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At least 1,153 records · Page 64Linked to original sources
USGS1999

Volcano hazards in the Mount Jefferson region, Oregon

Mount Jefferson is a prominent feature of the landscape seen from highways east and west of the Cascades. Mount Jefferson (one of thirteen major volcanic centers in the Cascade Range) has erupted repeatedly for hundreds of thousands of years, with its last eruptive episode during the last major glaciation which culminated about 15,000 years ago. Geologic evidence shows that Mount Jefferson is capable of large explosive eruptions. The largest such eruption occurred between 35,000 and 100,000 years ago, and caused ash to fall as far away as the present-day town of Arco in southeast Idaho. Although there has not been an eruption at Mount Jefferson for some time, experience at explosive volcanoes elsewhere suggests that Mount Jefferson cannot be regarded as extinct. If Mount Jefferson erupts again, areas close to the eruptive vent will be severely affected, and even areas tens of kilometers (tens of miles) downstream along river valleys or hundreds of kilometers (hundreds of miles) downwind may be at risk. Numerous small volcanoes occupy the area between Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood to the north, and between Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters region to the south. These small volcanoes tend not to pose the far-reaching hazards associated with Mount Jefferson, but are nonetheless locally important. A concern at Mount Jefferson, but not at the smaller volcanoes, is the possibility that small to- moderate sized landslides could occur even during periods of no volcanic activity. Such landslides may transform as they move into lahars (watery flows of rock, mud, and debris) that can inundate areas far downstream. The population at immediate risk in the Mount Jefferson region is small, but these residents as well as other people who visit the area for recreation and work purposes should be aware of the potential hazards. Probably the greatest concern in the Mount Jefferson region is the possibility that large lahars might enter reservoirs on either side of the volcano, namely, Detroit Lake to the west and Lake Billy Chinook to the east. Lahars entering these lakes could set up large waves that could overtop dams and possibly cause dam failure, with catastrophic effects downstream. Such events have very low probabilities but great potential consequences. This report describes the kinds of hazardous geologic events that have occurred in the Mount Jefferson area in the past and shows, in the accompanying volcano-hazards-zonation maps, which areas will likely be at risk when hazardous events occur again in the future.

Oregon↗
USGS2012

Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico

Humid tropical regions occupy about a quarter of Earth's land surface, yet they contribute a substantially higher fraction of the water, solutes, and sediment discharged to the world's oceans. Nearly half of Earth's population lives in the tropics, and development stresses can potentially harm soil resources, water quality, and water supply and in addition increase landslide and flood hazards. Owing to Puerto Rico's steep topography, low water storage capacity, and dependence on trade-wind precipitation, the island's people, ecosystems, and water supply are vulnerable to extreme weather such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts. Eastern Puerto Rico offers a natural laboratory for separating geologic and land-cover influences from regional- and global-scale influences because of its various bedrock types and the changing land cover surrounding intact, mature forest of the Luquillo Experimental Forest. Accordingly, a multiyear assessment of hydrological and biogeochemical processes was designed to develop an understanding of the effects of these differences on local climate, streamflow, water quality, and ecosystems, and to form the basis for a long-term and event-based program of climate and hydrologic monitoring. Because infrequent, large storms play a major role in this landscape, we focused on high-runoff events, sampling 263 storms, including all major hurricanes from 1991 through 2005. The largest storms have profound geomorphic consequences, such as landslides, debris flows, deep gullying on deforested lands, excavation and suspension of sediment in stream channels, and delivery of a substantial fraction of annual stream sediment load. Large storms sometimes entrain ocean foam and spray causing high concentrations of seasalt-derived constituents in stream waters during the storm. Past deforestation and agricultural activities in the Cayaguás and Canóvanas watersheds accelerated erosion and soil loss, and this material continues to be remobilized during large storms. Nearly 5,000 routine and event samples were analyzed for parameters that allow determination of denudation rates based on suspended and dissolved loads; 860 of these samples were analyzed for a comprehensive suite of chemical constituents. The rivers studied are generally similar in water-quality characteristics, and windward or leeward aspect appears to exert a stronger influence on water quality than geology or land cover. Of samples analyzed for comprehensive chemistry and for sediment, 543 were collected at runoff rates greater than 1 millimeter per hour, 256 at rates exceeding 10 millimeters per hour, and 3 at rates exceeding 90 millimeters per hour. Streams have rarely been sampled during events with such high runoff rates. Rates of physical and chemical weathering are especially high, and physical denudation rates, forested watersheds included, are considerably greater than is expected for a steady-state system. The elevated physical erosion drives an increased particulate organic carbon flux, one that is large, important to the carbon cycle, and sustainable, because soil-carbon regeneration is rapid. The 15-year Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budget dataset, which includes discharge, field parameters, suspended sediment, major cations and anions, and nutrients, is available from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis). The dataset provides a baseline for characterizing future environmental change and will improve our understanding of the interdependencies of land, water, and biological resources and their responses to changes in climate and land use. Because eastern Puerto Rico resembles many tropical regions in terms of geology and patterns of development, implications from this study are transferable to other tropical regions facing deforestation, rapid land-use change, and climate change.

Puerto Rico↗
USGS1965

Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, at Whittier, Alaska

Whittier, Alaska, lying at the western end of Passage Canal, is an ocean terminal of The Alaska Railroad. The earthquake that shook south-central Alaska at 5:36 p.m. (Alaska Standard Time) on March 27, 1964, took the lives of 13 persons and caused more than $5 million worth of damage to Government and private property at Whittier. Seismic motion lasted only 2½-3 minutes, but when it stopped the Whittier waterfront was in shambles land the port facilities were inoperable. Damage was caused by (1) a 5.3-foot subsidence of the landmass, sufficient to put some of the developed land under water during high tides, (2) seismic shock, (3) fracturing of fill and unconsolidated sediments, (4) compaction of fill and unconsolidated deposits, (5) submarine landslides which generated waves that destroyed part of The Alaska Railroad roadbed and other property, (6) at least two, but probably three, waves generated by landslides, which completely wrecked the buildings of two lumber companies, the stub pier, the small-boat harbor, the car-barge slip dock, and several homes, and (7) fire that destroyed the fuel-storage tanks at the Whittier waterfront. Many buildings and other facilities were totally wrecked, others were damaged to lesser degrees. For example, the 14-story reinforced concrete Hodge Building, which rests upon at least 44 feet of sandy gravel, was moderately damaged by seismic shock, but the six-story reinforced-concrete Buckner Building, which rests upon bedrock, was only slightly damaged.

Alaska↗
USGS1966

Geologic effects of the March 1964 earthquake and associated seismic sea waves on Kodiak and nearby islands, Alaska

Kodiak Island and the nearby islands constitute a mountainous landmass with an aggregate area of 4,900 square miles that lies at the western border of the Gulf of Alaska and from 20 to 40 miles off the Alaskan mainland. Igneous and metamorphic rocks underlie most of the area except for a narrow belt of moderately to poorly indurated rocks bordering the Gulf of Alaska coast and local accumulations of unconsolidated alluvial and marine deposits along the streams and coast. The area is relatively undeveloped and is sparsely inhabited. About 4,800 of the 5,700 permanent residents in the area live in the city of Kodiak or at the Kodiak Naval Station. The great earthquake, which occurred on March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. Alaska standard time (March 28,1964, 0336 Greenwich mean time), and had a Richter magnitude of 8.4-8.5, was the most severe earthquake felt on Kodiak Island and its nearby islands in modern times. Although the epicenter lies in Prince William Sound 250 miles northeast of Kodiak—the principal city of the area—the areal distribution of the thousands of aftershocks that followed it, the local tectonic deformation, and the estimated source area of the subsequent seismic sea wave, all suggest that the Kodiak group of islands lay immediately adjacent to, and northwest of, the focal region from which the elastic seismic energy was radiated. The duration of strong ground motion in the area was estimated at 2½ minutes. Locally, the tremors were preceded by sounds audible to the human ear and were reportedly accompanied in several places by visible ground waves. Intensity and felt duration of the shocks during the main earthquake and aftershock sequence varied markedly within the area and were strongly influenced by the local geologic environment. Estimated Mercalli intensities in most areas underlain by unconsolidated Quaternary deposits ranged from VIII to as high as IX. In contrast, intensities in areas of upper Tertiary rock ranged from VII to VIII, and in areas of relatively well indurated lower Tertiary and Mesozoic rocks, from VI to VII. Local subsidence of as much as 10 feet was widespread in noncohesive granular deposits through compaction, flow, and sliding that resulted from vibratory loading during the earthquake. This phenomenon, which was largely restricted to saturated beach and alluvial deposits or artificial fill, was locally accompanied by extensive cracking of the ground and attendant ejection of water and water-sediment mixtures. Numerous landslides, including a wide variety of rockfalls, rockslides, and flows along steep slopes, were triggered by the long-duration horizontal and vertical accelerations during the earthquake. The landslides are most numerous in a narrow belt along the southeast coast of Kodiak Island and the nearby offshore islands. Their abundance appears to be related to an area underlain predominantly by Tertiary rocks. Temporary and permanent changes of level occurred after the earthquake in some wells, lakes, and streams throughout the area; ice was cracked, and the salinity of a few wells increased. Permanent change of water level at some localities appears to be related to readjustments of fracture porosity by earthquake-induced movements of bedrock blocks. Increased salinity of wells in coastal areas resulted from encroachment of seawater into aquifiers after subsidence during the earthquake, and to flooding of watersheds by seismic sea waves. Vertical displacements, both downward and upward, occurred throughout the area as a result of crustal warping along a northeast-trending axis. Most of Kodiak and all of Afognak, Shuyak, and adjacent islands are within a regional zone of subsidence whose trough plunges gently northeastward and approximately coincides with the mountainous backbone of Kodiak Island. Subsidence in excess of 6 feet occurred throughout the northern part of the zone-a maximum subsidence of 6½ feet having occurred on Marmot and, eastern Afognak Islands. Southeast of the axis of tectonic tilting, uplift of at least 2lh feet occurred in a narrow zone that includes most of the southeasterly capes of Kodiak Island, the southeastern half of Sitkalidak Island, and Sitkinak Island. The uplift is inferred to extend offshore over much or all of the continental shelf adjacent to the Kodiak group of islands. Within the affected area, tectonic subsidence, which was locally augmented by surficial subsidence of unconsolidated. deposits, caused widespread inundation of shorelines and attendant damage to intertidal organisms, nearshore terrestrial vegetation, and salmon-spawning areas. The most devastating effect of the earthquake on Kodiak Island and nearby islands resulted from seismic sea waves that probably originated along a linear zone of differential uplift in the Gulf of Alaska. A train of at least seven seismic sea waves, having initial periods of 50–55 minutes, struck along all the southeast coast of the island group from 38 to 63 minutes after the earthquake. The southeast shores were repeatedly washed by destructive waves having runup heights along exposed coasts of perhaps as much as 40 feet above existing tide level, and of 8–20 feet along protected shores. Runup heights of the waves were much less on the northwest and southwest sides of the islands, and no wave damage was incurred there. Locally, high-velocity currents that accompanied the waves caused intense erosion and redistribution of unconsolidated natural and artificial shore deposits and of shallow sea-floor deposits. The Alaska earthquake was the greatest natural catastrophe to befall the Kodiak Island area in historic time. The combination of seismic shock and the earthquake-related tectonic deformation and seismic sea waves took 18 lives, destroyed property worth about $45 million, and resulted in estimated losses of income to the fishing industry of an additional $5 million. Most of the damage and all of the loss of life were directly attributable to the seismic sea waves that crippled the city of Kodiak, wiped out the village of Kaguyak, and destroyed most of the village of Old Harbor and parts of the villages of Afognak and Uzinki. Bridges and segments of the highways in the vicinity of the city of Kodiak were washed out, and parts of the Kodiak Naval Station were inundated and damaged. Especially serious to all the damaged communities was the loss of fishing boats, seafood processing plants, and other waterfront installations, which had been the mainstay of the economy. Additional heavy losses resulted from the combined regional tectonic and local surficial subsidence that occurred during the earthquake. Widespread shoreline flooding by high tides necessitated raising, protecting, or removing many installations otherwise undamaged by the earthquake or waves. Structural damage attributable to seismic shock during the earthquake was relatively light and was restricted to areas underlain by saturated unconsolidated deposits. The chief structural failure in the area as a result of shaking was the collapse of part of a cannery built on saturated beach deposits that were partially liquefied during the earthquake. Minor structural damage resulted from differential settlement and cracking of the ground on natural granular deposits and artificial fills. The overwhelming majority of structures are constructed on indurated bedrock; none of these sustained damage other than small losses resulting from shifting about and breakage of their contents.

Alaska↗
USGS1966

Effects of the March 1964 Alaska earthquake on the hydrology of south-central Alaska

The earthquake of March 27, 1964, greatly affected the hydrology of Alaska and many other parts of the world. Its far-reaching effects were recorded as water-level fluctuations in gages operated on water wells and streams. The close-in effects were even more striking, however; sediment-laden ground water erupted at the surface, and even ice-covered lakes and streams responded by seiching. Lake and river ice was broken for distances of 450 miles from the epicenter by seismic shock and seiche action. The surging action temporarily dewatered some lakes. Fissuring of streambeds and lakeshores, in particular, caused a loss of water, and hydrologic recovery took weeks in some places. Landslides and snow avalanches temporarily blocked streams and diverted some permanently. The only stream or lake structures damaged were a tunnel intake and two earthen dams. The winter conditions-low stages of water and the extensive ice cover on lakes and streams-at the time of the earthquake greatly reduced the damaging potential. Ground water was drastically affected mostly in unconsolidated aquifers for at least 160 miles from the epicenter. Within 100 miles of the epicenter, vast quantities of sediment-laden water were ejected in most of the flood plains of the glaciofluvial valleys. A shallow water table and confinement by frost seemed to be requirements for the ejections, which were commonly associated with cratering and subsidence of the unconsolidated material. Subsidence was also common near the disastrous submarine landslides, and was probably caused by loss of water pressure and by lateral spreading of sediments. Effects on ground water in bedrock were not determinable because of lack of data and accessibility, particularly within 50 miles of the epicenter. Deep aquifers in unconsolidated sediments, which in most areas are under high hydrostatic pressure, were also greatly affected. Postearthquake water levels for a year were compared with long-term prequake levels to show permanent changes in an aquifer system. At Anchorage and in parts of the kenai Peninsula, artesian-pressure levels dropped as much as 15 feet. These lower pressures were probably caused either by grain rearrangement which increased the porosity within the aquifer or by a displacement of material that allowed water to discharge more freely at the submarine terminus of the aquifer. Seismically induced pressure on ground water was instrumental in causing most of the disastrous slides. Water quality was not changed except for temporary increases in turbidity in wells and streams. The sediment load in streams during the April spring run-off appeared to be greatly increased over previous years.

Alaska↗
USGS1967

Effects of the earthquake of March 27, 1964, on air and water transport, communications, and utilities systems in south-central Alaska

The earthquake of March 27, 1964, wrecked or severely hampered all forms of transportation, all utilities, and all communications systems over a very large part of south-central Alaska. Effects on air transportation were minor as compared to those on the water, highway, and railroad transport systems. A few planes were damaged or wrecked by seismic vibration or by flooding. Numerous airport facilities were damaged by vibration or by secondary effects of the earthquake, notably seismic sea and landslide-generated waves, tectonic subsidence, and compaction. Nearly all air facilities were partly or wholly operational within a few hours after the earthquake. The earthquake inflicted enormous damage on the shipping industry, which is indispensable to a State that imports fully 90 percent of its requirements—mostly by water—and whose largest single industry is fishing. Except for those of Anchorage, all port facilities in the earthquake-affected area were destroyed or made inoperable by submarine slides, waves, tectonic uplift, and fire. No large vessels were lost, but more than 200 smaller ones (mostly crab or salmon boats) were lost or severely damaged. Navigation aids were destroyed, and hitherto well-known waterways were greatly altered by uplift or subsidence. All these effects wrought far-reaching changes in the shipping economy of Alaska, many of them to its betterment. Virtually all utilities and communications in south-central Alaska were damaged or wrecked by the earthquake, but temporary repairs were effected in remarkably short times. Communications systems were silenced almost everywhere by loss of power or by downed lines; their place was quickly taken by a patchwork of self-powered radio transmitters. A complex power-generating system that served much of the stricken area from steam, diesel, and hydrogenerating plants was disrupted in many places by vibration damage to equipment and by broken transmission lines. Landslides in Anchorage broke gas-distribution lines in many places, but the main transmission line from the Kenai Peninsula was virtually undamaged. Petroleum supplies were disrupted, principally by breakage or loss of storage tanks caused by seismic vibration, slides, waves, and fire. Water-supply and sewer lines were also broken in many towns.

Alaska↗
USGS2005

Geologic and geophysical maps of the Las Vegas 30' x 60' quadrangle, Clark and Nye counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

Las Vegas and Pahrump are two of the fastest growing cities in the US, and the shortage of water looms as among the greatest future problems for these cities. These new maps of the Las Vegas 30 x 60-minute quadrangle provide a geologic and geophysical framework and fundamental earth science database needed to address societal issues such as ground water supply and contamination, surface flood, landslide, and seismic hazards, and soil properties and their changing impact by and on urbanization. The mountain ranges surrounding Las Vegas and Pahrump consist of Mesozoic, Paleozoic and Proterozoic rocks. A majority of these rocks are Paleozoic carbonate rocks that are part of Nevada's carbonate rock aquifer province. The Spring Mountains represent a major recharge site in the province, where maximum altitude is 3,632 m (Charleston Peak) above sea level. Rocks in the Sheep and Las Vegas Ranges and Spring Mountains contain correlative, northeast-striking, southeast-verging thrust faults that are part of the Cretaceous, Sevier orogenic belt. These thrusts were offset during the Miocene by the Las Vegas Valley shear system (LVVSZ). We conducted new mapping in the Blue Diamond area, highlighting refined work on the Bird Spring thrust, newly studied ancient landslides, and gravity-slide blocks. We conducted new mapping in the Las Vegas Range and mapped previously unrecognized structures such as the Valley thrust and fold belt; recognition of these structures has led to a refined correlation of Mesozoic thrust faults across the LVVSZ. New contributions in the quadrangle also include a greatly refined stratigraphy of Paleozoic bedrock units based on conodont biostragraphy. We collected over 200 conodont samples in the quadrangle and established stratigraphic reference sections used to correlate units across the major Mesozoic thrust faults. Quaternary deposits cover about half of the map area and underlie most of the present urbanized area. Deposits consist of large coalescing alluvial fans that grade downslope to extensive areas of fine-grained sediment indicative of groundwater-discharge during the Pleistocene. In the central areas of Las Vegas and Pahrump valleys, Quaternary fault scarps associated with past ground-water discharge deposits suggest a genetic relationship. In collaboration with NBMG and University of Nevada, a variety of ages of gravelly alluvium are newly mapped using surficial characteristics and soil development, along with reassessment of previously published mapping during compilation. Reconnaissance geochronology (thermoluminescence and U-series) of eolian and authigenic components of surficial and buried soils and spring deposits is applied to test hypotheses of geomorphic and hydrologic response to climate change over the past 100 k.y.). The major structure in the Las Vegas quadrangle is the LVVSZ. Because the LVVSZ is concealed by thick basin-fill deposits of Quaternary and Tertiary age, it was characterized primarily based on geophysics. Likewise, the newly described State line fault system in Pahrump Valley has also been characterized by geophysics, where geophysically inferred structures correlate remarkably with surface structures defined by our new geologic mapping in the Mound Spring and Hidden Hills Ranch 7.5-minute quadrangles.

Scientific Investigations Map↗
USGS2009

Geologic map of northeastern Seattle (part of the Seattle North 7.5' x 15' quadrangle), King County, Washington

This geologic map, approximately coincident with the east half of the Seattle North 7.5 x 15’ quadrangle (herein, informally called the “Seattle NE map”), covers nearly half of the City of Seattle and reaches from Lake Washington across to the Puget Sound shoreline. Land uses are mainly residential, but extensive commercial districts are located in the Northgate neighborhood, adjacent to the University of Washington, and along the corridors of Aurora Avenue North and Lake City Way. Industrial activity is concentrated along the Lake Washington Ship Canal and around Lake Union. One small piece of land outside of the quadrangle boundaries, at the west edge of the Bellevue North quadrangle, is included on this map for geographic continuity. Conversely, a small area in the northeast corner of the Seattle North quadrangle, on the eastside of Lake Washington, is excluded from this map. Within the boundaries of the map area are two large urban lakes, including the most heavily visited park in the State of Washington (Green Lake Park); a stream (Thornton Creek) that still hosts anadromous salmon despite having its headwaters in a golfcourse and a shopping center; parts of three cities, with a combined residential population of about 300,000 people; and the region’s premier research institution, the University of Washington. The north boundary of the map is roughly NE 168th Street in the cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, and the south boundary corresponds to Mercer Street in Seattle. The west boundary is 15th Avenue W (and NW), and the east boundary is formed by Lake Washington. Elevations range from sea level to a maximum of 165 m (541 ft), the latter on a broad till-covered knob in the city of Shoreline near the northwest corner of the map. Previous geologic maps of this area include those of Waldron and others (1962), Galster and Laprade (1991), and Yount and others (1993). Seattle lies within the Puget Lowland, an elongate structural and topographic basin between the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains. The Seattle area has been glaciated repeatedly during the past two million years by coalescing glaciers that advanced southward from British Columbia. The landscape we see today was molded by cyclic glacial scouring and deposition and later modified by landsliding and stream erosion. The last ice sheet reached the central Puget Sound region about 14,500 years ago, as measured by 14 C dating, and it had retreated from this area by 13,650 14 C yr B.P. (equivalent calendar years are about 17,600 and 16,600 years ago; Porter and Swanson, 1998). Seattle now sits atop a complex and incomplete succession of interleaved glacial and nonglacial deposits that overlie an irregular bedrock surface. These glacial and nonglacial deposits vary laterally in both texture and thickness, and they contain many local unconformities. In addition, they have been deformed by faults and folds, at least as recently as 1,100 years ago, and this deformation further complicates the geologic record. The landforms and near-surface deposits that cover much of the Seattle NE map area record a relatively brief, recent interval of the region’s geologic history. The topography is dominated in the north by a broad, fluted, and south-sloping upland plateau, which gives way to a more complex set of elongated hills in the map’s southern half. The valleys of Pipers Creek, Green Lake, and Thornton Creek mark the transition between these two topographic areas. Most of the uplands are mantled by a rolling surface of sand (unit Qva) and till (unit Qvt) deposited during the last occupation of the Puget Lowland by a continental ice sheet. Beneath these ice sheet deposits is a complex succession of older sediments that extends far below sea level across most of the map area. These older sediments are now locally exposed where modern erosion and landslides have sliced through the edge of the upland, and where subglacial processes apparently left these older sediments largely free of overlying sediments. Lack of overlying sediments is particularly evident on the hillslopes above Thornton Creek, adjacent to Lake Washington, and on the flanks of Capitol Hill.

Washington↗
USGS2012

Geologic map of Mount Gareloi, Gareloi Island, Alaska

Gareloi Island (lat 51.7° N., long 178.8° W.) is located in the Delarof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands, approximately 2,000 km west-southwest of Anchorage and 150 km west of Adak, the westernmost town in Alaska. This small (~8- x 10-km diam), uninhabited island is constructed exclusively of eruptive products from Mount Gareloi volcano, a Pleistocene and Holocene, steep-sided, composite stratocone that rises 1,573 m (5,161 ft) above sea level (asl). Mount Gareloi has been one of the most active Aleutian volcanoes since its discovery by the Bering expedition in the 1740s, though, because of its remote location, detailed observations of eruptive activity have been scant. As part of an effort to both monitor and study all historically active volcanoes in Alaska, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) undertook a field program at Mount Gareloi in the summer of 2003. During a month-long period, seismic networks were installed at Mount Gareloi and the neighboring Tanaga volcanic cluster. During this time, we undertook the first geologic field study of the volcano since Robert Coats visited Gareloi Island for four days in 1946. Understanding the geology of this relatively small island is important from a hazards perspective, because Mount Gareloi lies beneath a heavily trafficked air route between North America and Asia and has frequently erupted airborne ash since 1760. At least two landslides from the island have deposited debris on the sea floor; thus, landslide-generated tsunamis are also a potential hazard. Since seismic instruments were installed in 2003, they have detected small but consistent seismic signals from beneath Mount Gareloi's edifice, suggesting an active hydrothermal system. Mount Gareloi is also important from the standpoint of understanding subduction-related volcanism, because it lies in the western portion of the volcanically active arc, where subduction is oblique to the arc front. Understanding the compositional evolution of Mount Gareloi fills a spatial gap in along-arc studies.

Alaska↗
USGS2011

Geologic map of the eastern half of the Vail 30' x 60' quadrangle, Eagle, Summit, and Grand Counties, Colorado

Recent mapping and geochronologic studies for the eastern half of the Vail 1:100,000-scale quadrangle have significantly improved our understanding of (1) Paleoproterozoic history of the basement rocks of the Gore Range and Williams Fork Mountains (western margin of the Front Range), (2) the Late Paleozoic history of the Gore fault system, (3) Laramide contractional tectonism, including deformation along the Gore fault and Williams Range thrust, (4) Oligocene and younger extensional history of the Blue River half graben (The northern extent of the Rio Grande rift), and (5) late Neogene and Quaternary surficial history. The recently active Gilman mining district, a major producer of zinc and lead, is in the southwestern corner of the map area. Marine sediments and mafic to felsic volcanic rocks deposited between about 1,740 and 1,780 m.y. were generally metamorphosed to amphibolite grade and intruded and deformed by mostly calc-alkalic granitic rocks during an orogenic episode that lasted about 110 m.y. The distribution of well-studied Upper Cambrian to thick Upper Cretaceous platform sediments is now greatly improved, which allows a better definition of the late Paleozoic uplift, erosion, and flanking sedimentation of the ancestral Front Range. Detailed mapping has also better defined the geometry of Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary Laramide deformation along both the Gore fault system and Williams Range thrust, as well as increased understanding of the details of mostly Neogene extension along the Blue River normal fault system (the western margin of the Blue River half graben). Scarps along the latter fault system indicate movement may be as young as Holocene. Detailed mapping of surficial deposits has defined and described (1) six ages of terrace alluvium, (2) three general ages of landslides, (3) glacial and periglacial deposits, and (4) fan, pediment, talus, and debris-flow deposits. The map is intended as a database for a variety of land-use and scientific purposes, including (1) assessment of geologically stable building sites, (2) planning for road and highway construction, (3) assessment of groundwater resources, (4) assessment of mineral resources, (5) determining geologic-hazard potential (flooding, landslide, rockfall, and seismic risk), (6) evaluating the structure of the northern Rio Grande rift in the Blue River valley, (7) improvement in understanding of the sedimentary section, which spans the period from the Cambrian to the Holocene, and (8) new insights into the geologic history of the Proterozoic basement rocks, including a number of new radiometric dates.

Scientific Investigations Map↗
USGS2012

Surficial Geologic Map of Mesa Verde National Park, Montezuma County, Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado was established in 1906 to preserve and protect the artifacts and dwelling sites, including the famous cliff dwellings, of the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived in the area from about A.D. 550 to A.D. 1300. In 1978, the United Nations designated the park as a World Heritage Site. The geology of the park played a key role in the lives of these ancient people. For example, the numerous (approximately 600) cliff dwellings are closely associated with the Cliff House Sandstone of Late Cretaceous age, which weathers to form deep alcoves. In addition, the ancient people farmed the thick, red loess (wind-blown dust) deposits on the mesa tops, which because of its particle size distribution has good moisture retention properties. The soil in this loess cover and the seasonal rains allowed these people to grow their crops (corn, beans, and squash) on the broad mesa tops. Today, geology is still an important concern in the Mesa Verde area because the landscape is susceptible to various forms of mass movement (landslides, debris flows, rockfalls), swelling soils, and flash floods that affect the park's archeological sites and its infrastructure (roads, septic systems, utilities, and building sites). The map, which encompasses an area of about 100 mi 2 (260 km 2 ), includes all of Mesa Verde National Park, a small part of the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation that borders the park on its southern and western sides, and some Bureau of Land Management and privately owned land to the north and east. Surficial deposits depicted on the map include: artificial fills, alluvium of small ephemeral streams, alluvium deposited by the Mancos River, residual gravel on high mesas, a combination of alluvial and colluvial deposits, fan deposits, colluvial deposits derived from the Menefee Formation, colluvial deposits derived from the Mancos Shale, rockfall deposits, debris flow deposits, earthflow deposits, translational and rotational landslide deposits, rock rubble deposits, and loess. Bedrock units depicted on the map include the Cliff House Sandstone, Menefee Formation, Point Lookout Sandstone, and Mancos Shale all of Late Cretaceous age. In addition, minette dikes, of Oligocene age, found at several locations in the park are depicted on the map. Descriptions, including associated hazards and resources as used by the Ancestral Puebloans, are given for all map units.

Colorado↗
USGS2013

Paleoseismology of a possible fault scarp in Wenas Valley, central Washington

In October 2009, two trenches excavated across an 11-kilometer-long scarp at Wenas Valley in central Washington exposed evidence for late Quaternary deformation. Lidar imagery of the Wenas Valley illuminated the west-northwest-trending, 2- to 8-meter-high scarp as it bisected alluvial fans developed at the mouths of canyons along the south side of Umtanum Ridge. The alignment of the scarp and aeromagnetic lineaments suggested that the scarp may be a product of and controlled by the same tectonic structure that produced the magnetic lineaments. Several large landslides mapped in the area demonstrated the potential for large mass-wasting events in the area. In order to test whether the scarp was the result of an earthquake-generated surface rupture or a landslide, trenches were excavated at Hessler Flats and McCabe Place. The profiles of bedrock and soil stratigraphy that underlie the scarp in each trench were photographed, mapped, and described, and a sequence of depositional and deformational events established for each trench. The McCabe Place trench exposed a sequence of volcaniclastic deposits overlain by soils and alluvial deposits separated by three unconformities. Six normal faults and two possible reverse faults deformed the exposed strata. Crosscutting relations indicated that up to five earthquakes occurred on a blind reverse fault, and a microprobe analysis of lapilli suggested that the earliest faulting occurred after 47,000 years before present. The Hessler Flat trench exposure revealed weathered bedrock that abuts loess and colluvium deposits and is overlain by soil, an upper sequence of loess, and colluvium. The latter two units bury a distinctive paloesol.

Washington↗
USGS2014

Geologic map of the Granite 7.5' quadrangle, Lake and Chaffee Counties, Colorado

The geologic map of the Granite 7.5' quadrangle, Lake and Chaffee Counties, Colorado, portrays the geology in the upper Arkansas valley and along the lower flanks of the Sawatch Range and Mosquito Range near the town of Granite. The oldest rocks, exposed in the southern and eastern parts of the quadrangle, include gneiss and plutonic rocks of Paleoproterozoic age. These rocks are intruded by younger plutonic rocks of Mesoproterozoic age. Felsic hypabyssal dikes, plugs, and plutons, ranging in age from Late Cretaceous or Paleocene to late Oligocene, locally intruded Proterozoic rocks. A small andesite lava flow of upper Oligocene age overlies Paleoproterozoic rock, just south of the Twin Lakes Reservoir. Gravelly fluvial and fan deposits of the Miocene and lower Pliocene(?) Dry Union Formation are preserved in the post-30 Ma upper Arkansas valley graben, a northern extension of the Rio Grande rift. Mostly north-northwest-trending faults displace deposits of the Dry Union Formation and older rock units. Light detection and ranging (lidar) imagery suggests that two short faults, near the Arkansas River, may displace surficial deposits as young as middle Pleistocene. Surficial deposits of middle Pleistocene to Holocene age are widespread in the Granite quadrangle, particularly in the major valleys and on slopes underlain by the Dry Union Formation. The main deposits are glacial outwash and post-glacial alluvium; mass-movement deposits transported by creep, debris flow, landsliding, and rockfall; till deposited during the Pinedale, Bull Lake, and pre-Bull Lake glaciations; rock-glacier deposits; and placer-tailings deposits formed by hydraulic mining and other mining methods used to concentrate native gold. Hydrologic and geologic processes locally affect use of the land and locally may be of concern regarding the stability of buildings and infrastructure, chiefly in low-lying areas along and near stream channels and locally in areas of moderate to steep slopes. Low-lying areas along major and minor streams are subject to periodic stream flooding. Mass-movement deposits and deposits of the Dry Union Formation that underlie moderate to steep slopes are locally subject to creep, debris-flow deposition, and landsliding. Proterozoic rocks that underlie steep slopes are locally subject to rockfall. Sand and gravel resources for construction and other uses in and near the Granite quadrangle are present in outwash-terrace deposits of middle and late Pleistocene age along the Arkansas River and along tributary streams in glaciated valleys.

Colorado↗
USGS2015

California State Waters Map Series: Offshore of Refugio Beach, California

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data, acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. The Offshore of Refugio Beach map lies within the western Santa Barbara Channel region of the Southern California Bight. This geologically complex region forms a major biogeographic transition zone, separating the cold-temperate Oregonian province north of Point Conception from the warm-temperate California province to the south. The map area is in the southern part of the Western Transverse Ranges geologic province, which is north of the California Continental Borderland. Significant clockwise rotation—at least 90°—since the early Miocene has been proposed for the Western Transverse Ranges province, and geodetic studies indicate that the region is presently undergoing north-south shortening. Uplift rates (as much as 0.5 mm/yr) that are based on studies of onland marine terraces provide further evidence of significant shortening. The coastal zone of this map area lies at the steep flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains. The crest of the range, which lies about 8 km from the shoreline (north of the map area), has a maximum elevation of about 780 m. This area is largely open space, partly used for livestock grazing, with no significant towns or population centers. Highway 101 crosses the map area, adjacent to and within a few hundred meters of the shoreline. The most significant developments are the recreational state beaches at El Capitan Beach and Refugio Beach. The beaches are subject to erosion each winter during storm-wave attack, and then they undergo gradual recovery or accretion during the more gentle wave climate of the late spring, summer, and fall months. The Offshore of Refugio Beach map area lies in the west-central part of the Santa Barbara littoral cell, which is characterized by west-to-east transport of sediment from Point Arguello on the northwest to Hueneme and Mugu Canyons on the southeast. Longshore drift rates have been reported to range from about 160,000 to 800,000 tons/yr, averaging 400,000 tons/yr. Sediment supply to the western and central part of the littoral cell, including the map area, is mainly from relatively small coastal watersheds. Within the map area, these coastal watersheds include (from east to west) Cañada del Capitan, Tajiquas Creek, Arroyo Hondo, Cañada del Molino, and several unnamed canyons and creeks. The Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Rivers, the mouths of which are 80 to 120 km northwest of the map area, are not considered significant sediment sources because Point Conception and Point Arguello provide obstacles to downcoast sediment transport and also because much of their sediment load is trapped in dams. The Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers, the mouths of which are about 70 km to the southeast of the map area, are not sediment sources for the map area. The offshore part of the map area consists of relatively flat and shallow continental shelf, which dips gently seaward (about 0.8° to 1.0°) so that water depths at the shelf break, roughly coincident with the California’s State Waters limit, are about 80 to 100 m. This part of the Santa Barbara Channel is relatively well protected from large Pacific swells from the north and northwest by Point Conception and from the south and southwest by offshore islands and banks. The shelf is underlain by variable amounts of upper Quaternary marine and fluvial sediments deposited as sea level fluctuated in the late Pleistocene. In the map area, the shelf break is at depths of about 90 m and lies about 5.6 to 6.4 km offshore. Beyond the shelf break, the slope is steep (as much as about 7°) and unstable. Several submarine landslides, including the large (130 km 2 ) Goleta landslide complex, have been documented offshore of Goleta, a few kilometers east of the map area. This compound slump complex may have been initiated more than 200,000 year ago, but it also includes three recent failures that may have been generated 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. A local, 10-m-high tsunami may have been generated from these failure events. Small folds related to local faulting are superimposed on the homocline that makes up the south flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains. One of these superimposed anticlines hosts the Molino gas field, which was discovered in 1962 and subsequently developed through directional drilling from onshore wells. The Oligocene Sespe and Vaqueros Formations are the reservoirs in the Molino gas field, and the map area includes numerous seafloor hydrocarbon seeps. Seafloor habitats in the broad Santa Barbara Channel region consist of significant amounts of soft, unconsolidated sediment interspersed with isolated areas of rocky habitat that support kelp-forest communities nearshore and rocky-reef communities in deep water. The potential marine benthic habitat types mapped in the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area are directly related to its Quaternary geologic history, geomorphology, and active sedimentary processes. These potential habitats, which lie primarily within the Shelf (continental shelf) but also partly within the Flank (basin flank or continental slope) megahabitats, primarily are composed of soft sediment interrupted by a few carbonate mounds. This homogeneous seafloor of sediment and low-relief bedrock provides promising habitat for groundfish, crabs, shrimp, and other marine benthic organisms.

California↗
USGS2015

Offshore geology and geomorphology from Point Piedras Blancas to Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo County, California

Marine geology and geomorphology were mapped along the continental shelf and upper slope between Point Piedras Blancas and Pismo Beach, California. The map area is divided into the following three (smaller) map areas, listed from north to south: San Simeon, Morro Bay, and Point San Luis. Each smaller map area consists of a geologic map and the corresponding geophysical data that support the geologic mapping. Each geophysical data sheet includes shaded-relief multibeam bathymetry, seismic-reflection-survey tracklines, and residual magnetic anomalies, as well as a smaller version of the geologic map for reference. Offshore geologic units were delineated on the basis of integrated analysis of adjacent onshore geology, seafloor-sediment and rock samples, multibeam bathymetry and backscatter imagery, magnetic data, and high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles. Although the geologic maps are presented here at 1:35,000 scale, map interpretation was conducted at scales of between 1:6,000 and 1:12,000. Sea level was approximately 120 to 130 m lower during the Last Glacial Maximum (about 21 ka). This approximate depth corresponds to the modern shelf break, a lateral change from the gently dipping (0.8° to 1.0°) outer shelf to the slightly more steeply dipping (about 1.5° to 2.5°) upper slope in the central and northern parts of the map area. South of Point San Luis in San Luis Bay, deltaic deposits offshore of the mouth of the Santa Maria River (11 km south of the map area) have prograded across the shelf break and now form a continuous low-angle (about 0.8°) ramp that extends to water depths of more than 160 m. The shelf break defines the landward boundary of slope deposits. North of Estero Bay, the shelf break is characterized by a distinctly sharp slope break that is mapped as a landslide headscarp above landslide deposits. Multibeam imagery and seismic-reflection profiles across this part of the shelf break show evidence of slope failure, such as slumping, sliding, and soft-sediment deformation, along the entire length of the scarp. Notably, this shelf-break scarp corresponds to a west splay of the Hosgri Fault that dies out just north of the scarp, suggesting that faulting is controlling the location (and instability) of the shelf break in this area.

California↗
USGS2020

Geomorphic map of western Whatcom County, Washington

Western Whatcom County has a rich history of glaciation, sea-level change, fluvial erosion and deposition, landsliding, nearby volcanic activity, and human landscape modification. This lidar-derived geomorphic map interprets this history from the form and position of the Earth’s surface. The geomorphic record is broken into nine phases, beginning with the peak of the Vashon stade of the Fraser glaciation of Armstrong and others (1965) (phase 1), shortly after 16,000 years ago. The Cordilleran ice sheet was ≥1.6 km thick in the Bellingham area. Glacial lineations on high ground demonstrate that ice flow was from north to south. Storage of water in ice sheets at this time resulted in global sea level ~120 m lower than at present. The weight of the ice sheet depressed the land so that local relative sea level was at least 150 m higher than at present. As the ice sheet melted and thinned, it floated, broke up, and was replaced by salt water. The margin of the ice sheet—or at least its grounding line—retreated to the northeast of the map area during or before phase 2. Marine deposition, currents, and waves smoothed earlier-formed surfaces in the western part of the map area. Global sea level rose (because of melting of continental ice sheets), but the Fraser Lowland rose even faster (due to glacio-isostatic rebound following the loss of ice-sheet load), and thus local relative sea level fell. The Cordilleran ice sheet readvanced during the Sumas stade of Armstrong and others (1965). Oldest Sumas moraines formed when relative sea level at Bellingham was ~55 m (phase 3). Younger moraines formed when relative sea level at Bellingham was ~25 m (phase 4). The amount of Sumas ice retreat and readvance between these times is unknown. Younger Sumas events are marked by local moraines, progressive isostatic rebound and lowering of relative sea level, and changes in the flow of ice-marginal water. During phase 5, the southeast margin of the ice sheet advanced, perhaps because capture of ice-marginal drainage by the Samish River (east and south of the map area) meant the ice sheet was no longer trimmed by high-discharge flow along Squalicum channel. Farther west and north, the ice margin retreated between phases 4 and 5. Phases 6 through 9 may mark stillstands during further ice retreat. There were glacial outburst floods (jökulhlaups) during phases 7 and 8, and perhaps during phase 5. When Sumas ice left the area, perhaps about 11,500 years ago, the Nooksack River appears to have discharged northeast through Sumas Valley to the Fraser River. Details of the switch to its modern course are speculative, but archaeological and sediment-supply arguments suggest that the modern Nooksack River delta south of Ferndale formed within the past 5,000 years. The foothills of the North Cascades are decorated with abundant post-glacial deep-seated landslides. Anomalously high late Holocene beaches are found at Birch Bay, Neptune Beach, perhaps at Maple Beach on the east side of Point Roberts, and perhaps at the northwest corner of the Lummi Peninsula. These beaches may have been uplifted by earthquakes that did not rupture the surface. The low-relief landscape shaped by the Cordilleran ice sheet, along with fluvial infilling of low areas, resulted in abundant wetland, at least 70 percent of which has been diked and (or) drained to control flooding and facilitate farming.

Washington↗
USGS2020

Geologic map of the greater Portland metropolitan area and surrounding region, Oregon and Washington

The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Metropolitan Area (metro area) has great scenic, natural, and cultural resources and is the major economic hub of Oregon. The metro area is subject to a variety of geologic hazards. Underthrusting of the oceanic plate along the Cascadia plate boundary fault, or megathrust, deforms the leading edge of North America and produces earthquakes on the megathrust and in the overlying plate. Rising magma from the deeper parts of the subduction zone produces active volcanoes that form the Cascades Arc, including Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens visible from Portland. Both volcanism and strong ground-shaking from earthquakes have impacted the metro area, most recently in the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens and the 1993 magnitude (M) 5.7 Scotts Mills earthquake. Great offshore earthquakes as large as M 9 on the Cascadia megathrust have shaken the metro area every 500 years or so, most recently in 1700. Giant floods have inundated the metro area, from the ice age Missoula floods about 20,000 to 15,000 years ago to the flood generated by collapse of the Bridge of the Gods landslide dam on the Columbia River around 1421–1447 A.D. Geologic resources of the metro area include the southern part of the Mist Natural Gas Storage Field in the northwest corner of the map area, the Columbia South Shore Well Field aquifer in the Portland Basin, the Columbia River Basalt aquifer of the Tualatin Basin, and the Tualatin Basin Aquifer Storage and Recovery projects. The metro area includes several well-known American Viticultural Areas in the western part of the map area and numerous transportation, electrical transmission, and pipeline corridors. We created this map to provide a uniform, modern geologic database for the greater Portland metro area to better understand its tectonic setting, active faults, volcanoes, landslide hazards, and distribution of geologic materials and resources. Information in this database will be used to improve seismic hazard and resource assessments in this economically important region. NOTE: The sheet 1 map was divided into two parts—sheet 1 (north) and sheet 1 (south)—to facilitate printing and plotting the map.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2024

Colored shaded relief bathymetry and acoustic backscatter of Ozette Lake, Washington

Offshore of the Pacific Northwest of the United States is the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a 1,000-kilometer-long tectonic boundary defined by a large fault, called a megathrust, that extends from the Mendocino Junction off northern California to the Nootka Fracture Zone off Vancouver Island, Canada (U.S. Geological Survey, 2023). The Juan de Fuca and Gorda oceanic plates to the west of this boundary subduct under the North America continental plate to the east. Several other smaller faults that cut through the North America plate crust also affect the region. Although their effects upon Ozette Lake are uncertain, geological evidence for past earthquakes, such as underwater landslides, may be found in Pacific Northwest lakes. Underwater landslides caused by past earthquakes should be well preserved in these relatively undisturbed lake environments. The floor of Ozette Lake, Washington, located along the Pacific coast of the United States, west of the Puget Sound region and about 140 kilometers east of the megathrust was mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey in July of 2019 to search for evidence of past earthquakes. Mapping was completed using a SWATHplus-M 234-kHz interferometric side scan sonar system pole-mounted on the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel San Lorenzo. The system collected full-coverage bathymetric and acoustic backscatter data that were processed to 2-meter spatial resolution (Dartnell and others, 2024). This two-map series displays the results of this mapping. A colored shaded relief bathymetry map (sheet 1) and an acoustic backscatter map (sheet 2) show the lake floor morphology and backscatter intensities, respectively, that can be analyzed for evidence of past earthquakes.

Washington↗