Volcanoes to Vineyards: Geologic Field Trips through the Dynamic Landscape of the Pacific Northwest

This volume contains guides for 33 geological field trips offered in conjunction with the October 2009 GSA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. Showcasing the region’s geological diversity, the peer-reviewed papers included here span topics ranging from accreted terrains and mantle plumes to volcanoes, floods, and vineyard terroir. Locations visited throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho encompass Astoria to Zillah. More than just a series of maps, the accompanying descriptions, observations, and conclusions offer new insights to the geologic processes and history of the Pacific Northwest insights that will inspire readers to put their boots on the evidence (or perhaps sip it from a glass of Pinot!) as they develop their own understanding of this remarkable and dynamic corner of the world.
An introduction to the stratigraphy, structural geology, and hydrogeology of the Columbia River Flood-Basalt Province: A primer for the GSA Columbia River Basalt Group field trips
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Published:January 01, 2009
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CiteCitation
Terry L. Tolan, Barton S. Martin, Stephen P. Reidel, James L. Anderson, Kevin A. Lindsey, Walter Burt, 2009. "An introduction to the stratigraphy, structural geology, and hydrogeology of the Columbia River Flood-Basalt Province: A primer for the GSA Columbia River Basalt Group field trips", Volcanoes to Vineyards: Geologic Field Trips through the Dynamic Landscape of the Pacific Northwest, Jim E. O’Connor, Rebecca J. Dorsey, Ian P. Madin
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ABSTRACT
The Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) covers a large part of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and is one of the youngest and perhaps the best studied flood-basalt province on Earth. Decades of study have established a regional strati-graphic framework for the CRBG, have demonstrated the CBRG flows can be correlated with dikes and vents, have documented a wide variety of physical features within the CRBG flows, and have demonstrated that many characteristics of the CRBG are recognizable throughout its extent. Detailed studies of individual flows and their feeder dikes have allowed the development of models for the emplacement of voluminous basaltic lava flows. The interplay between the regional structure, contemporaneous deformation, preexisting topography, and paleodrainage systems helped to control the emplacement of individual CRBG flows. These features have also affected the nature of late Neogene sedimentation in the region covered by basalt flows. Finally, the distribution of sediments within the CRBG and the character of the intraflow and interflow structures have played a significant role in the development of aquifers within the CRBG. In this paper we present an overview of the regional aspects of the stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonics, and hydrogeology of the CRBG.
- basalt flows
- basalts
- Cenozoic
- Columbia Plateau
- Columbia River Basalt Group
- flood basalts
- ground water
- Idaho
- igneous rocks
- lava flows
- lithostratigraphy
- Miocene
- Neogene
- Oregon
- regional patterns
- structural analysis
- tectonic elements
- Tertiary
- United States
- volcanic features
- volcanic rocks
- Washington
- Columbia River Flood-Basalt Province