This article explores the spectacular calcretes of south-central Washington. The thick, bright white CaCO3-rich paleosols overprint the Pliocene Ringold Fm, Plio-Pleistocene fanglomerates, pre-Wisconsin flood gravels, and early Palouse loess. The blanket-like hardpans formed in alluvial sediments low in the landscape where strong evapotranspiration moved large volumes of water through the soil column via vegetation rooted near the water table. The aridity necessary to precipi

Thanks for all who attended the 2023 Friends of the Pleistocene PNW Cell's field trip and for sending in your pics! Calcrete. Proper...

Locations of fault trenches in Eastern Washington. Trenched faults in the Yakima Fold Belt . Locations of fault trenching investigations by USGS, Washington Geological Survey, DOGAMI, USBOR, and others. Most trenches were excavated in Columbia River Basalt. The Spencer Canyon trench, epicenter of the 1872 North Cascades quake, lies outside the YFB in older crystalline rocks of the Cascade Range. The Gales Creek trench, near Portland, is not shown on the map. Trench studies ha

Exotic clasts in gravel . An exotic clast-bearing conglomerate at White Bluffs Overlook was left by an ancient Ice Age flood. The...

George gravel pit . George gravel pit . Location is N of historic Burke, WA and NW of non-historic George, WA. George is not Burke . My...

I took a swing at correlating 26 of Kevin Lindsey's stratigraphic columns from White Bluffs (Lindsey, 1996, Appendix A). A couple day's...

Any excusion into Lind Coulee will include some adventure. This outing involves recent faulting and interesting Plio-Pleistocene...

Structureless sand is fairly unusual in the geologic record. Sandy sediment deposited by flowing water always preserves bedforms....

Geology Field Guide to the Rain Shadow Calcretes near Othello, WA Northwest Geological Society September 17-19, 2021 Skye W. Cooley
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Time did not allow our NWGS group to visit the Red Tank area in September 2021. The Saddle Mountains crest is an incredibly photogenic...