Geology Portal App Launches

Put Washington’s Geologic Information Portal in your pocket! Have you ever wondered if the café you were sitting in was, in turn, sitting on the Osceola Mudflow? Do you want to map out your tsunami evacuation route for an upcoming trip to the coast? Have you reached the job site in Seattle and forgotten critical […]

Coolest Interpretive Sign in Olympia

Last week, we celebrated the addition of a new interpretive sign at Kettle View Park, here in Olympia. The Geology Division worked closely with the City of Olympia to produce an innovative explanation of the area’s glacial history for visitors. Why the Sign? Located within the Budd Inlet kettle train, Kettle View Park offers proximity to several large […]

Newly Published: San Juan Tsunami Inundation Hazard Maps

Tsunami Hazard Maps of the San Juan Islands, WA —Model Results from a Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake Scenario This new publication is part of a collaborative effort to show areas at risk of inundation by tsunamis that are generated from large earthquakes. See other reports and maps on our Tsunami Inundation webpage. For more on […]

Earth Science Week 2016

Earth Science Week kicks off Sunday, October 9, 2016, and this year’s theme, chosen by the American Geosciences Institute, is “Our Shared Geoheritage”. Geoheritage is “the collection of natural wonders, landforms, and resources that have formed over eons and come to this generation to manage, use, and conserve effectively. Geoheritage locations are valued for many reasons, including scientific, economic, […]

Peering into the earth: Geophysical techniques can find rock for forest roads — Ear to the Ground

Fresh off the stump and replete with water, fresh-cut timber is heavy stuff. A fully loaded logging truck can tip the scales at 68,000 pounds, which is the weight equivalent of approximately 17 average-size cars. To support this kind of weight, forest roads must be built strong with good, hard rock. How hard? Generally, the […] […]

Landslide Hazard Geologists at Work

Last month, landslide hazard geologists from the DNR Division of Geology and Earth Resources (DGER) attended a landslide conference hosted by the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) and Indonesian Center for Volcanic and Geologic Hazard Mapping at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington. To promote greater cooperation among state and federal agencies, and reduce potential landslide losses, the […]

Meet our New Landslide Hazards Program

Washington’s widely varying climate and topography along with complex geology creates many areas that are prone to landslides.  Identifying past landslides is the best way to identify future landslide hazards. After the devastating SR530 “Oso” Landslide in March 2014, the state legislature recognized the need for a greater emphasis on landslide mapping. Resources were allocated to […]

New Webpage Available: Rockhounding

Washington has an extraordinary variety of rocks and fossils. Collectors have the opportunity to find beautiful agate, amethyst, garnet, jasper, opal, and even the occasional nugget of gold. Our state also has a plethora of fossils including crinoids, clams, trilobites, snails, corals, and at least one dinosaur. The state also has abundant petrified wood, which […]

Earth Day 2016: Moving Toward Green Energy

What is Geothermal Energy? Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the earth. When most people think of geothermal they think of hot springs, fumaroles, and geysers. These are surface features that are linked (through faults and fractures) to the subsurface hydrothermal reservoir. Geothermal energy can be harnessed by drilling into hydrothermal reservoirs […]

Geology Portal Update

The Geochronology and Seismogenic  Features databases have been updated and are now available on the Geology Portal. The datasets can also be downloaded direct from our GIS & Databases webpage. Updates to the datasets include the addition of: age analysis data from several new publications,  earthquake data from the last few years, and hyperlinks to paleoseismic investigation publications (trenches).  Happy clicking! […]