Introducing a new way to understand the data on our Geologic Information Portal

Our Geologic Information Portal hosts many different datasets, ranging from information about natural hazards such as tsunamis and landslides, to surficial geologic mapping at a variety of scales. With so much exciting science to share, we want to make sure our users can find the layers they are interested in and understand what they are […]

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 […]

Dating rocks on Valentine’s Day!

DGER geologists Trevor Contreras, Michael Polenz, Annette Patton and Harley Gordon are collaborating with the University of Washington’s Burke Museum to better date Tertiary rock formations along Hood Canal. Just as with macrofossil assemblages, microscopic fossils can be used to correlate an unidentified rock with known units. These tiny fossils pack quite a punch, despite […]

New and improved! Have another look at DNR’s landslide hazard website

There have been some important changes to our landslide hazard website since we last blogged about it on November 1, 2012. We have improved the resolution of the map by adding the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast zones. A shaded relief of elevation, along with the addition of salt and fresh water features, improves the […]

Shallow landslides can be triggered by rainy weather–Do you know the warning signs?

Heavy rain this weekend can cause more than just localized flooding and high rivers. Prolonged or intense rainfall increases the chances of shallow landslides on steep slopes. During these rain events some rain will flow on the surface to streams and rivers, some is captured by vegetation, and some rain infiltrates into the ground. The […]

Watching Washington Evolve

Our talented cartographers have put together a great animation showing the evolution of Washington geology. Based on the previous work of Jack Powell and John Figge, the cartoon shows the accretion of terranes through geologic time from the Neoproterozoic (~750 million years ago) to the present. It demonstrates how the breakup and reconstitution of ancient […]

New Geology Display in NRB Rotunda

The introduction of the mandate that the DGER office door must now remain closed during business hours (due to security concerns) meant that the public could no longer view our rock and mineral collection on a walk-in basis. No matter–this inconvenience motivated us to keep geology in the public eye by creating an updated display […]

New geologic maps are free to download

Originally posted on EAR TO THE GROUND WITH DNR & COMMISSIONER FRANZ:
This outcrop on the east shore of Dabob Bay contains faulted and folded sediments thought to be about 100,000 years old, which is considered young in geologic terms. Photo: Trevor Contreras/DNR. This outcrop, which features faulted and folded sediments possibly related to an…

December Geology Image of the Month: Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park

December’s geology image of the month of the Nisqually Glacier was taken by State Geologist Dave Norman. The glacier, located on the southern flank of Mount Rainier, is the source of the Nisqually River that wends its way along the boarder between Pierce and Thurston Counties before emptying into southern Puget Sound at Nisqually Reach. […]

DGER on YouTube

Have you ever wanted to be a better Geologic Information Portal (online interactive map) user? Have you wanted to dive into the world of 3D geology with Google Earth KMZs and 3D PDFs, but didn’t know where to start? DGER has recently released a number of tutorial guides for our portal and 3D data offerings […]