July Geology Image of the Month: Ghost Forest Near the Mouth of the Copalis River, Grays Harbor County

The ghostly tree trunks of once-submerged red cedars pictured in the July Image of the Month have played a key role in helping geologists reconstruct the events of the last Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) magnitude 9 earthquake. As DGER chief hazards geologist, Tim Walsh, recently explained to a National Geographic television crew (see image below), […]

Aberdeen Landslides and Liquefaction Susceptibility Report Published

The Washington State Geologic Survey announces the publication of Report of Investigations 36. Earthquake-induced landslide and liquefaction susceptibility and initiation potential maps for tsunami inundation zones in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington, for a M9+ Cascadia subduction zone event, by S. L. Slaughter, T. J. Walsh, Anton Ypma, K. M. D. Stanton, […]

Sizing up Seismology

Despite the dreary weather, Washington Geologic Survey’s hazards geologists have been hard at work in the field. They are busy collecting seismic survey measurements and continually adding to a data catalog of shear wave velocity profiles throughout Washington State. Shear wave velocity is an important factor in earthquake-resistant design as designated by the International Building […]