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 […]
Tag: volcano
More new lidar images of Washington’s landforms!
The Washington Geological Survey has just added 10 new lidar-derived images of the State’s landforms to our image collection. This new set includes landscapes shaped by glaciers, ice-age floods, rivers, and landslides. For more information, check out the image descriptions below and use the associated links to view and download high-resolution versions of each one. […]
New map poster offers a bird’s-eye view of Mount St. Helens
In recognition of Volcano Awareness Month in Washington State, the Washington Geological Survey (WGS), with support from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), has released a new map poster: ‘Mount St. Helens: A Mountain Reborn’. The map features a bird’s-eye view of the volcano that famously erupted on May 18, 1980. That eruption instantly transformed […]
Celebrate GIS Day with new lidar images of Washington’s geologic landforms!
In celebration of GIS Day 2021, the Washington Geological Survey is releasing ten new lidar images featuring geologic landforms from around the State.
New Washington lidar data and screensaver images!
New lidar data The Washington Geological Survey (WGS) has just released new lidar data for several areas in Washington. Since 2016 we have been involved in collecting over 6,400 square miles of lidar and have added many additional lidar datasets from our partners for public use. Lidar is a technology that uses light pulses to collect elevation […]
Volcano Profile: Mount Adams
Location: Yakima County, WA Elevation: 3,742 m (12,277 ft) GEOLOGY Mount Adams is volumetrically the largest volcano in the Pacific Northwest. It is actually a cluster of volcanic vents that erupted andesitic lava from the vent cluster rather than a single vent. The Mount Adams system is one of the youngest in the Cascade Range and is […]
Volcano Profile: Glacier Peak
Location: Snohomish County, WA Elevation: 3,213 m (10,541 ft) Nearby towns: Darrington GEOLOGY Sitting relatively low on the skyline, Glacier Peak is mostly hidden from Puget Lowland residents, yet it is one of the more dangerous of the Cascade volcanoes. The volcano frequently and explosively produces dacite lava flows, tephra (ash) and far-reaching lahars (volcanic mudflows). Geologic […]
Hot Out of the Mantle…
Today, DGER brings you three new volcano-related resources: Volcano hazards are now on our portal and available in GIS format We have a new volcanoes webpage — you’ll lava it! We’ve just released a series of posters for Volcano Preparedness Month. Portal Update A new layer is now available on our Geologic Information Portal. The […]
Volcano Profile: Mount St. Helens
Location: Skamania County, WA Elevation: 2,549 m (8,363 ft) Nearby towns: Castle Rock, Olympia, Vancouver, Portland (OR) GEOLOGY Mount St. Helens produces dacitic to andesitic lava flows, pumice, and lahars. Like Glacier Peak, the composition of its magma makes it erupt more explosively than other Cascade volcanoes that erupt andesitic lava. The areas prone to […]
The Ring Of Fire
Volcanoes usually form at the boundaries of tectonic plates (where the Earth’s crust moves apart or collides). The Ring of Fire is a 25,000-mile long horseshoe-shaped “ring” that circles the Pacific Ocean. It is called the Ring of Fire because that is where most of Earth’s volcanoes are found. The Ring of Fire is also […]
WASHINGTON STATE GEOLOGY NEWS 