Geomorphology and Environmental Geology the Luckiamute Watershed, Central Coast Ranggge, Oregon
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Geomorphology and Environmental Geology the Luckiamute Watershed, Central Coast Ranggge, Oregon Greenbelt Land Trust Luckiamute Watershed Council Western Oregon University Field Guide May 10, 2014 123 37.5 123 30 123 22.5 123 15 Dallas West Salem 5 4 44 52.5 Monmouth te ckiamu Little Lu e g n 3 a R Falls 1 City Independence y e 2 l l Pee r a r Helmick e V e Dee iv iv R Sta te e R ut m Park 44 45 ia 99W ck Lu s g n i K 223 k e t e r s C a p o a o C S 44 37.5 Corvallis 34 Albany Blodgett Wren e t Luckiamute Watershed t e Boundary m N la Western Oregon Univ. il 20 W Field Trip Stop Philomath 5 0 5 km Prepared By: Steve Taylor, Ph.D., Professor of Geology Earth and Physical Science Department Chair, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Western Oregon University Monmouth, Oregon 97361 Email: [email protected] Table of Contents TOPIC PAGE Introduction 1-6 Physiographic Setting 7-12 Tectonic Setting 13-16 Bedrock Geology 17-23 Geomorphology Regional Overview 24-28 Geomorphic Research Results 29-35 Vegetation and Invasive Plant Distribution Introduction 36-41 Methodology 42 Invasive Research Results 43-52 Field Trip Stop Summaries and Maps Helmick State Park 55-60 NOTE: Selected pages omitted / recycled from a previous field trip. Field Trip Introduction •People •Introductions •Organizations •Western Oregon University (Earth Science) •Luckiamute Watershed Council •Greenbelt Land Trust •Background •Luckiamute Watershed – Focus of 2001 WOU Environmental Science Institute Course •Undergraduate Science Majors •Pre-service Science Education Majors •Practicing Science Education Professionals •Contextual Learning Modules •Geomorphology / Hydrology •Fie ld Bo tany / Aqua tic Inver te bra tes •Paleoclimatology / Earth History •Environmental Chemistry •Synergistic Research and Community Service Linkages •WOU Support of Luckiamute Watershed Council •Watershed Assessment Activities •Hydrogeomorphic Analysis •Invasive Plant Studies •Funding and Acknowledgments •National Science Foundation – OCEPT Project •Oregon Community Foundation •Western Oregon University •US Geological Survey / Institute for Water and Watersheds 4 123 37.5 123 30 123 22.5 123 15 Dallas West Salem 5 4 44 52.5 Monmouth te ckiamu Little Lu e g n 3 a R Falls 1 City Independence y e 2 l l Pee r a r Helmick e V e Dee iv iv R State e R ut m Park 44 45 ia 99W ck Lu s g n i K 223 k e t e r s C a p o a o C S 44 37.5 Corvallis 34 Albany Blodgett Wren e t Luckiamute Watershed t e Boundary m N la Western Oregon Univ. il 20 W Field Trip Stop Philomath 5 0 5 km Figure 1. Location map of the Luckiamute watershed. 5 History of Luckiamute Research and Service Learning at Western Oregon University 1999-Present WOU Geology and Biology Class Field Trips 2001 Environmental Science Institute Course Geomorphology, Env. Chemistry, Botany, Climatology 2002 Proposal Development (Watershed Learning Model) 2003-2004 Watershed Assessment / Luckiamute Watershed Council 2003-2010 Support of Luckiamute Watershed Council 2008-2009 LWC / Rapid Bio -Assessment GIS Support Services 2004-Present Research: Hydrogeomorphic Analysis 2004-Present Reseach: Invasive Plant Distribution 6 Physiographic Setting of the Luckiamute Watershed •Boundaries •Crest of Coast Range to West (headlands) •Willamette River to East •Drainage Area = 815 km2 •Largest Fifth-Field Watershed in central and northern Coast Range •Primary Tributaries •Little Luckiamute – northern watershed •Luckiamute – southern watershed •Secondary Tributaries •Soap Creek, Maxfield Creek, Woods Creek, Teal Ck •Elevation Range: •Min: 46 m (150 ft) at Willamette •Max: 1016 m (3333 ft) at Fanno Peak •Avg. Basin Elevation: 277 m (910 ft) •Basin Morphometry •Average Stream Gradient: 3 m /km •Total Stream Length: 90.7 km 7 Study Area 8 From Luckiamute Watershed Council 9 eall 4 5 Rickr Ck Mt Pisgah Riley Pk el 255 35 42 pcp 1270 L itt Fanno Pk le L Fa Mt Sikes u Fishback Hill el 1016 n c 3 no el 612 k el 245 pcp 3531 ia m R pcp 2540 u pcp 1270 id te ge 1 Luckiamute Bald Mtn 6 Landing el 985 Pee Dee el 46 pcp 2337 2 pcp 1143 Green Mtn pcp 1524 el 741 L pcp 2667 u r c e k iv ia R m u te 7 Max fiel 1 d Ck W k o o C N d p s a Ck o S Vineyard Mtn 8 el 441 pcp 1372 r e M v a r r Ri e y v s i Field Trip Stop R a y el Elevation AMSL (m) o e t o t e p pcp Mean Annual a m l a a Precipitation (mm) R l i l C ve i r W Marys Peak 0 el 1249 5 km Figure 2. Physiographic map and spot annual precipitation for the Luckiamute Watershed. 10 W-E Precipitation Gradient: Stop 5 95 mm/km (6. 0 in/mi) Stop 4 >140 in/yr Stop 2 <45 in/yr (inches) 1990 Average Annual Precipitation for the Luckiamute Watershed (inches) (from the Oregon Climate Service) Annual Precipitation Basin Maximum: 3600 mm (>140 in) – Divide Basin Minimum: 1140 mm (~45 in) – Willamette Valley Basin-wide Precipitation Average = 1894 mm (~75 in) Seasonal Precipitation Cycle (October – March) Average Runoff = 61% of Annual Precipitation 11 (Waichler and others, 1997) INFILTRATION + EVAPOTRANSPIRATION Water budget for Luckiamute Watershed (Waichler and others, 1997) 12 Tectonic Setting of the Luckiamute Watershed •Convergent Tectonic Margin •SbdSubduct ion o fJf Juan de Fuca Plate Beneat hNh Nort hAh Amer ica •Convergent Rates: 3.5-4.0 cm/yr •Style of Tectonism •Oblique Convergence •Tectonic accretion •Clockwise Rotation •Coast Range Orogenesis •Accreted Marine Volcanic and Sedimentary Rocks •Active Uplift Between 15-10 Ma to Present •Neotectonics •General Uppglift and Eastward Tilting •Tectonic Influence on Luckiamute •Luckiamute drains the eastward tilted flanks of the Coast Range (Rhea, 1993) •Luckiamute Watershed located at segment boundary of Juan de Fuca Subduction zone 13 Plate tectonic configuration of the Pacific Northwest. Terrace Lowering Development Local Base Level Cartoon showing effects of Coast Range tilting on watershed gradient (from Rhea, 1993) 14 15 16 Ty Tsr Ty III Ty Ty Ty Ty IV TTy Ty II Ty Qal I Ty Tss Ty Tt Tss Qal Tss Tss Tt Tss Qal Tt Qal Fault Hal Tsr Tt t ul Hal Holocene alluvium a F Qal Quaternary alluvium ey Oligocene intrusive l lt l u N Ty Yamhill Formation a a V F Tsr Tsr Tss Spencer Formation s is g ll n a Tt Tyee Formation i rv K o 0 5 km Tsr Siletz River Volcanics C Figure 3. Bedrock geology of the Luckiamute Watershed (after Walker and MacLeod, 1991). Inset map shows grouping of recognized lithospatial domains: I = Siletz River Domain, II = Tyee Domain, III = Yamihill-Ti (Tertiary Intrusive) Domain, IV = Spencer-Valley Fill Domain. 17 Bedrock Geology of the Luckiamute Watershed Qal – Quaternary Alluvium LITHO- .B.P.) me EPOCH y STRATIGRAPHY Ti – Oligocene Mafic Intrusives: Sheets, Ti (m. sills, and dikes of massive gabbro. 25 Tss – Spencer Formation: Thick- to thin- bedded marine tuffaceous sandstone, ENE siltstone, and mudstone. LATE C Oligocene 33 Intrusives Ty – Yamhill Formation: Massive to thinly bedded marine silstone and sandtone interbeds. Locally includes OLIGO interlayered basalt lava flows. EARLY 38 TE Tt – Tyee Formation : Rhythmically A L 41 bedded, medium-grained feldspathic Spencer Fm sandstone and carbonaceous siltstone. Interpreted as deposits of submarine turbidity currents and fans. CENE Yamhill Fm Tsr – Siletz River Volcanics: Aphanitic MIDDLE O to porphyritic, vesicular pillow flows, tuff E Tyee Fm 50 breccia, and lava flows. Local interbeds of basaltic siltstone and sandstone. Siletz River Prevasively zeolitized and veined with calcite. Marine origin interpreted as EARLY 58 Volcanics accreted oceanic crust and seamounts. 18 Yamhill Domain Spencer (23%) Domain (29%) Tyee Domain (29%) 0 5 km Siletz Domain (19%) 19 Sile tz River Vo lcan ics – Pillow Basa lts 20 Accretionary tectonic model for Siletz River Volcanics (from Orr and Orr, 1999) Schematic of Corvallis and Kings Valley Faults (from Orr and Orr 1999) 21 22 Tyee Domain Landscape 23 Geomorphology of the Luckiamute Watershed Valley Floor-Fluvial Regime •Landforms •Channel •Floodplain •Terrace •Small-scale Fans •Strath-pediment surfaces •Low-relief colluvial hillslopes (Spencer Fm) •Deposits •Alluvial Fill (sorted sand and gravel) •Debris Flow Deposits (diamicton) •Slackwater Silts and Clay •Processes •Channe l Transpor t •Overbank Sedimentation •Hillslope-Colluvial Regime •Laadondform s •Ridge tops •Hillslopes-Sideslopes •Hollows •Pediment Surfaces •Deposits •Colluvium (gravel diamicton) •Residuum (gravel diamicton) •Processes •Collvial Creep •Debris Slide / Flow •Tree-throw / Bioturbation 24 A. Generalized Map of Surficial Geology 4 5 Qr-c2 Hillslope- Valley 3 2 Colluvial Floor- Fluvial Qau Qr-c2 Qr-c2 Geomorphic Qr-c1 Regime Qau 6 Qr-c2 Qau Qr-c1 Qau Qff2 Hal Holocene Alluvium Hal Qff2 Missoula Flood Deposits 7 (13.5-12 Ka) Qau Qau Quaternary Alluvium Qau Undifferentiated 1 Qr-c2 Qtg Qr-c1 Qtg Quaternary Terrace Gravels Qrc1 Quaternary Residuum- 8 N Colluvium (low relief hillslopes) 0 5k5 km Qrc2 Quaternary Residuum- Colluvium (high relief hillslopes) B. Generalized Geomorphic Cross-Section (Stop 6) SW NE e Luckiamute River p lo (Incised Channel) s High e id Middle Terrace S Terrace Low (>12.0 Ka) (>12 Ka) Terrace (<12 Ka) 25 Older Pleistocene Gravels (not exposed) 0 Spencer Formation (Bedrock) 0 500 meters Figure 4. Surficial geology and geomorphology of the Luckiamute River Basin. Surficial map units are modified from O'Connor and others (2001), after Taylor and others (1996). Cross section shown in frame B represents generalized landform elements at Helmick State Park (Stop 6).