Get a look at how Earth’s systems form Washington during Earth Science Week

It’s Earth Science Week!

Around the nation, scientists, educators and students are celebrating the forces that make up our planet. This year, they are placing special emphasis on how technology allows geoscientists to display what they learn about Earth’s complex systems in compelling ways.

As home of the Washington Geologic Survey, DNR has a long history of documenting and presenting earth’s systems in visual ways that help students, educators, citizens and community leaders know more about the constantly evolving land beneath us.

Our talented cartographers have put together a great animation showing the evolution of Washington geology. Based on the previous work of Jack Powell and John Figge, the cartoon shows the accretion of terranes through geologic time from the Neoproterozoic (~750 million years ago) to the present. It demonstrates how the breakup and reconstitution of ancient supercontinents, and subsequent volcanism and sedimentation resulted in the complex geology we see in Washington today. The final slide (present-day terrane map) also derived from work presented on the DGER Geologic map of Washington-Northwest quadrant (Dragovich and others, 2002) and the USGS Geologic map of the North Cascade Range, Washington map (Haugerud and Tabor, 2009), as well as more detailed data from a number of other DGER and USGS geologists.

Read more in Washington State Geology News, a DNR blog all about the origin, history and structure of the ground beneath our feet.

Visit the Washington State Geologic Portal to see more maps and information about the minerals, formations and hazards in the land around us.

 

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