Geology in the Public InterestWashington Division of Geology and Earth Resources; 1111 Washington St SE, Rm 148; MS 47007, Olympia, WA 98504-7007

360-902-1450; 360-902-1785 fax; geology@wadnr.gov; http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/

Washington's complex geology givesrise to many geologic hazards—earthquakes, active volcanoes,

landslides, and tsunamis. As Washington’sgeological survey, the Division of Geologyand Earth Resources contributes to the safetyand economic well-being of Washington’scitizens by informing the public, government,and industry about the consequences ofgeologic events and the nature of the landaround us, including the availability ofimportant resources such as aquifers andsand and gravel. The Division has providedthis information at very low cost to thetaxpayer, supplementing its budget withmore than $1 million in grants over the lasttwelve years to help finance this work.Studies have shown that providing geologicinformation to the public more than pays foritself over time. For example, a benefit/investment analysis done for Oregon’sgeological survey showed that for every taxdollar spent, they brought in or saved thestate about $235.

The Division of Geology provides:

� Geologic mapping� Geologic hazards mapping and response� Inventory and regulation of mineral, oil

and gas, and hydrothermal resources� A complete library collection on the

geology of Washington� Publications on Washington geology

GEOLOGIC MAPPING

Geologic maps show the types and ages ofrocks that occur at or near the Earth’ssurface (http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pubs/pubs_ol.htm). They show the locationsof faults and folds, landslides, glacialdeposits, and other regional or local features,depending on the scale of the map. Geologicmaps are the most fundamental andimportant tool of earth scientists.

Our job as the state survey is to producemaps that cover whole areas of the state atvarious scales. We compile mapping done byothers and add our own mapping to com-plete the coverage. We have finished all of

the state’s 30- x 60-minute quadrangles(1:100,000 scale). Current mapping focuseson 7.5-minute quadrangles (1:24,000scale). Our geologic maps are used for abroad range of practical applications.

Resource Mapping. Washington hasan $800 million per year mineral industrythat includes sand and gravel, crushed stone,coal, metals, and industrial minerals such asdiatomite, clay, silica, and olivine. Industryuses our maps and publications, along withother reports from our library, to help findnew resources. The Division has publishedmany mineral and other resource inventories.Recent emphasis has been on locating thesand, gravel, and quarry rock resourcesneeded for highway and infrastructureconstruction.

GEOLOGIC HAZARDS

Division geologists actively identify, assess,and map geologic hazards (http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pubs/pubs_ol.htm) usingmodern geotechnical and geophysicalmethods. Our hazard maps are critical forland-use and emergency-managementplanning, disaster response, and building-code amendment. As our population grows,there is increasing pressure to develop inhazardous areas. Identification of these areashas never been more important.

In response to the Growth ManagementAct’s mandate to use the ‘best availablescience’, our geologists educate localgovernments and townspeople in at-riskcommunities about geologic hazards toensure they are taken into account ingrowth-management and disaster planning.

The Division is also among the firstresponders to disasters, helping staff theState Emergency Operations Center at CampMurray and later documenting damage inthe field.

Landslides. Landslides are a continuingproblem along our hillsides, shorelines, androadways. Just since 1996, landslides havecaused hundreds of millions of dollarsof damage in Washington. The Division is aleader in landslide hazard identification,mitigation, and emergency response. Ourlandslide hazard maps help prevent loss toproperty by showing those areas that areunsafe for building.

Earthquakes. Geologic evidence suggeststhat most of Washington is at risk from largeearthquakes. In 1700, a mega-quakeoccurred on the Cascadia subduction zonejust off the coast of Washington. The largestquake since European settlement was in asparsely populated area east of the Cascadesin 1872. Puget Lowland earthquakes in1946, 1949, and 1965 killed 15 people andcaused more than $350 million in propertydamage, and the 2001 Nisqually earthquakecaused more than $2 billion in damage.

The Division produces earthquakehazard maps for at-risk urban areas and hasjust finished maps for every county in thestate (http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/hazards/hmgp.htm). These maps show areaswhere earthquake damage fromamplification of earthquake waves or soilliquefaction can be expected. Damage canthen be mitigated by either reinforcingstructures in these areas or not building thereat all. GM-47, our Olympia map was testedby the Nisqually earthquake and successfullypredicted the areas of greatest damage.Division geologists hold workshops to showcities and counties how to use these maps.

Volcanoes. In the past 12,000 years, Wash-ington’s five active volcanoes have eruptedmore than 200 times, producing ash, lava,and massive mudflows. The 1980 eruption ofMount St. Helens killed 57 people, blanketedeastern Washington with ash, and causedmore than $1 billion in damage.

Massive landslide on Perkins Lane along Magnolia Bluff inSeattle, one of the areas hardest hit during the winterstorms of 1996–97. Photo by Hugh Shipman.

Debris from a parapet failure on the south side of theWashington Federal Savings building in downtownOlympia caused by the Nisqually earthquake of February2001. Photo by Joe Dragovich.

Mount Rainier is our most dangerousvolcano because of the large populationclose to the mountain. Previous lahars (mud-flows) from Mount Rainier have run downPuget Lowland valleys as far as Renton,Tacoma, and Olympia. The Division hasmapped and determined the age of many ofthese events to present a much clearerpicture of their size and frequency.

Lahars from Glacier Peak have flowedthrough the Skagit Valley all the way to LaConner. Recent mapping in Skagit andWhatcom Counties has identified previouslyunrecognized, young lahars from GlacierPeak that would obliterate small towns suchas Darrington and destroy sections ofInterstate 5 should they occur today.

The Division collaborates with theU.S. Geological Survey's Cascades VolcanoObservatory to produce volcano hazard mapsand develop response plans for each volcano.The Division is the state geological surveyand is a key part of the emergency responseplan for volcano hazards.

Tsunamis. The coast of Washington is at riskfrom tsunamis from both local and distantquakes. In 1964, the Washington coastsuffered $600,000 damage from a tsunamicaused by the great Alaska earthquake. Ourcurrent technology gives us several hourswarning for tsunamis produced by distantquakes, but a local earthquake on theCascadia subduction zone could generate atsunami that would strike our coast withgreat force within a few tens of minutes.

The Division has produced eight tsunamihazard maps showing projected flooding inat-risk communities (http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pubs/pubs_ol.htm). We are currentlyworking on tsunami evacuation brochuresfor the southern Washington coast.

Coal Mine Subsidence. Abandoned coalmines underlie at least 50,000 acres in King,Kittitas, Lewis, Pierce, Skagit, and WhatcomCounties. Some of these mines are near thesurface and pose a risk to buildings or otherstructures from mine collapse. Our extensivecoal mine map collection is invaluable inguiding development in these areas (OFR 94-7, http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pdf/ofr94-7.pdf).

Abandoned Metal Mines. There are morethan 3800 abandoned metal mines inWashington. The mines were worked andabandoned before there was a requirementfor reclamation and cleanup. Mine hazardsinclude water quality degradation from highconcentrations of heavy metals and physicalhazards such as vertical pits, caving shafts,and collapsing underground workings.

We are investigating these sites for theInventory of Inactive and Abandoned MineLands and publishing our findings on eachmining district as the work is done. (SeeMining and Exploration/Inactive andAbandoned Mine Lands at http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pubs/pubs_ol.htm.)

RESOURCE REGULATION

Surface Mine Reclamation. There areabout 1200 active surface mines inWashington, primarily sand and graveloperations (IC 94, http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pdf/ic94.pdf). The Division monitorsthese mines to ensure reclamation and futurebeneficial use.

The Division has produced a ‘bestmanagement practices’ manual for surfacemining to educate miners in the art andscience of reclamation (OFR 96-2, http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pdf/bmp.pdf). Wealso hold workshops to train miners onparticular aspects of reclamation.

Oil and Gas Regulation. About 600 oil andgas wells have been drilled in Washington(IC 75, http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pubs/ic75.pdf), although there has been nolarge-scale commercial production. The oiland gas regulatory program supervisesexploration and drilling and ensures thatthese activities are done in a manner thatprotects the environment and conservesresources.

GEOLOGY LIBRARY

Geologic research is expensive and time-consuming. Fortunately, research reportstypically retain their value and usefulnessfor many years.

The Division's Geology Library has thestate's largest collection about the geologyof Washington, and more than 1000 items

are added each year. A full library catalog isonline at http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/washbib.htm and the geologic map indexis at http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/mapindex.htm.

The Geology Library is open to thepublic. It is a reference library only. Itemsmay not be checked out but may beconsulted on site.

The library has many unique andexhaustive collections—for example, theperiodically updated U.S. Geological Surveytopographic maps. Master's and doctor'sdissertations and theses are importantoriginal sources of geologic information butare usually held only by the originatinguniversity. The library has copies of almost allof these works that cover the geology ofWashington.

Government and industry on all levelsneed quick access to geologic andgeotechnical information to address growth-management issues and decide whereto build roads and other public lifelines. Ourusers often have very little time to do theirstudies and certainly cannot afford to dooriginal research. For them, time is money.They rely on existing reports, which they canfind most efficiently through us. Their workwould be much more difficult and expensivewithout ready access to our library.

PUBLICATIONS

The Division publishes the results of mappingand other research. We also publish theonline newsletter, DGER News. All of ourin-print publications are in our publicationslist (http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pubs/publist.pdf); out-of-print publications can befound in our online bibliography (http://www2.wadnr.gov/dbtw-wpd/washbib.htm).Our current goal is to make as many of ourpublications as possible available digitally onCD or on our website (http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/). �

Mount St. Helens from the Pumice Plain, about one milenorth of the mountain, on April 16, 1983. Photo by PatPringle.

The main adit at the Lockwood Pyrite mine, showing acidmine drainage with dissolved metals. Photo by MacMcKay.

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