Author: QMPGEOeditor1

2022-07-08 Walk to the Rocks Field Trip

QMPGEOeditor1

Geology of Tamanowas  Rock and Peregrine’s Rock, Chimacum, WA

Tamanowas  Rock

On Friday, July 8, 2022, five of our QGS geologists led a 4-mile, 4-hour hike to the Tamanowas Rock Sanctuary, then up on top of Tamanowas Ridge to see Peregrine’s Rock.

This 4-mile hike is vigorous, steep, and rough in parts and is tailored to agile citizen scientists who are already knowledgeable about geologic principles and vocabulary.

Subjects discussed on the field trip include the glacial history of the Quimper Peninsula (specifically Chimacum Valley), glacial erratics on the Peninsula, and the geology of the underlying Eocene volcanic rocks that form Tamanowas Rock. This feature is a special part of the story and a sacred place of the S’Kallum people.

Tamanowas Rock is the remnant of an explosive volcano that erupted about 43 million years ago.  It is comprised of adakite, an unusual type of lava that forms under anomalously high temperatures when a subducted oceanic plate starts to melt.

Conversely, Peregrine Rock is a glacial erratic named by Eric Nagle, a participant in our Great Erratic Challenge two years ago. It currently is the largest erratic we have found on the Quimper Peninsula (see Great Erratic Challenge under Resources in the menu bar.

The field trip guidebook, which is 13 pages and well illustrated (pdf), was edited after the field trip and there is a 2023 updated version –>

Driedger, Carolyn

QMPGEOeditor1

Hi, I’m Carolyn Driedger, a Hydrologist and Outreach Coordinator at the U.S. Geological Survey in Vancouver Washington.   My science career began with research on glaciers and glacier-related hazards principally at Cascade Range volcanoes, and at Columbia Glacier Alaska. I witnessed the May 18, 1980 catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens and participated in the initial news media response.  This event set the course for several fascinating projects that crossed science disciplines, and it provided me with a front-row seat for observation and reflection upon the role of scientists in society. I’ve learned that scientists must use the same degree of creativity and care with public communication that they use with scientific endeavors.  Now, as CVO’s Outreach Coordinator, I work in partnership with public officials, emergency planners, media, park interpreters, and educators to advance the cause of eruption preparedness.  Some earlier career choices have informed my current work, including several years of teaching in a US public school and private school in Kathmandu Nepal, and working for the National Park Service.

Miller, Marli

QMPGEOeditor1

Marli Miller received her BSc in geology from Colorado College, then completed her MSc and PhD in structural geology at the University of Washington in the early 80’s.  She currently is a tenured Senior Instructor and Researcher in the Dept. of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where she maintains the website: geologypics.com. This site offers free downloads of more than 4,500 of her searchable geology photographs. In addition, she is a prolific writer.

She is the author of Roadside Geology of Oregon, 2nd Edition, and the Roadside Geology of Washington, 2nd Edition, which she wrote with Darrel Cowan of UW.  Most recently, she created “Oregon Rocks! A guide to 60 amazing geologic sites.”