Tag: Washington

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

New Alluvial Fan Inventory of Klickitat County Published!

We are pleased to announce the release of our new “Alluvial fan inventory of Klickitat County”. The publication, which consists of a pamphlet summarizing key results, is accompanied by an interactive story map. The newly mapped alluvial fans have been added to our WASLID landslide database, which can be viewed on our Geologic Information Portal. […]

Update to our Subsurface Database

This month, we published a major update that added 3,344 records to our Subsurface Database. The new entries come from Spokane, Lewis, Thurston, and Kittitas Counties. The Subsurface Database now contains 120,244 records of geotechnical borings and water wells from across Washington State, and we continue to add historical records and new data as they […]

New tsunami vertical evacuation structure and evacuation maps for the Washington coast.

On August 5th, the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe dedicated the new Auntie Lee Vertical Evacuation Tower in Tokeland. The Tokeland tower is the third vertical evacuation structure in North America, joining rooftop structures in Westport, Washington and Newport, Oregon. The Auntie Lee Vertical Evacuation Tower can accommodate over 400 people and has dramatically reduced the […]

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, […]