Water resources data for Oregon, water year 1974; Part 1, Surface water records
No abstract available.
Oregon↗
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Water resources data for Oregon, water year 1974; Part 2, Water quality records
No abstract available.
Oregon↗
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2005: quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards
Significant Findings When water is released through the spillways of dams, air is entrained in the water, increasing the downstream concentration of dissolved gases. Excess dissolved-gas concentrations can have adverse effects on freshwater aquatic life. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected dissolved-gas and water-temperature data at eight sites on the lower Columbia River in 2005. Significant findings from the data include: Variances to the Oregon and Washington water-quality standards for total dissolved gas were exceeded at five of the monitoring sites: Camas (11 days), John Day tailwater (3 days), The Dalles forebay (3 days), Bonneville forebay (3 days), and John Day navigation lock (1 day). From mid-July to early September, water temperatures were above 20°C (degrees Celsius) at each of the eight lower Columbia River sites. According to the Oregon temperature standard, the 7-day average maximum temperature of the lower Columbia River should not exceed 20°C; Washington regulations state that the 1-day maximum should not exceed 20°C due to human activities. Most field checks of total-dissolved-gas sensors with a secondary standard were within ± (plus or minus) 1% saturation. Most of the field checks of barometric pressure were within ±1 millimeter of mercury of a secondary standard, and water temperature field checks were all within ±0.2°C. For the eight monitoring sites in water year 2005, an average of 98.2% of the total-dissolved-gas data were received in real time by the USGS satellite downlink and were within 1% saturation of the expected value, based on calibration data, replicate quality-control measurements in the river, and comparison to ambient river conditions at adjacent sites.
Oregon, Washington↗
Total mercury, methylmercury, methylmercury production potential, and ancillary streambed-sediment and pore-water data for selected streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2003-04
Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is an issue of national concern, affecting both wildlife and human health. Detailed information on mercury cycling and food-web bioaccumulation in stream settings and the factors that control these processes is currently limited. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) conducted detailed studies from 2002 to 2006 on various media to enhance process-level understanding of mercury contamination, biogeochemical cycling, and trophic transfer. Eight streams were sampled for this study: two streams in Oregon, and three streams each in Wisconsin and Florida. Streambed-sediment and pore-water samples were collected between February 2003 and September 2004. This report summarizes the suite of geochemical and microbial constituents measured, the analytical methods used, and provides the raw data in electronic form for both bed-sediment and pore-water media associated with this study.
Oregon, Wisconsin, Florida↗
Developing landslide chronologies using landslide-dammed lakes in the Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range is a dynamic landscape that is continually shaped by shallow and deep-seated landslides that can have disastrous consequences to infrastructure and human lives. Searching for evidence of potentially coseismic mass wasting is incredibly difficult, particularly when historical observations are limited. Landslide-dammed lakes with submerged “ghost forests” in the Oregon Coast Range present the unique opportunity to establish landslide chronologies with subannual accuracy when dendrochronology is applied. This field guide will visit the unique landslide-dammed Klickitat Lake and explore a drowned ‘ghost forest’ to discuss methods used to establish a prehistoric landslide chronology in western Oregon, USA. After exploring the lake and exposing its geomorphic secrets, the guide will end with a stop on Marys Peak, a mafic volcanic intrusion composed of gabbroic dikes and pillow basalt that forms the highest point in the Oregon Coast Range. With the landscape of western Oregon laid out before us, we will discuss short- and long-term geomorphic evolution of the Oregon Coast Range and Willamette Valley.
Oregon↗
Geologic Map of the Woodland Quadrangle, Clark and Cowlitz Counties, Washington
The Woodland 7.5' quadrangle is situated in the Puget-Willamette Lowland approximately 50 km north of Portland, Oregon (fig. 1). The lowland, which extends from Puget Sound into west-central Oregon, is a complex structural and topographic trough that lies between the Coast Range and the Cascade Range. Since late Eocene time, the Cascade Range has been the locus of an active volcanic arc associated with underthrusting of oceanic lithosphere beneath the North American continent along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The Coast Range occupies the forearc position within the Cascadia arc-trench system and consists of a complex assemblage of Eocene to Miocene volcanic and marine sedimentary rocks. The Woodland quadrangle lies at the northern edge of the Portland Basin, a roughly 2000-km2 topographic and structural depression that is the northernmost of several sediment-filled structural basins, which collectively constitute the Willamette Valley segment of the Puget-Willamette Lowland (Beeson and others, 1989; Swanson and others, 1993; Yeats and others, 1996). The Portland Basin is approximately 70 km long and 30 km wide; its long dimension is oriented northwest. Its northern boundary coincides, in part, with the lower Lewis River, which flows westward through the center of the quadrangle. The Lewis drains a large area in the southern Washington Cascade Range, including the southern flank of Mount St. Helens approximately 25 km upstream from the quadrangle, and joins the Columbia River about 6 km south of Woodland (fig. 1). Northwest of Woodland, the Columbia River exits the broad floodplain of the Portland Basin and flows northward through a relatively narrow bedrock valley at an elevation near sea level. The flanks of the Portland Basin consist of Eocene through Miocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks that rise to elevations exceeding 2000 ft (610 m). Seismic-reflection profiles (L.M. Liberty, written commun., 2003) and lithologic logs of water wells (Swanson and others, 1993; Mabey and Madin, 1995) indicate that as much as 550 m of late Miocene and younger sediments have accumulated in the deepest part of the basin near Vancouver. Most of this basin-fill material was carried in from the east by the Columbia River but sediment deposited by streams draining the adjacent highlands are locally important. The Portland Basin has been interpreted as a pull-apart basin located in the releasing stepover between two en echelon, northwest-striking, right-lateral fault zones (Beeson and others, 1985, 1989; Beeson and Tolan, 1990; Yelin and Patton, 1991; Blakely and others, 1995). These fault zones are thought to reflect regional transpression and dextral shear within the forearc in response to oblique subduction of the Pacific Plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone (Pezzopane and Weldon, 1993; Wells and others, 1998). The southwestern margin of the Portland Basin is a well-defined topographic break along the base of the Tualatin Mountains, an asymmetric anticlinal ridge that is bounded on its northeast flank by the Portland Hills Fault Zone (Balsillie and Benson, 1971; Beeson and others, 1989; Blakely and others, 1995), which is probably an active structure (Wong and others, 2001; Liberty and others, 2003). The nature of the corresponding northeastern margin of the basin is less clear, but a poorly defined and partially buried dextral extensional fault zone has been hypothesized from topography, microseismicity, potential field-anomalies, and reconnaissance geologic mapping (Beeson and others, 1989; Beeson and Tolan, 1990; Yelin and Patton, 1991; Blakely and others, 1995). Another dextral structure may control the north-northwest-trending reach of the Columbia River between Portland and Longview (Blakely and others, 1995; Evarts, 2002; Evarts and others, 2002). This map is a contribution to a U.S. Geological Survey program designed to improve the geologic database for the Portland Basin part of the Pacific Northwest urban corridor,
Scientific Investigations Map↗
Sediment yields of streams in the Umpqua River Basin, Oregon
This report summarizes sediment data collected at 11 sites in the Umpqua River basin from 1956 to 1973 and updates a report by C. A. Onions (1969) of estimated sediment yields in the basin from 1956-67. Onions' report points out that the suspended-sediment data, collected during the 1956-67 period, were insufficient to compute reliable sediment yields. Therefore, the U.S, Geological Survey, in cooperation with Douglas County, collected additional data from 1969 to 1973 to improve the water discharge-sediment discharge relationships at these sites. These data are published in "Water resources data for Oregon, Part 2, Water quality records," 1970 through 1973 water years. In addition to the 10 original sites, data were collected during this period from the Umpqua River near Elkton station, and a summary of the data for that station is included in table 1.
Oregon↗
Recent chemical analyses of waters from several closed-basin lakes and their tributaries in the western United States
Some of the classic closed-basin lakes of the western United States have been resampled, and the waters have been analyzed by modern wet-chemical methods. Included are waters from Borax and Little Borax lakes and Mono Lake in California; Big Soda, Pyramid, and Walker Lakes in Nevada; Abert Lake, Oregon; and Great Salt Lake, Utah. Tributary streams and springs have also been sampled and are reported upon. © 1961, The Geological Society of America, Inc.
Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
Mobility statistics and automated hazard mapping for debris flows and rock avalanches
Power-law equations that are physically motivated and statistically tested and calibrated provide a basis for forecasting areas likely to be inundated by debris flows, rock avalanches, and lahars with diverse volumes. The equations A=α 1 V 2/3 and B=α 2 V 2/3 are based on the postulate that the maximum valley cross-sectional area (A) and total valley planimetric area (B) likely to be inundated by a flow depend only on its volume (V) and the topography of the flow path. Testing of these equations involves determining whether or not they fit data for documented flows satisfactorily, and calibration entails determining best-fit values of the coefficients α 1 and α 2 for debris flows, rock avalanches, and lahars. This report describes statistical testing and calibration of the equations by using field data compiled from many sources, and it describes application of the equations to delineation of debris-flow hazard zones. Statistical results show that for each type of flow (debris flows, rock avalanches, and lahars), the dependence of A and B on V is described well by power laws with exponents equal to 2/3. This value of the exponent produces fits that are effectively indistinguishable from the best fits obtained by using adjustable power-law exponents. Statistically calibrated values of the coefficients α 1 and α 2 provide scale-invariant indices of the relative mobilities of rock avalanches (α 1 = 0.2, α 2 = 20), nonvolcanic debris flows (α 1 = 0.1, α 2 = 20), and lahars (α 1 = 0.05, α 2 = 200). These values show, for example, that a lahar of specified volume can be expected to inundate a planimetric area ten times larger than that inundated by a rock avalanche or nonvolcanic debris flow of the same volume. The utility of the calibrated debris-flow inundation equations A=0.1V 2/3 and B=20V 2/3 is demonstrated by using them within the GIS program LAHARZ to delineate nested hazard zones for future debris flows in an area bordering the Umpqua River in the south-central Oregon Coast Range. This application requires use of high-resolution topographic data derived form LIDAR surveys, knowledge of local geology to specify a suitable range of prospective debris-flow volumes, and development and use of a new algorithm for identification of prospective debris-flow source areas in finely dissected terrain.
Oregon↗
Water Resources Data for Oregon, Water Year 2002
The annual Oregon hydrologic data report is one of a series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey's surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and quality of water provide the hydrologic information needed by State, local and Federal agencies, and the private sector for developing and managing our Nation's land and water resources. This report includes records on both surface and ground water in the State and contains discharge records for 181 stream-gaging stations, 47 partial-record or miscellaneous streamflow stations, and 8 crest-stage partial-record streamflow stations; stage-only records for 6 gaging stations; stage and content records for 26 lakes and reservoirs; and water-quality records for 127 streamflow-gaging stations, 2 atmospheric deposition stations, and 11 ground-water sites.
Water Data Report↗
Water resources data for Oregon, water year 2004
The annual Oregon water data report is one of a series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey's surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and quality of water provide the hydrologic information needed by State, local, Tribal, and Federal agencies and the private sector for developing and managing our Nation's land and water resources. This report contains water year 2004 data for both surface and ground water, including discharge records for 209 streamflow-gaging stations, 42 partial-record or miscellaneous streamflow stations, and 9 crest-stage partial-record streamflow stations; stage-only records for 6 gaging stations; stage and content records for 15 lakes and reservoirs; water-level records from 12 long-term observation wells; and water-quality records collected at 133 streamflow-gaging stations and 1 atmospheric deposition station.
Water Data Report↗
Relations of Tualatin River water temperatures to natural and human-caused factors
Aquatic research has long shown that the survival of cold-water fish, such as salmon and trout, decreases markedly as water temperatures increase above a critical threshold, particularly during sensitive life stages of the fish. In an effort to improve the overall health of aquatic ecosystems, the State of Oregon in 1996 adopted a maximum water-temperature standard of 17.8 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), based on a 7-day moving average of daily maximum temperatures, for most water bodies in the State. Anthropogenic activities are not permitted to raise the temperature of a water body above this level. In the Tualatin River, a tributary of the Willamette River located in northwestern Oregon, water temperatures periodically surpass this threshold during the low-flow summer and fall months.An investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey quantified existing seasonal, diel, and spatial patterns of water temperatures in the main stem of the river, assessed the relation of water temperatures to natural climatic conditions and anthropogenic factors (such as wastewater-treatment-plant effluent and modification of riparian shading), and assessed the impact of various flow management practices on stream temperatures. Half-hourly temperature measurements were recorded at 13 monitoring sites from river mile (RM) 63.9 to RM 3.4 from May to November of 1994. Four synoptic water- temperature surveys also were conducted in the upstream and downstream vicinities of two wastewater-treatment-plant outfalls. Temperature and streamflow time-series data were used to calibrate two dynamic-flow heat-transfer models, DAFLOW-BLTM (RM 63.9-38.4) and CE-QUAL-W2 (RM 38.4-3.4). Simulations from the models provided a basis for approximating 'natural' historical temperature patterns, performing effluent and riparian-shading sensitivity analyses, and evaluating mitigation management scenarios under 1994 climatic conditions. Findings from the investigation included (1) under 'natural' conditions the temperature of the river would exceed the State standard of 17.8 degrees Celsius at many locations during the low-flow season, (2) current operation of wastewater-treatment plants increases the temperature of the river downstream of the plants under low-flow conditions, (3) river temperature is significantly affected by riparian shade variations along both the tributaries and the main stem, (4) flow releases during the low-flow season from the Henry Hagg Lake reservoir decrease the river temperature in the upper section, and (5) removal of a low diversion dam at RM 3.4 would slightly decrease temperatures below RM 10.0.
Oregon↗
Proceedings of the Deepwater Hydrate Coring Expedition UT-GOM2-2
This report was the result of a scientific collaboration between the following institutions The University of Texas at Austin (UT), DOE, NETL, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), The Ohio State University, Columbia University, University of New Hampshire, Oregon State University, University of Washington, Tufts University, Colorado School of Mines, and Geotek Ltd. In the summer and fall of 2023, the University of Texas (UT) Deepwater Hydrate Coring Expedition (UT-GOM2-2) drilled, cored, made downhole measurements, and analyzed samples from the seafloor to the base of the gas hydrate stability zone at Site H in the Walker Ridge Protracted Area Block 313 (Site H, WR313) in the Terrebonne basin, deepwater Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico), herein the Gulf. This report is made up of a series of files as listed below that represents the “expedition report” of the 2023 UT-GOM2-2 Expedition.
Report↗
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2006: Quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards
Significant Findings When water is released through the spillways of dams, air is entrained in the water, increasing the downstream concentration of dissolved gases. Excess dissolved-gas concentrations can have ad-verse effects on freshwater aquatic life. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected dissolved-gas concentration and water-temperature data at eight stations on the lower Columbia River in 2006. Significant findings from the data include: Variances to the Oregon and Washington water-quality standards for total dissolved gas were exceeded at all of the monitoring stations: Cascade Island (67 days), Camas (60 days), Bonneville forebay (51 days), The Dalles forebay (36 days), John Day tailwater (35 days), John Day navigation lock (20 days), The Dalles tailwater (8 days), and Warrendale (4 days). From early July to the end of August 2006, water temperatures were above 20°C (degrees Celsius) at each of the eight lower Columbia River stations. According to the Oregon temperature standard, the 7-day average maximum temperature of the lower Columbia River should not exceed 20°C; Washington regulations state that the 1-day maximum should not exceed 20°C due to human activities. Most field checks of total-dissolved-gas sensors with a secondary standard were within ± (plus or minus) 1% saturation. All of the field checks of barometric pressure were within ±1 millimeter of mercury of a secondary standard, and water temperature field checks were all within ±0.2°C. For the eight monitoring stations in water year 2006, an average of 99.1% of the total-dissolved-gas data were received in real time by the USGS satellite downlink and were within 1% saturation of the expected value on the basis of calibration data, replicate quality-control measurements in the river, and comparison to ambient river conditions at adjacent stations.
Oregon, Washington↗
Digital data for volcano hazards in the Mount Jefferson Region, Oregon
Mount Jefferson has erupted repeatedly for hundreds of thousands of years, with its last eruptive episode during the last major glaciation which culminated about 15,000 years ago. Geologic evidence shows that Mount Jefferson is capable of large explosive eruptions. The largest such eruption occurred between 35,000 and 100,000 years ago. If Mount Jefferson erupts again, areas close to the eruptive vent will be severely affected, and even areas tens of kilometers (tens of miles) downstream along river valleys or hundreds of kilometers (hundreds of miles) downwind may be at risk. Numerous small volcanoes occupy the area between Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood to the north, and between Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters region to the south. These small volcanoes tend not to pose the far-reaching hazards associated with Mount Jefferson, but are nonetheless locally important. A concern at Mount Jefferson, but not at the smaller volcanoes, is the possibility that small-to-moderate sized landslides could occur even during periods of no volcanic activity. Such landslides may transform as they move into lahars (watery flows of rock, mud, and debris) that can inundate areas far downstream. The geographic information system (GIS) volcano hazard data layer used to produce the Mount Jefferson volcano hazard map in USGS Open-File Report 99-24 (Walder and others, 1999) is included in this data set. Both proximal and distal hazard zones were delineated by scientists at the Cascades Volcano Observatory and depict various volcano hazard areas around the mountain.
Open-File Report↗
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia river, Oregon and Washington, 2004: Quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards
Significant Findings When water is released through the spillways of dams, air is entrained in the water, increasing the downstream concentration of total dissolved gas. Excess dissolved-gas concentrations can have adverse effects on freshwater aquatic life. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), collected total-dissolved-gas (TDG) and water-temperature data at eight sites on the lower Columbia River in 2004. Significant findings from the data include: Variances to the Oregon and Washington water-quality standards for total dissolved gas were exceeded on a few days at three of the monitoring sites: Camas, The Dalles forebay, and Bonneville forebay. These exceedances may have been the result of the cumulative effects of supersaturated water moving downstream through the lower Columbia River. Apparently, the levels of TDG did not dissipate rapidly enough downstream from the dams before reaching the next site. TDG levels at an experimental monitoring site directly below Bonneville Dam at Cascade Island showed a larger response to spill than the site 5.5 miles farther downstream at Warrendale. From mid-July to mid-September, water temperatures were above 20°C (degrees Celsius) at each of the seven lower Columbia River sites. Both the Oregon and Washington water-quality standards contain a numerical standard of 20°C for the lower Columbia River. The new location of the forebay monitoring site at John Day navigation lock showed less daily temperature variation than the previous location. The probe at the new site was farther away from the dam and at a greater depth, so it apparently avoided the daily temperature excursions associated with the surface-layer heating at the previous site. Most field checks of total-dissolved-gas sensors with a secondary standard were within ±1% saturation. Most of the field checks of barometric pressure were within ±1 mm Hg (millimeter of mercury) of a secondary standard, and water temperature field checks were all within ±0.1°C. For the seven monitoring sites used to regulate spill in water year 2004, an average of 99.0% of the total- dissolved-gas data were received in real time by the USGS satellite downlink and were within 1% saturation of the expected value, based on calibration data, replicate quality-control measurements in the river, and comparison to ambient river conditions at adjacent sites.
Oregon, Washington↗
Paleomagnetism in the Klamath Mountains, California and Oregon
No abstract available.
California, Oregon↗
Paleomagnetic study of some Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary rocks of the Klamath Mountains province, California
Paleomagnetic investigation of Cretaceous outliers and Tertiary sedimentary strata of the Klamath Mountains province, and of onlapping Cretaceous strata, has shown the rocks to be largely remagnetized. Samples studied are from the Upper Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous Great Valley sequence, Upper Cretaceous Hornbrook Formation, Eocene Montgomery Creek Formation, and Oligocene(?) Weaverville Formation. Cretaceous samples that survived the remagnetization have a mean remanence direction that is very close to the expected direction of the Cretaceous magnetic field at the locality of the Klamath Mountains. Data from both primary and remagnetized samples suggest the possibility of 11.5° ± 15.8° of post-Cretaceous clockwise rotation of the Klamath Mountains province. None of the data from either the primary or remagnetized samples shows evidence of the large amounts (∼ 70°) of clockwise rotation that other workers have measured for the lower Tertiary of the Oregon Coast Range. Our data indicate that the Oregon Coast Range and Klamath Mountains province did not behave as a single rigid block during the early Tertiary. They also suggest that any post-Oligocene rotation of the Klamath Mountains province is less than the approximately 30° post-Oligocene rotation recently proposed for a combined Oregon Coast Range–Klamath Mountains–Cascade Range block.
California↗