Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Provenance 

of the Raging River Formation 

(Early? and Middle Eocene), 

King County, Washington

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 2085-A

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Washington. Photograph by Samuel Y. Johnson, July 1992.
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Provenance 

of the Raging River Formation 

(Early? and Middle Eocene), 

King County, Washington

By Samuel Y. Johnson and Joseph T. O'Connor

EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN 

SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

Samuel Y. Johnson, Project Coordinator

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 2085-A

A multidisciplinary approach to research studies of sedimentary 

rocks and their constituents and the evolution of sedimentary 

basins, both ancient and modern

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1994
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Gordon P. Eaton, Director

For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Map Distribution

Box 25286, MS 306, Federal Center

Denver, CO 80225

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and 

does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Johnson, Samuel Y.

Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and provenance of the Raging River Formation (Early? 

and Middle Eocene), King County, Washington/by Samuel Y. Johnson and Joseph T. 

O'Connor.

p. cm. (U.S. Geological Survey bulletin; 2085)

(Evolution of sedimentary basins Cenozoic sedimentary basins in southwest 

Washington and northwest Oregon; A) 

Includes bibliographical references. 

Supt. of Docs, no.: I 19.3:2085-A

1. Geology, Stratigraphic Eocene. 2. Geology Washington (State) King 

County. 3. Raging River Formation (Wash.) I. O'Connor, Joseph T. (Joseph 

Tappan) II. Title. III. Series. IV. Series: Evolution of sedimentary basins Cenozoic sedimentary basins in southwest Washington and northwest Oregon: A. 

QE75.B9 no. 2085-A 

[QE692.2] 

553.7 s dc20 

[551.7'84'0979777] 94-25879

CIP
CONTENTS

Abstract.......................................................................................................................... Al

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1

Stratigraphy and Sedimentology.................................................................................... 4

UnitO of the Raging River Formation ................................................................. 6

Unit 1 of the Raging River Formation ................................................................. 6

Unit 2 of the Raging River Formation ................................................................. 8

Unit 3 of the Raging River Formation ................................................................. 10

Lower Part of the Tiger Mountain Formation...................................................... 16

Petroleum Source Rock?................................................................................................ 17

Sandstone Petrography................................................................................................... 18

Unit 1.................................................................................................................... 18

Unit 2.................................................................................................................... 19

Unit 3.................................................................................................................... 19

Lower Part of the Tiger Mountain Formation...................................................... 22

Heavy-Mineral Studies................................................................................................... 22

Provenance..................................................................................................................... 23

Discussion...................................................................................................................... 25

Conclusions.................................................................................................................... 26

References Cited............................................................................................................ 27

Appendix 1. Raw petrographic data for sandstone from the Raging River Formation

and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation................................................. 30

Appendix 2. Point-count data for the heavy mineral suites of four sandstone samples 

from the Raging River Formation and one sample of the lower part of the

Tiger Mountain Formation......................................................................................... 32

Appendix 3. Electron microprobe analyses of selected detrital mineral grains

from the Raging River Formation.............................................................................. 33

FIGURES

1,2. Schematic geologic maps of:

1. East-central Puget Lowland, Washington............................................................................................................. A2

2. Tiger Mountain area, King County, Washington.................................................................................................. 3

3. Chart showing Eocene andOligocene stratigraphy of the Tiger Mountain area....................................................... 4

4. Schematic diagram showing composite section of Raging River Formation............................................................ 5

5, 6. Photographs showing:

5. Unit 1 conglomerate............................................................................................................................................. 7

6. Unit 1 bioturbated sandstone................................................................................................................................ 7

7. Schematic diagram showing measured section of lower part of unit 2 of the Raging River Formation................... 9

8. Photograph showing unit 2 conglomerate ................................................................................................................. 10

9. Rose diagrams showing paleocurrent data for unit 2 of the Raging River Formation............................................... 10

10. Histogram showing lithology of conglomerate clasts from unit 2 of the Raging River Formation .......................... 11

11. Sedimentologic log of AMOCO WC-83-14 borehole ............................................................................................. 12

12. Photographs showing core from AMOCO WC-83-14 borehole.............................................................................. 16

13. Ternary provenance diagrams for sandstone of the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the

Tiger Mountain Formation......................................................................................................................................... 20

14. Diagrams showing chemical analyses of chromite from Cordilleran ultramafic rocks............................................. 23

15. Ternary provenance diagrams for petrofacies in the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the

Tiger Mountain Formation ........................................................................................................................................ 25

III
IV CONTENTS

TABLES

1. Vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval analyses for samples of the Raging River and the lower part of the 

Tiger Mountain Formation .................................

2. Composition of sandstone of the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation.... 19

3. Normalized proportions of detrital heavy minerals in the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the

Tiger Mountain Formation......................................................................................................................................... 22
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Provenance of the 

Raging River Formation (Early? and Middle Eocene),

King County, Washington

By Samuel Y. Johnson and Joseph T. O'Connor

ABSTRACT

The lower(?) and middle Eocene Raging River Formation is the oldest Tertiary stratigraphic unit exposed in the 

east-central Puget Lowland, Washington, and provides key 

information for reconstructing regional paleogeography. 

Three informal stratigraphic units in the Raging River Formation (designated units 1 to 3, from base to top) are recognized here on the basis of distinctive sedimentary facies and 

lithologies. A fourth unit (unit 0) might represent either the 

lowest exposed part of the Raging River Formation or semilithified Quaternary (?) colluvium. Unit 1, approximately 

230 m thick, consists of interbedded sandstone, mudstone, 

and conglomerate of inferred nonmarine (lower part) and 

transgressive shallow-marine (upper part) origin. Unit 2, 

approximately 185 m thick, consists of interbedded conglomerate, sandstone, and mudstone and is inferred to be of 

mainly alluvial origin. A significant transgression resulting 

from rapid local subsidence is recorded by unit 3 (about 300 

m thick). Unit 3 consists of gray silty mudstone and lesser 

sandstone and was deposited in a marine shelf (lower part) 

and bathyal slope (upper part) setting. The fine-grained 

marine rocks of unit 3 are commonly organic rich and, 

although now overmature, may have generated hydrocarbons in the past. The Raging River Formation is overlain by 

prodelta(?) marine shelf deposits of the lower part of the 

middle Eocene Tiger Mountain Formation. The Raging 

River Formation may provide a surface analog for conductive rocks that are in the subsurface beneath a large part of 

the southern Washington Cascade foothills.

Three sandstone petrofacies were identified in the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation. These petrofacies reveal an upward 

evolution in sediment source from Mesozoic volcanic and 

sedimentary rocks of oceanic affinity (petrofacies 1), to 

lower Mesozoic and Tertiary volcanic rocks and minor(?) 

ultramafic rocks (petrofacies 2), to a mixed provenance 

including Mesozoic oceanic rocks, lower Tertiary volcanic 

rocks, and more distal plutonic or crystalline rocks

(petrofacies 3). Contrasts between the petrology and sedimentology of the Raging River Formation and correlative 

rocks in western Washington argue for significant local tectonism and segregation of discrete sedimentary basins.

INTRODUCTION

The lower(?) and middle Eocene Raging River Formation is the oldest Tertiary stratigraphic unit exposed in 

the east-central Puget Lowland, Washington (figs. 1, 2), 

and provides key information for reconstructing regional 

paleogeography and tectonic history. The base of the Raging River Formation is not exposed. The unit is overlain 

by the sandstone and mudstone of the middle Eocene 

Tiger Mountain Formation, which is in turn overlain by, 

and interfingers with, volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of 

the middle and late Eocene Tukwila Formation (fig. 3). 

The Raging River Formation was named by Vine (1962) 

for patchy outcrops that comprise a northwest-trending 

belt of about 8 km2 on the forested east and north sides 

of Tiger Mountain and on the north flank of Taylor Mountain (fig. 2). Vine (1962, 1969) described the lithology, 

petrology, and clay mineralogy of the unit, measured two 

partial stratigraphic sections, and reported extensive invertebrate and foraminiferal fossil data. Vine interpreted the 

Raging River Formation as dominantly marine and suggested that a marine to nonmarine transition is at the base 

of the overlying Tiger Mountain Formation. Since Vine 

conducted his research, the distribution of exposures of the 

Raging River Formation has been significantly modified 

by the combined effects of logging, log-road construction, 

rapidly growing vegetation, and redeposition of unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. Some of the exposures Vine 

examined are now completely covered, and some new outcrops are present. Core from a 514-meter-deep (1,686 ft) 

borehole (fig. 2) that penetrates the upper Raging River 

and lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formations drilled 

in 1983 by AMOCO Production Company is now also

Al
A2 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

122°

47° 

EXPLANATION

Quaternary deposits

Tertiary plutonic rocks

Mainly Tertiary volcanic 

rocks

Eocene sedimentary and 

volcanic rocks

Cretaceous Mount Stuart 

batholith

Pre-Tertiary melange 

metamorphic rocks

Figure 1. Schematic geologic map of the east-central Puget Lowland, Washington. 1C, western part of outcrop of the Ingalls Tectonic Complex; SCF, Straight Creek fault (arrows indicate 

direction of movement); SP, outcrop area of the Silver Pass Volcanic Member of Swauk Formation; SF, western part of outcrop of the Swauk Formation; TF, area of outcrop of the Taneum 

Formation. Modified from Frizzell and others (1984), Tabor and others (1982,1984), Walsh and 

others (1987), and Yount and Gower (1991).
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A3

T, 24 N 

T, 23 N

47°30'

EXPLANATION 

Quaternary deposits

Tukwila Formation

Tiger Mountain Formation

Raging River Formation

Hydrothermally altered rock 

Fault Dotted where concealed 

Anticline Dotted where concealed 

Syncline Dotted where concealed

Location of

section of

figure 5

121°52 1 30"

Figure 2. Schematic geologic map of the Tiger Mountain area. King County, Washington. Locations of outcrops, measured sections of 

Vine (1969) cited in this text, and the AMOCO WC-83-14 borehole are also shown. Line A-A' is line of section used by Vine (1969) to 

determine thickness of the Raging River Formation. RRFA indicates trace of Raging River fault and anticline. Sections in Tps. 23, 24 N., 

R. 7 E., are indicated by numbers. Location of map area is shown in figure 1. Modified from Vine (1969), Tabor and others (1982), Frizzell 

and others (1984), and Walsh (1984).
A4 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

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Figure 3. Generalized Eocene and Oligocene stratigraphy of the 

Tiger Mountain area. Modified after Vine (1969), Armentrout and 

others (1983), and Yount and Gower (1991); time scale from Harland and others (1990); correlation with foraminiferal stages based 

on Almgren and others (1988) and Niem and Mem (1992).

available for study. The purposes of this report are to 

present new information collected from outcrops, core, 

and petrographic studies and to supplement Vine's efforts 

with a new synthesis of the stratigraphy, sedimentology, 

and provenance of the Raging River Formation.

Acknowledgments. We are grateful to the Weyerhaeuser Company, George Sharp, and Peter Hales for 

allowing us to examine and sample core from the important AMOCO WC-83-14 borehole and to Weldon Rau 

for identifying foraminifers in samples from this core. We 

thank Vito Nuccio for analysis of vitrinite reflectance. Tim 

Walsh and Ken Esposito provided very helpful reviews. 

We were helped and stimulated by discussions with John 

Armentrout, Don Anders, Peter Hales, William Lingley,

Daniel McKeel, Chris Potter, Weldon Rau, Parke Snavely, Jr., William D. Stanley, Joe Vance, and Tim Walsh.

STRATIGRAPHY AND 

SEDIMENTOLOGY

The Raging River Formation forms patchy outcrops in 

a northwest-trending outcrop belt of about 8 km2 on the east 

and north flanks of Tiger Mountain and the north flank of 

Taylor Mountain in the east-central Puget Lowland (figs. 1, 

2). This area is heavily forested and covered by a significant 

amount of Quaternary glacial drift. Outcrops are generally of 

poor quality and are mainly in the beds of small creeks and 

along former logging roads. Vine (1969) measured two partial stratigraphic sections of the Raging River Formation 

(fig. 2) including (1) a 560-meter-thick (1,836 ft) section 

between 357 m (1,170 ft) and -564 m (-1,850 ft) elevation 

in the bed of a small tributary in WV2 sec. 9, T. 23 N., R. 7 

E. (section 2 of Vine) and (2) a 410-meter-thick (1,345 ft) 

section exposed in the bed of a small tributary in sees. 10,15, 

and 16, T. 23 N., R. 7 E. (section 3 of Vine). Vine (1969) 

estimated that each tributary section included about 48 percent cover. The proportion of cover at each tributary locality 

is now much greater, and, although they still provide important sedimentologic, structural, and stratigraphic data, these 

sites are no longer suitable for measured sections. There, 

however, is now a short section exposed on a logging road 

that is suitable for detailed analysis, and the quality of many 

other exposures may have improved since Vine conducted 

his research.

Vine (1969) suggested that the cumulative thickness of 

the Raging River Formation is as much as 915 m (3,000 ft) 

on the basis of projection of outcrop attitudes onto a generalized cross section (line A-A' of fig. 2). This projection 

extends from the contact with the overlying Tiger Mountain 

Formation (figs. 2, 3) to the axis of the faulted, south-plunging part of the doubly plunging Raging River anticline (Vine, 

1969, p. 38), which is covered by glacial drift (fig. 2). 

Because the base of the Raging River Formation is not 

exposed (fig. 3) and Vine's section extends only to the anticline axis (at the surface, fig. 2), the actual thickness of the 

unit may be greater than Vine's estimate.

As a result of field work and core description conducted 

in the summer of 1991, Johnson (1992) recognized three 

informal stratigraphic units within the Raging River Formation (fig. 4). A fourth unit (designated unit 0) could either 

represent the lowest part of the Raging River Formation or 

(more likely) semilithified Quaternary(?) colluvium. Vine's 

(1969) sections were also used in developing this framework, but it is re-emphasized that much of the rock in the 

sections that Vine measured is no longer exposed. The four 

units were recognized on the basis of distinctive sedimentary 

facies and lithologies and are described below. Because of
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A5

Tiger Mountain Formation

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Figure 4. Schematic diagram showing composite section of the Raging River Formation. All locations are in T. 23 N., R. 7 E., King 

County, Washington. Unit 0 could represent either the lowest exposed part of the Raging River Formation or semilithified Quaternary(?) 

colluvium (see text for discussion).
A6 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

limited exposure, the thickness of the different units is based 

mostly on map projections of bedding-plane attitudes.

W.W. Rau (in Vine, 1969, p. 16) identified benthic foraminifers from the upper part of the Raging River Formation 

(unit 3 of this report, fig. 4) and referred them to the upper 

Ulatisian or possibly lower Narizian stage of the middle 

Eocene (fig. 3) (Armentrout and others, 1983). Rau (written 

commun., 1991) subsequently restricted these foraminifers 

to the lower Narizian and identified a comparable fauna in 

core of the upper part of the Raging River Formation (see 

discussion of unit 3 below) from the AMOCO WC-83-14 

borehole. Strata underlying the foraminifers localities are 

undated and are probably early(?) to early middle Eocene in 

age. The overlying Tiger Mountain Formation (fig. 3) has 

not been dated. Turner and others (1093) reported late middle Eocene fission-track and K-Ar dates (41.3+2.3 Ma and 

42.0+2.4 Ma, respectively) from the upper part of the volcanic Tukwila Formation, which overlies and interfingers with 

the Tiger Mountain Formation (fig. 3). For the reasons discussed above, we consider the overall age range of the Raging River Formation to be early(?) and middle Eocene.

UNIT 0 OF THE RAGING RIVER FORMATION

Unit 0, which is questionably part of the Raging 

River Formation, consists of a massive breccia-conglomerate. This unit is exposed only in discontinuous outcrops at 

elevations between 238 m (780 ft) and 251 m (840 ft) in 

the bed of a tributary to the Raging River in SEV4 sec. 4, 

T. 23 N., R. 7 E. (figs. 2, 4). Strata in this tributary were 

also examined by Vine (fig. 4) (his section 2); however, 

he chose not to measure or describe strata lower in the 

tributary (units 0 and 1 of this study) because of the 

effects of faulting and intrusions (see following). Beddingplane attitudes in the unit 0 breccia-conglomerate could 

not be determined because of the unit's massive character. If unit 0 is part of the Raging River Formation and has 

the same attitude as the lowest exposures of overlying 

unit 1 that are unaffected by faulting or slumping, then 

unit 0 is about 95 m thick. Unit 0 outcrops are resistant 

and underlie a 3-meter-high waterfall. Boulders of unit 0 

breccia-conglomerate are present near unit 0 stream outcrops but are not present at higher elevations in the streambed.

No textural variations, fabric, or other features suggestive of primary bedding are discernible in outcrops of 

unit 0 that are as large as 3 m in mean dimension. Clasts 

are poorly sorted, angular to subrounded, and dispersed in 

a matrix of mud and coarse-grained to granular sand. 

Clasts are as large as 80 cm in maximum dimension; the 

mean size of the 10 largest clasts in an outcrop is generally 20-30 cm. Clasts are dominantly gray lithic sandstone, grayish-black mudstone, and minor chert and 

greenstone. All of these lithologies are present within the

Raging River Formation, either as stratified rocks or as 

clasts in conglomerate (mainly unit 2, see below). The 

massive, coarse-grained, texturally immature character of 

this poorly exposed breccia-conglomerate indicates deposition proximal to source as colluvium or coarse-grained 

alluvium.

Unit 0 could represent either the lowest part of the 

Raging River Formation or semilithified Quaternary(?) 

colluvium. The resistant character of the unit (it underlies 

waterfalls and forms large subrounded boulders in the 

creekbed) is the strongest argument for inclusion in the 

Raging River Formation. Quaternary deposits (including 

texturally identical colluvium) are widespread on Tiger 

Mountain (Vine, 1969), but they are typically unconsolidated and highly weathered. The resistant, semilithified 

character of unit 0 and its local occurrence could, however, reflect early cementation by spring waters and (or) 

an anomalously high mud content in the rock matrix. Origin as locally derived Quaternary(?) colluvium is consistent with the clast lithologies, all of which could have 

been derived from local outcrops of the Raging River Formation. Alternatively, these lithologies also are in and 

could have been derived from the Mesozoic melange 

belts (Frizzell and others, 1987) that presently crop out 

less than 10 km east of Tiger Mountain (fig. 1; see section on "Provenance," following). If derived from this 

Mesozoic source, a nearby Eocene uplift (fault-bounded?) 

of considerable relief would be required to account for 

the coarse texture of unit 0.

Although there is no conclusive evidence to distinguish 

between the hypotheses just discussed, we consider a Quaternary^) colluvial origin more likely. Because of the uncertainty, we do not include unit 0 in discussions about the 

Eocene paleogeography of the Tiger Mountain area and the 

Puget Lowland.

UNIT 1 OF THE RAGING RIVER FORMATION

Unit 1 (fig. 4) also crops out in the bed of the tributary 

to the Raging River that passes through sees. 4 and 9, T. 23 

N., R. 7 E. (fig. 2). There is approximately 5 m (change in 

elevation) of cover between the highest outcrops of unit 0 

and the lowest outcrops of well-stratified unit 1. The lower 

part of unit 1 (from about 560 to 740 m in the column of fig. 

4) is from elevations of 256 m (840 ft) to 326 m (1,070 ft) 

and is also below the base of the 560-meter-thick section 

measured by Vine (1969, section 2) in this tributary. This 

lower interval is poorly and discontinuously exposed, 

intruded by dikes and (or) sills, and cut by faults that disrupt 

bedding-plane attitudes. As a result, the lithologies and 

thicknesses shown in the stratigraphic column in figure 4 are 

at best approximations. The upper pan of unit 1 (fig. 4) was 

plotted from Vine's (1969) section 2 descriptions of rocks 

cropping out between elevations of 357 m (1,170 ft) and 396
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A7

Figure 5. Graded conglomerate sandstone couplet of unit 1 of the 

Raging River Formation. Hammer head rests at base of overlying 

couplet.

m (1,300 ft) in this creekbed. The only bedrock exposed in 

the creekbed in this interval (in the summer of 1991) is an 

igneous sill (elevation 343 m) and a few small, poor outcrops 

of silty sandstone. Strata in the upper part of unit 1 also crop 

out in a few roadcuts and one borrow pit along a logging road 

in SEi/4 sec. 9 and NWV4 sec. 15, T. 23 N., R. 7 E. On the 

basis of map patterns, unit 1 is about 230 m thick.

Strata of unit 1 consist of interbedded sandstone, mudstone, and conglomerate. Outcrops in the creekbed at an elevation of 256 m (840 ft) consist of grayish-black, massive to 

flatbedded mudstone and minor very fine grained sandstone. 

Bed thickness is about 10-20 cm. At approximately 264 m 

(865 ft) elevation in the creekbed, there are fair exposures of 

pebble and granule conglomerate and fine-grained to very 

coarse grained sandstone. Beds (fig. 5) form 20-100-centimeter-thick fining-upward sequences separated by scour 

surfaces that have as much as 20 cm of erosional relief 

within 100 cm of lateral exposure. The fining-upward 

sequences are internally massive or are characterized by 

crude horizontal stratification. Conglomerate pebbles are 

typically subrounded, moderately well sorted, and less than

Figure 6. Bedding-plane view of oval and branching sand-filled 

burrows in unit 1 of the Raging River Formation. Lens cap (5.5 cm 

in diameter) is shown for scale.

5 cm in diameter and consist mainly of lithic sandstone, 

mudstone, and chert.

Outcrops of unit 1 in the creek bed at elevations of 274 

m (900 ft), 287 m (940 ft), 293 m (960 ft), 297 m (975 ft), 

and 305-326 m (1,000-1,070) consist of gray, interbedded 

and interlaminated, very fine to medium grained sandstone 

and mudstone. Beds are typically structureless or are characterized by diffuse and disrupted plane lamination, less commonly hummocky bedding and wavy bedding, and possibly 

wave-ripple lamination. Small (<1 cm) mudstone rip-up 

clasts are dispersed in a few sandstone beds. Locally strata 

are intensely bioturbated (fig. 6). Burrow forms resemble 

Thalassanoides and are typically straight to branching (at 

angles of 90° or 120°), horizontal to subhorizontal, 1-2 cm 

in diameter, and as long as 10 cm and have no obvious internal structure. Burrowed horizons are commonly tightly 

cemented by calcite. This interval also includes a few thin 

(<10 cm) concretionary layers that contain dispersed, broken 

gastropod and pelecypod shell fragments.

Medium- to dark-gray, generally aphanitic, igneous 

sills or dikes intrude the unit 1 section at elevations of about 

259 m (850 ft), 287 m (940 ft), and 308 m (1,010 ft) in the 

creekbed. These igneous bodies disrupt stratification on outcrop scale and have planar to irregular margins.

Roadcut exposures are typically massive and badly 

weathered. The best exposures (upper part of unit 1) are in a 

borrow pit in NW l/4sec. 15 (fig. 2). Strata are structureless 

or, less commonly, have poorly preserved parallel stratification highlighted by thin laminations of plant debris. Isolated 

plant fragments are present on many bedding planes and 

coalified logs as large as 13 cm in length and 5 cm in diam-
A8 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

eter are also present. Strata are extensively bioturbated. The 

most common trace fossils are vertical Skolithos burrows 

that are as long as 18 cm and have typical diameters of 1-2 

cm. Gastropod (mainly Turritelld) and pelecypod shells and 

shell fragments are dispersed in many beds.

The more fine grained, extensively burrowed, fossiliferous strata of the upper part of unit 1 are inferred to be of 

shallow marine origin on the basis of stratification styles, 

extensive bioturbation, and fossil content. The limited exposures of the graded conglomerate-sandstone facies in the 

lower part of unit 1 are not sufficient for reliable interpretation. On the basis of their stratigraphic association with overlying shallow-marine rocks, they might represent gravityflow deposits of a shallow-marine fan delta (Nemec and 

Steel, 1988). Alternatively, the lack of evidence of marine 

reworking and the scale of erosion surfaces between units is 

consistent with a fluvial origin, as inferred for conglomerate 

of unit 2.

UNIT 2 OF THE RAGING RIVER FORMATION

Unit 2 (fig. 4) consists of interbedded conglomerate, 

sandstone, and mudstone. At the base of his section 3 (sees. 

10, 15, and 16, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.) (fig. 2), Vine (1969) 

described about 60 m of mainly medium-grained to conglomeratic sandstone in the bed of a tributary to the Raging 

River that is here considered the upper part of unit 2. Unit 2 

strata also form fair outcrops along the logging road in 

NWV4 sec. 15, about 750 m south of Vine's section 3 (fig. 

2). A 49-meter-thick section of these roadcut outcrops (fig. 

7) projects onto the line of generalized cross section used by 

Vine (1969) at a slightly lower stratigraphic level than the 

tributary exposures. Using the base of these roadcuts as the 

base of unit 2 and the top of the conglomeratic interval in the 

tributary section as its top, unit 2 is approximately 185 m 

thick. The isolated northern exposures of the Raging River 

Formation (EV2 sec. 32, T. 24 N., R. 7 E.) (fig. 2) are 

included in unit 2 on the basis of similarly distinct lithologies and sedimentary structures; however, because of poor 

exposures and local faulting, stratigraphic continuity 

between the two outcrop areas cannot be positively demonstrated. Strata at the same stratigraphic level as unit 2 (measuring down from the contact with the overlying Tiger 

Mountain Formation) are covered in Vine's (1969) section 2 

(figs. 2, 4).

The streambed outcrops of unit 2 measured by Vine 

(1969, section 3) are now poorly exposed. They include gray 

to yellowish-brown, poorly sorted, massive to crudely stratified conglomerate and low-angle bedded sandstone. Conglomerate beds are as thick as several meters. Clasts include 

abundant chert and aphanitic volcanic rock. Plant fragments 

are common. The maximum clast size in beds is typically

about 6 cm. Low-angle bedded sandstone crops out at an 

elevation of 325 m (1,065 ft) in the creekbed and is inferred 

to represent the uppermost part of unit 2. These outcrops 

contain scattered organic debris, mudstone rip-up clasts, and 

locally abundant vertical Skolithos (?) burrows.

The 49-meter-thick measured section of unit 2 (fig. 7) 

includes approximately 42 percent silty mudstone, 38 percent conglomerate, and 20 percent sandstone. Conglomerate 

beds are 60-545 cm thick, have low-angle erosional bases, 

and generally fine upward. Internally beds are poorly to 

moderately sorted and structureless and exhibit crude lowangle stratification that has common scour surfaces (fig. 8). 

Pebbles are typically subrounded, commonly imbricate, and 

are clast supported or dispersed in granular sandstone. The 

maximum size of pebbles in conglomerate beds ranges from 

5 to 8 cm. Plant fragments are common. Several conglomerate beds include lenses of massive to crossbedded coarsegrained sandstone that are as thick as 30 cm and more than 

100 cm wide (fig. 7). Restored paleocurrent directions determined from pebble imbrications, channel axes, and crossbeds indicate sediment transport to the west (fig. 9).

Sandstone and silty mudstone beds in the measured section are typically poorly exposed and structureless, contain 

dispersed plant fragments, and weather gray to olive green. 

These beds have common fracture planes lined with clay 

skins, a characteristic typical of paleosols (Retallack, 1988). 

A 20-centimeter-thick bed of fine-grained, grayish-orange, 

lithic tuff is in the lowest mudstone (fig. 7). The tuff bed contains scattered plant fragments and small (<1 cm long, <1 

mm wide) root structures.

The isolated northern outcrops of unit 2 along Interstate 

Highway 90 are intruded by a sill (T. Walsh, Washington 

Department of Geology and Earth Resources, written commun., 1993) and dikes and are relatively indurated. These 

strata consist of gray pebble conglomerate and interbedded 

sandstone. Conglomerate beds are as thick as a few meters 

and are bounded by low-angle (<10°) erosional surfaces. 

Beds are internally structureless or crudely stratified and 

uncommonly graded. Conglomerate clasts are subrounded to 

rounded, poorly to moderately sorted, generally dispersed in 

a granular matrix, and uncommonly imbricate. The mean 

size of the largest clasts in a bed is typically about 12 cm. 

Several large blocks of conglomerate were collected and 

slabbed for pebble counting. A count of 1,180 clasts (fig. 10) 

indicates that lithic sandstone, chert, and aphanitic green or 

black volcanic rocks are the most common clast types.

Unit 2 strata are interpreted as mainly alluvial deposits. 

Poorly to moderately sorted, imbricate conglomerate and 

conglomeratic sandstone were deposited as coarse bedload 

in fluvial channels. Abundant internal scours and low-angle 

stratification suggest that deposition occurred mainly on 

low-relief gravel bars characteristic of braided rivers. 

Uncommon crossbedded sandstone formed by migration of
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A9

50 -i

ooo ooo

30-

10-

EXPLANATION

Cr\°0o5^s, oeef^ cxcxSiA-^OcSo^oosrfi

Tuff bed

0

METERS

cl

f

m

c

cgl

Structureless mudstone

Structureless sandstone

Crossbedded sandstone

Pebbly sandstone

Clast- to granule-supported 

conglomerate

Fine-grained tuff 

Fault

Grain size 

Claystone

Fine-grained sandstone 

Medium-grained sandstone 

Coarse-grained sandstone 

Conglomerate

cl f m c cgl

SS

Figure 7. Measured section of the lower part of unit 2 of the Raging River Formation, described in outcrops along logging road 

in NW !/4 sec. 15, T. 23 N., R. 7 E. Stratigraphic location of section is shown in figure 4.
A10 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

X = 326°

Figure 8. Crudely stratified conglomerate and conglomeratic 

sandstone of unit 2 of the Raging River Formation. Hammer is 

shown for scale.

dunes or sand waves. Massive greenish-gray mudstone containing scattered plant fragments and evidence of paleosol 

formation is characteristic of floodplain deposits in Eocene 

alluvial sequences elsewhere in western Washington (for 

example, Johnson, 1984a) and is notably different from the 

medium- to dark-gray, commonly bioturbated mudstone of 

clearly marine origin in overlying unit 3. The bioturbated 

sandstone that is at the top of unit 2 (see above) is probably 

shallow marine in origin and represents a transition to the 

marine rocks of unit 3.

UNIT 3 OF THE RAGING RIVER 

FORMATION

Unit 3 consists of gray silty mudstone and lesser 

sandstone. Vine (1969) measured two partial stratigraphic 

sections through unit 3 (figs. 2, 4). The quality of exposure is now so poor along each creekbed traverse that 

only a few small outcrops could be described. Along the 

traverse for Vine's (1969) section 2 (fig. 2), small outcrops between the elevations of 494 m (1,620 ft) and 537

X = 232

Figure 9. Rose diagrams showing restored 

paleocurrent data including vector mean and 

confidence angle for unit 2 of the Raging River Formation based on (A) pebble imbrications (51 measurements), and (B) crossbeds 

(4 measurements) and channel axes (4 measurements). All data were collected from the 

measured section of figure 7 except three 

pebble imbrications which were collected 

from isolated northern exposures in SEV4 

sec. 32, T. 23 N., R. 7 E. (fig. 1). Variation 

between and within diagrams is inferred to 

represent variable orientations of channels 

and bars within alluvial system.

m (1,760 ft) consist of gray, massive to parallel-stratified 

silty mudstone and very fine to fine grained sandstone 

Along the traverse for Vine's (1969) section 3 (fig. 2), a 

sill that crops out at an elevation of 323 m (1,090 ft) 

represents the lowest exposure of unit 3 (measured as 50 ft 

(15.2 m) thick by Vine). There are poor discontinuous outcrops above this sill in the creekbed to an elevation of
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION All

400 -i

C/D

C/D

< 300-

O

O 200-

cc

LLJ

CD

s 100-

=>

z 

0^

n= \, i«u

i

(D O ^~* ^""* y /ij y/ KJ

§ § p 1 83 ^1 o S

to to ^o o ^j o ^ >- ^ 3

? 13 co § ^ "J3 o ^~ 'E

s§

O

E

Figure 10. Histogram showing lithology of conglomerate clasts 

from the inferred unit 2 conglomerate of the Raging River Formation in SE V4 sec. 32, T. 24 N., R 7 E.

about 360 m (1,180 ft), above which outcrops mostly disappear. The discontinuous outcrops consist of parallel, 

wavy, and hummocky bedded, very fine to fine grained 

sandstone. Hummocks are about 3 cm high and have 

wavelengths of 20-25 cm. Beds are locally bioturbated.

The best outcrops of unit 3 are in a large borrow pit at 

the end of a spur off the Kerriston-Echo Lake Road on the 

north flank of Taylor Mountain (SEV4SW i/4 sec. 14., T. 23 

N., R. 7 E.). About 10 m of section is exposed in this pit, consisting of medium- to dark-gray, very fine to medium 

grained sandstone and brownish-gray to dark-gray silty 

mudstone. Sandstone is parallel bedded and less commonly 

ripple laminated and bioturbated and contains common pelecypod and gastropod (Turritelld) shell fragments. Burrows 

are most commonly horizontal to subhorizontal and include 

circular tubes (~ 1 cm diameter and <5 cm long) and 2-3-centimeter-long meandering forms. Vertical and inclined burrows are much less common. Mudstone is typically massive 

and is best exposed adjacent to a dike on the east side of the 

borrow pit.

The best opportunity to study the sedimentology of unit 

3 is in the core collected from the AMOCO WC-83-14 borehole. The borehole was drilled to a depth of 534 m (1,752 ft) 

and was cored almost continuously from 46 m to total depth 

(fig. 1 1). The mean dip of beds encountered by the borehole 

was about 50°; thus, the amount of section represented by the 

core is only about 310 m. Of this section, the lower 234 m is 

assigned to the upper part of unit 3 of the Raging River Formation and the upper 76 m to the overlying Tiger Mountain 

Formation. The contact between the Tiger Mountain Formation and the underlying Raging River Formation is characterized by an upward change from dominantly light to medium

gray, bioturbated, poorly stratified mudstone and minor 

lithic sandstone to yellowish-gray, well-stratified, micaceous sandstone.

Unit 3 strata in the WC-83-14 core consist mainly of 

medium- to dark-gray silty or sandy mudstone and light- to 

medium-gray, very fine to medium grained sandstone (fig. 

12A). The sandstone to mudstone ratio is approximately 1:4. 

Mudstone is typically massive, but markedly fissile horizons 

are also present. Primary parallel lamination is rare. The 

massive character probably reflects at least partial deposition 

by suspension and extensive bioturbation. Trace fossils are 

abundant in many horizons of silty and sandy mudstone. 

Helminthoida sp. traces (fig. 12B) are between depths of 

about 338 and 213 m (1,109 and 700 ft), and Teichichnus, 

Chondrites, Ophiomorpha, and other trace fossils are present 

at several horizons (fig. 12C). Thick intervals of mudstone 

uncommonly include thin (<10 cm) interbeds of very fine to 

medium grained sandstone. Where not extensively bioturbated, these beds are typically parallel laminated and have 

sharp bases marked by load casts and rare rip-up clasts. Rare 

gastropod (Turritelld) and pelecypod shells and shell fragments are present in the mudstone at depths of 431,419, 288, 

and 250 m (1,415, 1,374, 944, and 819 ft), and shell fragments are present at several intervals. Shells and shell fragments have variable orientations and clearly were 

redeposited.

Sandstone-rich strata in the WC-83-14 core are most 

abundant at depths of 534-502, 468^59, 283-279, and 

276-254 m (1,752-1,648, 1,535-1,504, 927-916, and 

906-835 ft). Strata are typically fine to medium grained and 

well sorted. Beds in the lower two sandstone-rich horizons 

are structureless, parallel laminated, or extensively burrowed and exhibit relict parallel lamination. Sandstone beds 

with inclined laminations (recognized by intersections and 

truncations at angles as large as 30°) are at depths of about 

511m (1,676 ft), 504 m (1,654 ft), and 465 m (1,525 ft). Rare 

wave (?)-ripple-lamination (ripple height < 2 cm) is present 

at 507 m (1663 ft). Chert-pebble conglomerate (maximum 

clast diameter <2 cm) forms a 14-centimeter-thick interbed 

at a depth of 465 m (1,524 ft). In the upper two sandstonerich horizons, beds are similarly massive to parallel laminated. Massive beds are characterized by subtle vertical 

grain-size changes suggesting amalgamation on internal erosion surfaces. Parallel-laminated beds are commonly 

bounded by or include low-relief (<1 cm) erosion surfaces 

overlain by mudstone rip-up clasts. Grading is rare, but a few 

thin (<20 cm) beds fine upward. Convolute lamination is 

present in a few beds.

Weldon Rau (Washington Department of Geology and 

Earth Resources, written commun., 1991) identified sparse 

foraminiferal faunas from two intervals in the well and suggested that, although small, they are reasonably diagnostic 

of an early Narizian age. In a composite sample between 

516.2 and 518.3 m (1,700-1,693 ft), Rau reported
A12 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

EXPLANATION On

 ,

Organic-rich mudstone 

Massive silty mudstone

Laminated mudstone

Mudstone with sandstone 

partings

Sandstone with mudstone 

partings

Flat to low-angle bedded 

sandstone

Structureless sandstone

Chert-pebble conglomerate 

Intensely fractured zone 

Mudstone rip-up clasts

50-

100-

Q Burrow

" Ripple lamination

Convolute stratification

Load cast

Shell or shell fragment

Sample locationP, petrographic point 

count; V, vitrinite reflectance 

analysis; RE, Rock-Eval 

analysis

310-

co 

cc LUID

o

ho

LU 

CO 

LL 

O

CO 

CO 

LU

*

O

I

300- 200-

250-

No recovery 0-150 ft

No recovery

No recovery

No recovery

P 

V,RE

DEPTH 

OF WELL 

(IN FEET)

I 

cl

I I I I 

f m c cgl 

ss

Figure 11 (above and following pages). Sedimentologic log of core from the AMOCO WC-83-14 borehole, 

SE V4 sec. 14, T. 23 N., R. 7 E., King County, Washington. The mean dip of bedding planes encountered by the 

borehole was about 50°; thus, the thickness of the section penetrated is significantly less than total depth. Vitrinite 

reflectance, Rock-Eval, and petrographic analyses from core samples are given in tables 1 and 2 and appendix 1. 

Location of borehole is shown in figure 2.
THICKNESS OF SECTION (IN METERS)

en o O)

o

1

0

1

N>

00O

1

en8

en o

o -,

o - rotO

o

on Hffi

00

Swo

r

THICKNESS OF SECTION«(IN METERS)

ro 

o0

i

rv>

o

i

ro ro

0

i

ro

CO

o

i

PO£> 

o

1

§ 

I

WX3 

> 

Q5 

o

3

i
THICKNESS OF SECTION (IN METERS)

m

n

 M ~~

83- 

o - eno1 CT> O1 -si o1 00o1 tOo1 "n m -* m

o i

THICKNESS OF SECTION (IN METERS)

0o

1

_L

0

1

ro

0

I

00o

i

^

01

o - 

18 J
THICKNESS OF SECTION (IN METERS)

eno

I

CD0

1

-N|

0

1

000

1

CD0

1

g

on

ew

Or

8

O L

m TI

o

i

THICKNESS OF SECTION (IN METERS)

ro 

o

COo

I

o

I

o. 

 t% """"

83-

o I

z; 

O

13§w3

g
A16 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

Figure 12. Photographs of core of the Raging River Formation from the AMOCO WC-83-14 borehole. Location of borehole shown in 

figure 2; log of corehole is shown in figure 11. Centimeter scale is shown for each. A, Parallel stratified, very fine to fine grained sandstone 

and mudstone, unit 3. Core is from interval between 336 and 338 m (1,102-1,109 ft). B, Helminthoida sp. trace fossils in mudstone, unit 3. 

Core is from depth of 333 m (1,092 ft). C, Burrowed, very fine grained sandstone and interlaminated mudstone, unit 3. Core is from interval 

between 514 and 518m (1,686-1,699 ft).

Plectofrondicularia packardi packardi Cushman and 

Schenck, Pseudoglandulina cf. P. pyrula d'Orbigny, and 

Dentalina sp. On the basis primarily of the presence of 

Plectofrondicularia and comparison to the biofacies outlined by Ingle (1980) for California Cenozoic paleobathymetry, Rau suggested a probable middle bathyal depositional 

environment for this assemblage. D.R. McKeel (paleontology consultant, oral commun., 1992), however, suggested 

that Plectofrondicularia is more characteristic of an outer 

shelf environment, an interpretation more consistent with 

sedimentologic observations (see below) for the lower part 

of unit 3. In a composite sample for the interval between 

382.6 and 385.1 m (1,255-1,263 ft), Rau reported Dentalina 

sp., Gyroidina sp., Quinqueloculira cf. Q. triangularis d'Orbigny, Amphimorphina cf. A. californica Cushman and 

McMasters, and ^Pseudoglandulina sp. Rau (in Vine, 1969, 

p. 16) reported a more extensive foraminifers species list for 

the upper part of unit 3 from a locality in Vine's section 2 

(fig. 2), about 49 m below the base of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation (equivalent to a drilling depth of about 236 m in 

the WC-83-14 borehole; fig. 11). Rau (written commun., 

1992) suggested a middle bathyal depositional environment 

for this assemblage, which is consistent with the sedimentologic interpretations described following.

Unit 3 represents a transition from shelf to slope deposition. Hummocky bedded sandstone in creekbed outcrops 

of the lower part of unit 3 indicates deposition above wave 

base in a shallow-marine or shelf setting. The lower two 

sandstone-rich horizons in the WC-83-14 core include lowangle laminated and ripple-laminated sandstone that probably also reflects wave reworking. The dominance in overlying rocks of structureless silty mudstone suggests a slope 

depositional environment (for example, Mutti and Ricci 

Lucchi, 1972), consistent with the middle-bathyal paleobathymetry (500-2,000 m; Ingle, 1980) inferred from the 

foraminifera. The upper two sandstone-rich horizons in the 

WC-83-14 core were probably deposited by turbidity currents in channels cut into the slope. Massive and parallellaminated facies represent the Bouma A and B turbidite 

divisions, respectively.

LOWER PART OF THE TIGER MOUNTAIN 

FORMATION

Strata of the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation were examined mainly in core from the AMOCO 

WC-83-14 borehole (fig. 11). Approximately 118m (386 ft)
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A17

of the Tiger Mountain was cored, representing (correcting 

for structural dip) about 75 m of section. The contact (criteria 

for placement defined above in section on unit 3) is in a 

gouge zone between 164.3 and 163.9 m (539.0 and 537.5 ft) 

in the core. Although this gouge zone does not appear to be 

a significant fault, structural displacement resulting in stratigraphic offset on this feature provides an explanation for the 

very abrupt facies transition at the contact (see below) and is 

considered possible.

The lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation consists of interbedded yellowish-gray sandstone and mediumgray to grayish-black silty mudstone. The sandstone to mudstone ratio is about 5-6:1. Sandstone is typically moderately 

sorted and fine to medium grained and forms beds several 

meters thick. Primary stratification is mainly parallel lamination; low-angle lamination and wave-ripple lamination are 

uncommon. Many sandstone beds overlie erosion surfaces 

lined with small mudstone rip-up clasts. Upper bed contacts 

are both graded and abrupt. An anomalous interval from 

132.5 to 129.2 m (434.5^23.7 ft) consists of 10 thin graded 

beds that fine upward from massive coarse-grained or granular sandstone to commonly parallel laminated, fine-grained 

sandstone. More subtle vertical grain-size variations and 

inversions are common within many thicker sandstone beds 

and similarly indicate episodic deposition. Trace fossils, 

mainly vertical to horizontal lined burrows (Skolithos and 

Scoyenia), are present in most sandstone beds and range 

from rare to abundant. Where abundant, primary stratification is poorly preserved. Silty mudstone and carbonaceous 

mudstone laminae commonly form thin (<1 cm) layers 

within thick sandstone beds. Fossil plant fragments are common in carbonaceous mudstone partings.

Silty mudstone in the lower part of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation ranges from parallel laminated and fissile to massive. Parallel-laminated beds commonly include very thin 

(<1 cm) lenticular layers of very fine grained sandstone. 

These sandstone layers were probably also present in massive beds but have been mixed with bounding fine-grained 

sediment by bioturbation. A bed of medium- to dark-gray 

organic-rich mudstone, about 1.5 m thick, is between 102.4 

and 100.2 m (336 and 328.5 ft).

The fine- to medium-grained sandstone of the lower 

part of the Tiger Mountain Formation represents deposition 

in a marine shelf environment, possibly in a prodelta setting. 

Parallel and less common low-angle and wave-ripple laminated beds must in part reflect deposition by storm processes. Some sandstone beds might be hummocky bedded, 

but the limited lateral perspective provided by the core and 

the extensive sediment mixing by bioturbation make this 

determination difficult. The more coarse grained, graded 

beds formed as turbidites (Bouma A and in some cases B 

divisions) that were probably transported by density underflows at a delta front. Deposition of these turbidites below 

storm-wave base by storm-generated currents (as in Hamblin 

and Walker, 1979) is unlikely given their coarse grain size

relative to adjacent strata. Preservation of turbidite features 

probably reflects rapid removal from the zone of bioturbation by burial. Given the evidence for some deposition by 

turbidity currents, it is likely that many other massive bioturbated sandstone beds also had a turbidite origin. The variable 

amount of bioturbation in sandstone beds indicates variable 

sediment accumulation rates. Thick intervals of bioturbated 

sand indicate slow sediment accumulation, whereas the presence of graded sandstone beds, sandstone beds with only 

moderate sorting, and abundant mudstone partings indicates 

minimal winnowing and relatively rapid accumulation. This 

inferred variation in sediment supply is consistent with a 

position in front of a laterally migrating delta.

A prodelta shelf setting for the lower part of the Tiger 

Mountain Formation is consistent with its stratigraphic position. As discussed above, underlying rocks near the top of 

the Raging River Formation (unit 3) were deposited at 

bathyal depths. Strata higher in the Tiger Mountain Formation described by Vine (1969) contain large-scale crossbedded sandstone and pebble conglomerate, siltstone with 

abundant plant fragments, and coal, clearly indicating nonmarine deposition.

PETROLEUM SOURCE ROCK?

Fine-grained marine rocks of inferred early and early 

middle Eocene age (such as the Raging River Formation) are 

apparently widespread in the subsurface in the southern 

Washington Cascade foothills. Stanley and others (1987, 

1992, 1994) described a major conductivity anomaly that 

underlies upper middle Eocene to Oligocene rocks in the 

southern Washington Cascade foothills. They inferred that a 

section consisting mainly of fine grained marine strata is the 

source of the anomaly. The Tiger Mountain-Taylor Mountain exposures of the Raging River Formation (figs.l, 2) and 

the AMOCO WC-83-14 (fig. 11) core provide the only 

known window or analog for rocks fitting the inference of 

Stanley and others (1987, 1992, 1994).

Stanley and others (1992) further suggested that the 

rocks representing the conductivity anomaly could be a significant petroleum source rock. Rock-Eval pyrolysis data 

(table 1) suggest that unit 3 bathyal mudstone from the 

AMOCO WC-83-14 core (three samples) and outcrop (two 

samples) is now overmature with respect to hydrocarbon 

generation (Tmax 509°C-542°C) and thus cannot be reliably 

evaluated as petroleum source rocks (Peters, 1986). In slight 

contrast, vitrinite reflectance measurements in five samples 

from the AMOCO core (table 1; range of 1.96± 0.33 percent 

at 498 m depth to 1.65±08 percent at 69 m depth) suggest 

that rocks are highly mature but still capable of generating 

lean to dry gas. Peters (1986) reported that anomalously high 

Tmax values can result from the presence of oxidized, highly 

mature, or type IV (inert), kerogen. Given the inferred 

marine shelf and slope environment of unit 3, primary
A18 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

Table 1. Vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval analyses for samples of the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the 

Tiger Mountain Formation, King County Washington.

[Units: RRF1, Raging River Formation unit 1; RRF3, Raging River Formation unit 3; TM, lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation. 

Locations: 1, AMOCO Production WC-83-14 borehole, footage is given in parentheses; 2, SEV4 sec. 4, T. 23 N., R.7 E.; 3, SEV4 sec. 9, 

T. 23 N., R.7 E.; 4, SWV4 sec. 14, T. 23 N., R. 7 E. R0 is vitrinite reflectance (in percent); T,^ is temperature (in °C) at which maximum yield 

of hydrocarbons occurs during pyrolysis of organic matter; S 1 is integral of first peak (existing hydrocarbons volatilized at 250°C for 5 minutes 

(in milligrams per gram); S2 is integral of second peak (hydrocarbons produced by pyrolysis of solid organic matter (kerogen between 250°C 

and 550°C) (in milligrams per gram); S3 is integral of third peak (CO2 produced by pyrolysis of kerogen between 250°C and 390°C) (in 

milligrams per gram); TOC is total organic carbon (in percent); HI is hydrogen index (S2/TOC); OI is oxygen index (S3/TOC); PI is production 

index (S 1/(S 1+S2). Leader ( ) indicates no data available]

Sample No.

SJ-91-11

SJ-91-18

SJ-91-43

SJ-91-45

SJ-91^7

SJ-91-49

SJ-92-120

SJ-92-124

SJ-91-55

SJ-91-57

Unit

RRF1

RRF3

RRF3

RRF3

RRF3

RRF3

RRF3

RRF3

TM

TM

Location

2

3

1(1,633)

1(1,470)

1(959)

1(798)

4

4

1(332)

1(226)

RO

1.18±0.04

1.96±0.33

1.48±0.26

1.65±0.14

4.01±0.40

1.74±0.10

1.65±0.08

Tmax

 

511

533

542

535

509

484

ffl

17

21

47

37

12

60

OI

81

10

9

2

92

14

TOC

1.12

0.80

0.65

0.86

0.83

2.84

Si

0

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.11

S2

0.20

0.17

0.31

0.32

0.10

1.73

S3

0.91

0.08

0.06

0.02

0.77

0.42

PI

0

0.06

0.03

0.06

0.17

0.06

kerogen in unit 3 was probably type III (gas prone) or even 

type II (oil prone), not type IV; thus, the noted discrepancy 

between the pyrolysis and vitrinite maturity indicators 

reflects oxidation and (or) high levels of maturity. There is 

good correlation in the level of maturity suggested by pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance values of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation sampled in the AMOCO well (table 1); the data 

suggest that rocks are highly mature but still capable of generating lean to dry gas.

One outcrop sample from unit 1 yielded a vitrinite 

reflectance value of 1.18±04 percent, and an outcrop sample 

from unit 3 yielded a value of 4.01±0.40 percent (table 1). 

The latter high value may reflect proximity to a concealed 

intrusion. The range of vitrinite reflectance values for the 

Raging River Formation indicates that there were significant 

lateral as well as vertical thermal gradients during the Tertiary in the Tiger Mountain-Taylor Mountain area, a point 

also noted by Walsh and Phillips (1982) and Walsh and Lingley (1991) on the basis of coal-rank data.

Despite the indicators of high thermal maturity, there is 

still as much as 0.8-1.1 percent total organic carbon in finegrained marine rocks of the Raging River Formation (table 

1). Assuming primary type III or type II organic matter, the 

rocks were once more organic rich (Daly and Edman, 1987) 

and capable of generating significant hydrocarbons. The 

Raging River Formation provides a viable source for the oil 

and gas shows in the nearby Black Diamond area (Anderson, 

1959; McFarland, 1983) (fig. 1) and may have similar viability in untested areas of the eastern Puget Lowland.

SANDSTONE PETROGRAPHY

Vine (1962, 1969) provided a brief description of the 

sandstone petrology of the Raging River Formation. He

stated that the sandstone is unsorted and that it is commonly 

difficult to distinguish clast and chloritic matrix. He also 

suggested that plagioclase is typically abundant, that quartz 

and potassium feldspar are rare or absent in some samples, 

and that proportions of quartz, chert, mafic minerals, and 

opaque minerals are variable. For this study, 20 sandstone 

samples from units 1,2, and 3 of the Raging River Formation 

and 7 samples from the overlying lower part of the Tiger 

Mountain Formation were examined and point counted 

(table 2, appendix 1). Sandstone compositions were then 

plotted on ternary provenance diagrams (fig. 13) after Dickinson (1985).

UNIT1

Seven moderately sorted, medium- to coarse-grained 

sandstone samples of unit 1 were examined petrographically. Grains are typically moderately sorted and subrounded. These sandstones are classified as lithic arenite 

(Dott, 1964). Monocrystalline quartz and volcanic lithic 

fragments are the most common grain types, but plagioclase 

feldspar (albite based on optical determination), sedimentary 

lithic fragments, polycrystalline quartz, and chert grains are 

also present in significant amounts (table 2, appendix 1). At 

least some of the albite in this unit and in overlying units may 

result from alteration of calcic plagioclase. Potassium feldspar is very rare. Volcanic lithic fragments have lathwork to 

microlitic textures and less common felsitic textures and 

commonly include chlorite, epidote, and other low-grade 

metamorphic minerals. Sedimentary lithic fragments range 

from microgranular quartzite grains to matrix-rich siltstone. 

Polycrystalline quartz grains are typically equigranular and 

nonfoliated. Nonframework grains include epidote, chlorite, 

hornblende, pyroxene, and opaque mafic minerals. Bent
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A19

Table 2. Composition of sandstone of the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation, King 

County, Washington.

[Percentage of grain type (not normalized) is presented as a mean (X) and standard deviation (SD). Statistical parameters calculated after 

Dickinson (1985). Percentages based on point counts of more than 300 framework grains (quartz, feldspar, lithic fragments) per thin section 

or grain mount using the "Gazzi-Dickinson" method (Ingersoll and others, 1984). Raw petrographic data used in constructing this table is 

given in appendix 1]

Raging River Formation

Unitl

(n=7)

Monocrystalline quartz

Polycrystalline quartz

Chert

Plagioclase feldspar

Potassium feldspar

Sedimentary lithic

Volcanic lithic

Metamorphic lithic

Mica

Accessories

Matrix and cement

X

28.0

8.1

3.6

11.8

0

9.7

28.4

0.8

0.8

2.3

6.6

SD

10.5

3.2

2.3

5.8

0.1

2.4

5.0

0.8

0.5

1.8

2.3

Unit 2

(n=3)

X

11.8

5.1

3.0

24.8

0

12.1

34.3

0.3

0.9

1.3

5.2

SD

1.0

3.4

2.8

5.6

0

9.6

12.6

0.3

0.5

1.4

6.6

Unit3

(n=10)

X

12.6

2.5

0.2

33.3

0

2.9

40.3

0.7

1.7

1.7

4.8

SD

10.8

1.8

0.4

12.3

0

3.7

14.3

1.0

1.7

1.4

4.5

Lower part of

Tiger Mountain Formation

(n=7)

X

28.1

3.1

2.5

29.1

0.1

7.9

20.7

1.2

2.9

0.5

3.8

SD

2.4

1.2

1.6

4.6

0.2

1.7

5.9

1.0

1.8

0.5

1.4

Plagioclase/total feldspar 1.00 0.01 1.0 0 1.0 0 1.0 0.01

QFL

QmFLt

QmPK

QpLvLs

44,13,43

31,12,56

70,30,0

23,58,19

22,27,51

13,27,60

33,67,0

4,64,22

17,36,47

14,36,50

27,73,0

7,85,8

37,31,32

31,31,38

51,49,0

15,61,26

lithic fragments, calcite cement, and clay pseudomatrix 

(Dickinson, 1970) have resulted in the loss of all primary 

porosity.

On ternary provenance diagrams (Dickinson, 1985) 

(fig. 13), the mean of sandstones of unit 1 plots in the more 

"oceanic" part of the recycled orogen field on a QFL diagram, in the more chert rich part of the recycled orogen field 

on a QmFLt diagram, and in the arc orogen field on a 

QpLvLs diagram.

UNIT 2

Three sandstones were examined from conglomeraterich unit 2. These samples are also lithic arenite (Dott, 1964) 

and consist of poorly to moderately sorted, medium-grained 

sandstone (table 2, appendix 1). Two of the samples were 

collected on the east flank of Tiger Mountain, and the third 

sample was collected about 5 km to the northwest on the 

north flank of Tiger Mountain (fig. 2).

The most common component of the two samples from 

the east flank of Tiger Mountain (SJ-91-32 and SJ-92-131) 

is volcanic lithic fragments, which have mainly lathwork and 

microlitic textures. Plagioclase (albite based on optical 

determinations) is also abundant and ranges from fresh to 

highly altered. Potassium feldspar is absent. Monocrystalline quartz makes up about 10 percent of each sample; polycrystalline quartz and chert are less common.

Sample SJ-91-200 from the north flank of Tiger Mountain contains about 25 percent volcanic lithic fragments and 

23 percent sedimentary lithic fragments. Volcanic lithic 

fragments have lathwork, microlitic, and felsitic textures. 

Sedimentary lithic fragments range from quartzite to matrixrich siltstone. Polycrystalline quartz (including chert) and 

monocrystalline quartz make up about 13 and 16 percent of 

the rock, respectively. Plagioclase feldspar (about 20 percent) is albite (based on optical determination) and variably 

altered to clays; potassium feldspar is absent. Primary porosity in all samples of unit 2 has been completely filled by bent 

lithic fragments, clay pseudomatrix (Dickinson, 1970), and 

(or) calcite cement.

All three samples of unit 2 plot in the magmatic arc 

field on both QFL and QmFLt ternary provenance diagrams 

(Dickinson, 1985) (figs. 13A, B), and in the arc orogen field 

on a QpLvLs diagram (fig. 13D). The compositional variation between the samples from the two outcrop areas could 

reflect (1) different local source terranes for sediments 

deposited 5 km apart at about the same stratigraphic level, 

(2) sampling from different stratigraphic levels within unit 2, 

or (3) incorrect correlation of the two different outcrop areas 

(see preceding discussion).

UNIT 3

Ten samples of poorly to moderately sorted, fine- to 

coarse-grained sandstone from unit 3 were examined
A20 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

F

A

Continental

block 

provenances

Decreasing 

maturity

Increasing ratio of 

oceanic to continental 

detritus

Recycled orogen 

provenances

A

Plutonic (p) >

volcanic (v)

sources

Magmaticarc 

provenances

v>p

Continental

block 

provenances

Decreasing 

maturity

Recycled orogen 

provenances

F

B

Lt

/O

Increasing plutonic (p) v ^', 

to volcanic (v) sources

Increasing 

chert/quartz

Magmattc arc |_t 

provenances

EXPLANATION 

A Lower part of the

Tiger Mountain Formation 

Raging River Formation

O Unit3 

0 Unit 2 

O Unitl

Figure 13 (above and facing page). Ternary provenance diagrams showing range and mean of (A) QFL, (5) QmFLt, (C) QmPK, and (D) 

QpLvLs parameters for units 1, 2, and 3 of the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation. Sandstone 

compositional data are summarized in table 2, and raw petrographic data and field definitions are given in appendix 1. Provenance fields 

from Dickinson (1985).
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A21

P

c

K

petrographically (table 2, appendix 1). Six of the samples 

are lithic arenite, and four samples (including the two 

stratigraphically highest samples from the AMOCO 

WC-83-14 well) are arkosic arenite (Dott, 1964). Volcanic 

lithic fragments (20-67 percent) and plagioclase feldspar 

(15-52 percent) are the most abundant two components in 

samples of unit 3. Volcanic lithic fragments have lathwork, 

microlitic and felsitic textures. Other types of lithic grains 

(including polycrystalline quartz and chert) make up less 

than 10 percent of most samples. Plagioclase feldspar is 

albite (based on optical determination). Potassium feldspar 

is absent. Monocrystalline quartz ranges from 1 to 18 perIncreasing maturity

from continental block

sources

Circum-Pacific

volcanoplutonic

sources

Increasing ratio of plutonic to 

volcanic sources

K

Subduction complex 

sources

Lv Ls

cent in all but the upper two samples from the AMOCO 

WC-83-14 core. Chlorite, epidote, and opaque minerals 

are common accessory minerals. Biotite, which is rare in 

underlying units and in most of unit 3, makes up more than 

3 percent of the stratigraphically highest sample. Primary 

porosity has been eliminated (to varying degree in different 

samples) by bent lithic fragments, pseudomatrix (Dickinson, 1970), calcite cement, and fibrous phyllosilicate 

cement. Samples of unit 3 plot in or closest to the magmatic 

arc provenance fields on QFL and QmFLt ternary provenance diagrams, and in the arc orogen field on a QpLvLs 

diagram (Dickinson, 1985) (figs. 13A, B, D).
A22 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

Table 3. Normalized proportions of detrital heavy minerals in the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation, King County, Washington.

[Sample locality information and point-count data are given in appendix 2. Unit numbers refer to units 1, 2, and 3 of the Raging River Formation; 

TM indicates Tiger Mountain Formation. Sample SJ-91-25 is a composite sample from units 2 and 3. Petrofacies A, B, and C are described in 

text. Detrital indicates percentage of grains in heavy-mineral suite that are of inferred detrital origin. ZTGA includes zircon, monazite, tourmaline, 

garnet, apatite, and allanite; EPZ includes epidote and zoisite; UM includes chromite, chromium-rich chlorite, and olivine; pyroxene includes 

orthopyroxene and diopside; amphibole includes hornblende and tremolite; mica includes biotite, muscovite, chlorite, and margarite]

Unit

Petrofacies

Detrital

ZTGA

EPZ

UM

Pyroxene

Amphibole

Mica

Magnetite

Rutile

Sphene

Calcium-rich plagioclase

(>An60)

SJ-92-114

1

A

1.0

66.67

0

0

0

0

0

0

33.33

0

0

SJ-91-25

2,3

B

44.8

12.70

0

36.54

0.44

0.51

37.80

11.47

0

0.51

0

SJ-92-117

3

B

86.6

3.56

0

0

0

0

96.44

0

0

0

0

SJ-92-129

3

B

32.6

13.19

0

3.31

0

1.10

82.45

0

0

0

0

SJ-92-127

TM

C

59.56

8.67

56.26

0.96

0

0

14.42

0

0

18.75

0.94

LOWER PART OF THE TIGER MOUNTAIN 

FORMATION

Seven samples of moderately sorted, medium-grained 

sandstone from the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation were examined (table 2, appendix 1). These samples are 

classified as lithic arenite (four samples) and arkosic arenite 

(three samples) and have fairly uniform compositions (fig. 

13). Plagioclase feldspar (albite based on optical determinations) is the most abundant framework component (23-35 

percent), followed by monocrystalline quartz (26-31 percent). Volcanic lithic fragments (13-29 percent) have lathwork, microlitic, and felsitic textures. Sedimentary lithic 

fragments (6-11 percent), polycrystalline quartz (2-^ 

percent), and chert (1-6 percent) are present in lesser 

amounts. Biotite (1-5 percent) is the most common accessory mineral. Primary porosity was eliminated (to varying 

degree in different samples) by bent lithic fragments, 

pseudomatrix (Dickinson, 1970), and calcite cement. Samples plot in the magmatic arc provenance fields on QFL and 

QmFLt ternary provenance diagrams, and in the arc orogen 

field on a QpLvLs diagram (Dickinson, 1985) (figs. 13A, 

B, D).

HEAVY-MINERAL STUDIES

Heavy-mineral studies were carried out on four samples of the Raging River Formation and one sample from 

the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation in order to 

supplement petrographic studies. Grain counts of the 

heavy-mineral suites are listed in appendix 2. Samples 

included a mix of heavy minerals of inferred detrital and 

authigenic origin. Detrital heavy minerals, which make up

from 1 to 87 percent of the grains counted for each sample, are grouped and listed in table 3. Three of the mineral groups listed in table 3 are based on inferred 

common genetic association. Zircon, monazite, tourmaline, 

garnet, apatite, and allanite (ZTGA group) are most commonly associated with granitoid igneous or metamorphic 

rocks, epidote and zoisite (EPZ group) are most commonly present in metabasic rocks, and chromite, chromium-rich-chlorite, and olivine (UM group) are most 

commonly present in ultramafic rocks. Chlorite is the most 

common phyllosilicate. Although some chlorite in the 

Raging River Formation is present as an authigenic clay 

mineral, the grains that were counted for the heavy-mineral analysis are larger and mainly formed by alteration of 

biotite that could have occurred either prior to erosion of 

the sediment source or during burial of the Raging River 

Formation.

Samples contained a high proportion (14-99 percent) 

of minerals that are of inferred authigenic origin, including 

calcite and other carbonate minerals, anatase, barite, 

hematite, and sulfide minerals. The large proportion of 

these minerals and abundant replacement textures within 

grains (carbonate by carbonate, carbonate by sulfide, silicate by carbonate) indicate a chemically dynamic diagenetic environment. The range of sulfide phases (abundant 

pyrite and minor sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, 

chalcocite, tetrahedrite, and molybdenite) also implies 

that metal-bearing fluids may have circulated through the 

rocks, an interpretation consistent with the numerous 

dikes that intrude the rocks (fig. 4) and their geographic 

proximity to the Tukwila volcanic center (Vine, 1969).

Although the heavy-mineral grain counts provide 

important information on the petrology of Raging River
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A23

1.0

0.8

.0.6-

0.4-

0.2-

/ Dunite and 

/ chromite

1.0

0.8

<

+

o 

o

0.6-

0.4-

0.2-

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Fe2/(Fe2 + Mg)

Metamorphic^]^

i 

-Stratiform \ ('

jo i Lherzolite,

 g/ harzburgite,

^/ and gabbros

'O 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Fe2/(Fe2 + Mg)

B

1.0

0.8

0.6-

0.4-

0.2-

/ / / / / /

 / / /

/ / /

/ 7.^> / / / <^ /

' / K I

\ V// 

-i - ^ / Detrital chromite,

] <^> / Raging River

/ "^ / Formation / \

1.0

____/_I____A|_____|_____|_____ 

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Fe2/(Fe2 + Mg)

Figure 14. Comparison of chemical analyses of chromite from Cordilleran ultramafic rocks. Fields are modified slightly from Loferski 

(1986). Chromites having compositions that plot in the upper right corner of diagrams are probably from serpentinite (Evans and Frost, 

1974). Data from Himmelberg and Coleman (1968), Thayer (1969), Loney and others (1971), Himmelberg and Loney (1973, 1980, 1981), 

Onyeagocha (1974), Evans and Frost (1974), Irvine (1974), Dick (1977), Quick (1981), Snoke and others (1981), Loferski and Lipin (1983), 

Dick and Bullen (1984), Harper (1984), Himmelberg and others (1985), Miller and Mogk (1987), Loferski (1986), and Loney and Himmelberg (1983,1989). A, Cumulate ultramafic rocks (dunite and chromitite). B, Alpine-type or metamorphic peridotite (Iherzolite and harzburgite). C, Detrital chromite from units 2 and 3 of the Raging River Formation.

sandstone, their utility for distinguishing provenance is 

limited by the number of samples analyzed and the flooding effects of authigenic minerals (see preceding). To provide additional information, the chemistry of detrital 

chromite was also analyzed (fig. 14). Chromite (including 

ferritchromit, chromium-rich magnetite, and chromespinel), present in three of the five analyzed samples, is a 

good provenance indicator because it has a restricted origin (primarily ultramafic rocks). Figure 14 shows the 

compositions of Raging River Formation chromites plotted 

beside those from cumulate ultramafic rocks (dunite and 

chromitite) and those from alpine-type or metamorphic 

peridotite (Iherzolite and harzburgite). These plots indicate that the chromite in the Raging River Formation had 

a likely source in cumulate ultramafic bodies. Analyses of 

six other detrital mineral grains are provided in 

appendix 3.

PROVENANCE

Sandstone petrography and scanning electron microscope-energy-dispersal spectral heavy-mineral data indicate variable sources for the Raging River Formation and

the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation. These 

sources are difficult to identify precisely because of the 

abundant cover of younger rocks and because of probable 

large-scale, Eocene displacement on the Straight Creek 

fault (fig. 1). The Straight Creek fault experienced approximately 85-190 km of right-lateral slip, probably mainly 

of Eocene age (Misch, 1977; Vance and Miller, 1981, 

1992; Tabor and others, 1984; Johnson, 1985; Ague and 

Brandon, 1990; Coleman and Parrish, 1991); thus, sediment source terranes east of the Straight Creek fault were 

displaced at least several tens of kilometers following deposition of the Raging River Formation.

On the basis of sandstone petrography, three stratigraphically controlled sandstone petrofacies were identified in the Raging River Formation and the lower part of 

the Tiger Mountain Formation (fig. 15). Petrofacies A represents sandstone of unit 1 and is distinguished on the 

basis of relatively equal amounts of monocrystalline 

quartz and volcanic lithic fragments and significant 

amounts of plagioclase, sedimentary lithic fragments, 

polycrystalline quartz, and chert. On ternary provenance 

diagrams (figs. 13, 15), the mean composition plots in 

either the oceanic or chert-rich parts of the recycled orogen field or in the mixed-source field. The heavy-mineral 

suite identified in the single sample of petrofacies A is
A24 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

dominated by authigenic minerals and therefore yields little provenance information. The inferred probable source 

for petrofacies A was nearby uplifts of Mesozoic rock of 

oceanic affinity, probably the western and eastern 

melange belts mapped by Frizzell and others (1987) less 

than 10 km east of Tiger Mountain (fig. 1). These oceanic 

basement rocks are present regionally (for example, Frizzell and others, 1987; Miller, 1989) and contain abundant 

chert, graywacke, and greenstone. The variable sedimentology and texture of rocks of petrofacies A must reflect a 

combination of variable relief in the source, sediment supply, and relative sea level.

Petrofacies B includes sandstone from unit 2 and 

from the stratigraphically lower part of unit 3 (all samples 

except the upper two from the AMOCO WC-83-14 core) 

(table 2, appendix 1). This petrofacies is distinguished on 

the basis of the large proportion of volcanic lithic fragments and plagioclase. The mean composition plots in the 

more volcanic part of the magmatic arc field on provenance diagrams (fig. 15), indicating a volcanic source terrane. The increased proportion of volcanic lithic 

fragments in petrofacies B most likely indicates derivation from a different, more volcanic rich, erosional level 

within Mesozoic melange belts that are inferred to be the 

source for petrofacies A. Petrofacies B was, however, at 

least partly deposited at bathyal depths, making a more 

distal source of volcanic sediment also possible (because 

proximal sources might have also been submerged). Suitable volcanic rocks east of the Mesozoic melange belts 

and on the east side of the Straight Creek fault include 

the volcanic part of the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous 

ophiolitic Ingalls Tectonic Complex (Tabor and others, 

1982; Miller, 1985), the lower Tertiary Taneum Formation, and the Silver Pass Volcanic Member of the Swauk 

Formation (Tabor and others, 1984).

The presence of detrital chromite in rocks of petrofacies B (fig. 14, table 3, appendix 2) indicates that some 

ultramafic rock was also exposed in the source terrane for 

petrofacies B. Frizzell and others (1984) mapped minor 

ultramafic rock (serpentinite) in the western melange belt, 

and Walsh (1984) mapped Quaternary terrace deposits 

along the Cedar River (about 10 km south of the Raging 

River Formation outcrop belt shown in fig. 2) that contain 

ultramafic boulders. These boulders range in diameter 

from about 1.8 to 6.1 m (6-20 ft) and consist of peridotite 

and pyroxenite, commonly with cumulate textures. The 

size of these boulders indicates that they must have been 

locally derived from a part of the western melange belt 

that is now concealed or, alternatively and less likely, was 

completely eroded in the Eocene. Similar ultramafic bodies in the western melange belt of dunite or chromitite 

composition are the most likely source of detrital 

chromite in the Raging River Formation. Correlative

Jurassic ophiolitic rocks (Vance and others, 1980) in western Washington include significant cumulate ultramafic 

bodies such as the Twin Sisters Dunite (Ragan, 1963).

The ophiolitic Ingalls Tectonic Complex (Miller, 

1985; Miller and Mogk, 1987), which is present within 

about 50 km of the Tiger Mountain area (fig. 1) and contains a significant proportion of ultramafic rocks, is a 

more distant candidate for the source of the detrital 

chromite. Most of the ultramafic rocks (>90 percent) in 

the Ingalls Tectonic Complex, however, are Iherzolite and 

harzburgite (Miller, 1985, oral commun., 1993), not the 

dunite or chromitite that the chemical data of figure 14 

suggest are the probable source for the detrital chromite.

Petrofacies C includes the upper part of the Raging 

River Formation (upper two samples of unit 3) and sandstone of the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation 

(table 2, appendix 1). This petrofacies is distinguished on 

the basis of relatively equal amounts of quartz (including 

polycrystalline quartz and chert), plagioclase feldspar, and 

lithic fragments (mainly volcanic and sedimentary). The 

mean composition for petrofacies C plots in the more plutonic part of the magmatic arc field on provenance diagrams (fig. 15) and is easily distinguished from petrofacies 

B on the basis of a smaller proportion of volcanic lithic 

fragments. The sample of petrofacies C analyzed for 

heavy minerals contains a large proportion of epidote 

(table 3, appendix 2). Petrofacies C was probably derived 

from a variety of sources, including the Mesozoic oceanic 

rocks (the most likely source of detrital epidote) and lower 

Tertiary volcanic rocks inferred for petrofacies A and B, 

and plutonic or crystalline rocks. Plutonic and crystalline 

rocks are the main sources for Eocene sandstone in the 

Puget Lowland and Cascade Range (for example, Frizzell, 1979; Johnson, 1984b, 1985; Taylor and others, 

1988), including those of the Puget Group, which overlies 

the Raging River Formation. Possible plutonic or crystalline sources include the Mount Stuart batholith (fig. 1) and 

high-gj;ade metamorphic rocks now exposed in northeastern Washington, and the Idaho batholith (Johnson, 

1984b). Petrofacies C was thus deposited in a transitional 

period of drainage reorganization, during which more eastern sources could be tapped.

In summary, the petrofacies reveal an evolution in 

source terrane for lower(?) and middle Eocene sediments 

deposited in the Puget Basin (Johnson, 1985) of the central Puget Lowland. The oldest strata represented by petrofacies A were derived primarily from Mesozoic basement 

rocks of oceanic affinity. Stratigraphically higher petrofacies B was derived from Mesozoic oceanic rocks and also 

possibly from lower Tertiary volcanic rocks. The stratigraphically highest rocks examined in this study, represented by petrofacies C, were probably derived from a 

variety of sources that includes Mesozoic oceanic rocks,
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A25

Lt

Lv Ls

EXPLANATION 

Puget Group 

A Petrofacies C 

Q Petrofacies B 

0 Petrofacies A

Figure 15. Ternary provenance diagrams showing the mean of QFL, QmFLt, QmPK, and QpLvLs parameters for the three petrofacies 

(A, B, and C) recognized in the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation (raw data in appendix 1) and 

for the younger Puget Group (data from Frizzell, 1979). Field definitions are given in appendix 1.

lower Tertiary volcanic rocks, and regional plutonic or 

crystalline rocks. Petrofacies C represents a transition 

from oceanic and volcanic sediment sources to more plutonic and crystalline sources represented by the overlying 

Puget Group (fig. 15) (Frizzell, 1979).

DISCUSSION

Sedimentologic and petrologic data for the Raging 

River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation provide important data for regional paleogeo-
A26 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

graphic reconstruction. Paleocurrent data (fig. 9) were collected from only a small area but suggest a west-dipping 

paleoslope, consistent with other studies in the Cascade foothills and with petrologic data (for example, Buckovic, 1979; 

Johnson, 1984a, b, 1985, unpublished data). The rapid transition in the Raging River Formation from nonmarine deposits of unit 2 to middle bathyal (depths of 500-2,000 m) 

deposits of unit 3 provides evidence for abrupt subsidence 

and submergence of this paleoslope in the early middle 

Eocene (early Narizian, about 48 Ma; Johnson, 1993). This 

dramatic pulse of basin subsidence is not seen in the correlative Chuckanut Formation farther to the north in the Puget 

Lowland and Cascade foothills (Johnson, 1984b) or in the 

Swauk Formation to the east (Taylor and others, 1988) and 

thus probably is related to local tectonism and not to regional 

transgression. Furthermore, global sea-level curves (Haq 

and others, 1988) do not show a major rise in sea level at this 

time. Following this pulse of rapid subsidence, an uplift 

event is recorded by the abrupt transition from the middle 

bathyal deposits of unit 3 of the Raging River Formation to 

the inferred shelf deposits of the lower part of the Tiger 

Mountain Formation (Johnson, 1993). This transition (provided there is minimal or no section cut out at the contact) 

requires at least several hundred meters of shoaling but 

occurs within a few tens of meters of section (fig. 11). Thus, 

the basin floor must have been rising during deposition of the 

lower Tiger Mountain Formation. Comparisons of the subsidence history of the Tiger Mountain area and other sites in 

the Puget Lowland will provide important data for reconstructing the tectonic and sedimentary history of the region 

(Johnson, 1993).

Recognition of eastern Mesozoic basement terranes as 

early (?) and early middle Eocene sediment sources is important for understanding the paleogeography of correlative 

rocks deposited farther to the west on the eastern Olympic 

Peninsula. On the basis mostly of a significant component of 

sedimentary, metasedimentary, chert, and volcanic lithic 

fragments, Melim (1984) suggested that the lower middle 

Eocene sandstone of Scow Bay (Armentrout and Berta, 

1977) must have been derived from rocks in the San Juan 

Islands to the north (Brandon and others, 1988), an area 

mostly underlain by terranes similar to those in the melange 

belts mapped by Frizzell and others (1987). Einarsen (1987) 

similarly suggested a source in the San Juan Islands for a 

chert-rich petrofacies in the lower Eocene Blue Mountain 

unit (sedimentary interbeds in the Crescent Formation); 

however, there is no independent evidence that the main part 

of the San Juan Islands were uplifted during the early to early 

middle Eocene. For example, the western part of the main 

outcrop belt of the Chuckanut Formation, less than 10 km 

east of the eastern San Juan Islands, is relatively fine grained 

and dominantly arkosic and was derived from sources to the 

east and north, not the west (Johnson, 1984b). In contrast, 

there is now compelling evidence (this study) that lithologically similar source rocks were exposed and eroding in the

western Cascade foothills in the early(?) and early middle 

Eocene.

The inferred uplifts of Mesozoic rocks may have been 

associated with activity along the Straight Creek fault. The 

Raging River Formation is probably correlative with the 

upper part of the Swauk Formation, which mainly crops out 

east of Tiger Mountain on the east side of the Straight Creek 

fault (fig. 1) (Tabor and others, 1984; Taylor and others, 

1988). These upper Swauk strata consist of fluvial and lacustrine deposits; sandstones are arkosic arenite (Taylor and 

others, 1988), in marked contrast to the dominantly marine 

lithic arenite of the Raging River Formation (Taylor and others, 1988). These contrasts suggest that the two units were 

not part of one contiguous sedimentary basin. On the basis of 

facies and paleocurrent analysis in the Swauk, Taylor and 

others (1988) inferred that tectonic uplift occurred in the 

Straight Creek fault zone during early middle Eocene time. 

The lithologic contrasts between the Swauk and Raging 

River Formations provide supporting evidence for this tectonic partition. Contrasts between the inferred paleogeography of the Swauk basin and Puget basin (Johnson, 1985) no 

doubt also reflect significant juxtaposition of disparate 

paleogeographic elements by dextral strike-slip offset on the 

Straight Creek fault.

CONCLUSIONS

Three informal stratigraphic units are recognized in the 

lower(?) and middle Eocene Raging River Formation based 

on distinctive sedimentary facies and lithologies. A fourth 

unit (unit 0) consisting of breccia-conglomerate could represent either the lowest part of the Raging River Formation or, 

more likely, lithified Quaternary (?) colluvium. Unit 1, 

approximately 230 m thick, consists of interbedded sandstone, mudstone, and conglomerate of inferred nonmarine 

(lower part) and shallow-marine (upper part) origin. Unit 2, 

approximately 185 m thick, consists of interbedded conglomerate, sandstone, and mudstone and is interpreted as 

mainly alluvial deposits. A major transgression resulting 

from rapid local subsidence is recorded by unit 3 (about 300 

m thick), which consists of gray silty mudstone and lesser 

sandstone and was deposited in a marine shelf (lower part) 

and bathyal slope (upper part) setting. The Raging River Formation is overlain by prodelta(?) marine shelf deposits in the 

lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation. Marine rocks 

correlative with the Raging River Formation probably 

underlie a significant part of the eastern Puget Lowland and 

represent a possible source for hydrocarbons.

Three sandstone petrofacies were identified in the Raging River Formation and lower part of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation. These petrofacies reveal an upward evolution in 

sediment source from Mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary 

rocks of oceanic affinity (petrofacies A), to lower Tertiary 

and Mesozoic volcanic rocks and minor(?) ultramafic rocks
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A27

(petrofacies B), to a mixed provenance including Mesozoic 

oceanic rocks, lower Tertiary volcanic rocks, and more distal 

plutonic or crystalline rocks (petrofacies C). Contrasts 

between the petrology and sedimentology of the Raging 

River Formation and correlative rocks in western Washington argue for significant local tectonism and segregation of 

discrete sedimentary basins.

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STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A29

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Published in the Central Region, Denver, Colorado

Manuscript approved for publication April 29, 1994

Edited by Judith Stoeser

Graphics prepared by Samuel Y. Johnson and Gayle Dumonceaux

Photocomposition by Norma J. Maes
A30 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

Appendix 1. Raw petrographic data for sandstone from the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation, King County, Washington.

[Point counts were made using the Gazzi-Dickinson method (Ingersoll and others, 1984). All thin sections were stained for potassium feldspar. 

Petrographic data are plotted in figures 13 and 15 and summarized in table 2. Sample localities are shown in figure 2]

CODES FOR PETROGRAPHIC DATA

1. Stratigraphic unit: Rl, unit 1 of the Raging River Formation; R2, unit 2 of the Raging River Formation; R3, unit 3 of the Raging River 

Formation; TM, lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation

2. Locality: 1, Amoco Production WC-83-14 borehole; footage given in parentheses following locality number; 2, outcrops in drainage in SVi sec.

4. N'/2 sec. 9, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.; 3, roadcut outcrops in W/2, sec. 15, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.; 4, roadcut outcrops in SWV4 sec. 32, T. 24 N., R. 7 E.;

5. outcrops in drainage in SWV4 sec. 10, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.; 6, outcrops in SWV4 sec. 14, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.; 7, outcrops in NVi, sec. 21, T. 23 

N., R. 7 E.

3. Grain size of sample: F, fine-grained sandstone; M, medium-grained sandstone; C, coarse-grained sandstone

4. Number of points counted

5. Number of framework grains counted 

6-22. Modal percent of composition (not normalized to 100 percent)

6. Monocrystalline quartz 17.

7. Foliated polycrystalline quartz 18.

8. Undifferentiated polycrystalline quartz 19.

9. Chert 20.

10. Plagioclase feldspar 21.

11. Potassium feldspar 22.

12. Sedimentary rock fragments 23.

13. Volcanic rock fragments 24.

14. Quartz-mica tectonite rock fragments 25.

15. Low-grade metamorphic rock fragments

16. Biotite, muscovite, and chlorite 26.

Epidote, amphibole, and pyroxene

Opaque minerals, garnet, sphene, and other heavy minerals

Matrix and hematite cement

Calcite cement

Porosity

Plagioclase/total feldspar

QFL (total quartz, feldspar, lithic fragments)

QmFLt (monocrystalline quartz, feldspar, lithic fragments)

QmPK (monocrystalline quartz, plagioclase feldspar, potassium feldspar, lithic

fragments)

QpLvLs (polycrystalline quartz, volcanic lithic fragments, sedimentary lithic fragments)

For calculating ternary ratios QFL, QmFLt, QmPK, and QpLvL: Q=6+7+8+9; Qm=6; F=10+l 1; L=12+13+14+15; Lt=7+8+9+12+13+14+15; 

Qp=2=3=4; Lv=8; Ls=7.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

SJ-91-10A

Rl

2

C

407

347

14.5

0.5

9.8

6.4

15.7

0

9.6

26.5

0.5

1.7

1.5

5.1

1.2

0

6.9

0

1.0

37,18,45

17,18,65

48,52,0

32,50,18

SJ-91-12

Rl

2

M-C

358

333

20.1

0.6

10.6

5.9

17.9

0

10.6

26.5

0.3

0.6

0.8

1.1

1.4

0

3.6

0

1.0

40,19,41

22,19,59

53,47,0

31,49,20

SJ-91-13B

Rl

2

M

380

334

25.3

0.8

8.2

3.2

14.7

0.3

12.6

22.1

0.8

0

0.6

0

2.4

6.8

2.4

0

0.98

43,17,40

29,17,54

62,37,1

26,47,27

SJ-91-15

Rl

2

M

384

355

43.0

0

6.0

3.9

3.4

0

6.3

27.9

0

0

0

0

0.8

0

8.9

0

1.0

59,4,37

46,4,50

93,7,0

22,63,14

SJ-91-16

Rl

2

M

390

348

26.2

0.3

11.6

5.1

2.6

0

12.8

30.8

0

0

0.8

0.5

1.0

0.5

7.9

0

1.0

48,3,49

29,3,68

94,6,0

28,51,21

SJ-91-200

R2

4

M

380

371

12.9

1.8

7.6

6.8

19.7

0

22.6

25.3

0.8

0

1.6

0

0

0

0.8

0

1.0

30,20,50

13,20,67

40,60,0

25,39,35

SJ-91-32

R2

3

M

384

370

10.4

0

0.8

0

32.6

0

0.5

52.1

0

0

0.3

0.3

0.3

2.9

0.3

0

1.0

12,34,54

11,34,55

24,76,0

1,98,1
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION

Appendix 1. Raw petrographic data for sandstone from the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation, King County, Washington Continued.

A31

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

SJ-91-22

R3

3

M

392

370

3.3

0

0

0

41.3

0

1.0

48.7

0

0

0.5

0

0.5

2.6

2.0

0

1.0

4,44,53

4,44,53

7,93,0

0,98,2

SJ-91-51

TM

1(526)

M

383

350

26.4

0

1.6

0.8

28.7

0

7.0

28.7

0.3

0

3.7

0.3

0

0.3

4.4

0

1.0

31,29,40

29,29,42

50,50,0

6,75,19

SJ-91-27

R3

3

M-C

387

368

0.8

0

0.3

0

34.1

0

0.5

59.4

0

0

0

0

2.6

2.1

0.3

0

1.0

1,36,63

1,36,63

2,98,0

1,99,1

SJ-91-52

TM

1(497)

M

382

357

26.2

0.3

3.4

2.9

35.3

0.5

10.7

14.1

0

0

0.5

0

0

0

5.0

0

0.99

35,38,27

28,38,34

42,57,1

14,49,37

SJ-91-41

R3

1(1,733)

F-M

389

370

17.5

0.3

4.1

0

31.4

0

0

37.3

0.5

1.5

0.5

3.1

1.0

1.0

1.8

0

1.0

23,33,44

18,33,49

36,64,0

10,84,6

SJ-91-53

TM

1(450)

M

372

349

31.2

0

4.0

2.7

29.6

0

8.3

17.2

0.8

0

2.4

0

0.5

0.5

2.7

0

1.0

40,32,28

33,32,35

51,49,0

21,53,26

SJ-91-42

R3

1(1,676)

M-C

383

357

7.0

0

1.8

1.3

38.4

0

3.4

38.4

0

0

0.6

0

0.8

5.0

0.5

0

1.0

11,44,45

8,44,48

15,85,0

7,85,8

SJ-91-54

TM

1(389)

M-C

363

353

26.7

0.6

4.4

5.8

23.1

0

5.8

28.9

1.9

0

1.1

0

0.3

1.4

0

0

1.0

39,24,38

27,24,49

62,38,0

24,64,13

SJ-91-44

R3

1(1,509)

M-C

376

353

6.7

0

4.0

0.3

15.4

0

0.3

67.0

0.3

0

0.3

1.1

0.3

1.9

2.7

0

1.0

12,16,72

7,16,77

30,70,0

6,94,0

SJ-91-58

TM

1(213)

F-M

422

383

25.6

0

1.4

1.2

34.6

0

5.7

20.9

1.4

0

4.2

0

0.9

1.4

2.6

0

1.0

31,38,31

28,38,34

43,57,0

9,72,29

SJ-91-48

R3

1(918)

M

417

345

29.5

0.2

3.1

0

26.6

0

0.2

20.1

0.5

0

3.1

0

1.2

0.2

15.1

0

1.0

40,32,28

36,32,32

53,47,0

13,77,10

SJ-91-58A

TM

1(168)

M

383

353

28.7

0.5

3.1

3.1

22.7

0

8.9

22.2

2.9

0

2.1

0

0

0.3

5.5

0

1.0

39,25,37

31,25,44

56,44,0

18,59,23

SJ-91-48A

R3

1(839.5)

M

383

356

33.7

0.3

3.1

0

29.2

0

3.9

19.8

2.9

0

4.0

0.5

0.5

1.3

0.8

0

1.0

40,31,29

36,31,33

54,46,0

13,73,14

SJ-92-112

Rl

2

M

349

334

22.6

0.3

6.0

0.6

15.8

0

9.7

39.2

1.2

0.3

0.6

0

0.9

0

2.9

0

1.0

31,16,53

24,16,60

59,41,0

13,70,17
A32 CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY BASINS IN SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON

Appendix 1. Raw petrographic data for sandstone from the Raging River Formation and the lower part of the Tiger Mountain 

Formation, King County, Washington Continued.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

SJ-92-113

Rl

2

F-M

383

350

44.4

0

2,3

0

12.8

0

6.3

25.6

0

0

1.6

1.0

0

0

6.0

0

1.0

51,14,36

49,14,37

78,22,0

7,75,18

SJ-92-131

R2

5

M

429

347

12.1

0.7

4.7

2.3

22.1

0

13.3

25.4

0.2

0

0.7

0

0.7

0

14.5

13.3

1.0

25,27,48

15,27,58

35,65,0

17,55,29

SJ-92-116

R3

6

F-M

335

326

3.9

0

0.3

0

52.5

0

3.9

36.7

0

0

0

1.2

0

1.5

8.9

0

1.0

4,54,42

4,54,42

7,93,0

1,90,9

SJ-92-121

R3

6

F-M

345

335

7.2

0

2.0

0.3

50.4

0

2.9

34.2

0

0

3.6

0

0

0

0

0

1.0

10,52,38

7,52,41

13,87,0

6,87,7

SJ-92-123

R3

6

M-C

366

335

16.4

0.5

5.2

0.5

13.9

0

13.1

41.0

0.5

0.3

4.4

3.2

0.9

0

0

0

1.0

25,15,60

18,15,67

54,46,0

10,68,22

SJ-92-128

TM

7

M

393

344

32.1

0.5

1.8

1.0

29.5

0

8.7

13.2

0.5

0

6.3

0.8

0.8

2.3

0

0

0.99

40,34,26

37,34,29

52,48,0

13,53,34

Appendix 2. Point-count data for the heavy-mineral suites of four sandstone samples from the Raging River Formation and one sample 

from the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation, King County, Washington.

[Sandstone samples were crushed, sieved, and washed to fine sand size and separated using a Na(WO4)n liquid of density +2.85. Several thousand 

grains from the heavy fraction of each separation were mounted in epoxy on a glass petrographic slide and ground to slightly thicker than a standard thin 

section. The slides were polished with alumina. Grain mounts were studied with an optical petrographic microscope, a scanning electron microscope 

(SEM), and an electron microprobe. Heavy-mineral modes were counted using the energy-dispersive spectral (EDS) capability of the SEM. SEM-EDS 

analysis (as opposed to traditional analysis by petrographic microscope) allowed opaque mineral phases including provenance-specific chromite and 

sulfide minerals to be clearly distinguished and made it possible to document compositional breaks among many silicate families (for example, garnet, 

tourmaline, and amphibole). Where SEM-EDS data were not sufficient to clearly distinguish between some mineral phases (for example, calcium-rich 

garnet and zoisite), supplemental analysis by optical microscope was undertaken]

15, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.; 4, roadcut 

outcrops in SW1A sec. 14, T. 23 N,

CODES FOR HEAVY-MINERAL DATA

1. Stratigraphic unit: Rl, unit 1 of the Raging River Formation; R2, unit 2 of the Raging River Formation; R3, unit 3 of the Raging River 

Formation; TM, lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation

2. Locality: 2, outcrops in drainage in Sl/t sec. 4, NVi sec. 9, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.; 3, roadcut outcrops in WVi, sec 

outcrops in SWV4 sec. 32, T. 24 N., R. 7 E.; 5, outcrops in drainage in SWV4 sec. 10, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.; 6, 

R. 7 E.; 7, outcrops in N^, sec. 21, T. 23 N., R. 7 E.

3. Number of points counted 

4-41. Modal percent of composition (not normalized to 100 percent)

4. Magnetite

5. Titanium-rich magnetite

6. Hematite

7. Chromite1

8. Rutile

9. Anatase

10. Sphene

11. Zircon

12. Monazite

13. Tourmaline, undifferentiated

14. Garnet, undifferentiated

15. Apatite

16. Epidote 

'includes chromium-rich magnetite and ferritchromit (Lipin, 1984).

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

Zoisite

Allanite

Calcium-rich plagioclase (>An60)

Muscovite

Biotite

Margarite

Chlorite

Chromium-rich chlorite

Orthopyroxene

Diopside

Olivine

Hornblende

Tremolite

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

Pyrite

Chalcopyrite

Sphalerite

Chalcocite

Tetrahedrite

Molybdite

Calcite

Siderite

Ankerite

Rhodochrosite

Barite

Rock fragments
STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, AND PROVENANCE, RAGING RIVER FORMATION A33

Appendix 2. Point-count data for the heavy-mineral suites of four sandstone samples from the Raging River Formation and one sample 

from the lower part of the Tiger Mountain Formation, King County, Washington Continued.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

SJ-92-114

Rl

2

304

0

0

15.18

0

0.33

4.62

0

0.33

0.33

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

42.90

0

0

0.33

1.42

0.33

18.15

10.89

0

0

1.95

3.30

SJ-91-25

R2-3

3,4

419

5.14

0

0

15.57

0

27.04

0.23

1.4

1.16

0.1

0.23

2.10

0

0

0.70

0

0

1.78

0

15.16

0.70

0.10

0.10

0.10

0.23

0

13.33

0.47

0

0

0

0

4.73

0

0

0.20

0

9.54

SJ-92-117

R3

6

360

0

0

3.63

0

0

3.35

0

0.28

0.28

0

0.56

1.96

0

0

0

0

1.96

4.75

0

76.81

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.28

0

0.28

0

0

0

0.28

0

0

0

1.68

4.75

SJ-92-129

R3

3

350

0

0

3.94

1.08

0

20.25

0

0.54

0

0

0

3.76

0

0

0

0

0

0.18

0

26.70

0

0

0

0

0.18

0.18

31.54

0

1.43

0

0

0

9.14

0

0

0

0.72

0.18

SJ-92-127

TM

6

557

0

0

0.57

0.57

0

5.73

11.17

0

0

0

0

5.16

32.08

1.43

0

0.56

0

1.72

0

6.87

0

0

0

0

0

0

30.65

03

0.29

0

0

0

1.43

0.29

0

0

0.57

1.65

Appendix 3. Electron microprobe analyses of selected detrital mineral grains from sample SJ-91-25, Raging River Formation, King 

County, Washington.

[Sample SJ-91-125 is a composite sample of unit 2 and 3 of the Raging River Formation. Sample locality data and point-count data for the heavymineral suite are given in appendix 2. Data are not normalized. Total iron is reported as FeO]

SiO2

A12O3

TiO2

FeO

MgO

MnO

CaO

Na20

K2O

Cr2O3

Hypers thene

50.65

0.54

0.01

28.77

17.38

1.22

0.77

0

0

0

Pyroxene

51.30

1.33

0.09

9.14

13.87

0.62

21.52

0.42

0

0

Hyspers thene

57.42

0.58

0.02

7.47

26.19

0.14

4.32

0

0

1.08

Tourmaline

34.57

25.00

1.80

12.06

8.06

0

2.97

1.09

0

0

Garnet

36.92

20.96

0.20

34.79

1.45

1.66

3.68

0

0

0

Garnet

37.26

20.66

0.42

33.09

1.06

1.96

5.64

0

0

0

*U.S. GOVEraWENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1994-673-046/86064