Geology News
Washington Current Events

The Fish and Wildlife Service has an article about how they moved a small population of endangered Columbian white-tailed deer from Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge (both sites in Washington).

They needed a helicopter to get some of the deer out.

Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.

When Did Plate Tectonics Begin?

Large Impact on the Moon

Mount St. Helens – 33 Years

Fee Mining Sites

Popocatepetl Eruption

History of the Prime Meridian

The Orphan Tsunami of 1700

Since 1972 the “Roadside Geology” series has provided introductory information on the geology of states and small regions of the United States.

The books provide a combination of maps, travel logs, photos and commentary for the geology that can be seen along highways or visited at parks and public viewing areas. They are popular with geologists, teachers, students and others who are interested in the Earth.

Geology.com and RockTumbler.com are both GeoShops.com websites.

Lots of people enjoy going to fee mining sites where you can prospect inactive surface mines, mine tailings, soil, sediments or outcrops and keep any rocks, gems, minerals or fossils that you find. Examples include: Herkimer Diamond Mines where you can search for doubly-terminated quartz crystals, and Crater of Diamonds where you might be lucky enough to find a real diamond.

“Mount St. Helens seized the world’s attention in 1980 when the largest historical landslide on Earth and a powerful explosive eruption reshaped the volcano, created its distinctive crater, and dramatically modified the surrounding landscape.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet titled…. Mount St. Helens, 1980 to Now—What’s Going On?

You have probably heard of the Richter Scale for measuring earthquakes, the Saffir-Simpson Scale for hurricanes and the Fujita Scale for tornadoes. The Volcanic Explosivity Index is used to compare the size of explosive volcanic eruptions.

A passenger train in Washington was hit by a landslide. Although several cars were derailed, they remained upright and no one was injured.

The Washington Department of Natural Resources is reporting on the Whidbey Island landslide. They have links to photo collections, official report, the best “before/after” image pair we have seen, geologic map and more.

A large landslide on Washington’s Whidbey Island has destroyed one home and threatens several others.

Dave Petley has several photos and comments about the landslide on Whidbey Island.

A collection of some of the most interesting photos of volcanic eruptions that we have seen from USGS, NASA and NOAA.

The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps; large enough make a huge 8′ x 5′ (or 5′ x 8′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool.

We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.

A landslide near Seattle, Washington derailed a freight train on Monday. This Associated Press video shows the impact and aftermath.

Petrified Forest National Park is the most famous location in the world for observing petrified wood. It is one of several government and private parks in the United States that feature petrified wood.

Inaccurate News Reports about Newberry Caldera and Salton Buttes

Life Beneath the Seafloor

Not Caused by Fracking

Rare Earth Elements in Arizona?

Stolen Petroglyphs

Dispute: Natural Gas Under Natural Gas Storage Fields

Volcano Movies

Impact of the Toba Eruption

Spectacular Stream Potholes

The Granites of Yosemite National Park

Ancient Tsunami in Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Glacial Change on Mount Baker, Washington

Wisconsin’s Volcanic Past

An article in the Bellingham Herald explores glacial change on Mount Baker, Washington. A pair of photos document how the glaciers have retreated.

Did you know that about 85% of the electricity production in the state of Washington is at hydroelectric plants?

“The importance of hydropower as a source of electricity generation varies by geographic region. While hydropower accounted for 8% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2011, it provided over half of the electricity in the Pacific Northwest. Because hydroelectric generation relies on precipitation, it varies widely from month to month and year to year.” Quoted from the Energy Information Administration article.

“Now researchers have another tool for observing fires around the world. The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (S-NPP) carries an instrument so sensitive to low light levels that it can detect wildfires in the middle of the night.” Quoted from the NASA Earth Observatory image release.

“The subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath North America changes markedly along the length of the subduction zone, notably in the angle of subduction, distribution of earthquakes, volcanism, geologic and seismic structure of the upper plate, and regional horizontal stress.” Quoted from the USGS article.

“A comprehensive analysis of the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Pacific Northwest coast confirms that the region has had numerous earthquakes over the past 10,000 years, and suggests that the southern Oregon coast may be most vulnerable based on recurrence frequency.” Quoted from the Oregon State University press release.

“The United States has 169 active volcanoes. More than half of them could erupt explosively, sending ash up to 20,000 or 30,000 feet where commercial air traffic flies. USGS scientists are working to improve our understanding of volcano hazards to help protect communities and reduce the risks.” Quoted from the USGS video release.

About 1000 years ago the Seattle Fault Zone produced an earthquake of about magnitude 7. University of Washington graduate student, Beth Arcos, is examining field evidence of a large tsunami associated with that earthquake.

“Using forensic-style chemical analysis, Dr Kate Saunders and colleagues directly linked seismic observations of the deadly 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption to crystal growth within the magma chamber, the large underground pool of liquid rock beneath the volcano.” Quoted from the University of Briston press release.

Mud, rocks and trees flowed over State Route 410 west of Yakima, Washington. The Department of Transportation first called the event a landslide but decided later that it was a washout. See photo.

An article on the OurAmazingPlanet.com website discusses the discovery of three potentially dangerous faults in the Bellingham Basin of Washington.

Over two years ago a large landslide covered a quarter mile of Washington State Route 410. Now the state plans to end the detours and build a new section of Route 410 around the landslide debris.

“The importance of hydropower as a source of electricity generation varies by geographic region. While hydropower accounted for 6% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2010, it provided over half of the electricity in the Pacific Northwest.” Quote from the Energy Information Administration article.