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Geology News
Oregon Current Events

Wildfires benefit forests in a number of ways, and help preserve healthy woodland ecosystems. OSU professor John Bailey would like to foster awareness of better forest fire mitigation practices.

“The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI), in partnership with Oregon Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, are enhancing and expanding tsunami preparedness for Oregon coastal communities with a new program called TsunamiReady, TsunamiPrepared.”

Related: What Causes a Tsunami?

Researchers at Oregon State University have made some unexpected discoveries about subsurface water movement in arid regions. The information may alter some long-accepted beliefs about the hydrologic cycle in some watershed systems.

The average height of exceptionally large waves off the U.S. West Coast is rising substantially – from about 25 feet two decades ago, to around 50 feet now. What kind of effect will this have on coastal erosion and flooding in the Pacific Northwest?

USGS Map

“This earthquake occurred approximately 35 km WNW of Ferndale, CA in a deformation zone of the southernmost Juan de Fuca plate that is commonly referred to as the Gorda plate. The earthquake’s epicenter is northwest of the Mendocino Triple Junction, which is formed by the intersection of the Mendocino fracture zone, the San Andreas fault and the Cascadia subduction zone.” Quoted from USGS.

Oregon State University has natural hazards data in an online GIS named the “Oregon Hazards Explorer”. It allows you to navigate the state with different layers turned on such as: landslide areas (shown below), 100 year flood boundaries, coastal erosion hazard areas, seismic hazards, wildfire risk areas and more.

A Google map of tsunami evacuation zones for the Oregon coast allows anyone to determine if they live or work in an area where special actions should be taken in the event of a strong earthquake. The website also provides tsunami safety advice for people who are in boats or buildings when a tsunami might occur. The map was a joint effort of the Oregon Department of Geology & Mineral Industries, Oregon Emergency Management and NOAA.

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries has published an interactive map that lets you view information on the location, temperature, and other features of thermal springs, wells and direct-use areas.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline and the Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal. The terminal will receive about 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day and the pipeline will transport the gas from the Coos Bay terminal to Malin, Oregon. The project will supply natural gas to underserved markets in the Pacific Northwest, northern California and northern Nevada.

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries has new landslide inventory maps for the Canby Quadrangle and a report on coastal erosion in Clatsop County.

They also have an article on “Seeing landslides with lidar“.

The books in the Roadside Geology series will help you learn about the geology of your favorite state. These books are great to take on a trip but they work even better if you use them in advance to plan your trip wisely.

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.