WASHINGTON VOL. 29, NO. 3/4 DECEMBER 2001 RESOURCES GEOLOGY NATURAL IN THIS ISSUE z A division in transition, p. 2 z 1998 debris flows near the Yakima River, p. 3 z Dating the Bonneville landslide with lichenometry, p. 11 z Skolithos in a quartzite cobble from Lopez Island, p. 17 z Port Townsend’s marine science center expands, p. 20 z Earth Connections, p. 22 z Get your geology license now—Don’t procrastinate, p. 24 WASHINGTON A Division in Transition GEOLOGY Ronald F. Teissere, State Geologist Vol. 29, No. 3/4 Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources December 2001 PO Box 47007; Olympia, WA 98504-7007 Washington Geology (ISSN 1058-2134) is published four times a year in print and on the web by the Washington State Department of Natural y introductory column as the State Geologist focuses on Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources. Subscriptions are Mtransition. The new management team of the Division of free upon request. The Division also publishes bulletins, information cir- Geology and Earth Resources is described elsewhere in this is- culars, reports of investigations, geologic maps, and open-file reports. A sue. The Division is facing significant challenges and opportu- publications list is posted on our website or will be sent upon request. nities because of changing circumstances on two fronts: fund- ing and technology. The decade of the 1990s was a period of DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES exceptional economic growth. During the same period, fund- Ronald F. Teissere, State Geologist ing for the natural resource agencies in Washington from the David K. Norman, Assistant State Geologist state general fund declined from approximately 2.6 cents of ev- ery general fund dollar to less than 1.3 cents. Current fiscal Geologists (Olympia) Senior Librarian projections for the near-term do not bode well for reversing Matt Brookshier Connie J. Manson Joe D. Dragovich this trend. In addition, at the beginning of the last decade most Library Information of the division’s products and publications were printed and Chris Johnson Specialist William S. Lingley, Jr. Lee Walkling distributed as they have been for most of the 20th century. Now Robert L. (Josh) Logan Editor many of our customers, especially other government agencies, Sammantha Magsino academic institutions, and technically sophisticated private Stephen P. Palmer Jaretta M. (Jari) Roloff Michael Polenz Assistant Editor sector organizations, want these products in digital formats for Patrick T. Pringle Karen D. Meyers immediate incorporation into their electronic systems. Henry W. (Hank) Schasse Senior Cartographer/ For the near-term, the division will focus its efforts on ac- Timothy J. Walsh GIS Specialist tivities that enhance public safety, promote effective and effi- Karl W. Wegmann Chuck Caruthers J. Eric Schuster (part-time) cient use of mineral resources in ways that minimize environ- Lea Gilbertson (temporary) Cartographers mental impacts, and provide information on the earth sciences Fritz Wolff (temporary) Keith G. Ikerd and the geology of Washington to educators and the public. We Jennifer Glenn (intern) Anne Heinitz may see some negative adjustments to our fiscal year 2003 Weldon W. Rau (emeritus) Donald T. (Mac) McKay, Jr. (temporary) budget, and some continuing budget challenges for at least the Geologists (Spokane) subsequent two fiscal years. As a result, we will be looking for Robert E. Derkey Office Support Supervisor Michael M. Hamilton (volunteer) Janis G. Allen ways to reduce costs, especially non-staff costs. Ideas include moving more publications to electronic distribution as a way to Geologists (Regions) Regulatory Programs Garth Anderson (Northwest) Assistants reduce printing costs. The Division will be looking closely at Charles W. (Chuck) Gulick Mary Ann Shawver opportunities to obtain outside grant funds to help us achieve (Northeast) Hoa Lee our goals. Opportunities may include additional mapping of Cindy Preston vacant (Southwest) earthquake and landslide hazards in western Washington and Lorraine Powell (Southeast) Clerical Staff Carol Serdar (Central) Diane Frederickson the development of statewide earthquake hazard maps based Tara Salzer on our existing 1:100,000 geologic maps to support a statewide hazard mitigation map. We will continue to participate in the MAIN OFFICE FIELD OFFICE federal–state cooperative geologic mapping program to the Department of Natural Resources Department of Natural Resources full extent possible with our general fund budget. Division of Geology Division of Geology and Earth Resources and Earth Resources Longer term, we will be evaluating more effective ways to PO Box 47007 904 W. Riverside, Room 215 use technology to collect, process, compile, and publish geo- Olympia, WA 98504-7007 Spokane, WA 99201-1011 logic information, to make available more printing-on- Phone: (360) 902-1450 Phone: (509) 456-3255 demand, to use remote sensing technology for some regulatory Fax: (360) 902-1785 Fax: (509) 456-6115 compliance activities, and to improve our use of electronic E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] technology to respond to public inquiries. Our overall goal of (See map on inside back cover Conclusions and opinions pre- providing the public with up-to-date information on the geol- for main office location.) sented in articles are those of the ogy, geologic hazards, and mineral resources of Washington Publications are available from authors and are not necessarily en- remains. We also continue to look to our customers for their the Olympia address only. dorsed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. opinions on how we can best meet their needs. The pace of Library inquiries: transition will not permit us to stand still. n [email protected] Copying and reprinting of articles [email protected] is encouraged (just acknowledge Washington Geology and the au- Cover photo is Mount Rainier looming over the Wilkes Heritage Flotilla in Subscriptions/address changes: thors as the source), unless it says Budd Inlet near Olympia, Washington. Harry Halverson took the picture [email protected] ‘copyrighted’, ‘used by permis- from a neighbor’s porch on Sept. 20, 1987. The flotilla commemorates the Editorial inquiries: sion’, or ‘courtesy of’. Then you first American maritime exploration around the world by U.S. Navy Com- [email protected] need permission to use it. mander Charles Wilkes, who left Norfolk, Virginia, in 1838 to explore the South Seas and the west coast of North America. His expedition sailed into Digital cartography inquiries: Printed on recycled paper. Puget Sound in 1841 and returned to Norfolk via the Cape of Good Hope in [email protected] Printed in the U.S.A. 1842. This photo was on bank calendars and on Harry’s business card. See Website: http://www.wa.gov/dnr/htdocs/ger/ Harry’s obituary on p. 26. Photo courtesy of Halverson Fine Photos. 2 Washington Geology, vol. 29, no. 3/4, December 2001 1998 Debris Flows near the Yakima River, Kittitas County, Washington—Some Geomorphic Implications Martin R. Kaatz, Professor Emeritus Department of Geography and Land Studies Central Washington University; Ellensburg, WA 98926 e-mail: [email protected] INTRODUCTION debris flows in sculpting Washington landscapes has not been The geomorphic consequences of debris flows and their asso- generally recognized compared to other processes. Arid and ciated storms have been documented in many parts of the semi-arid regions are particularly vulnerable to debris flows United States. Few, if any, have been studied and documented triggered by sudden intense thunderstorms. Most such areas in central Washington (Fig. 1). The importance of recurrent are sparsely populated and eyewitnesses are uncommon. By contrast, semi-arid central Washington is relatively well popu- lated, and there are likely to be people who have observed the 47° ¢ 120°30 storms. Such witnesses can help provide a better understanding Ellensburg 650A of the role played by these storms in molding the landscape. Yakima 90 What follows is an example. 0 1 2mi 82 Figure 1. A. Map of the area between Ellensburg and Yakima within River 0 1 2 3km 500 which the storm and most of the debris-flow damage occurred. B. Its contour interval 50 m 750 location within the state of Washing- ton. C. A close-up of the study area. Thrall Canal 500 Figure locations are shown with ar- B 750 Irrigation rows indicating the direction of view. Cascade C Badger Pocket MP, milepost. Dashed outline approx- imates the boundary of the stagnated MANASTASH500 YAKIMA Vanderbilt storm cell. Numbers are damage Gap sites mentioned in the text. 750 750 RIDGE 950 1 C 2 750 1000 MP23 500 0 1mi 750 500 MANASTASH82 RIDGE 500 CANYON 0 1km 500 750 Yakima KITTITAS CO. 750 MP21 750 MP20 3 Fig. 3 750 Vanderbilt 500 Gap 500 Beavertail Fig. 5 ¢ 82 750 Bend 46°45 750 MP 19 YAKIMA CO. 750 River 700 750 500 tributary 500 Fig. 9 500 821 821 Canyon 750 500 1000 Santa Fe – UMTANUM RIDGE 750 western McPherson Railroad Fig. 2 confluence 500 Burlington Fig. 6 MP14 Fig. 8 12 500 500 Fig. 4 Yakima Fig. 7 Washington Geology, vol. 29, no. 3/4, December 2001 3 AC B Figure 2. A. Imbricated rock in debris channel in lower McPherson Canyon. Note the size of the material en- trained. B. Perched boulders a short distance down- stream from A. C. Upended slab left by waning flow. (Fig. 1C, no. 1), and fruit was hail-damaged in sev- eral others. Had the hail been rain, it would have added measurably to erosion. Winds in excess of 21 mph were recorded on an agricultural anemome- THE STORM ter 6.5 feet (2.1 m) above ground level. Between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. on July 3, 1998, a severe thunder- When the storm lifted, it left the remainder of the upland storm from the west-northwest stalled intermittently over part surface rainless from about 1 mile south of the Manastash of southeastern Kittitas County, Washington (Fig.