About the Field Trip: Structural Development of the Olympic Mountains

2013 – Sept. 14-15

Read/download field guide – 16 pages…

Read/download color photo summary of the field guide…

Jim Aldrich, who has been working on a geologic investigation of the structure geology and tectonics of the mountains for three years, was the trip leader.

Original announcement: The trip will originate and end at the Olympic National Park visitor center on the south side of Port Angeles. The trip starts at 9:00 am Saturday, September 14. The first day we will be stopping at outcrops of the Olympic Subduction Complex (OSC) Lower unit on the Pacific Coast and the oldest strata of the Coast Range Terrane on the north flank of the mountains. We will stay at a motel in Port Angeles that night. The second day we will be examining outcrops of the OSC Upper unit in the core of the range and the upper strata of the Coast Range Terrane along Hurricane Ridge Road. The longest walks to outcrops are two that are about 1/4 mile down a moderate grade. All other stops are at outcrops across a road. The field trip will end by 5 pm September 15th. Costs: There is no trip fee. Participants will have to pay for their own motel room, or the cost to share a room if they are willing to do that, and meals.

This field trip includes stops to observe and hear about the geology of the three major rock sequences of the Olympic Mountains – from the Pacific Coast to the core rocks on Hurricane Ridge.

Read more about Jim Aldrich, the leader…

Read archived announcement of this field trip…

 

About the Field Trip

Ian Miller will present a field trip to the Elwha River to see the effects of the first major dam removal in the U.S. This trip follows on from his January 12, 2013, Geology Lecture on Coastal Response to Dam Removals on the Elwha River: Present and Future. Ian’s talk will provide a “status report” on how the coastal zone is responding to the removal of the dams and rapid erosion of sediment impounded behind them.

For nearly a century, two dams on the Elwha River disrupted the flow of sediment from the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, contributing to the erosion of the Elwha River delta just west of Port Angeles and altering coastal habitat both to east and west. Removal of these dams was completed last fall, and now the river is free to flow its natural course. Already, salmon have returned to the river and are starting to spawn. Researchers from a variety of state and federal government agencies are tracking how the river’s ecosystem responds with millions of tons of sediment make there way north to the coast.

About the Speaker

Dr. Miller focuses his research, education, and outreach on natural coastal hazards on the Olympic Peninsula, including impacts of climate change, tsunamis, and chronic erosion. He has a bachelor’s degree in marine ecology from Western Washington University and earned his doctorate in oceanography from the University of California—Santa Cruz in 2011.

The trip will finish with a complimentary wine tasting at Camaraderie Vineyards (Don Corson; Owner, winemaker, geographer, and rock hound).