. :, THE GEOLOGICAL NEWSLETTER G.EOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE OREGON· COUNTRY GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Non-Profit Org. OF THE OREGON COUNTRY U.S. POSTAGE P.O. BOX 907 PAID Portland, Oregon PORTLAND, OR 97207 Permit No. 999 '• GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE OREGON COUNTRY 1992-1993 ADMINISTRATION ~oaRD OF DIRECTORS President Directors Eveyln Pratt 223-2601 Dr. Donald Botteron (3 years) 245-6251 2971 Canterbury Lane Betty Turner (2 years) 246-3192 Portland, OR 97201 Donald Barr (1 year) 246-2785 President Elect Immediate Past Presidents Esther Kennedy 287-3091 Dr. Walter Sunderland, M.D. 625-6840 6124 NE 28th Ave. DR. Ruth Keen 222-1430 Portland, OR 97211 THE GEOLOGICAL NEWSLETTER Secretary Editor: Donald Barr 246-2785 Shirley O'Dell 245-6339 Calendar: Reba Wilcox 684-7831 3038 SW, Florida Ct. Unit D Business Mgr: Rosemary Kenney 221-0757 Portland, OR 97219 Assist.:M~~~t Steere 246-1670 Treasurer Archie Strong 244-1488 6923 SW 2nd Ave. Portland, OR 97219 ~CTIVITIES CHAIR~ Calligrapher Properties and PA System Clay Kelleher 775-6263 (Lur1cheon) Clay Kelleher 775-6263 Field Trips (Evenings) Booth Joslin 636-2384 Alta B. Fosback 641-6323 Publications Geology Seminars Margaret Steere 246-1670 Richard Bartell 292-6939 Publicity Historian Ruby Turner 234-8730 Charlene Holzwarth 284-3444 Refreshments Hospitality (Friday evenings) (Luncheon) Shirley O'Dell 245-6339 Volunteer (Evening) Shirley O'Dell 245-6339 (Geology Seminar) Library Dorothy Barr 246-2785 Frances Rusche 654-5975 Telephone Connie Newton 255-5225 Past Presidents Panel Volunteer Speakers Bureau Dr. Walter Sunderland, M.D. 625-6840 Bob Richmond 282-3817 Programs Annual Banquet (Luncheon) Clay Kelleher 775-6263 Susan Barrett 639-4583 (Evening) Esther Kennedy 287-3091 Lois Sato 654-7671 ACTIVITIES ANNUAL EVENTS: President's campout-summer. Picnic-August. Banquet-March. Annual Meeting February. FIELD TRIPS: Usually one per month, via private car, caravan or chartered bus. GEOLOGY SEMINARS: ·Third Wednesday, except June, July, August,8:0o p.m. Room S17 in Cramer Hall, PSU.LIBRARY: Room 57, open 7:30p.m. prior to evening meeting. PROGRAMS: Evenings: Second and Fourth Fridays each month, a:oo p.m.Room 371, Cramer Hall,Portland State University, SW Broadway at Mill Street, Portland, Oregon. Luncheons: First and third Fridays each month, except holidays, at noon, Stand~rd Plaza Cafeteria, third floor, Room A, 1100 SW Sixth Ave. Portland, Oregon. MEMBERSHIP: per year from January 1: Individual, $15.00, Family,$25.00, Junior (under 18),$6.00. Write or call Secretary for membership applications. PUBLICATIONS: THE GEOLOGICAL NEWSLETTER (ISSN 0270 5451) published monthly and mailed to each member. Subscriptions available to libraries and organizations at $10.00 a year (add $3.00 postage for foreign subscribers). individual subscriptions at $13.00 a year. Single copies $1.00. Order from Geological Society of the Oregon Country,PO Box 907, Portland, 97207 TRJ..£.. .. 1Q.G._S_:__- Write to same address for price list. THE GEOLOGICAL NEWSLETTER The Geological Society of the Oregon Country P.O. Box 907 • Portland, OR 97207 VISITORS WELCOME VOLUME 59, NO. 1 INFORMATION PHONE 284-4320 CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES FOR JANUARY, 1993 FRIDAY NIGHT LECTURES (Cramer Hall, PSU~ Robm-371; 8:60P.M.). Jan. 8 "Mount Robson, Pride of the Canadian Rockies" Slide presentation by Evelyn Pratt, President GSOC. Jan. 22 "Exotic Terranes, Blue Mountains of Oregon". A video tape presentation. Introduction by .Clay Kelleher, GSOC member. FRIDAY LUNCHEONS (Standard Plaza, 1100 SW 6th Avenue, Rooms A & B. Third Floor Cafeteria. Programs at 12:00 Noon). Jan 1 NEW YEARS DAY - N~ luncheon. Jan. 15 "South Australia'', A slide presentation by Frances Rusche, GSOC·member. GEOLOGY SEMINAR (Cramer Hall, PSU, Room S-17~ 8:00P.M.) Wednesday Jan. 20 "Geology of the Black Hills", A slide presentation and discussion by Richard Bartels. GSOC LIBRARY (Cramer Hall, Portland State University, Room S-7. Open 7:00- 8:00P.M. prior to evening meetings.) FIELD TRIPS Due to minimal response to last month's inquiry regarding your wishes, no trips are scheduled. Call Alta Fosback at 641-6323 for further information. EXTREA-EXTRA****OPEN HOUSE**** An OPEN HOUSE January 31, 1993. An OPEN HOUSE well be held to celebrate the wedding of Alta Fosback and Harold Stauffer at the home of Charle~e Holzwarth, 2524 NE 34th from 2 to 6 pm. All Gsocs and their- famlies' are invited. Bring your favorite cookies or !!!!No gifts please. EARTHWATCH- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WORLDWIDE GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH Earthwatch a non-profit organization that provides fimding to field scientists world-wide, is is recruiting volunteers for a wrlque, hands-on experience assisting geological research. EARTIIWATCH is a tax-exempt, non profit institution that sponsors scholarly research by finding paying volunteers to help scientists on research expeditions armmd the world. The organization is a public charity under sections 50l(c)3 and 509(a)2 of the Internal Revenue Code for charitable, educational, and scientific activities (Federal #23-7169440. TURN TO PAGE 6 on EARTIIWARCH for further details. ' . - . .~ ' . January 1993 1 COMPLEFED FUCI"URED GEOLOGY Valley beds of the John Day FOIIDation and the Drinkwater and McKay members of the Deschutes EVELYN AND RALPH PRATf FoiiDation mrther to the east The Deschutes FOIIDation is 1. Country Rock: music for drwns, washboard, or gee­ made up of volcanic and continental sediments of lower tar. Miocene age. Machairodus is also called the scimetar-tooth 2. Benioff zone: a place where Benny is forbidden to go. cat because its canine teeth were iazor slwp like the 3. Mantle plume: one rose, daisy, etc., over the scimeter ofa Turkish sultan. It had long forelegs but short fireplace. hind legs. Like most saber tooth cats Marchairodus was 4. Fades: What folksies have in front of their headies. not a fast runner. It generally stalked unsuspecting bu1ky 5. Qwu1Dte: land purchased for a building to house s animals. Then it would nish in and stab them. They judge and jury; where quietroom is located. would die once the saber teeth cut into their neck arteries. 6. Concordant: one or two places where the Then Marchairodus would make a meal ofthem. Revolutionazy War started, Lexington being the other. ANCESrRY OF THE CATS 7 Nuee ardente: one's latest boyfriend or girl1iiend. H"loctne Pum1 Lyn• •• ooo 8. Ffreshock: a hank ofhair~ hangs over a person's · yrJ• • t-Smitl•n- LC'O til oi' I • Plcistoc~ne eyebrows. 2. P/iocen~ .. 9. Lltbology: the scierice o(how to become more limber. s 1 "'' I SC h!Jt'OSrrulvt Miocene PJ~udtJt:turus 1o: Aureole: what you ask when the powel's been off I Pa<Jonodon Mo~hjirodus OinaPiurus "Aureole right no ? Archo<lurus 6 2J: Nimrovus- SEE PAGE FOR REALDEFJNITIONS m Hoplophontus 1_1111111111.11111111111111111111111 OI,.JOC~nt DinictiS' THE GEOLGICAL HISTORY OF CATS IN .J6 ·m OREGON euccne Robert L.Gamer, Member ofthe Society of Vertebrate 55., Miocid Paleontology . Pt~l•ocent: I PARTll-THESABERTOOTHCOR es. _l "' STABBING) CATS lschyrosmilus was another saber tooth cat The bones Editors Note: This is the second and last part of the of its specimens were fotmd hear Hagemtan, Idaho close geological histoty ofcats in Oregon. It is an account ofthe to the Oregon border in the upper Miocene beds. saber tooth cats. An earlier issue of GSOC Newsletter, Ischyrosmilus is· ·__ , ,. sometimes called the "false saber Vol 58, No. 5, pages 28-30 contains Part One of the tooth". It had 4.5 inch canine teeth. When it opened its history of Oregon's biting cats. ~ · mouth to stab its prey, a 90 degree angle was fOIIDed The second great division ofthe cat fiunily is the saber .between the upper and lower jaws. When it closed its tooth group. This group of Cats an had long (4 and 1/2 to mouth the saber fit into a scabber-like flange in its lower 12 inch) cannie teeth called sabers. They also had well jaw. Ischthrosmilus liked to feed on baby elephants. First developed camassa1 teeth. it would slash their arteries killing the yoWtg elephants, The ancient bones of Oregon's earliest sabber tooth cat, then it would hide while the rampaging parents stonned Hoplophoneus, are found in the Turtle Cove and Haystack through the brush searching for the killer. Eventually, the Valley members of the John Day FOIIDation. Both are elephant couple would leave. Ischyromilus would then of late Oligocene to early Miocene age. Hoploponeus iS return to eat also found in the still earlier Oligocene beds in Nebraska. It is thought to be the ancestor of all the saber tooth cats that appeared in later times. It was a sleek preditor. Hoploponeus was laiger than a lynx and heavier than Dinictis. Its canines were long, thin, stabbing blades that were sermted on both-edges. Hopolphoneus had a flange on its lower jaw for sheathing the sabers. This flange covered and protected the sabers when Hoplophoneus closed its mouth the same way that a scabbard protects a Smilodon was the last and best known of all the saber sheathed sword The bones of Maichairodus, an early tooth cats. Smilodon is also called the "saber tooth tiger". descent of Hoplophoneus, was found in the Hays1ack Its bones occur in many Oregon gravel pits: however, it is 2 The Geological Newsletter found from California that the details of Smilodon became Romer, A.S., 1966, "Vertebmte Paleontology", The known. Univesity of Chicago Press, 469 p. About 1,000 Smilodon skeletons were found in the tar Savage, D.E., & Russell, D.E., 1983, "Mammalian pits of Rancho la Brea on Los Angeles. These pits are at Paleofaunas of the World"' addison-Wesley Publishing the "George C. Page Museum of LaBrea Discoveries". Company, 429 p.