Tsunami hazards in Washington State Tsunamis are large and potentially dangerous waves caused by earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, exceptional weather systems, and meteorite impacts. Tsunamis have struck Washington in the past, and are expected to do so again in the future. You can learn more about tsunami hazards on the WGS website. The Washington Geological […]
New Aggregate Resource Inventory of Skagit County Published!
We are excited to announce the publication of the Aggregate Resource Inventory of Skagit County. The full report is now available for download [ZIP (26.5 MB)]. What are aggregate resources? Sand, gravel, and bedrock may be mined or quarried to produce raw materials known as construction aggregate. Construction aggregate is used in the manufacturing of […]
New Geologic Hazards Clearinghouse Plan Released on Anniversary of the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake
Anniversary of the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake 23 years ago today, the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually earthquake shook the Pacific Northwest. People in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia experienced shaking that in some places lasted over a minute. The earthquake caused as much as $1–4 billion in property damage, and provided a stark reminder that Washington State […]
Four New 1:24,000-Scale Geologic Maps Published!
We recently released four new 1:24,000-scale geologic maps covering parts of Thurston, Pierce, Lewis, Kittitas, and Stevens Counties. The new geologic maps include: You can access and search through all geologic maps from the Washington Geological Survey via an interactive map here: Washington State Geologic Map application Below we include additional information about each publication, […]
New Tsunami Modeling Released for the Chehalis, Hoquiam, Willapa, and Wishkah Rivers
We have released new tsunami inundation and current speed maps for the Chehalis, Hoquiam, Willapa, and Wishkah Rivers in Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. The maps show the modeled inundation from a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake scenario. Tsunami Hazard Maps of the Chehalis, Hoquiam, Willapa, and Wishkah Rivers—Model Results from a L1 Mw 9.0 Cascadia […]
Updated Landslide Inventory of the Columbia River Gorge Published!
We are pleased to announce the release of a new publication: Landslide inventory update of the Columbia River Gorge in Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat Counties, Washington. The publication consists of a pamphlet summarizing key results and describing the methods used. This publication builds on a 2018 inventory of the Columbia Gorge by mapping additional landslide hazard areas such […]
New Tsunami Evacuation Walk Time Maps and Simulation Videos for the Washington Coast
New Evacuation Walk Time Maps The Washington Geological Survey has published seven new tsunami evacuation walk time maps for communities along Washington’s Pacific coast. Click the name of a community below to view its new map as a PDF: These maps show the amount of time it would take to evacuate at a slow walking […]
Update to our Subsurface Database
We’ve published another update that adds 1,670 records to our Subsurface Database. The new entries come from Spokane, Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Mason counties. The Subsurface Database now contains 121,914 records of geotechnical borings and water wells from across Washington State, and we continue to add historical records and new data as they are made […]
Introducing the Washington Geological Survey’s new Data Preservation Website!
One of the biggest and most important tasks facing the Washington Geological Survey (WGS) is the preservation, cataloging, and digitization of data stored in physical collections produced over the 133-year history of the Survey. These include field notebooks, maps, out-of-print publications, field photos, thin sections, and more. A team of data preservation experts at the […]
Update to Intermediate-Scale Surficial Geologic Mapping Released
We are pleased to announce that we have added 16 new maps to our intermediate-scale surficial geology compilation. These maps have been digitized from older geologic maps originally published on paper over the past few decades. The maps are now available for viewing on our Geologic Information Portal and for download as a geodatabase from […]
WASHINGTON STATE GEOLOGY NEWS 