DOCSLIB.ORG

Splay-Fault Origin for the Yakima Fold-And-Thrust Belt, Washington State 2 3 Thomas L

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Splay-Fault Origin for the Yakima Fold-And-Thrust Belt, Washington State 2 3 Thomas L 1 Splay-fault origin for the Yakima fold-and-thrust belt, Washington State 2 3 Thomas L. Pratt, United States Geological Survey, School of Oceanography, Box 357940, 4 University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98115 5 6 ABSTRACT 7 The Yakima fold-and-thrust belt (YFTB) is a set of anticlines above reverse faults in the 8 Miocene Columbia River Basalt (CRB) flows of Washington State. The YFTB is bisected by the 9 ~1100-km-long Olympic-Wallowa geomorphic lineament (OWL). There is considerable debate 10 about the origin and earthquake potential of the YFTB and OWL, which lie near six major dams 11 and a large nuclear waste storage site. Here I show that the trends of the YFTB anticlines relative 12 to the OWL match remarkably well the trends of the principal stresses determined from Linear 13 Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) modeling of the end of a vertical strike-slip fault. From this 14 comparison and the termination of some YFTB anticlines at the OWL, I argue that the YFTB 15 formed as splay faults caused by an abrupt decrease in the amount of strike-slip motion along the 16 OWL. If this hypothesis is correct, the OWL and YFTB are likely interconnected, deeply-rooted 17 structures capable of large earthquakes. 18 19 20 INTRODUCTION 21 The Yakima fold and thrust belt (YFTB) of central Washington State is a set of 22 prominent anticlines in the Miocene Columbia River Basalt flows (CRB; figure 1). The YFTB 23 anticlines form three distinct sets (Riedel et al., 1989 and 1994; Watters, 1989). The Frenchman 24 Hills, Saddle Mountains (Riedel, 1984; West et al., 1996) and east part of Umtanum Ridge 25 (Gable Mountain) in the northeast YFTB are west-trending anticlines above south-dipping 26 reverse faults. To the south the Columbia Hills, Horse Heaven Hills, Ahtanum, Yakima and 27 Toppenish Ridges (Campbell and Bentley, 1981) form a fan-shaped pattern of southwest- to 28 west-trending ridges. In the northwest, Manastash, Umtanum and part of Yakima Ridge (Price 29 and Watkinson, 1989) trend northwest. YFTB structures are growing under N-S or NNE-SSW 30 compression (Hooper and Conrey, 1989; Reidel et al., 1994; McCaffrey et al., 2007), but their 31 variety of trends suggests that they developed in a more complex stress field. 1 32 The Olympic-Wallowa Lineament (OWL) is a northwest-trending, ~1100-km-long 33 alignment of topographic and structural features that cuts through the YFTB (figure 1; Raisz, 34 1945). In the YFTB 1 the OWL includes the Wallula fault zone (Mann and Meyer, 1993; Riedel 35 and Tolan, 1994; Mann, 1994) and the fault-bounded Manastash and Umtanum ridges. The OWL 36 has been interpreted as the northernmost strike-slip “megashear” bounding Basin and Range 37 extension (Hooper and Conrey, 1989; Mann and Meyer, 1993), but geologic evidence for 38 substantial strike-slip motion is hotly debated (Reidel and Tolan, 1994; Mann, 1994; Reidel et 39 al., 1989 and 1994; Hutter et al., 1994). The OWL itself extends across the Cascade Range 40 (Raisz, 1945; figure 1), possibly as a system of active faults (Blakely et al., 2011). 41 The YFTB clearly is related to the OWL. First, the northwest YFTB ridges form part of 42 the OWL. Second, the markedly (~25°) different YFTB trends on each side of the OWL show 43 that it influenced their formation. Third, the Columbia Hills and Horse Heaven Hills anticlines 44 terminate against the south side of the Wallula fault portion of the OWL. Formation of these two 45 anticlines required substantial (kms?) shortening south of the OWL, and the lack of comparable 46 shortening on the north side requires strike-slip motion along the Wallula fault (figure 1). 47 Their earthquake potential makes the origins of the YFTB and OWL more than just 48 academic questions. Within or near the YFTB on the Columbia and Snake Rivers are six major 49 dams. Adjacent to the OWL and within the YFTB is the Hanford nuclear site, with 56 million 50 gallons of liquid radioactive and chemical waste on site (DOE, 1996). Seismic hazard analyses 51 assume maximum earthquake magnitudes of 6.4 or less if the YFTB faults are assumed to be 52 restricted to the ~4-km-thick CRB (“thin-skinned” or “decoupled” models), but reach 53 magnitudes of 6.5 to 7.9 if the faults penetrate deep the CRB (“thick-skinned” or “coupled” 54 models) (Geomatrix Consultants, 1996). 55 Here I use computer models to show that the trends of the YFTB anticlines in relation to 56 the OWL match remarkably well the orientations of stress trajectories near the ends of vertical 57 strike-slip faults as computed using Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) methods 58 (Fletcher and Pollard, 1981; Rispoli, 1981; Willemse and Pollard, 1998; Kattenhorn and 59 Marshall, 2006; Kim and Sanderson, 2006). The models suggest that the YFTB anticlines formed 60 as splay faults caused by diminishing strike-slip motion on the OWL in the Miocene, and the 61 YFTB faults remain the easiest path for slip despite the modern stress field being rotated slightly 1 (also known in the YFTB area as the Cle Elum-Wallula Lineament [CLEW]) 2 62 since the Miocene. Although some strike-slip motion on the OWL clearly continued to the 63 northwest (Blakely et al., 2011), I hypothesize that a substantial amount of slip on the OWL 64 terminated within the YFTB, where it was absorbed to form the anticlines. 65 66 67 COMPARISON OF MODEL STRESS TRAJECTORIES AND THE YFTB 68 I used a 3-dimensional boundary element code (Gomberg and Ellis, 1993) to model stress 69 trajectories at the tip of a 400-km-long, vertical strike-slip fault assuming LEFM behavior 70 (Figure 2; Pollard and Segall, 1987). The model simulates an abrupt decrease in the amount of 71 displacement along the OWL near Rattlesnake Mountain at the center of the YFTB. The fault in 72 the model was a stress-free surface divided into 80 segments to accommodate decreasing slip at 73 the fault ends. The stress-free condition assumes that faults are weak enough to relieve long-term 74 crustal strains. To determine the stress trajectories, I modeled about 9 m of dextral strike-slip 75 fault motion driven by a uniaxial remote stress oriented at 45° to the fault. This displacement 76 simulates a large earthquake and the resulting stress orientations. The model fault extended to 40 77 km depth, which is the approximate depth to Moho beneath the Columbia basin (Gao et al., 78 2011; Yang et al., 2008). The fault below seismogenic depths is assumed to be a ductile shear 79 zone. 80 The model shows that preferred fault trends distant from the main strike-slip fault are 81 nearly perpendicular (contractional) and parallel (extensional) to the regional stress direction 82 (figure 2). Near the fault tip the stress field rotates so that the maximum compressive stress is at 83 a large angle to the fault in the compressional quadrant and at a small angle in the extensional 84 quadrant. The compressional quadrant is an area of uplift and the extensional quadrant is an area 85 of subsidence. 86 There are remarkable similarities between the trends of the model stress trajectories and 87 the trends of the YFTB ridges northeast and southwest of the OWL (figure 2). I rotated the 88 model so the fault overlays the OWL, resulting in a direction of maximum compression (N9°W) 89 that is consistent with the NNW-SSE principal stress direction inferred for the early Miocene 90 YFTB from dike orientations (Hooper and Conrey, 1989). The Columbia and Horse Heaven 91 Hills south of the OWL are parallel to the model’s stress trajectories, and they terminate against 92 the OWL at angles close to the 70.5° predicted by fracture mechanics. Portions of Toppenish, 3 93 Ahtanum and Yakima Ridges likewise are parallel to the model stress trajectories. The 94 Frenchman Hills, Saddle Mountains, and Gable Mountain anticlines north of the OWL strike 95 nearly perpendicular to the model’s principal compressive stress direction. The north-trending 96 stretch of the Columbia River north of Rattlesnake Mountain is parallel to the predicted strike 97 direction for extensional fractures, suggesting that the fault inferred along the river (Reidel, 98 1984) may have normal motion. 99 The contrast in elevations on opposite sides of the OWL also is consistent with the model 100 (figure 2). Rattlesnake Mountain has some of the highest elevations in the area and an elongate 101 shape similar to that of the model’s uplift area. Southeast of Rattlesnake Mountain, uplift south 102 of the OWL between 8 and 6 Ma forced the Columbia River southeast to Wallula Gap (Reidel et 103 al. 1994), where the model predicts decreasing amounts of uplift. The Pasco Basin on the north 104 side of the OWL has been a locus of subsidence since the Miocene, and the approximate 105 dimensions of the basin are similar to that predicted by the fault termination model (figure 2; 106 Reidel et al., 1989 and 1994). 107 Umtanum and Manastash Ridges in the northwest part of the YFTB are also consistent 108 with formation near a fault tip, but they lie in the quadrant dominated by shear stresses and 109 strike-slip branch faults (figure 2; Kim and Sanderson, 2006). Both ridges form part of the OWL 110 and are bounded by reverse or oblique-slip faults that are nearly parallel to the orientation of 111 maximum shearing in the model. The Saddle Mountains and Frenchman Hills also change trend 112 to run parallel to the direction of maximum shearing west of the Columbia River.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Slip Rate of the Western Garlock Fault, at Clark Wash, Near Lone Tree Canyon, Mojave Desert, California
    Slip rate of the western Garlock fault, at Clark Wash, near Lone Tree Canyon, Mojave Desert, California Sally F. McGill1†, Stephen G. Wells2, Sarah K. Fortner3*, Heidi Anderson Kuzma1**, John D. McGill4 1Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, California 92407-2397, USA 2Desert Research Institute, PO Box 60220, Reno, Nevada 89506-0220, USA 3Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1215 W Dayton St., Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA 4Department of Physics, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, California 92407-2397, USA *Now at School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, 275 Mendenhall Laboratory, 125 S. Oval Mall, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA **Now at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 760 Davis Hall, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720-1710, USA ABSTRACT than rates inferred from geodetic data. The ously published slip-rate estimates from a simi- high rate of motion on the western Garlock lar time period along the central section of the The precise tectonic role of the left-lateral fault is most consistent with a model in which fault (Clark and Lajoie, 1974; McGill and Sieh, Garlock fault in southern California has the western Garlock fault acts as a conju- 1993). This allows us to assess how the slip rate been controversial. Three proposed tectonic gate shear to the San Andreas fault. Other changes as a function of distance along strike. models yield signifi cantly different predic- mechanisms, involving extension north of the Our results also fi ll an important temporal niche tions for the slip rate, history, orientation, Garlock fault and block rotation at the east- between slip rates estimated at geodetic time and total bedrock offset as a function of dis- ern end of the fault may be relevant to the scales (past decade or two) and fault motions tance along strike.
    [Show full text]
  • Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources Open File Report
    RECONNAISSANCE SURFICIAL GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF THE LATE CENOZOIC SEDIMENTS OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN, WASHINGTON by James G. Rigby and Kurt Othberg with contributions from Newell Campbell Larry Hanson Eugene Kiver Dale Stradling Gary Webster Open File Report 79-3 September 1979 State of Washington Department of Natural Resources Division of Geology and Earth Resources Olympia, Washington CONTENTS Introduction Objectives Study Area Regional Setting 1 Mapping Procedure 4 Sample Collection 8 Description of Map Units 8 Pre-Miocene Rocks 8 Columbia River Basalt, Yakima Basalt Subgroup 9 Ellensburg Formation 9 Gravels of the Ancestral Columbia River 13 Ringold Formation 15 Thorp Gravel 17 Gravel of Terrace Remnants 19 Tieton Andesite 23 Palouse Formation and Other Loess Deposits 23 Glacial Deposits 25 Catastrophic Flood Deposits 28 Background and previous work 30 Description and interpretation of flood deposits 35 Distinctive geomorphic features 38 Terraces and other features of undetermined origin 40 Post-Pleistocene Deposits 43 Landslide Deposits 44 Alluvium 45 Alluvial Fan Deposits 45 Older Alluvial Fan Deposits 45 Colluvium 46 Sand Dunes 46 Mirna Mounds and Other Periglacial(?) Patterned Ground 47 Structural Geology 48 Southwest Quadrant 48 Toppenish Ridge 49 Ah tanum Ridge 52 Horse Heaven Hills 52 East Selah Fault 53 Northern Saddle Mountains and Smyrna Bench 54 Selah Butte Area 57 Miscellaneous Areas 58 Northwest Quadrant 58 Kittitas Valley 58 Beebe Terrace Disturbance 59 Winesap Lineament 60 Northeast Quadrant 60 Southeast Quadrant 61 Recommendations 62 Stratigraphy 62 Structure 63 Summary 64 References Cited 66 Appendix A - Tephrochronology and identification of collected datable materials 82 Appendix B - Description of field mapping units 88 Northeast Quadrant 89 Northwest Quadrant 90 Southwest Quadrant 91 Southeast Quadrant 92 ii ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Horse Heaven Hills, OR135-02
    Year 2009 Inventory Unit Number/Name: Horse Heaven Hills, OR135-02 FORM I DOCUMENTATION OF BLM WILDERNESS INVENTORY FINDINGS ON RECORD: 1. Is there existing BLM wilderness inventory information on all or part of this area? No X (Go to Form 2) Yes (if more than one unit is within the area, list the names/numbers ofthose units.): a) Inventory Source:--------­ b) Inventory Unit Name(s)INumber(s): _________ c) Map Name(s)INumber(s):_________ d) BLM District(s)/Field Office(s): ________ 2. BLM Inventory Findings on Record: Existing inventory information regarding wilderness characteristics (if more than one BLM inventory unit is associated with the area, list each unit and answer each question individually for each inventory unit): 1 Existing inventory information regarding wilderness characteristics : Inventory Source: ______________ Unit#/ Size Natural Outstanding Outstanding Supplemental Name (historic Condition? Solitude? Primitive & Values? acres) YIN YIN Unconfined YIN Recreation? YIN FORM2 Use additional pages as necessary DOCUMENTATION OF CURRENT WILDERNESS INVENTORY CONDITIONS a. Unit Number/Name: Horse Heaven Hills, OR135-02 (1) Is the unit of sufficient size? Yes ____ No_~x~-- The lands are approximately 6,557 acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Spokane District, Border Field Office. The lands are located in Benton County, Washington and are approximately 1 mile south ofthe community of Benton City. The public lands are adjacent to several small parcels of lands owned by the State of Washington. The remainder of the boundary is private land parcels. There are no private lands in-holdings. The lands are broken in smaller subunits by the roads and the powerline.
    [Show full text]
  • Periodically Spaced Anticlines of the Columbia Plateau
    Geological Society of America Special Paper 239 1989 Periodically spaced anticlines of the Columbia Plateau Thomas R. Watters Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 20560 ABSTRACT Deformation of the continental flood-basalt in the westernmost portion of the Columbia Plateau has resulted in regularly spaced anticlinal ridges. The periodic nature of the anticlines is characterized by dividing the Yakima fold belt into three domains on the basis of spacings and orientations: (1) the northern domain, made up of the eastern segments of Umtanum Ridge, the Saddle Mountains, and the Frenchman Hills; (2) the central domain, made up of segments of Rattlesnake Ridge, the eastern segments of Horse Heaven Hills, Yakima Ridge, the western segments of Umtanum Ridge, Cleman Mountain, Bethel Ridge, and Manastash Ridge; and (3) the southern domain, made up of Gordon Ridge, the Columbia Hills, the western segment of Horse Heaven Hills, Toppenish Ridge, and Ahtanum Ridge. The northern, central, and southern domains have mean spacings of 19.6,11.6, and 27.6 km, respectively, with a total range of 4 to 36 km and a mean of 20.4 km (n = 203). The basalts are modeled as a multilayer of thin linear elastic plates with frictionless contacts, resting on a mechanically weak elastic substrate of finite thickness, that has buckled at a critical wavelength of folding. Free slip between layers is assumed, based on the presence of thin sedimentary interbeds in the Grande Ronde Basalt separating groups of flows with an average thickness of roughly 280 m.
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Map of the Simcoe Mountains Volcanic Field, Main Central Segment, Yakama Nation, Washington by Wes Hildreth and Judy Fierstein
    Prepared in Cooperation with the Water Resources Program of the Yakama Nation Geologic Map of the Simcoe Mountains Volcanic Field, Main Central Segment, Yakama Nation, Washington By Wes Hildreth and Judy Fierstein Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3315 Photograph showing Mount Adams andesitic stratovolcano and Signal Peak mafic shield volcano viewed westward from near Mill Creek Guard Station. Low-relief rocky meadows and modest forested ridges marked by scattered cinder cones and shields are common landforms in Simcoe Mountains volcanic field. Mount Adams (elevation: 12,276 ft; 3,742 m) is centered 50 km west and 2.8 km higher than foreground meadow (elevation: 2,950 ft.; 900 m); its eruptions began ~520 ka, its upper cone was built in late Pleistocene, and several eruptions have taken place in the Holocene. Signal Peak (elevation: 5,100 ft; 1,555 m), 20 km west of camera, is one of largest and highest eruptive centers in Simcoe Mountains volcanic field; short-lived shield, built around 3.7 Ma, is seven times older than Mount Adams. 2015 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Contents Introductory Overview for Non-Geologists ...............................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2 Physiography, Environment, Boundary Surveys, and Access ......................................................6 Previous Geologic
    [Show full text]
  • Kinematics of the Northern Walker Lane: an Incipient Transform Fault Along the Pacific–North American Plate Boundary
    Kinematics of the northern Walker Lane: An incipient transform fault along the Paci®c±North American plate boundary James E. Faulds Christopher D. Henry Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, MS 178, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA Nicholas H. Hinz ABSTRACT GEOLOGIC SETTING In the western Great Basin of North America, a system of dextral faults accommodates As western North America has evolved 15%±25% of the Paci®c±North American plate motion. The northern Walker Lane in from a convergent to a transform margin in northwest Nevada and northeast California occupies the northern terminus of this system. the past 30 m.y., the northern Walker Lane has This young evolving part of the plate boundary offers insight into how strike-slip fault undergone widespread volcanism and tecto- systems develop and may re¯ect the birth of a transform fault. A belt of overlapping, left- nism. Tertiary volcanic strata include 31±23 stepping dextral faults dominates the northern Walker Lane. Offset segments of a W- Ma ash-¯ow tuffs associated with the south- trending Oligocene paleovalley suggest ;20±30 km of cumulative dextral slip beginning ward-migrating ``ignimbrite ¯are up,'' 22±5 ca. 9±3 Ma. The inferred long-term slip rate of ;2±10 mm/yr is compatible with global Ma calc-alkaline intermediate-composition positioning system observations of the current strain ®eld. We interpret the left-stepping rocks related to the ancestral Cascade arc, and faults as macroscopic Riedel shears developing above a nascent lithospheric-scale trans- 13 Ma to present bimodal rocks linked to Ba- form fault.
    [Show full text]
  • Regional Tectonic Systems of the Pacific Northwest Delineated from ERTS-1 Imagery
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1975 Regional tectonic systems of the Pacific Northwest delineated from ERTS-1 imagery Linda Kay Wackwitz The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Wackwitz, Linda Kay, "Regional tectonic systems of the Pacific Northwest delineated from ERTS-1 imagery" (1975). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 7103. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/7103 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. APR 1 6 1984 (iETo;,pr<i a 1384 ' r' r: ^ REGIONAL TECTONIC SYSTEMS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST DELINEATED FROM ERTS-1 IMAGERY by Linda K. Wackwitz B.A. Colby College, 1972 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1975 Approved by Chairman, Board of Examiners / ^ f - / - - -- Dean, Graduate School I ,y. Date UMI Number: EP37904 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tectonic Evolution of the Madrean Archipelago and Its Impact on the Geoecology of the Sky Islands
    The Tectonic Evolution of the Madrean Archipelago and Its Impact on the Geoecology of the Sky Islands David Coblentz Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM Abstract—While the unique geographic location of the Sky Islands is well recognized as a primary factor for the elevated biodiversity of the region, its unique tectonic history is often overlooked. The mixing of tectonic environments is an important supplement to the mixing of flora and faunal regimes in contributing to the biodiversity of the Madrean Archipelago. The Sky Islands region is located near the actively deforming plate margin of the Western United States that has seen active and diverse tectonics spanning more than 300 million years, many aspects of which are preserved in the present-day geology. This tectonic history has played a fundamental role in the development and nature of the topography, bedrock geology, and soil distribution through the region that in turn are important factors for understanding the biodiversity. Consideration of the geologic and tectonic history of the Sky Islands also provides important insights into the “deep time” factors contributing to present-day biodiversity that fall outside the normal realm of human perception. in the North American Cordillera between the Sierra Madre Introduction Occidental and the Colorado Plateau – Southern Rocky The “Sky Island” region of the Madrean Archipelago (lo- Mountains (figure 1). This part of the Cordillera has been cre- cated between the northern Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico ated by the interactions between the Pacific, North American, and the Colorado Plateau/Rocky Mountains in the Southwest- Farallon (now entirely subducted under North America) and ern United States) is an area of exceptional biodiversity and has Juan de Fuca plates and is rich in geology features, including become an important study area for geoecology, biology, and major plateaus (The Colorado Plateau), large elevated areas conservation management.
    [Show full text]
  • Garlock Fault: an Intracontinental Transform Structure, Southern California
    GREGORY A. DAVIS Department of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007 B. C. BURCHFIEL Department of Geology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77001 Garlock Fault: An Intracontinental Transform Structure, Southern California ABSTRACT Sierra Nevada. Westward shifting of the north- ern block of the Garlock has probably contrib- The northeast- to east-striking Garlock fault uted to the westward bending or deflection of of southern California is a major strike-slip the San Andreas fault where the two faults fault with a left-lateral displacement of at least meet. 48 to 64 km. It is also an important physio- Many earlier workers have considered that graphic boundary since it separates along its the left-lateral Garlock fault is conjugate to length the Tehachapi-Sierra Nevada and Basin the right-lateral San Andreas fault in a regional and Range provinces of pronounced topogra- strain pattern of north-south shortening and phy to the north from the Mojave Desert east-west extension, the latter expressed in part block of more subdued topography to the as an eastward displacement of the Mojave south. Previous authors have considered the block away from the junction of the San 260-km-long fault to be terminated at its Andreas and Garlock faults. In contrast, we western and eastern ends by the northwest- regard the origin of the Garlock fault as being striking San Andreas and Death Valley fault directly related to the extensional origin of the zones, respectively. Basin and Range province in areas north of the We interpret the Garlock fault as an intra- Garlock.
    [Show full text]
  • A G~Ographic Dictionary of Washington
    ' ' ., • I ,•,, ... I II•''• -. .. ' . '' . ... .; - . .II. • ~ ~ ,..,..\f •• ... • - WASHINGTON GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HENRY LANDES, State Geologist BULLETIN No. 17 A G~ographic Dictionary of Washington By HENRY LANDES OLYMPIA FRAN K M, LAMBORN ~PUBLIC PRINTER 1917 BOARD OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Governor ERNEST LISTER, Chairman. Lieutenant Governor Louis F. HART. State Treasurer W.W. SHERMAN, Secretary. President HENRY SuzzALLO. President ERNEST 0. HOLLAND. HENRY LANDES, State Geologist. LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. Go,:ernor Ernest Lister, Chairman, and Members of the Board of Geological Survey: GENTLEMEN : I have the honor to submit herewith a report entitled "A Geographic Dictionary of Washington," with the recommendation that it be printed as Bulletin No. 17 of the Sun-ey reports. Very respectfully, HENRY LAKDES, State Geologist. University Station, Seattle, December 1, 1917. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page CHAPTER I. GENERAL INFORMATION............................. 7 I Location and Area................................... .. ... .. 7 Topography ... .... : . 8 Olympic Mountains . 8 Willapa Hills . • . 9 Puget Sound Basin. 10 Cascade Mountains . 11 Okanogan Highlands ................................ : ....' . 13 Columbia Plateau . 13 Blue Mountains ..................................... , . 15 Selkirk Mountains ......... : . : ... : .. : . 15 Clhnate . 16 Temperature ......... .' . .. 16 Rainfall . 19 United States Weather Bureau Stations....................... 38 Drainage . 38 Stream Gaging Stations. 42 Gradient of Columbia River. 44 Summary of Discharge
    [Show full text]
  • Ringold For111ation and Associated Deposits
    LI.I u The Miocene to Pliocene Ringold For111ation and Associated Deposits 0 of the Ancestral Columbia River System, South-central Washington and North-central Oregon by Kevin A. Lindsey WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY I- AND EARTH RESOURCES Open File Report 96-8 c( November 1996 WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENTOF Natural Resources Jennifer M. Belcher· Commissioner of Public Lands Kaleen Cottingham· Supervisor CONTENTS 1 Introduction 3 Setting 3 Structural geology 4 Late Neogene depositional framework 6 The Ringold Formation 6 Previous studies 8 Age 8 Stratigraphy 10 Methods 10 Sediment facies associations 14 Facies association I 21 Facies association II 22 Facies association Ill 26 Facies association IV 26 Facies association V 26 Facies association distribution 27 Informal member of Wooded Island 33 Informal member of Taylor Flat 34 Informal member of Savage Island 35 Top of the Ringold Formation 37 Ringold correlatives outside the Pasco Basin 38 Conclusions 40 Acknowledgments 41 References cited Appendices A-D: Measured sections, core geologic logs, cross sections, and isopach and structure contour data, respectively ILLUSTRATIONS 2 Figure 1. Map showing regional geographic setting of the Columbia Basin and Hanford Site, south-central Washington, and north-central Oregon. 4 Figure 2. Map showing geographic setting of the Pasco Basin and Hanford Site, Washington. 5 Figure 3. Maps showing geologic structures in and near the Pasco Basin, and . Hanford Site. 7 Figure 4. Generalized surficial geologic map of the Pasco Basin. 9 Figure 5. Diagram showing late Neogene stratigraphy of the Pasco Basin emphasizing the Ringold Formation. 15 Figure 6. Outcrop photo of facies association I.
    [Show full text]
  • Developing a Grape Site Selection Gis for the Inland
    DEVELOPING A GRAPE SITE SELECTION GIS FOR THE INLAND PACIFIC NORTHWEST By IAN-HUEI YAU A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SOIL SCIENCE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Department of Crop and Soil Sciences DECEMBER 2011 To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the thesis of IAN-HUEI YAU find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. Joan R. Davenport, Ph.D., Chair Markus Keller, Ph.D. Richard A. Rupp, Ph.D. Wade H. Wolfe, Ph.D. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my family for their unwavering encouragement. My mother, father, brother and sister have largely made me who I am, regardless of how different we may be. I would like to thank my committee for their expertise and support on this project. First and foremost, my committee chair Dr. Joan Davenport whose faith in my ability and tireless responsiveness carried me much of the way. To Dr. Richard Rupp whose mutual love of learning through teaching absolutely made my working days in Pullman. To Dr. Markus Keller and Dr. Wade Wolfe whose viticultural prowess and accomplishments lend my inaugural foray into the world of grapes much needed credibility. I would like to thank my fellow graduate students in the Crop and Soil Sciences Department and others at Washington State University for the diversity of perspectives the academic environment offers. I would especially like to thank those who regularly nourished me, physically and mentally, with tabbouleh or a receptive ear.
    [Show full text]