The real voyage of discovery is not seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes. (Proust)
Living with Thunder: Exploring the Geologic Past, Present, and Future of Pacific Northwest. Landscapes
This new book, published by Oregon State Univbersity Press in November, 2014, I've taqckled the geologic history of the entire Pacific Northwest, including new discoveries that were published as the book went topress. It includes and honors the accounts of geologic events witnesssed by Native Americans, from earthquakes to eruptions. Like In Search of Ancient Oregon, it's meant for the general reader--one way of thanking you for funding and suporting science. The book contains all=new photographs, as well as figures, maps, and timelines. Click here to purchase (Amazon)
The Pacific Northwest is a region defined by its geology as much as its rugged coastline, drippy westside forests, fertile farms, and canyoned eastside grasslands. These landscapes have been forged by volcanoes, crumpled by faults, and sculpted by water and ice. But the Northwest’s geologic DNA is rooted in volcanic activity. From the ancient lavas of Washington’s Selkirks, to the world-class flood-basalts that dominate the Columbia Basin, to the restless peaks of the High Cascades, the thunder of volcanic eruptions echoes through the ages.
Geographers define the Northwest as the region influenced by Pacific Maritime weather, the Columbia River, and Cascade volcanoes. For the most parochial, the Pacific Northwest encompasses only Oregon and Washington. Maybe Idaho. A snippet of northern California’s Cascades and Klamaths and perhaps the Modoc Plateau. Geographers toss in British Columbia and some scraps of Alberta, to the foot of the Rockies.
For geologists, it is the subduction zones and accreted terranes, flood basalts, bombastic volcanoes, and a smattering of native sediments that provide the essential character of the place. We are Mount St. Helens. We are the Columbia River Gorge. We are fitful volcanoes, unrepentant basalts, and a collage of ancient volcanic islands, seamounts, and ocean bottoms.
Mount Bachelor is a large cinder cone built atop a Pleistocene shield volcano.
Introduction: The Volcanic Heritage of the Pacific Northwest1. Pacific Northwest Geology: The Big Picture2. The First Lands: Ancient Supercontinents 3. A Planet in Crisis: Snowball Earth 4. Native Shores: The Northwest’s Foundation 5. Terranes and New Territory: Assembling the Northwest 6. Paradise Found: Life in the Tropics 7. Grasslands Take the Stage: Calderas and Cooling 8. The Great Lava Flows: Basalts Flood the Landscape 9. The Great Expansion: The Basin and Range Opens 10. The Big Chill: Shifting Climates 11. The Young and the Restless: High Cascade Volcanoes 12. Glaciers and Floods: The Ice Age 13. The Living Landscape: Pacific Northwest Geology in Action. 14. Tomorrow: Changing Climates, Moving Plates Appendix 1: Map of the Pacific Northwest Appendix 2: Determining Dates, Climates, and Location References and Reading Glossary of Geologic Terms
