under the crest of the blockage are higher than lake level, the movement of groundwater is toward the lake and the toe of the blockage. The model allows the water levels to be estimated at any location in the blockage. This information is required for making estimates of the stability of the blockage against failure by gravitational-induced or earthquake-induced slope failure, liquefaction, the process of seepage erosion, or by erosion.
Ground-water contamination at an inactive coal and oil gasification plant site, Gas Works Park, Seattle, Washington
Gas Works Park, in Seattle, Washington, is located on the site of a coal and oil gasification plant that ceased operation in 1956. During operation, many types of wastes, including coal, tar, and oil, accumulated on site. The park soil is presently (1986) contaminated with compounds such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, trace metals, and cyanide. Analyses of water samples from a network of observation wells in the park indicate that these compounds are also present in the groundwater. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds were identified in groundwater samples in concentrations as large as 200 mg/L. Concentrations of organic compounds were largest where groundwater was in contact with a nonaqueous phase liquid in the soil. Concentrations in groundwater were much smaller where no nonaqueous phase liquid was present, even if the groundwater was in contact with contaminated soils. This condition is attributed to weathering processes at the site, such as dissolution, volatilization, and biodegradation. Soluble, volatile, low-molecular-weight organic compounds are preferentially dissolved from the nonaqueous phase liquid into the groundwater. Where no nonaqueous phase liquid is present, only stained soils containing relatively insoluble, high-molecular-weight compounds remain; therefore, contaminant concentrations in the groundwater are much smaller. Concentrations of organic contaminants in the soils may still remain large. Values of specific conductance were as large as 5,280 microsiemens/cm, well above a background of 242 microsiemens/cm, suggesting large concentrations of minerals in the groundwater. Trace metal concentrations, however , were generally < 0.010 mg/L, and below limits of US EPA drinking water standards. Cyanide was present in groundwater samples from throughout the park, ranging in concentration from 0.01 to 8.6 mg/L.
Summer production of coho salmon stocked in Mount St. Helens streams 3-6 years after the 1980 eruption
We monitored habitat use and summer production of stocked underyearling coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch from 1983 to 1986 in three streams affected by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Two streams were in the blast area and one was on a volcanic mudflow terrace, Midsummer water temperatures frequently exceeded presumed stressful thresholds and occasionally surpassed the incipient lethal limit. Temperatures at the study sites (up to 29.5°C) may have been the highest ever recorded in small streams in western Washington. In addition, there was relatively little submerged cover and limited pool habitat. Despite the severe conditions created by the eruption, production rates of stocked coho salmon at all sites ranged from 15.1 to 143.8 mg/m 2 ·d (2.3–21.6 g/m 2 over an average 150‐d summer period) and were equal to or greater than those measured in other streams of comparable size in the region. Coho salmon production in the streams was more strongly influenced by population biomass and density than by average individual growth rate. Production was also influenced by timing and average weight at stocking; larger fish stocked later in the summer had higher survival than smaller fish stocked earlier. Apparent summer mortality (true mortality plus emigration) may have been influenced by the presence of other salmonids. Coho salmon density at the end of summer was consistently lowest in the mudflow stream, the only site to have a large population of steelhead (anadromous rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss , formerly Salmo gairdneri ). We suspected that an abundance of both terrestrial and aquatic food was partly responsible for the high summer production of stocked coho salmon in what was an otherwise hostile environment.
Hydrologic data for computation of sediment discharge: Toutle and North Fork Toutle Rivers near Mount St. Helens, Washington, water years 1980-84
Immediately after the devastating May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, a program was initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey to study the streamflow and sediment characteristics of streams impacted by the eruption. Some of the data gathered in that program are presented in this report. Data are presented for two key sites in the Toutle River basin: North Fork Toutle River near Kid Valley, and Toutle River at Tower Road, near Silver Lake. The types of data presented are appropriate for use with sediment transport formulas; however, the data are also intended for use in a wide variety of additional applications. The data presented in this report are unique because they delineate flow conditions possessing great potential fo sediment transport. The data define unusually high suspended-sediment concentration. Data defining hydraulic, peak discharge, suspended-sediment, and bed-material characteristics are presented. (USGS)
Post-eruption changes in channel geometry of streams in the Toutle River drainage basin, 1983-85, Mount St. Helens, Washington
The May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens generated a debris avalanche, lateral blast, lahars and tephra deposits that altered mainstream and tributary channels within the Toutle River drainage basin. Channel cross sections were monumented and surveyed on the North Fork Toutle River and its tributaries, South Fork Toutle River, Green River, and Toutle River in 1980 and 1981. These streams drain the north and west flanks of the volcano. The network of channel cross sections has been resurveyed annually. Selected cross sections were surveyed more frequently following periods of higher flow. The repetitive cross-section surveys provide measurements of hank erosion or accretion and of channel erosion or aggradation. These data can be used to determine erosion rates, and to identify sources and storage sites of sediment in sediment budget computations. This report presents channel cross-section profiles constructed from the survey data collected during water years 1983-85.
Geologic map of the northwestern three-fourths of the Aeneas quadrangle, Okanogan and Ferry Counties, Washington
No abstract available.
Origins, behavior, and sedimentology of lahars and lahar-runout flows in the Toutle-Cowlitz River system
No abstract available.
Water resources data, Washington, water year 1986
Water resources data for the 1986 water year for Washington consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels of wells. This report contains discharge records for 215 gaging stations; stage only records for 7 gaging stations; stage and contents for 38 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 38 streamflow-gaging stations and 9 ungaged streamsites; and water levels for 75 observation wells. Also included are data for 15 crest-stage partial-record stations and 355 partial-record or miscellaneous streamflow stations. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 34a, and 341). These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Washington.