Category: Local Field Trips

Descriptions of field trips we’ve run. May or may not have a Field Guide associated with it.

2022-11-02 KPTZ Nature Now Interview, Part 2—Walk to the Rocks field trip

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Nan Evans of KPTZ and local geologists, Jeff Tepper and Michael Machette, explore two significant rocky outcrops in Eastern Jefferson County – Tamanowas Rock and Peregrine Rocks, both just northwest of Chimacum.  To download the field trip guide that this interview was based on, click here.

The interview is for Nature Now, a weekly radio broadcast on KPTZ 91.9 MHz. Because Nan got so many interesting tidbits, the interview will be broadcast in two parts and each will be recorded as MP3s and be available if you can’t hear the broadcasts:

Show #587: Hard Rock Geology in Eastern Jefferson Country, Park 1
Broadcasts Oct. 5 at 12:30 PM, Oct. 7 at 5:30 PM, Oct. 8 at 12:30 PM

Listen in to learn how Tamanowas Rock was formed, what it can tell us about the ancient landscape of our region, why Tamanowas Rock is important to indigenous peoples, and what is being done to protect it. The recorded broadcast is available on  KPTZ’s Nature Now page.

Show #591: Hard Rock Geology in Eastern Jefferson Country, Park 2
Broadcasts Nov. 2 at 12:30 PM, Nov. 3 at 5:30 PM, Nov., 5 at 12:30 PM

Exploring Peregrine Rock, a glacial erratic, gives listeners a chance to consider the impacts of glaciation on Eastern Jefferson County and to ask just where did the rock come from and how did it get here?

2022-07-08 Walk to the Rocks Field Trip (UPDATE)

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FIELD TRIP GUIDE AVAILABLE (Click here)

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  from HJ Carroll County Park near Chimacum 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 is now available at Final Tamanowas Rock guide.

2021-Fall Geology of bluff along North Beach, Fort Worden

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GEOLOGIC GUIDE TO BLUFF ALONG NORTH BEACH FORT WORDEN Oct 2019

Guide to the Geology of the Bluff along North Beach, Fort Worden

Have you ever looked up at the bluffs while walking along the beach at Fort Worden and wondered how the layers formed?  If so, you’ll want to use this self-guided tour of the North Beach bluff from Fort Worden to North Beach parking lot to learn about what you see.

This long-version of our recent guides describe the geology along a one mile stretch of the north shore, extending westward from Point Wilson at Fort Worden State Park. The walk is less than a mile one way.

The geologic interpretations will provide you with a concise understanding of these beautiful Pleistocene glacial deposits… Have fun and save your questions for the next Quimper Geological Society talks.