Washington Geology, December 1999
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WASHINGTON VOL. 27, NO. 2/3/4 DECEMBER 1999 RESOURCES GEOLOGY NATURAL IN THIS ISSUE z Geology of Steamboat Rock, Grand Coulee, Washington, p. 3 z Observations of glacial, geomorphic, biologic, and mineralogic developments in the crater of Mount St. Helens, Washington, p. 9 z Augite crystals from Doty Hills, Lewis County, Washington, p. 20 z Some notable finds of Columbian Mammoths from Washington State, p. 23 z July 2, 1999, Satsop earthquake, p. 28 z Do we really need another wake-up call?, p. 29 z Earth Connections, p. 30 The Future of Washington Geology WASHINGTON We apologize for our sporadic publication schedule over the GEOLOGY last two years. Budget cuts and understaffing have taken their Vol. 27, No. 2/3/4 toll. Starting with the year 2000, we plan to issue Washington December 1999 Geology three times a year—in March, July, and November. Is- sues will be smaller, but we plan to keep the same high stan- dards. We will still be looking for articles on various facets of Washington Geology (ISSN 1058-2134) is published four times each year by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the geology of Washington that appeal to both the professional Division of Geology and Earth Resources. This publication is free upon geologist and the interested amateur. We do not charge for pub- request. The Division also publishes bulletins, information circulars, lication, but neither do we pay the author. Instead, authors re- reports of investigations, geologic maps, and open-file reports. A list of ceive 20 complimentary copies of the issue containing their these publications will be sent upon request. contribution. Keep in mind that Washington Geology is not copyrighted. DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES Raymond Lasmanis, State Geologist Advice to Prospective Authors J. 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Library inquiries: Copying of Washington Geology [email protected] articles is encouraged, but please [email protected] acknowledge us and the authors as USGS/UW/DNR URBAN GEOLOGIC MAPPING Subscriptions/address changes: the source. [email protected] For information about the USGS/UW/DNR urban geologic Printed on recycled paper. Editorial inquiries: Printed in the U.S.A. mapping efforts, see http://www.washington.edu/news- [email protected] room/news/1999archive/02-99archive/k021999.html Website: http://www.wa.gov/dnr/ger/ger.html http://www.geophys.washington.edu/SEIS/ Info line: 206-543-7010 2 Washington Geology, vol. 27, no. 2/3/4, December 1999 Geology of Steamboat Rock, Grand Coulee, Washington Christopher J. Crosby and Robert J. Carson Department of Geology; Whitman College; Walla Walla, WA 99362 e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] INTRODUCTION boat Rock is traversed from east to west by a coulee approxi- mately 100 ft (30.5 m) deep. A thin veneer of regolith Steamboat Rock is a large monolith located in the center of the (unconsolidated rock material) covers the top of the monolith, Grand Coulee in north central Washington (cover, Fig. 1). The through which basalt bedrock protrudes in places. Large gran- rock is triangular in shape, 2.1 mi (3.3 km) long and 0.75 mi itic boulders or erratics litter the surface of Steamboat Rock (1.2 km) wide. At 2,312 ft (628 m) elevation, it stands 898 ft and can also be found at its base. Sinuous piles of sediment that (274 m) above Banks Lake, a reservoir that currently occupies cross the northern portion of the rock are interpreted as mo- the floor of the northern portion of Grand Coulee. At the base raines deposited by the Okanogan lobe of the Cordilleran ice of Steamboat Rock, a major pre-Miocene unconformity is visi- sheet. ble. Below this nonconformity are Jurassic, Cretaceous, and In this paper, we examine Steamboat Rock in order to estab- early Tertiary granitic and metamorphic rocks. Most of the lish a sequence of events during the late Pleistocene glaciation monolith is composed of the Grande Ronde and Wanapum of north central Washington. Of particular interest are floods Basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group. The top of Steam- EXPLANATION 0 1km 119o 07¢² 30 sackung southernmost 1600 ice limit 0 1mi parabolic dunes unimproved E 1800 Holocene (prominent dune field) dirt road E trail 1700 moraines (Okanogan lobe L 2100 of Cordilleran ice sheet) U QUATERNARY scabland o Missoula 47 52¢² 30 O Rock west-trending floods Pleistocene coulee C 2258 2312 BANKS LAKE D 1700 WASHINGTON 1900 N 00 18 Spokane 1600 Seattle A Wenatchee R 1722 Ellensburg SteamboatSteamboat 2000 2285 2000 Yakima G 1600 1760 2269 gravel Coulee pits Dam 1700 Grand Coulee 1600 picnic Electric City area 174 study area 1701 Steamboat Rock 1615 OWL 1600 B Lake DOUGLAS CO. 17 155 1600 2 UNCH P COULEE Almira 155 Banks Hartline ThompsonLake DEVILS 1700 Whitney Dry Falls Dam 1600 2283 Coulee City GRANT CO. Park L. Sun LINCOLN CO. GRAND Lakes Blue L. Figure 1. Location maps and detailed map of the study area showing geomorphic features mentioned in text. Washington Geology, vol. 27, no. 2/3/4, December 1999 3 from glacial Lake Missoula and advances of the Okanogan lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet. BEDROCK AND STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY Two principal rock types can be distinguished in the vicinity of Steamboat Rock. The most visi- ble of these is the Miocene Columbia River Ba- salt Group. Steamboat Rock and the rest of the Grand Coulee region are underlain by horizontal to slightly folded flows of the Grande Ronde Ba- salt (N2 magnetostratigraphic unit) and the Wa- napum Basalt (Priest Rapids and Roza Mem- bers) of the Columbia River Basalt Group (Gu- lick and Korosec, 1990).