Ill u ::, 0 WASHINGTON Ill VOL. 25, NO. 3 SEPTEMBER 1997 GEO· IOG" c:: ~ I • IN THIS ISSUE I Paleogeography and paleontology of the early Tertiary Chuckanut WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENTOF Formation, northwest Washington, p. 3 I Preliminary study of minerals in Tacoma smelter slags, p. 19 Natural Resources I Surface Mine Reclamation 'Awatds~ p._26 Jennifer M . Belcher- Commissioner of Public Lands WASHINGTON Ten-Year Direction for Federal and State Earth Science GEOLOGY Vol. 25, No. 3 Raymond Lasmanis, State Geologist September 1997 Washington State Department of Natural Resources Division of Geology and Earth Resources Washington Geology (ISSN 1058-2134) is published four times each PO Box 47007, Olympia, WA 98504-7007 year by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Divi­ sion of Geology and Earth Resources. This publication is free upon re­ quest. The Division also publishes bu Iletins, information circulars, To meet the challenges facing Washington State in the next reports of investigations, geologic maps. and open-file reports. A list of millennium, Washington's Department of Natural Resources these publications will be sent upon request. bas developed a set of goals for its natural resources programs during the coming decade that focuses on: DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES I completing the transition to understanding, managing, Raymond Lasmanis, State Geologist J. Eric Schuster, Assistalll State Geologist and protecting whole ecosystems; William S. Lingley, Jr., Assistam State Geologist I enhancing the value of our legacy of public lands and natural resources and the income they produce for trust Geologists (Olympia) Editor beneficiaries, both now and in the future; Joe D. Dragovich Katherine M. Reed Wendy J. Gerstel Senior Cartographer/ I preparing for catastrophic events like earthquakes, Robert L. (Josh) Logan GIS Specialist major wildfires, windstorms, and floods; David K. Norman Carl F. T. Harris Stephen P. Palmer I accommodating public access and recreational Patrick T. Pringle Cartographers opportunities for a rapidly growing population; Katherine M. Reed Keith G. Ikerd Henry W. (Hank) Schasse Anne Heinitz I providing the Legislature and the public with Timothy J. Walsh Production Editor/ information they need to be full participants in the Weldon W. Rau (volumeer) Designer stewardship of our lands and resources; Geologist (Spokane) Jarena M. (Jari) Roloff Robert E. Derkey Data Communications I operating an efficient business and delivering Geologists (Regions) Technician excellent service. Garth Anderson (Northwest) J. Renee Christensen Within this framework, the Geology and Earth Resources Charles W. (Chuck) Gulick Administrative Assistant Division's I 0-year direction is to: (Northeast) Janis G. Allen Rex J. Hapala (South..-est) Regulatory Programs I assure that a core program exists and is effectively Lorraine Powell (Southeust) Assistant funded; S tephanie Zurenko (Centrul) Mary Ann Shawver Senior Librarian I provide strong leadership to gain the attention of the Clerical Staff public and decision makers on issues such as disaster Connie J. Manson Judy Henderson Library Information Patty Jetton preparedness, wise use of nonrenewable resources, and Specialist Thuy Le protection of valuable mineral resources; Lee Walkling I develop a strong education and information program that fosters the concept of shared responsibility for MAIN OFFICE FIELD OFFICE Department of Natural Resources Department of Natural Resources disaster preparedness among individuals, businesses, Division of Geology Division of Geology and government. and Earth Resources and Earth Resources PO Box 47007 904 W. Riverside, Room 209 The major elements of the division's core geologic pro­ Olympia, WA 98504-7007 Spokane. WA 99201-1011 gram consist of producing a comprehensive geologic database for the state both in standard (paper) and GIS format, services Phone: (360) 902- 1450 Phone: (509) 456-3255 F~: (360) 902-1785 Fax: (509) 456-6115 and products aimed at reducing risk from geologic hazards, assistance in the wise use of our nonrenewable resources by (See map on inside back cover Publications available from the for main office location.) Olympia address only. providing scientific geologic data, and service to the public by lmernet Co,111ections: Copying is encouraged, but please being the state's source for geologic information. library: acknowledge us as the source. To essentially the same end, our federal counterparts in the conn ie. m [email protected] rt, Primed on recycled paper. Geologic Division of the U.S. Geological Survey have formed [email protected] •,r Primed in the U.S.A. a IO-person Scientific Strategy Team (SST) chaired by Steve Subscriptions/address changes: Bohlen, Acting Associate Chief Geologist for Science. The [email protected] goal for the team is to identify critical earth and biological URL: http://www.wa.gov/dnr/htdocs/ger/ ger.html science issues facing the nation in the next JO to 20 years and to articulate 10-year goals for the Geologic Division to ad­ Cover Photo: Elaine Mustoe viewing a small portion of a silt­ dress these issues. The SST held roundtable discussions with stone outcrop on northern Slide Mountain. These shallow im­ invited panelists in Reston, Denver, and Menlo Park during pressions appear to represent the tracks of a large, short­ July. State Geologist Raymond Lasmanis participated in the legged animal. The outcrop also contains many similar depressions that suggest these creatures were traveling in a Menlo Park discussion on "Spatial Data Issues and Geologic herd. See article p. 3, especially Figure 11 . (Photo by George Mapping". Mustoe.) Continued on page 32 2 Washington Geology, vol. 25, no. 3, September 1997 Paleogeography and Paleontology of the Early Tertiary Chuckanut Formation, Northwest Washington George E. Mustoe, Geology Department Wesley L. Gannaway Western Washington University 1604 Brookwood Drive Bellingham, WA 98225 Ferndale, WA 98248 123° 120°15' INTRODUCTION Residents of northwest Washington feel at home in a landscape where majestic forests provide a foreground for rugged mountain vistas-except on the many days when the panorama is obscured by fog and drizzle. Fossils in the Chuckanut Formation tell us that the area's environment was once much different-SO million years ago, the region was a swampy subtropical flood plain. This paper describes a scientific odyssey that began in 1841 when sailing vessels of the U.S. Exploring Expedition arrived at Bellingham Bay under the command of Lieu­ tenant Charles Wilkes. Expedition geologist James Dwight Dana is now remembered for bis landmark System of Mineralogy pub­ lished in 1837. Nearly forgotten is bis small collection of plant fossils from the Belling­ ham area, specimens that marked the begin­ ning of paleontologic research in the Pacific Washington Northwest. Pass The 1852 discovery of extensive coal de­ posits at Bellingham Bay sparked further in­ terest in the Tertiary sedimentary rocks. A century and a half later, geologists are study­ ing these strata to trace the complex tectonic A Glacier history of the region and to better understand Peak the early Tertiary landscape and the plants and animals that once inhabited Washing­ ton's northwest corner. GEOLOGIC SETTING The Chuckanut Formation consists of thick sequences of arkosic sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate, and coal that unconformably overlie Paleozoic and Mesozoic metamor­ phic basement rock. McLellan (1927) named the Chuckanut Formation during his investi­ gation of outcrops of sedimentary rock on northern Lummi Island, but he did not de­ scribe a type section. Stratigraphic sections were later mapped on the mainland near Lake Whatcom and Chuckanut Drive, just ELLENS8URG east and south of Bellingham, respectively u.___ _______________________..,____. 47° (Glover, 1935; Weaver, 1937). Correlative Figure 1. Outcrop map of Chuckanut (CK), Swauk (SW), Manastash (MA), and Hunting­ rocks extend from southwestern British Co­ don (HU) Formations. Circled letters: E, Easton Schist; S, Shuksan Metamorphic Suite. lumbia to central Washington (Fig. 1). Compiled from Johnson (1984a), Lewellen and others (1985), Whetten and others (1988), Monger (1989), Tabor and others (1993, in progress), and Tabor (1994). Washington Geology, vol. 25, no. 3, September 1997 3 Weaver ( 1937) suggested that these early Tertiary strata by the Miocene (Engels and others, 1976; Tabor and others, in were deposited on a coastal plain that extended over much of progress). Washington prior to the uplift of the Cascade Range. Pabst The mechanics and timing of the Darrington- Devils ( 1968) also be! ieved that the Chuckanut Formation originated Mountain fault zone are not well understood. The fault zone as part of a very large and relatively undisturbed basin, but she offsets rhyolitic dikes that have fission-track ages of 41 .5 ±3.4 erroneously assumed that the Chuckanut sediments were the and 52. 7 ±2.5 Ma (Cheney, 1987), and the magnitude of tec­ landward extension of marine Nanaimo Group strata of the tonic activity is illustrated by the south face of Mount Higgins, San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island. We now know that the a scarp nearly IO km in length witb a maximum height of Chuckanut is early Tertiary and Nanaimo rocks are Cretaceous l ,600 m, truncating Chuckanut strata (Jones, 1959). and that the two formations are separated by faults. Sediment compositions and southwesterly paleocurrent di­ Some researchers continue to believe that the Chuckanut rections