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Geology News
Oregon Current Events

The Fall 2009 issue of Oregon Geology features field trip guides and information about the new state geologic map…

* Field trip guide to the middle Eocene Wildcat Mountain caldera, Ochoco National Forest, Crook County, Oregon

* Field trip guide to the Oligocene Crooked River caldera: Central Oregon’s supervolcano, Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties, Oregon

* Field trip guide to the Neogene stratigraphy of the Lower Crooked Basin and the ancestral Crooked River, Crook County, Oregon

* Portland, Oregon, geology by tram, train, and foot

The Cascadia Subduction Zone parallels the Pacific coast of Oregon and has produced five massive earthquakes in the past 1400 years. This article explores the geology of these earthquakes and mitigation strategies.

The recently discovered “Supervolcano” near Prineville and Portland’s amazing geologic history are featured in the new 96-page issue of Oregon Geology Magazine, published by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

An article and video describe some of the landslide hazards in the Portland area and how these hazards will hamper expansion of the city.

More and more people are building homes next to natural or man-made water bodies. When nutrient levels and other conditions are right these lakes and canals can host heavy blooms of blue-green algae. These can result in objectionable odors and illness or death of people and animals that come in contact with the algae. A growing number of states now have programs to monitor the problem and educate. This program at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is an example. Here is another at the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Scott Kleine of Great Basin Minerals shares a few photos from his visit to a working gold trommel at a location near Sumpter, Oregon.

Related: Uses of Gold.

Earth Observatory has an interesting satellite image of Mount Hood showing the mountain, glaciers and volcanic deposits produced by lahars and pyroclastic flows.

Stormwater runoff and sewage contaminate many US beaches. A study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council sampled, tested and rated 200 of the most popular beaches in the United States – both ocean and freshwater beaches were included in the study. Some of them had consistently high water quality and some had consistently low. You can view the report and a listing of the beaches on their website.

USGS has released Open File Report 2009-1140: “Evaluation of Hazardous Faults in the Intermountain West Region”. “This region contains thousands of faults that have moved in Cenozoic time, hundreds of which have evidence of Quaternary movement, and thus are considered to be potential seismic sources.”

The U.S. Global Change Research Program released a report that explains how climate change might impact Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Western Montana. Wildfires, stressed water supplies, sea-level rise and stress on fish species are a few of the featured problems.

Raven Maps are the most beautiful state wall maps that I have ever seen. They show the elevation and relief of a complete state through a skillful use of vibrant colors and topographic shading. Maps are available for individual states, the Conterminous United States, North America, Mexico and the world.

Learn about the geology of your favorite state as seen along the highway. This series of books by Mountain Press are filled with maps, photos, park locations and detailed descriptions. Get one before your next trip.

Human activities are having a noticeable effect on ocean waters off the United States West Coast. Scientists have been collecting data for two years now to see which areas have changed the most, and how. Their results are presented in the form of an impact score map.

One of the “frequently asked questions” posted on the USGS website is: “Where can I climb a volcano?” They list over 20 volcanoes that you can climb in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.

The-Vug.com has a comprehensive listing of mineral and lapidary clubs from across the United States. It could be the most complete and up-to-date listing on the web. Included are hundreds of clubs and organizations located in all 50 states.

The-Vug.com has a list of mineral shows being held across the United States in late May and June. Included are shows in Virginia, Nebraska, Montana, Ohio, California, Colorado, Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Connecticut, Oregon, Indiana and other states.

If you are interested in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon, the National Park Service website is a good place to visit. The site has a nice interactive Adobe Flash feature which provides a wealth of information.

There is a possibility that a large earthquake off Oregon could generate a devastating tsunami. People living near the coast should have a plan in case of emergency. This article includes two videos.

President Obama signed legislation that will protect about 2 million acres in nine states (California, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, New Mexico and Michigan) from oil and gas drilling and certain other activities.

“The solar jobs map was created through a collaboration between SEREF, Google, and Navigant Consulting Inc. The map was designed to serve as a tool to help users visualize and understand how current, supportive government policies for solar energy are expected to generate more than 440,000 green jobs and tens of thousands of megawatts of clean energy across the nation by the year 2016.” Quoted from SEREF’s website.

Oregon State University has a novel approach for renewable energy. Some exercise machines in the gym have been modified to generate power for the school as students use them for exercise. The school gets about 75% of its electricity from renewable sources.

NASA’s Terra satellite has captured an interesting image pair of the Pacific Northwest and Canada. One shows a natural-color view, while the false-color image reveals a sharp contrast between snow and fog in the area.

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries has a geothermal information layer on their website. Here’s a quote from their website and a sample of the map. “The interactive Geothermal Information Layer for Oregon map lets you view information on location, temperature, and other features of thermal springs and wells (geothermal exploration, geothermal test, and water wells) as well as known geothermal resource areas and direct-use areas.”

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Resources has an interesting .pdf document on their website that describes a 9.0 earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Here is a quote…. “Scientific research in Oregon, Washington and Japan tells us that at 9:00 PM on January 26th, 1700 AD, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, centered about 75 miles offshore, ruptured along a 600 mile long fault, running from Northern California to Southern British Columbia, causing untold damage and destruction to the Pacific Northwest coast and the Native American tribal communities that made the coast their home.”

The town of Maupin, Oregon is located about 30 miles east of Mount Hood. Over the past two years over 300 small earthquakes (mostly less than magnitude 3) have been recorded near the town. This article explores the possible causes of these earthquakes.

The Willamette, a large river associated with 70 percent of the population of Oregon, is getting cleaner in regard to some persistent toxic pollutants that are a legacy of past management practices. A 257-mile portion of the Columbia River between Umatilla, Oregon, and Skamokawa, Washington, is also showing a similar trend.

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries has a .pdf slide show about the Woodson Debris Flow posted on the OregonGeology.com website.

It is good to see state agencies sharing their presentation materials with the general public via the internet.

USGS has a new map titled Geologic Map of Mount Mazama and Crater Lake Caldera, Oregon. This is one of the most spectacular areas on the planet where Crater Lake occupies a large caldera formed by a volcanic blast about 7700 years ago. Crater Lake is also one of the deepest lakes in the world.

A man in Oregon could not believe his eyes when he saw a six-foot long lizard crawling in the bushes by his house. Over an hour later a brave reptile expert went into the crawl space under the house to drag the lizard out. See the video.

This has very little to do with geology, but you might want to know a little trivia about a critter with a name like “geoduck” (pronounced “gooey duck”). They are a large marine clam, native to the northwest coast of the United States.

A news article on The News Tribune website says that about 900,000 geoducks are being harvested, mainly to be sold to Asian consumers.