Reconnaissance Investigation of Sand, Gravel, and Quarried Bedrock Resources in the Toppenish 1 : 100,000 Quadrangle, Washington
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Reconnaissance Investigation of Sand, Gravel, and Quarried Bedrock Resources in the Toppenish 1 : 100,000 Quadrangle, Washington by Andrew B. Dunn WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES Information Circular 93 August 2001 WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENTOF Natural Resources Doug Sutherland - Commissioner of Public Lands DISCLAIMIER Neither the State of Washington, nor any agency thereof, nor any of their em ployees, ma1'es any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any informa tion, apparat'18, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or other wise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the State of Washington or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of ~uthors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the State of Washington or any agency thereof. WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Doug Sutherland-Commissioner ofPublic Lands DMSION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES Ronald F. Teissere-Acting State Geologist David K. Norman-Acting Assistant State Geologist This report is available from: Publications Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources P0Box47007 Olympia, WA 98504-7007 Phone: (360) 902-1450 Fax: (360) 902-1785 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.wa.gov/dnr/htdocs/ger/ ?.. Printed on recycled paper. ~.,- Printed in the United States of America ii Contents Introduction. 1 Background . 1 Intended audience . 1 Primary products . 1 Accuracy of estimates. 2 Threshold of significant resources . 2 Scope of deposits inventoried . 2 Previous aggregate reserve studies. 2 Geology of construction aggregates in the Toppenish quadrangle. 2 Sand and gravel geology . 2 Bedrock geology ............. 3 Aggregate mining and significant deposits. 5 Sand and gravel resources . 5 Yakima River alluvium and terrace deposits. 5 Ancestral Columbia River gravel . 5 Bedrock resources . 6 Columbia River Basalt Group . 6 Volume of aggregate. 6 Summary ..... 6 Acknowledgments . 7 References cited 7 APPENDICES Appendix 1. Glossary of mining-related terms . 8 Appendix 2. Methods . 10 Inventory philosophy . 10 Definition of significant resources . 10 Threshold criteria used in preparing this inventory . 10 Sources of data . 11 Appendix 3. Mine database . 12 Appendix 4. Outcrop database 16 Appendix 5. Well database . 18 Appendix 6. Geologic description of significant and ( or) historically mined units. 22 FIGURES Figure 1. Location of the Toppenish 1: 100,000 quadrangle . 1 Figure 2. Cross section of a typical Columbia River Basalt Group flow . 3 Figure 3. 0. L. Luther pit on Snipes Mountain .............. 5 TABLES Table 1. Some specifications for construction aggregate products . 2 Table 2. Most W ADNR-permitted sand and gravel pits in the Toppenish quadrangle. 4 Table 3. WADNR-permitted bedrock quarries in the Toppenish quadrangle. 4 Table 4. Summary of aggregate quality data . 5 Table 5. Classification of gravel and bedrock resources . I 0 PLATE Plate 1. Reconnaissance investigation of sand, gravel, and quarried bedrock resources in the Toppenish 1:100,000 quadrangle, Washington iii iv Reconnaissance Investigation of Sand, Gravel, and Quarried Bedrock Resources in the Toppenish 1:100,000 Quadrangle, Washington Andrew B. Dunn Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources PO Box 47007; Olympia, WA 98504-7007 INTRODUCTION 1. Databases containing the location, thickness, quality, and Background volume of some sand, gravel, and bedrock resources (Appen dices 3-5). During its 1998 session, the Washington State Legislature, act 2. A map showing the probable extent of bedrock (in pink) and ing on a recommendation from the Governor's Land Use Study gravel (in yellow) resources (Plate 1). Thickness contours Commission, asked the Washington Department of Natural Re (isopachs) are shown within those sand and gravel deposits sources (WADNR) to map gravel and bedrock resources that for which we have sufficient data. could be used for maintenance and construction of homes and 3. The location of active mines, borrow pits, some depleted infrastructure. The Study Commission sought this information mines, and large proposed mines (Plate 1). to assess the need to protect these resources from urban sprawl 4. Brief descriptions of geologic units known to contain aggre and other intensive land uses. These data would, in tum, result in gate resources (Appendix 6). better long-range planning and possible legislation to aid in des 5. A description of the geology and mining history of construc ignating mineral resource lands under the Growth Management tion aggregates in the Toppenish quadrangle (see text). Act (Revised Code of Washington [RCW] 36.70A; Lingley and Jazdzewski, 1994 ). A glossary of terms used in this report can be found in Ap Although the data are presented herein in the traditional text pendix 1, and a complete discussion of the methods used in this and map format, this report is part of a project to prepare a geo study can be found in Appendix 2. graphic information systems (GIS) database that delineates the locations of some of the significant construction aggregate re sources (sand, gravel, and bedrock) of Washington State. The digital version of this report, including Arclnfo 121· 120· coverages, is available through the Washington Division PIERCE/ of Geology and Earth Resources (see back oftitle page for co:--/,_ ---- address). ' GRANT The Toppenish 1: 100,000 quadrangle is located east of (";/ COUNTY the Cascade Range in south-central Washington from 46 --, to 46.5 degrees north latitude and 120 to 121 degrees west \ ... longitude (Fig. 1). Approximately ten percent of the quad rangle is in Klickitat County while the other ninety per cent is in Yakima County. The Yakama Indian Reserva tion, with a population of about 30,000, covers approxi mately 80 percent of the quadrangle (Yates and Yates, YAKIMA 2000, p. 262; Plate I). The population of the entire quad COUNTY rangle is about 75,000, with the largest population center at Sunnyside (population -13,000). Overall, the popula- tion of Klickitat County is about 19,000 and that of Yakima County is about 213,000 (Washington Office of Financial Management, 2000). Intended Audience 46° This inventory was created primarily for use by local gov ernment planners to help refine comprehensive plans and other zoning determinations. It will also aid legislators and other policy makers in assessing the importance of largely nonrenewable sand, gravel, and quarried bedrock resources. The study should also benefit engineers, trans portation departments, and industry. 10 20 mi 10 20 30 km Primary Products Figure 1. Location of the Toppenish 1: 100,000 This inventory includes the following products: quadrangle. 2 INFORMATION CIRCULAR 93 Accuracy of Estimates Table 1 . Some specifications for construction aggregate products (after Washington State Department of Transportation, 1999). Los Angeles Abrasion and Percent Passing U.S. No. We emph~size that this report almost cer 200 Sieve measurements are in weight percent. Los Angeles Abrasion and Degradation spec tainly overestimates the volume of construc ifications for coarse portland cement concrete aggregate are not rigorous because the gravel tion aggresate within the area inventoried in is seldom exposed on the outside of concrete structures, such as foundations or sidewalks the Toppenish quadrangle that is available under current market conditions, because of Product factors such as shallow bedrock under sur Crushed Coarse aggregate Ballast ficial gravels, diminishing rock quality with Asphalt- (road) surfacing, for portland (road depth, unIJ1apped areas of thick overburden, Laboratory test treated base top course cement concrete subgrade) and lateral geologic variation. Furthermore, Los Angeles Abrasion s30% ~35% ~35% ~40% history indicates that future drilling and mining are more likely to yield disappoint Washington Degradation e:15 e:25 not used e:15 ing results than to add significantly to hypo Sand Equivalent e:30% ~35% not used ~30% thetical aggregate reserves. Finally, a rise in Percent Passing U.S. 2-9% 0--7.5% 0--0.5% 0--9% the price of construction aggregate could No. 200 Sieve (<0.0025 in.) make some of today's subeconomic resour ces (such as clay-rich gravel deposits or rock buried under thick layers of overburden) man and others, 1998). Nevertheless, all Yakima River sand and commercially attractive in the future. gravel deposits meeting the threshold criteria are depicted in this report. Therefore, this inventory must be used with maps of en Threshold of Significant Resources vironmentally sensitive areas and land-use status in order to ob Because this study is primarily designed as an aid to land-use tain a complete picture of available aggregate within the quad planning, we inventoried only those resources deemed as signif rangle. icant to the long-term economic health of the region. Therefore, we restricted our investigation to those resources that meet the Previous Aggregate Reserve Studies following threshold criteria: Prior to this study, the only public assessments of aggregate re 1. The thickness of the sand and gravel or bedrock deposit ap serves in the Toppenish 1: 100,000 quadrangle were a study by pears to be in excess of 25 feet (7.5 m). Campbell