Geologic Map of the Washougal Quadrangle, Clark 

County, Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon 

By Russell C. Evarts, Jim E. O’Connor, and Terry L. Tolan

Pamphlet to accompany

Scientific Investigations Map 3257

2013

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
ii

Contents

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

Geographic and Geologic Setting...............................................................................................................................1

Previous Geologic Investigations................................................................................................................................2

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................4

Synopsis of Geology ......................................................................................................................................................4

Paleogene Volcanic and Sedimentary Rocks.................................................................................................................6

Basaltic Andesite of Elkhorn Mountain .......................................................................................................................6

Other Volcanic and Volcaniclastic Rocks ...................................................................................................................8

Metamorphism and Hydrothermal Alteration ..............................................................................................................8

Columbia River Basalt Group.........................................................................................................................................8

Grande Ronde Basalt.................................................................................................................................................9

Sentinel Bluffs Member...........................................................................................................................................9

Wanapum Basalt ........................................................................................................................................................9

Frenchman Springs Member ..................................................................................................................................9

Priest Rapids Member ..........................................................................................................................................11

Basin-Fill Deposits .......................................................................................................................................................11

Sandy River Mudstone .............................................................................................................................................12

Troutdale Formation .................................................................................................................................................12

Conglomerate Member .........................................................................................................................................14

Hyaloclastic Sandstone Member...........................................................................................................................14

Unnamed Conglomerate ..........................................................................................................................................15

Unnamed Fan Gravel of the Ancestral Sandy River.................................................................................................16

Volcanic Rocks .....................................................................................................................................................16

Quaternary Alluvial, Eolian, and Mass-Wastage Deposits ...........................................................................................18

Terrace Deposits ......................................................................................................................................................18

Sandy River Terraces ...........................................................................................................................................18

Washougal and Little Washougal River Terraces .................................................................................................20

Cataclysmic Flood Deposits .....................................................................................................................................20

Alluvial and Lahar Deposits Derived from Mount Hood Volcano ..............................................................................21

Other Alluvial, Eolian, and Mass Wastage Deposits.................................................................................................22

Holocene Columbia River Alluvium.......................................................................................................................22

Holocene Alluvium of Tributary Streams...............................................................................................................23

Landslide and Talus Deposits...............................................................................................................................23

Loess ....................................................................................................................................................................24

Eolian Deposits.....................................................................................................................................................24

Structural Features.......................................................................................................................................................24

Faults........................................................................................................................................................................25

Sandy River Fault .................................................................................................................................................25

Faults near Corbett ...............................................................................................................................................25

Graben along Little Washougal River ...................................................................................................................25

Other Faults ..........................................................................................................................................................26

Age of Deformation...................................................................................................................................................26

Geologic Resources.....................................................................................................................................................26

Geologic Evolution .......................................................................................................................................................27

References Cited .........................................................................................................................................................29
iii

Figures

Figure 1. Regional setting of the Washougal 7.5' quadrangle. A, Major tectonic and physiographic 

features of the Pacific Northwest; B, Simplified geologic map of the Vancouver 30' x 60' quadrangle, 

modified from Phillips (1987a).....................................................................................................................................2

Figure 2. Chemical characteristics of volcanic rocks from the Washougal 7.5' quadrangle (analyses 

recalculated volatile-free). A, K2O+ Na2O versus SiO2, showing IUGS classification (Le Maitre, 2002); 

B, K2O versus SiO2, showing low-, medium-, and high-potassium fields extrapolated from Gill (1981, p. 6); 

C, FeO*/MgO versus SiO2, showing classification into tholeiitic and calc-alkaline rocks according to 

Miyashiro (1974). FeO*, total Fe as FeO.....................................................................................................................7

Figure 3. Stratigraphic nomenclature of the Columbia River Basalt Group, after Tolan and others (2009), 

Reidel (2005), and Reidel and Tolan (in press). Magnetic polarity designations are N, normal; R, reversed; 

T, transitional; E, excursional. Subscripts refer to magnetostratigraphic units of Swanson and others (1979). 

Units present in the Washougal 7.5' quadrangle are shown in blue bold italics ........................................................10

Figure 4. Comparison of stratigraphic nomenclature and age assignments for Neogene and younger 

basin-fill units of the Portland Basin and vicinity. LKT, low-potassium tholeiite.........................................................13

Tables

Table 1. Chemical and modal analyses of volcanic rocks, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, 

Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon ..........................................................................................................37

Table 2. Summary of K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar incremental-heating age determinations, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, 

Clark County, Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon....................................................................................43

Table 3. Summary of feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence and thermoluminescence age determinations, 

Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon.......................................44

Table 4. Summary of radiocarbon age determinations, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, 

Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon ..........................................................................................................45
1

Geologic Map of the Washougal Quadrangle, Clark 

County, Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon 

By Russell C. Evarts, Jim E. O’Connor, and Terry L. Tolan

Introduction

Geographic and Geologic Setting

The Washougal 7.5' quadrangle spans the boundary between the Portland Basin and the 

Columbia River Gorge, approximately 30 km east of Portland, Oregon (fig. 1). The map area contains 

the westernmost portion of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area as well as the rapidly 

growing areas surrounding the Clark County, Washington, cities of Camas and Washougal. The 

Columbia River transects the map area, and two major tributaries, the Washougal River in Washington 

and the Sandy River in Oregon, also flow through the quadrangle. The Columbia, Washougal, and 

Sandy Rivers have all cut deep valleys through hilly uplands, exposing Oligocene volcanic bedrock in 

the north part of the map area and lava flows of the Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group in the 

western Columbia River Gorge. Elsewhere in the map area, these older rocks are buried beneath weakly 

consolidated to well-consolidated Neogene and younger basin-fill sedimentary rocks and Quaternary 

volcanic and sedimentary deposits.

The Portland Basin (Evarts and others, 2009a) is part of the Coastal Lowland (Haugerud, 2004) 

that separates the Cascade Range from the Oregon Coast Range (fig. 1). The basin has been interpreted 

as a pull-apart basin located in the releasing stepover between two en echelon, northwest-striking, rightlateral fault zones (Beeson and others, 1985, 1989; Yelin and Patton, 1991; Blakely and others, 1995). 

These fault zones are thought to reflect regional transpression, transtension, and dextral shear within the 

forearc in response to oblique subduction of the Pacific plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone 

(Pezzopane and Weldon, 1993; Wells and others, 1998). The southwestern margin of the Portland Basin 

is a well-defined topographic break along the base of the Tualatin Mountains, an asymmetric anticlinal 

ridge that is bounded on its northeast flank by the Portland Hills Fault Zone (Balsillie and Benson, 1971; 

Beeson and others, 1989; Blakely and others, 1995), which is probably an active structure (Wong and 

others, 2001). The nature of the corresponding northeastern margin of the basin is less clear, but a series 

of poorly defined and partially buried dextral extensional structures has been hypothesized from 

topography, microseismicity, potential-field anomalies, and reconnaissance geologic mapping (Yelin 

and Patton, 1991; Davis, 1987; Beeson and others, 1989; Blakely and others, 1995).

This map is a contribution to a program designed to improve the geologic database for the 

Portland Basin region of the Pacific Northwest urban corridor, the densely populated Cascadia forearc 

region of western Washington and Oregon. Updated, more detailed information on the bedrock and 

surficial geology of the basin and its surrounding area will facilitate improved assessments of seismic 

risk (Yelin and Patton, 1991; Bott and Wong, 1993; Palmer and others, 2004), ground-failure hazards 

(Wegmann and Walsh, 2001), and resource availability (Johnson and others, 2005) in this rapidly 

growing region.
2

Previous Geologic Investigations

The lower Columbia River region has attracted the attention of geologists for over a century. 

Among early descriptions of geologic relations in the Columbia River Gorge-Portland Basin region are 

those of Williams (1916), Hodge (1938), Lowry and Baldwin (1952), and Treasher (1942). Trimble 

(1963) mapped and described the geology of the Portland metropolitan area at a scale of 1:62,500 and 

established the basic stratigraphic framework and distribution of geologic units throughout the Portland 

Basin. Working simultaneously but independently, Mundorff (1964) mapped the northern part of the 

Washougal quadrangle at a scale of 1:48,000 as part of a groundwater-resources evaluation of Clark 

County, Washington. The maps of Trimble and Mundorff are very similar, and both reports provide 

detailed descriptions of the basin-fill deposits.

Tolan (1982) mapped the westernmost Columbia Gorge in detail, emphasizing stratigraphic 

relations in the Columbia River Basalt Group; his map area lies mostly east of the Washougal 

quadrangle but extends westward to Corbett Station. Phillips (1987a) compiled a geologic map of the 

Vancouver 30' x 60' quadrangle, which includes the Washougal 7.5' quadrangle at 1:100,000 scale as 

part of the state geologic mapping program of the Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources 

(Walsh and others, 1987). Although relying heavily on previous work, he undertook some original 

reconnaissance mapping, and his was the first map to show major lithostratigraphic units within the 

Paleogene bedrock sequence. He acquired chemical analyses for some of the volcanic rocks of the 

region, as well as a few whole-rock K-Ar ages—including one that was obtained from a locality just 

north of the Washougal quadrangle.

Figure 1. Regional setting of the Washougal 7.5' quadrangle. A, Major tectonic and physiographic features of the 

Pacific Northwest; B, Simplified geologic map of the Vancouver 30' x 60' quadrangle, modified from Phillips (1987a).
3

Figure 1. —Continued
4

More recently, detailed mapping has been conducted in the adjacent Sandy (Lite, 1992), 

Damascus (Madin, 1994), and Camas (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008) quadrangles. These maps provide 

considerable new information regarding stratigraphic relations and geologic structures associated with 

the development and sedimentation of the Portland Basin (Evarts and others, 2009a). Madin (1994) was 

the first to divide the young volcanic rocks of the Portland area (Boring Lava) based on geochemistry 

and K-Ar dates.

Other relevant studies conducted in and near the map area include several Portland State 

University Masters theses that examined the stratigraphy and composition of the sediments that fill the 

Portland Basin (Cole, 1983; Swanson, 1986, 1988; Gates, 1994; Rapp, 2005). Allen (1975) discussed the 

Quaternary volcanic rocks, some of which were analyzed and dated by Conrey and others (1996a). Bretz 

(1925), Allison (1978), and Waitt (1996) described features in the map area created by the Late 

Pleistocene cataclysmic Missoula Floods. Fiksdal (1975) published a map of landslides and landslideprone areas for Clark County, Washington. Swanson and others (1993) compiled a hydrogeologic map 

of the Portland Basin. Geophysical investigations that bear on geologic relations in the map area include 

those of Ryan and Stephenson (1995), Blakely and others (1995), and Pratt and others (2001).

Acknowledgments

Many landowners granted access essential for detailed mapping in the Washougal quadrangle. 

Diane M. Johnson-Cornelius and Richard M. Conrey of Washington State University performed 

chemical analyses. Robert J. Fleck, Shannon A. Mahan, and Jonathan T. Hagstrum of the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) provided 40Ar/39Ar ages, luminescence ages, and paleomagnetic data, 

respectively. Andrei Sarna-Wojcicki, Kenneth Bishop, and Judith Fierstein of the USGS made available 

essential laboratory facilities. We obtained water-well drillers’ logs from the Washington Department of 

Ecology website (http://apps.ecy.wa.gov/welllog/) and the Oregon Water Resources Department website 

(http://apps.wrd.state.or.us/apps/gw/well_log/). Connie Manson and Lee Walkling aided in extracting 

information from the Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources Library in Olympia, 

Washington, and Carol Edwards helped us acquire the unpublished field notes and map sheets of Donald 

E. Trimble from the USGS Field Records Library in Denver, Colorado. We have benefited immensely 

from discussions on various aspects of the regional stratigraphy, structure, and geologic history with 

Roger Ashley, Marvin Beeson, Paul Hammond, Lee Liberty, Ian Madin, Alan Niem, William Phillips, 

Thomas Pierson, Patrick Pringle, Elizabeth Rapp, Stephen Reidel, David Sherrod, James Smith, Rodney 

Swanson, James Vallance, Richard Waitt, Linton Wildrick, and Ray Wells. We thank Thomas Pierson 

and Daniel Malmon for technical reviews of the manuscript.

Synopsis of Geology

For the past 40 m.y., the Cascade Range has been the locus of an episodically active volcanic arc 

associated with underthrusting of oceanic lithosphere beneath the North American continent along the 

Cascadia Subduction Zone. In the Washougal quadrangle, Oligocene volcanic rocks of the ancestral 

Cascade arc are exposed along the Washougal River and underlie the ridge west from Woodburn Hill. 

These consist predominantly of basaltic andesite flows but locally include interbedded andesite flows 

and volcaniclastic beds. In middle Miocene time, huge volumes of basaltic lava erupted from fissure 

vents in Idaho and eastern Washington and Oregon. Between about 16 Ma and 12 Ma, several of these 

flood-basalt flows crossed the Cascade Range through a broad lowland and entered western Oregon and 
5

Washington. These flows constitute the Columbia River Basalt Group. They form impressive cliffs 

throughout the Columbia River Gorge, which is located near the northern margin of the Miocene transarc lowland. The basalt flows exposed along the river shore between Corbett Station and Chanticleer 

Point are the westernmost outcrops of the Columbia River Basalt Group in the gorge.

In most of the map area, Oligocene and Miocene bedrock is buried beneath middle Miocene and 

younger sediments that consist largely of detritus carried into the Portland Basin by the ancestral 

Columbia River. Most of these sediments exposed in the map area are assigned to the Troutdale 

Formation, which consists of two distinct lithofacies: thick deposits of late Miocene cobble 

conglomerate that underlie the upland terrain east of Washougal, and Pliocene deposits containing 

abundant basaltic hyaloclastic debris that underlie most of the map area in Oregon. In both areas, the 

Troutdale Formation is locally overlain by Quaternary volcanic rocks of the Boring Volcanic Field 

(Treasher, 1942; Trimble, 1963; Allen, 1975; Evarts and others, 2009b). Mount Norway and 

Chamberlain Hill are eroded cinder cones surrounding vents of small Pleistocene volcanoes. PostTroutdale lava flows in the northern and southeastern parts of the map area issued from vents located 

outside of the quadrangle. Gravel composed largely of andesitic clasts eroded from the Cascade Range 

unconformably overlies the Troutdale Formation in the southwestern part of the map area. This gravel 

records aggradation of the ancestral Sandy River during Middle to Late Pleistocene time, possibly in 

response to glaciation and volcanism. In latest Pleistocene time, the glacial-outburst Missoula floods 

poured through the Columbia River Gorge, building coarse-grained bars along the Columbia River and 

depositing sand and silt on upland surfaces and in the lower reaches of tributary streams. During the 

Holocene, the Columbia River has aggraded nearly 100 m in conjunction with sea level rise, forming a 

wide floodplain. In addition, abundant volcaniclastic debris generated by eruptions of Mount Hood 

moved down the Sandy River, building a prominent delta along the south shore of the Columbia River in 

the western part of the map area. Quaternary winds have entrained Columbia River sediment, building 

young dunes on the floodplain and mantling uplands with loess.

Several faults with predominantly northwest trends cross the map area. South of the Columbia 

River, these structures vertically offset the bedrock basement with west-side-down displacement and 

were evidently active during late Miocene and Pliocene subsidence and filling of the Portland Basin. A 

graben north of Washougal also developed during this time and partly controlled the route of the 

ancestral Columbia River. All of these structures may have experienced strike-slip motion. 

Compressional to transpressional faults projected eastward from the adjacent Camas quadrangle were 

apparently active in early to middle Pleistocene time, but no faults are known to exhibit late Quaternary 

or Holocene offsets.

Geologic exposures are sparse in much of the map area owing to intense weathering, obscuring 

vegetation, and urban development, and loess mantles much of the terrain south of the Columbia River. 

Therefore, many contacts are extrapolated on the basis of topography from limited surface observations. 

Surface observations were supplemented with lithologic data obtained from several hundred water-well 

reports in the files of the Washington Department of Ecology and Oregon Water Resources Department. 

Well locations were taken as described in logs or in published reports and were not field checked by us; 

only wells considered reliably located were used to infer the distribution and thicknesses of units in the 

subsurface.
6

Paleogene Volcanic and Sedimentary Rocks

Trimble (1963) mapped all Paleogene rocks in eastern Clark County, Washington, as the 

Skamania volcanic series (renamed Skamania Volcanics by Howard, 2002). We have not adopted this 

name because regional mapping has shown the term to have limited utility. Neither the top nor the base 

of the unit were adequately defined, and, as used by Trimble, the term is essentially a synonym for 

Tertiary volcanic rocks of the southern Washington Cascade Range. Furthermore, equivalent strata 

elsewhere in the region have been given other names (Wilkinson and others, 1946; Roberts, 1958; Wise, 

1970; Hammond, 1980; Phillips, 1987a,b) and no reliable criteria have been found for mapping contacts 

between these various units. Therefore, we employ strictly lithologic units or, where appropriate, 

informal lithostratigraphic units.

Paleogene volcanic rocks presumably underlie the entire map but are well exposed only along 

the Washougal River where they consistently strike north-northeast and dip southeast at 20-40°. The 

section north of Washougal is dominated by basaltic andesite flows and flow breccia that constitute the 

upper part of the informal basaltic andesite of Elkhorn Mountain of Evarts (2005, 2006a,b). Andesite 

flows are locally intercalated with the uppermost part of this unit, and similar andesite flows, basalt, and 

volcaniclastic rocks overlie it.

Basaltic Andesite of Elkhorn Mountain

The basaltic andesite of Elkhorn Mountain (Tbem) consists almost entirely of subaerially 

erupted tholeiitic basaltic andesite and basalt flows; interbedded volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks are 

sparse. This package of flows extends about 35 km northward nearly to Amboy, Washington (Evarts, 

2005, 2006a,b; Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). It has a maximum thickness of about 1.3 km in the map 

area. Individual flows are typically 4 to 10 m thick but locally are as thick as 70 m. They are 

characterized by blocky, platy, or columnar-jointed interiors that typically grade into upper and lower 

flow-breccia zones. The upper zones commonly contain abundant zeolite-, quartz- and clay-filled 

vesicles and have been oxidized to reddish-orange colors during cooling. All flows were apparently 

emplaced subaerially; many rest on red paleosols developed on previously emplaced flows or on thin 

sedimentary intervals, with no pillow lavas or other indications of subaqueous environments. No dikes 

were found in the map area, and few dikes have been mapped to the north (Evarts, 2005, 2006 a,b). The 

basaltic andesite of Elkhorn Mountain in the map area probably represents the upper flank of a large 

mafic shield volcano centered north of the Washougal quadrangle.

Flows in the basaltic andesite of Elkhorn Mountain range from aphyric to highly porphyritic. 

Aphyric and sparsely phyric flows commonly exhibit a closely spaced platy parting that is parallel to the 

alignment of feldspar microlites observed in thin section. Seriate to porphyritic flows contain 

phenocrysts of plagioclase and olivine, with or without augite, in an intergranular to trachytic 

groundmass. Highly porphyritic to glomeroporphyritic basalts are common in the unit to the north but 

are sparse in the map area.

The lava flows of the Elkhorn Mountain unit vary from basalt to mafic andesite, but most are 

basaltic andesite; they are uniformly tholeiitic and have low to medium potassium contents (table 1, fig. 

2). Compared to mafic flows elsewhere in the southern Washington Cascade Range (du Bray and others, 

2006; R.C. Evarts, unpub. data), the Elkhorn Mountain flows are relatively rich in Fe and poor in Sr 

(Evarts, 2005, 2006a,b). 

Incremental-heating 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages ranging from 27.1±0.1 Ma to 25.5±0.2 Ma have been 

obtained for the basaltic andesite of Elkhorn Mountain from localities to the west and northwest of the 

Washougal quadrangle (Evarts, 2006a,b; Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). Phillips and others (1986) 

reported a similar K-Ar age of 27.9±1.9 Ma for a basaltic andesite exposed on State Route 140 directly 

north of the map area (table 2).
7

Figure 2. Chemical characteristics of volcanic rocks from the Washougal 7.5' quadrangle (analyses recalculated 

volatile-free). A, K2O+ Na2O versus SiO2, showing IUGS classification (Le Maitre, 2002); B, K2O versus SiO2, 

showing low-, medium-, and high-potassium fields extrapolated from Gill (1981, p. 6); C, FeO*/MgO versus SiO2, 

showing classification into tholeiitic and calc-alkaline rocks according to Miyashiro (1974). FeO*, total Fe as FeO.
8

Other Volcanic and Volcaniclastic Rocks

Sparsely to moderately porphyritic andesite flows (Ta) are interbedded with the upper part of the 

basaltic andesite of Elkhorn Mountain west of Woodburn Hill and near the mouth of the Little 

Washougal River. A highly porphyritic two-pyroxene andesite flow directly overlies the Elkhorn 

Mountain unit north of Washougal Memorial Cemetery and in the Washougal River 1 km northwest of 

Mount Norway. This flow is overlain by a bed of green, moderately welded lapilli tuff (Tt) that contains 

abundant euhedral to broken plagioclase crystals and sparse small pyroxene phenocrysts. Porphyritic

two-pyroxene andesite crops out along the south shore of the Columbia River at Onion Rock. This is the 

only Paleogene rock exposed south of the river in the map area.

A single flow of olivine- and plagioclase-rich basalt (Tob) overlies the basaltic andesite of 

Elkhorn Mountain on the slope above the Washougal River about 2 km northwest of Mount Norway. 

Chemically it is a low-potassium tholeiite, a composition that is common among Pliocene–Quaternary 

volcanic rocks of the Oregon and southern Washington Cascade Range but generally rare in the 

Paleogene arc sequence of southern Washington (du Bray and others, 2006; R.C. Evarts, unpub. data). 

The age of the basalt is uncertain; the extent of alteration indicates it is probably Paleogene but a 

Pliocene age is possible. It is overlain by the Quaternary basalt of Bear Prairie.

Metamorphism and Hydrothermal Alteration

Paleogene rocks in the Washougal quadrangle have been subjected to zeolite-facies regional 

metamorphism, the general character of which is similar to that described from other areas in the 

southern Washington Cascade Range (Fiske and others, 1963; Wise, 1970; Evarts and others, 1987; 

Evarts and Swanson, 1994). This region-wide metamorphism reflects burial of the early Oligocene rocks 

by younger volcanic rocks within the relatively high-heat-flow environment of an active volcanic arc.

Zeolite-facies mineral assemblages are best developed in permeable volcaniclastic rocks; 

massive lava flows are commonly much less affected. In the mafic lava flows, the primary effect of 

very-low-grade metamorphism is the nearly universal development of clay minerals and zeolites 

replacing labile interstitial glass, filling vesicles, and deposited on joint surfaces. Feldspar commonly 

displays partial alteration along fractures and cleavage planes to clay minerals and (or) zeolites. Olivine 

phenocrysts in the basalts and basaltic andesites are replaced by smectite with or without hematite and 

calcite. Primary pyroxenes and Fe-Ti oxides are largely unaffected by the zeolite-facies metamorphism.

Columbia River Basalt Group

In Miocene time, between 16.5 and 6 Ma, more than 174,000 km3 of basalt erupted from fissures 

in southeastern Washington and adjacent regions of Oregon and Idaho to form the Columbia River 

Basalt Group (Tolan and others, 1989, 2009). Some of the largest flows crossed the Cascade Range 

through a broad lowland and ultimately reached the Pacific Ocean (Snavely and others, 1973; Tolan and 

others, 1989, 2009; Beeson and others, 1989; Beeson and Tolan, 1990; Wells and others, 1989, 2009); 

the Columbia River is located near the northern margin of this Miocene valley. The majority of the 

flood-basalt flows erupted during a brief period between 16.5 and 14.5 Ma and constitute the 

voluminous Grande Ronde Basalt and Wanapum Basalt (Tolan and others, 1989, 2009; Reidel and 

others, 1989; Tolan and others, 2009; Barry and others, 2010; Reidel and Tolan, in press). Grande 

Ronde Basalt flows are aphyric to sparsely plagioclase-phyric, medium-potassium, tholeiitic basaltic 

andesites (fig. 2) that can be distinguished from other Columbia River Basalt Group units by their 

relatively low TiO2 contents (Swanson and others, 1979; Mangan and others, 1986; Beeson and others, 
9

1989; Reidel and others, 1989; Hooper, 2000; Reidel, 2005). The younger Wanapum Basalt flows are 

generally more mafic, have significantly higher TiO2 contents, and typically contain scattered large 

plagioclase phenocrysts. Eruptions became progressively less frequent during Wanapum time, and the 

ancestral Columbia River was able to incise a deep canyon within which the last Wanapum flow to enter 

western Oregon, the Rosalia flow, was largely confined (Tolan and Beeson, 1984). The Grande Ronde 

Basalt and Wanapum Basalt flows near Corbett Station are the westernmost outcrops of the Columbia 

River Basalt Group in the Columbia River Gorge. Figure 3 shows the nomenclature of the Columbia 

River Basalt Group as adopted in this report and the stratigraphic position of flows found in the map 

area.

Grande Ronde Basalt

Using lithologic, chemical, and paleomagnetic criteria, Reidel and Tolan (in press) divided the 

Grande Ronde Basalt in the Columbia Basin into 25 members. The youngest and most widespread 

Grande Ronde member, the Sentinel Bluffs Member, was divided into informal compositional and 

stratigraphic units by Reidel (2005). The Columbia River Basalt Group flows near Corbett Station 

belong to the Sentinel Bluffs Member.

Sentinel Bluffs Member

Sentinel Bluffs Member flows are characterized by relatively high MgO contents (4.5 to 5.0 wt 

percent; table 1), normal magnetic polarity, and widely scattered plagioclase phenocrysts. West of the 

Cascade Range they typically exhibit a blocky to columnar style of jointing (Reidel, 2005). Three flows 

(Tgsb) are present near Corbett (Tolan, 1982). The uppermost flow, about 20 m thick and pillowed at its 

base, crops out on Corbett Hill Road. It has higher MgO and Cr and lower TiO2 contents than the lower 

flows, which total at least 30 m thick and are well exposed in roadcuts along Interstate 84 and the Union 

Pacific Railroad line near Tunnel Point. All flows are chemically similar to Reidel’s (2005) McCoy 

Canyon compositional type, which forms the oldest Sentinel Bluffs flows in the Columbia Basin. 

Wanapum Basalt

The Wanapum Basalt has been divided into formal members (Swanson and others, 1979; Tolan 

and others, 1989), one of which, the Frenchman Springs Member, was subdivided into informal units by 

Beeson and others (1985). Four Wanapum Basalt flows crop out on the steep slope above Interstate 

Highway 84 east of Corbett Station (Tolan, 1982). Three of the flows belong to the Frenchman Springs 

Member and one flow belongs to the Priest Rapid Member of the Wanapum Basalt.

Frenchman Springs Member

Three flows that are assigned to the Frenchman Springs Member (Tolan, 1982) overlie the 

Sentinel Bluffs Member on Corbett Road along a contact marked by a distinct bench at 200 ft (65 m) 

elevation. The contact with the underlying Sentinel Bluffs Member of the Grande Ronde Basalt is not 

exposed here, but in the Columbia Basin and elsewhere it corresponds to a thin sedimentary interval, the 

Vantage Member of Ellensburg Formation (Swanson and others, 1979). The lower two flows (Twfsh) 

contain sparse plagioclase phenocrysts as long as 3.5 cm and are assigned to the basalt of Sand Hollow 

of Beeson and others (1985) based on their relatively high Cr contents (~45 ppm) and normal magnetic 

polarity (J.T. Hagstrum, written commun., 2006). These are overlain by a thin, hackly jointed, 

microphyric flow (Twfss) chemically equivalent to the basalt of Sentinel Gap of Beeson and others
10

Figure 3. Stratigraphic nomenclature of the Columbia River 

Basalt Group, after Tolan and others (2009), Reidel (2005), 

and Reidel and Tolan (in press). Magnetic polarity 

designations are N, normal; R, reversed; T, transitional; E, 

excursional. Subscripts refer to magnetostratigraphic units 

of Swanson and others (1979). Units present in the 

Washougal 7.5' quadrangle are shown in blue bold italics.
11

(1985). The top of the Sentinel Gap flow is a loess-mantled strath, cut into the overlying Troutdale 

Formation (Ttfh), that forms a prominent bench at approximately 400 ft (120 m) elevation. In the quarry 

at Corbett Station, one of the Sand Hollow flows, offset from the Corbett Road section along a 

northwest-striking normal fault, consists of large pillowed lobes interspersed with palagonitic 

hyaloclastic breccia, indicating interaction of basalt lobes with water in the channel during emplacement 

(Tolan, 1982).

Priest Rapids Member

At Chanticleer Point, a thick flow (>200 m) of the Priest Rapids Member abuts the southern wall 

of a paleocanyon incised into the older Wanapum Basalt and Grande Ronde Basalt. The main channel of 

this paleocanyon is located at Crown Point, about 1.5 km east of Chanticleer Point (Waters, 1973; Tolan, 

1982; Tolan and Beeson, 1984). The Priest Rapids flow unit consists of a hackly jointed entablature and 

basal colonnade that overlies and invades crudely bedded hyaloclastite of the same chemical 

composition (Tolan, 1982). As interpreted by Tolan and Beeson (1984), the hyaloclastite was generated 

by interaction of the basalt with a shallow lake in the eastern Columbia Basin and flushed downstream 

in front of the advancing lava flow. Its chemistry (table 1) indicates the flow is of the Rosalia chemical 

type, typical of the first Priest Rapids Member flows.

Basin-Fill Deposits

As the Portland Basin gradually subsided during late Miocene and Pliocene time, it filled with 

continental fluvial and lacustrine sediments transported through the Cascade Range by the ancestral 

Columbia River and with locally derived detritus carried in by tributaries draining the surrounding 

highlands (Evarts and others, 2009a). 

Most previous workers (Wilkinson and others, 1946; Lowry and Baldwin, 1952; Trimble, 1957; 

Mundorff, 1964; Tolan and Beeson, 1984; Madin, 1994; Howard, 2002) have mapped the bulk of this 

fill as the Troutdale Formation, which was named by Hodge (1938) for exposures near Troutdale, 

Oregon (fig. 1B). Throughout most of the Portland Basin, the older part of this nonmarine section, 

resting unconformably on Paleogene bedrock or Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group, consists 

predominantly of fine-grained beds that are quite different in lithology than the coarse-grained sandstone 

and conglomerate that typifies the Troutdale Formation in the type area (Swanson and others, 1993). 

This observation prompted Trimble (1957), Mundorff (1964), and Howard (2002) to divide the 

Troutdale Formation of Hodge (1938) into informal upper and lower members based on the pronounced 

lithologic difference. Trimble (1963) formally named the lower, fine-grained member the Sandy River 

Mudstone. He also noted that the youngest conglomeratic beds south of the Columbia River included 

volcanic mudflow deposits and consisted largely of clasts derived from the nearby Cascade Range rather 

than deposited by the Columbia River. He mapped these beds as the Springwater Formation of probable 

Pleistocene age (Trimble, 1963). Similarly, Howard (2002) and Evarts (2004a,b,c, 2006b) concluded on 

lithologic and geomorphologic grounds that some conglomerates in Washington previously included in 

the Troutdale Formation were probably late Pliocene or Pleistocene deposits that unconformably overlie 

the Troutdale Formation, and he mapped them separately. These post-Troutdale deposits are locally 

overlain or intercalated with mafic volcanic rocks, the Boring Lava of Treasher (1942), which erupted 

from scattered local centers in Quaternary time (Evarts and others, 2009b).

Recent studies (Evarts and others, 2009a) have shown that stratigraphic relations within the basin 

fill of the eastern Portland Basin are considerably more complex than relations portrayed by Trimble 

(1963) and Mundorff (1964). These complications are well illustrated in the adjacent Camas quadrangle, 

where subsurface information and surface exposures show that the stratigraphic intervals previously 

mapped as Troutdale Formation and Sandy River Mudstone from surface outcrops are interbedded. In 
12

the Washougal quadrangle and elsewhere, contact relations between fine-grained beds of the Sandy 

River Mudstone and coarse-grained beds of the Troutdale Formation vary from gradational to 

unconformable, reflecting both lateral variations in depositional setting within the ancestral Columbia 

River valley and alternating episodes of deposition and incision driven by changes in sediment supply 

(Hogenson and Foxworthy, 1965; Hoffstetter, 1984; Swanson, 1986; Hartford and McFarland, 1989; 

Swanson and others, 1993; Bet and Rosner, 1993; Koreny and Fisk, 2000; Evarts and O’Connor, 2008; 

Evarts and others, 2009a). Figure 4 shows a comparison of our nomenclature with the schemes 

employed by previous workers; these relations are discussed in more detail below.

Sandy River Mudstone

The Sandy River Mudstone (Tsr) as defined by Trimble (1963) consists largely of thin-bedded 

claystone, siltstone, and sandstone with minor interbeds of pebbly conglomerate, fine-grained tuff, and 

lignite. Most of the sandy beds are micaceous lithic and arkosic sandstones, indicative of an eastern 

Washington and Idaho provenance and deposition in an ancestral Columbia River. Claystone beds are 

commonly carbonaceous and locally contain well-preserved leaf impressions; early Pliocene fossil floras 

have been collected from the upper part of the Sandy River Mudstone at several localities (Chaney, 

1944; Treasher, 1942; Trimble, 1963; Tolan and Beeson, 1984). Trimble interpreted the Sandy River 

Mudstone as a lacustrine deposit but current structures indicate deposition in low-energy fluvial or 

overbank settings, presumably along the ancestral Columbia River.

Strata lithologically similar to the Sandy River Mudstone crop out at several localities in the map 

area, but most are too small and discontinuous to map except along the north bank of the Sandy River at 

the south edge of the quadrangle, where they intertongue with coarse-grain sediments assigned to the 

hyaloclastic sandstone member of the Troutdale Formation (Ttfh). Water-well logs indicate that as much 

as 150 m of fine-grained beds, which we assign to the Sandy River Mudstone, underlie the basaltic 

andesite of Mount Norway and landslide deposits of the Washougal River valley. The well logs indicate 

that the Sandy River Mudstone in the Mount Norway area underlies the conglomerate member of the 

Troutdale Formation (Ttfc) along a sharp, south-dipping, apparently unconformable contact, hence these 

beds are considerably older than the beds exposed along the Sandy River.

Fine-grained beds assigned to the Sandy River Mudstone were deposited in the Portland Basin 

throughout late Miocene and Pliocene time (Evarts and others, 2009a). They largely postdate the middle 

Miocene Wanapum Basalt (Trimble, 1963; Tolan and Beeson, 1984; Madin, 1994, 2004; Mabey and 

Madin, 1995; but see Evarts, 2004a) and intertongue with the late Pliocene hyaloclastic sandstone 

member of the Troutdale Formation. The only direct age information for the unit comes from late 

Pliocene paleofloras obtained from the upper part of the formation at localities just west and south of the 

Washougal quadrangle (Chaney, 1944; Treasher, 1942; Trimble, 1963; Tolan and Beeson, 1984).

Troutdale Formation

The Troutdale Formation is mapped as two lithologically distinct informal members. The older 

member (Ttfc) consists of quartzite-bearing conglomerate and arkosic sandstone. The younger member 

(Ttfh) is composed largely of hyaloclastic basaltic debris. These two members correspond closely to the 

informal upper and lower members of the Troutdale Formation as mapped by Tolan and Beeson (1984) 

in the western Columbia River Gorge.
13

Figure 4. Comparison of stratigraphic nomenclature and age assignments for Neogene and younger basin-fill units 

of the Portland Basin and vicinity. LKT, low-potassium tholeiite.
14

Conglomerate Member

The conglomerate member (Ttfc) underlies the upland terrain east and south of the Washougal 

River, where it is at least 200 m thick. West of the Washougal River it is unconformably overlain by a 

younger but lithologically similar conglomerate (QTc). 

The Troutdale Formation conglomerate member consists of weakly to moderately cemented 

pebble and cobble conglomerate and scattered thin lenses of medium to coarse sandstone. Well-rounded 

pebbles and cobbles eroded from the Columbia River Basalt Group are the most abundant constituent of 

the conglomerate; the remainder includes light-colored granitic and quartzofeldspathic metamorphic 

rocks, Fe-oxide-stained quartzite, and minor amounts of volcanic rocks eroded from the Cascade Range. 

The interbedded sandstone ranges in composition from basaltic to muscovite-bearing arkosic and 

quartzose and is lithologically similar to the sandy matrix of the conglomerate. Significantly, the 

conglomerate member of the Troutdale Formation (Ttfc) lacks clasts of Pliocene and younger basalts 

like those that are abundant in the basaltic hyaloclastic sandstone member (Ttfh). Sedimentological 

characteristics of the conglomerate, such as massive to crudely stratified beds, clast support, moderate to 

good sorting, and clast imbrication, are consistent with deposition within a large, braided, gravel-bed 

river (Miall, 1977, 1996; Rust, 1978). Clast imbrication is common and consistently indicates a 

westward transport direction, parallel to the flow direction of the Columbia River through the map area.

Hyaloclastic Sandstone Member

In its type area along the lower Sandy River, the Troutdale Formation consists of complexly 

interbedded sandstone and conglomerate and includes a distinctive lithofacies, composed largely of 

basaltic hyaloclastic debris, that earlier workers called yellow grit, tuffaceous sandstone, or vitric 

sandstone (Williams, 1916; Hodge, 1938; Lowry and Baldwin, 1952; Trimble, 1963; Tolan and Beeson, 

1984). The hyaloclastic sediment is generally coarse-grained to very coarse-grained sandstone that is 

moderately well sorted to poorly sorted and composed chiefly of angular fragments of vesicular to 

nonvesicular, vitric to lithic basalt that contains olivine and plagioclase microlites. The black basaltic 

glass is partly to completely altered to palagonite, which imparts a distinctive yellow-brown color to the 

sandstone in outcrop and serves as a cementing agent.

Beds and lenses of conglomerate are intercalated with and locally dominate the hyaloclastic 

sandstone member. Conglomerate beds range from well sorted to poorly sorted. The former consist 

largely of well-rounded cobbles and pebbles of dark aphyric basalts eroded from the Columbia River 

Basalt Group; clasts of light-colored granitic and quartzofeldspathic metamorphic rocks and Fe-oxidestained quartzite that were derived from Precambrian source areas east of the Cascade Range are minor 

but persistent components. Poorly sorted conglomerate contains abundant rounded to subangular cobbles 

and boulders of variably vesicular olivine- and plagioclase-phyric basalt in a matrix of basaltic sand 

compositionally similar to the associated sandstone beds. They resemble deposits of hyperconcentrated 

flood-flows (Smith, 1986).

The angular vitric clasts were generated by rapid chilling and quench fragmentation during 

interaction of basaltic lava with water. Crude to distinct stratification, foreset bedding, cut-and-fill 

structures, intergradational contacts with conglomerate, and the presence of minor but nearly ubiquitous 

nonvolcanic debris all signify fluvial reworking of the hyaloclasts. However, the textural immaturity, 

poor sorting, and nearly monolithologic character of many beds suggest relatively short transport 

distances and rapid deposition. Following Trimble (1963), Tolan and Beeson (1984), and Swanson 

(1986, 1988), we interpret these sediments as hyaloclastic debris that was generated when basalt lava 

entered the ancestral Columbia River upstream from the map area. This voluminous debris was almost 

immediately swept downstream and deposited in the eastern Portland Basin. The distribution of 

hyaloclastic strata (Swanson and others, 1993) indicates that the ancestral western Columbia River 
15

valley at the time of deposition was considerably wider than the present gorge. A patch of weathered

hyaloclastic sandstone inset against the Troutdale Formation conglomerate member north of Washougal 

approximates the location of the north wall of the paleovalley. Paleocurrent directions inferred from 

foreset bedding and clast imbrication measured in the Sandy River valley (Cole, 1983) indicates 

transport to the north-northwest in this area.

Tolan (1982) and Tolan and Beeson (1984) mapped an apparently unbroken section of Troutdale 

Formation conglomerate and sandstone more than 335 m thick in the adjacent Bridal Veil quadrangle 

and observed that the distinctive hyaloclastic sandstone beds were restricted to the upper part (about 75 

m) of the section. They divided the Troutdale in that area into informal upper and lower members on this 

basis (fig. 4). Their upper member is correlative with our hyaloclastic sandstone member. Tolan and 

Beeson (1984) also suggested that the contact between their members was correlative with the Troutdale 

Formation-Sandy River Mudstone contact mapped by Trimble (1963, p. 34) along the Sandy River near 

the south boundary of the Washougal quadrangle. However, the fine-grained beds along the Sandy River 

that were mapped as Sandy River Mudstone by Trimble can be traced in the subsurface to the Portland 

Well Field, where they are underlain by hyaloclastic sandstone and conglomerate (fig. 4) (Swanson, 

1986; Hartford and McFarland, 1989; Swanson and others, 1993). Hence, as described above, the Sandy 

River Mudstone exposed on the banks of the Sandy River is actually a tongue of fine-grained beds 

within the hyaloclastic sandstone-bearing sequence. This tongue separates two intervals dominated by 

hyaloclastic debris that may represent hyaloclastites generated by two large eruptive events to the east. 

The base of the informal upper member of Tolan and Beeson (1984) likely corresponds approximately 

to the base of the lower hyaloclastite-rich interval.

In the Washougal quadrangle, the hyaloclastite-bearing section is largely restricted to south of 

the Columbia River, where it overlies the Frenchman Springs Member of the Wanapum Basalt and 

underlies late Pliocene low-potassium tholeiite. Its thickness, as inferred from water-well logs, increases 

irregularly westward from less than 30 m at Chanticleer Point to as much as 150 m at the west edge of 

the quadrangle. In Washington, a thin patch of weathered hyaloclastic sandstone is inset against the 

conglomerate member of the Troutdale Formation west of Campen Creek.

Chemical analyses (Swanson, 1986; Andrei Sarna-Wojcicki, written commun., 2005) show that 

vitric clasts in the hyaloclastic sandstone and olivine+plagioclase-phyric basalt cobbles in the associated 

conglomerate (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008) both possess a distinctive low-potassium tholeiite 

composition. This composition matches that of basalt flows (Tlkt) that are interbedded with and overlie 

the hyaloclastic sandstones in the eastern part of the map area and in the Cascade Range to the east but is 

dissimilar to that of lavas in the Boring Volcanic Field (Swanson, 1986; Lite, 1992; R.C. Evarts and 

R.M. Conrey, unpub. data). This indicates that the hyaloclastic sediments are genetically related only to 

the low-potassium tholeiites (Swanson, 1986; Lite, 1992; R.C. Evarts and R.M. Conrey, unpub. data).

Unnamed Conglomerate

Evarts (2004a,b,c, 2006b) mapped an unnamed conglomerate unit (QTc) northwest of the 

Washougal quadrangle that is lithologically similar to but considerably younger than nearby Troutdale 

Formation conglomerate. Although included with the Troutdale Formation by most previous workers, 

the younger conglomerate differs from the older unit in that it contains sparse clasts of olivine basalt and 

interbeds of reworked hyaloclastic sands, has a higher proportion of volcanic clasts derived from the 

Cascade Range, and commonly is more poorly sorted. Beds of weathered conglomerate that underlie the 

highland surface south of the Little Washougal River are assigned to this unit. To the west, this 

conglomerate unconformably overlies the Sandy River Mudstone and the Troutdale Formation (Hartford 

and McFarland, 1989; Swanson and others, 1993; Bet and Rosner, 1993; Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). 

The unnamed conglomerate is probably of latest Pliocene or early Pleistocene age; in the Camas 
16

quadrangle, it overlies the hyaloclastic sandstone member of the Troutdale Formation and is overlain by 

the circa 590-ka basaltic andesite of Prune Hill (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). This gravel records 

regional aggradation of the Columbia River, owing either to increased upstream sediment loads or 

downstream impoundment. 

Unnamed Fan Gravel of the Ancestral Sandy River

The distal edge of a broad, west-northwest-sloping, moderately dissected piedmont extends into 

the southwesternmost part of the map area. Where exposed west of the map area (Evarts and O’Connor, 

2008), the deposits (QTfg) beneath this surface consist of weathered fluvial gravel of Cascade Range 

provenance interbedded with lithic-rich sand and matrix-supported diamicts containing angular 

hornblende-andesite clasts to 1 m in diameter. Trimble (1963, p. 48) provided a similar description for a 

locality about 8 km southeast of the lone occurrence in the map area. Surface exposures and drillers’ 

logs in the map area show that these deposits are locally overlain by about 25 m of strongly oxidized 

micaceous silt and clay interpreted as loess (Qlo).

This piedmont is apparently the remnant of a broad alluvial fan formed by an aggrading ancient 

Sandy River. Geomorphic relations southeast of the map area show that this fan emanated from a 

confined valley located near Sandy, about 10 km south of the quadrangle boundary. Fan aggradation 

probably occurred in conjunction with alpine glaciation and associated outwash-gravel production in the 

Cascade Range punctuated by lahars. The volcaniclastic deposits may have been derived from the early 

Pleistocene Sandy Glacier volcano (Wise, 1969; Sherrod and Scott, 1995) located in the Mount Hood 

area.

The fan deposits were mapped by Trimble (1963) and Madin (1994) as Springwater Formation, 

but their slightly lower elevation and less dissected surface indicate that they are probably younger than 

the Springwater Formation in the type area, about 30 km south of Gresham. There are no direct age 

determinations on these deposits, but the profile of this piedmont grades to an elevation 50 to 70 m 

higher than the base of the basaltic andesite exposed at Broughton Bluff (which is uneroded and not 

covered by these piedmont gravels). The unnamed fan gravels, therefore, probably predate the basaltic 

andesite, which has an 40Ar/39Ar age of 1,292±19 ka (table 2).

Volcanic Rocks

Pliocene to Pleistocene basalt and basaltic andesite flows in the Washougal quadrangle represent 

eruptions from two distinct sources. The oldest flows are low-potassium tholeiites (Tlkt) that probably 

issued from shield volcanoes and fissure vents in the distant Oregon Cascade Range and moved down a 

broad paleoslope into the eastern Portland Basin. Later, compositionally diverse lavas erupted from 

several vents in and near the map area. These local centers belong to the Boring Volcanic Field (Evarts 

and others, 2009b), a collection of several dozen monogenetic vents scattered throughout the greater 

Portland area (Treasher, 1942; Trimble, 1963; Allen, 1975).

Low-potassium tholeiites are readily distinguished from the other volcanic rocks by their coarsegrained, aphyric, diktytaxitic texture and their distinctive chemistry (table 1), which resembles that of 

some mid-ocean-ridge basalt. Remnants of these flows rest on hyaloclastic sandstone (Ttfh) in the 

headwall of the landslide at Rooster Rock and to the south. East of the map area, low-potassium tholeiite 

flows are interbedded with hyaloclastic sandstone (Williams, 1916; Lowry and Baldwin, 1952; Tolan 

and Beeson, 1984; R.C. Evarts and R.M. Conrey, unpub. mapping). As noted above, vitroclasts in the 

sandstone are compositionally equivalent to the intercalated flows, indicating that interaction of the lowpotassium tholeiite flows with water of the ancestral Columbia River generated the hyaloclastite 
17

(Trimble, 1963; Tolan and Beeson, 1984). Several low-potassium tholeiite flows from areas to the east

and south of the Washougal quadrangle have yielded late Pliocene radiometric ages of 3.0 to 3.6 Ma 

(Conrey and others, 1996a,b; R.J. Fleck, written commun., 2012).

In upper Bridal Veil Creek, 7–10 km east of Washougal quadrangle, low-potassium tholeiites are 

overlain by the basalt of Bridal Veil Creek (Qbbv), composed of coarsely olivine-phyric basalt flows 

(R.C. Evarts, unpub. mapping). These flows are tholeiitic but have much higher K2O contents (>1.9 wt 

percent) than the low-potassium tholeiites (table 1). One Bridal Veil Creek flow moved westward down 

a paleocanyon into the map area and now caps the ridge north of Howard Canyon, an excellent example 

of inverted topography. This flow exhibits a well-developed colonnade-entablature jointing pattern, 

unusual for a Boring flow. Flaring of columns indicates that the paleochannel occupied by the flow was 

not much wider than the present ridge. An 40Ar/39Ar age of 2,284±16 ka was obtained for a sample from 

the columnar zone (table 2).

The oldest eruptive center in the map area is Chamberlain Hill, an eroded cinder cone that 

apparently erupted lavas of two different compositions. The basalt of Chamberlain Hill (Qbch) crops 

out close to the cone, whereas the older basaltic andesite of Broughton Bluff (Qmbb) is found farther to 

the west. The Chamberlain Hill basalt is diktytaxitic, contains olivine and plagioclase phenocrysts, and 

is tholeiitic (table 1). An 40Ar/39Ar experiment on a sample collected in an abandoned rockpit on 

Mershon Road yielded an age of 1,159±14 ka (table 2). The basaltic andesite of Broughton Bluff forms 

prominent cliffs that extend east and south from Broughton Bluff at the west edge of the map area. It 

consists of two flows, distinguished by slight differences in MgO, TiO2, Ba, and Sr (table 1), that overlie 

the hyaloclastic sandstone member of the Troutdale Formation (Ttfh). Compared to the basalt of 

Chamberlain Hill, these flows have fewer plagioclase phenocrysts and are calc-alkaline, with 

significantly higher concentrations of K2O (0.8 wt percent), P2O5 (0.28 wt percent), and incompatible 

trace elements (Ba, Sr, Zr, Nb), although TiO2 contents are similar. Chamberlain Hill is the presumed 

source for the Broughton Bluff flows; alternatively, they may have issued from a vent to the north or 

west that was subsequently eroded away by the Columbia River. A sample collected at Broughton Bluff 

yielded an 40Ar/39Ar age of 1,292±19 ka, consistent with a low-precision K-Ar age of 1.53±0.39 Ma 

reported by Conrey and others (1996a) for a nearby locality (table 2).

Near the southeast corner of the map area, a ridge underlain by low-potassium tholeiite flows is 

capped by the distal end of a basalt flow that issued from a cinder cone at Pepper Mountain, about 6 km 

to the east (R.C. Evarts and R.M. Conrey, unpub. mapping). Where exposed in the adjacent Bridal Veil 

quadrangle, the basalt is very platy and olivine-microphyric. It is calc-alkaline, with K2O content of 1.0–

1.2 wt. percent. A sample collected northwest of Pepper Mountain yielded an 40Ar/39Ar age of 846±6 ka 

(R.J. Fleck, written commun., 2012).

The oldest Boring volcanic unit in the Washougal quadrangle north of the Columbia River is the 

basaltic andesite of Bear Prairie (Qmbp), which erupted from vents located in the adjacent Larch 

Mountain quadrangle to the north at 1,220±8 ka (40Ar/39Ar plateau age, R.J. Fleck, written commun., 

2012). The Bear Prairie flow, having been erosionally isolated from its source area by the Washougal 

River, underlies the area west of Mount Norway. The base of the flow is approximately 75 m above 

river level, implying an incision rate of 0.06 mm/yr during the past 1.2 million years. Flows of this unit 

are olivine-phyric and calc-alkaline, containing about 1.5 wt percent TiO2 and 1.0 wt percent K2O (table 

1). Their low Ba/Nb (about 15), however, are more like those of oceanic than volcanic-arc magmas 

(Leeman and others, 2005).
18

Mount Norway is a degraded cinder cone that issued a thick flow of platy, aphyric, basaltic 

andesite (Qmmn) that is well exposed in the headwall of the landslide north of Mount Norway. Nichols 

Hill is a subsidiary cone of similar composition. The basaltic andesite of Mount Norway is more silicic 

than most Boring volcanic rocks and is chemically transitional between calc-alkaline and tholeiitic (fig. 

2) with a moderate K2O content (0.9 wt percent, table 2). West of Mount Norway, it overlies the basaltic 

andesite of Bear Prairie. A sample collected from a roadcut directly northwest of Mount Norway yielded 

an 40Ar/39Ar age of 693±9 ka (table 2).

Quaternary Alluvial, Eolian, and Mass-Wastage Deposits

Deposits related to the present arrangement of rivers and topography in the Washougal 

quadrangle include terrace-forming gravels, sediment deposited by the cataclysmic Missoula floods, 

deposits along the Sandy River related to eruptions of Mount Hood, and various alluvial, eolian, and 

landslide deposits.

Terrace Deposits

Sand and gravel deposits border the Sandy, Washougal, and Little Washougal Rivers, recording 

channel positions older and higher than modern levels.

Sandy River Terraces

Three sequences of gravel deposits underlie benches in the Sandy River valley in the 

southwestern part of the map area. The highest gravel deposit (Qtds3) underlies undulating and 

dissected surfaces with elevations between 300 and 540 ft (90 and 165 m); its basal contact with the 

Troutdale Formation lies consistently between 300 and 350 ft (90 and 105 m) elevation. A lower, inset 

gravel deposit (Qtds2) underlies less-dissected benches ranging between 230 and 300 ft (70 and 90 m) 

elevation and typically lies atop Troutdale Formation at elevations between 140 and 205 ft (40 and 60 

m). Both of these units are overlain by Missoula flood deposits (Qfs). A younger, post-Missoula flood, 

Sandy River terrace (Qtds1) underlies a prominent bench on the west edge of the map area between the 

Sandy River and Beaver Creek in the Camas quadrangle (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008).

Where exposed along Gordon Creek Road at the south edge of the map area, the higher, older 

deposits (Qtds3) consist of 35 m of sand and gravel of Cascade Range provenance with a basal lithicrich diamict containing abundant light-gray hornblende-andesite clasts, overlain by a better-sorted, 

round-cobble, sandy gravel. The upper 20 m is not well exposed here, but along Woodward Road, 5 km 

to the east-northeast, the gravel is also composed of Cascade Range rock types and is extensively 

weathered with about 50 percent of the cobbles readily sliced by shovel. Here the gravel is overlain by 5 

to 8 m of reddish, silty, very fine sand. A polymineral thermoluminescence-age experiment on the lithicrich sand near the base of this unit where exposed along Gordon Creek Road gave an age of >220 ka 

(table 3). 

The older alluvium (Qtds3) closely corresponds to the Gresham Formation as mapped by 

Trimble (1963), although we do not follow his nomenclature because of uncertain relations between 

Qtds3 and the gravel mapped as Gresham Formation near the town of Gresham. As noted by Trimble 

(1963, pg. 52–56), this gravel deposit reflects aggradation of the Sandy River within a valley entrenched 

into older fan deposits (QTfg), largely following the present Sandy River course. Aggradation may have 

owed to upstream glaciation and enhanced sediment production or, perhaps, to aggradation of the 

Columbia River downstream during deposition of the unnamed conglomerate unit (Qtc). Alluviation 
19

was punctuated by lahars, probably from ancestral Mount Hood, resulting in the lithic-rich sand lenses 

and bouldery diamicts. The fluvial gravel and lahar deposits are capped by as much as 8 m of clay, silt, 

and fine sand, which likely represents loess locally supplemented by thin accumulations of Late 

Pleistocene Missoula flood slackwater deposits at elevations below 400 ft (120 m).

Inset into the higher gravel deposits are younger sand and gravel (Qtds2), underlying prominent 

benches flanking both sides of the Sandy River east of Dabney Park, and a bench north of the river near 

the south map boundary. Everywhere capped by Missoula flood slackwater deposits and sitting atop 

Troutdale Formation, this unit is only poorly exposed in steep faces along the Sandy River valley walls 

and in cuts for roads and tracks descending to the river. The thickness of this unit varies from a few 

centimeters, where a one-clast-thick layer separates Troutdale Formation and Missoula flood slackwater 

deposits on the Stark Street Grade, to 20 m thick at the southern extension of Hinkle Road at the 

southern map boundary. At most exposures, the unit consists of subhorizontal sheets, 0.5–5 m thick, of 

poorly sorted sandy gravel, locally separated by thin sand lenses, that varies from compact with sand 

matrix to loose open-work texture. The clasts are subangular to well rounded, locally imbricated, and 

minimally weathered. Locally, large (to 1 m diameter) boulders of hornblende andesite are found near 

the base of the unit. At the south edge of the map area, the unit is capped by >3 m of horizontally bedded 

feldspar- and lithic-rich sand and a diamict composed of angular andesite-clast gravel with a silt and 

sand matrix. These deposits are inferred to be lahar and lahar-runout deposits, probably from Mount 

Hood eruptions, and are probably correlative to similar but thicker sequences that cap Sandy River 

terrace deposits south of the map area (J.W. Vallance and J.E. O’Connor, unpub. mapping).

The younger alluvium (Qtds2) is typically deposited on a strath cut into the hyaloclastite member 

of the Troutdale Formation (Ttfh) at elevations between 165 and 245 ft (50 and 75 m) and is everywhere 

capped by the sand and silt facies of the Missoula flood deposits (Qfs). The age of this deposit is 

uncertain, but the lack of weathering at its contact with overlying fine-grained Missoula-flood silt (Qfs) 

indicates that, in part, the unit closely pre-dates the 20–15 ka Missoula floods; infrared-stimulated 

luminescence ages from correlative deposits south of the map area range from >155 ka to 22.4±2.5 ka 

(table 3). The distribution and composition of the unit indicate deposition during a period of Sandy 

River aggradation that likely coincides in part with late Wisconsin (30–20 ka) glaciation of Mount Hood 

region and late last-glacial eruptive events at Mount Hood (Crandell, 1980). This unit corresponds in 

part to the Estacada Formation as defined and mapped by Trimble (1963) but is probably older than the 

14–12 ka (Wampler, 2004) gravel composing the type section of the Estacada Formation along the 

Clackamas River.

A small but prominent bench flanking the Sandy River on the western edge of the quadrangle has 

a surface about 160 to 190 ft (50 to 60 m) above sea level and is underlain by as much as 20 m of sand 

and gravel of Sandy River provenance (Qtds1). Like the other Sandy River terrace deposits, this unit 

consists of subhorizontal gravel sheets, 0.5–5 m thick, locally separated by thin sand lenses. The 

deposits are poorly sorted, locally imbricated, and vary from compact with sand matrix to loose openwork texture. Clasts are subangular to well rounded and are dominated by volcanic rocks derived from 

the Cascade Range. Within this unit, a 1-m-thick bed of silty lithic-rich sand inferred to be the distal 

facies of a Mount Hood lahar is exposed just west of the map area along Beaver Creek in the adjacent 

Camas quadrangle (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). 

The weakly developed soil profile, <1 mm weathering rinds on fine-grain volcanic clasts, and 

absence of overlying Missoula flood deposits indicate a post-15-ka, late Pleistocene or Holocene age. 

Consistent with this, thermoluminescence analysis on the lithic-rich sand 0.5 km west of the map area 

gave an age of 14.3±1.2 ka (table 3). These deposits may reflect aggradation behind the immense 

Missoula-flood bar that extends southwestward from Broughton Bluff, which temporarily blocked the 
20

Sandy River at its confluence with the Columbia River (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). The distal lahar 

deposits within this unit indicate Mt. Hood eruptive activity during the time sediment was accumulating 

behind the blockage. These deposits were mapped as Estacada Formation by Trimble (1963), although 

they are distinctly younger than unit Qtds2, which was also included within the Estacada Formation by 

Trimble (1963).

Washougal and Little Washougal River Terraces

Three groups of terrace deposits are distinguishable in the Washougal River drainage within the 

map area. The Little Washougal River (Qtdl) and upper Washougal River (Qtdlu) terrace deposits are 

composed of poorly to moderately well sorted sand and gravel of volcanic and granitic rocks eroded 

from the Cascade Range. They underlie surfaces at multiple levels ranging to 20 m above the present 

channel. They are associated with valley walls that show extensive landsliding, leading us to infer that 

these deposits formed during short-lived periods of aggradation following valley blockage by landslides. 

The lack of weathering indicates that these deposits are Holocene or late Pleistocene.

A sequence of at least three terrace treads flanks the lower Washougal River as the river bends 

west to its confluence with the Columbia River. These terraces (Qtdwl

) have elevations ranging between 

50 and 130 ft (15 and 40 m) and are formed of sand and gravel derived from Tertiary volcanic and 

granitic rocks of the Cascade Range, the Columbia River Basalt Group, and the Troutdale Formation. 

The deposits are minimally weathered, have rinds less than 1 mm thick on fine-grained volcanic rocks, 

and are not overlain by Missoula flood deposits, indicating a Late Pleistocene or Holocene age. The age 

and position of these deposits indicates aggradation and subsequent incision behind the coarse-grained 

Missoula flood bar (Qfg) that diverts and constricts the lower Washougal River.

Cataclysmic Flood Deposits

During the last glacial maximum in Late Pleistocene time, an ice dam at Pleistocene Lake 

Missoula in western Montana failed repeatedly, and each breach generated enormous floods or 

jökulhlaups, commonly referred to as the Missoula floods, that coursed down the Columbia River and 

into the Portland Basin (Bretz, 1925, 1959, 1969; Trimble, 1963; Allison, 1978; Baker and Bunker, 

1985; Waitt, 1985, 1994, 1996; O’Connor and Baker, 1992; Benito and O’Connor, 2003). The sedimentladen floodwaters were hydraulically dammed by the relatively narrow constriction of the Columbia 

River valley at the north end of the Portland Basin, causing temporary ponding in the Portland Basin and 

tributary valleys to elevations as high as 400 ft (120 m). Radiocarbon ages, paleomagnetic 

measurements, and tephrochronologic data indicate that these floods occurred chiefly between about 20 

and 15 ka (Waitt, 1994; Clague and others, 2003; O’Connor and Benito, 2009).

The Washougal quadrangle is located at the west end of the Columbia Gorge, which formed one 

of the most significant constrictions along the flood route. Because of this constriction, the largest floods 

achieved flow velocities as great as 35 m/s between Chanticleer Point and Mount Pleasant (Benito and 

O’Connor, 2003). Velocities rapidly diminished as flood waters emerged from the gorge into the broad 

Portland Basin, resulting in deposition of debris carried as bedload by the deep and fast flows. Where 

flow first expanded, large, broadly convex bars of coarse, foreset-bedded gravel were deposited, 

including the prominent bar underlying the cities of Camas and Washougal (Qfg). Subsurface data west 

of the map area, in eastern Portland, show correlative bouldery gravel as much as 68 m thick that 

extends 230 ft (70 m) below sea level (Hoffstetter, 1984; Hartford and McFarland, 1989), which is 

consistent with the low sea level elevation at the time of the Missoula floods (Gates, 1994).

Within the map area, floodwaters scoured the landscape near Washougal, completely denuding 

Paleogene bedrock and the Troutdale Formation of soil and other surficial material to elevations as high 

as 400 ft (120 m). Later Missoula floods were smaller than earlier ones (Benito and O’Connor, 2003) 
21

and were probably confined to the immediate Columbia River valley (floor about 90 m below modern 

sea level (Gates, 1994; Pratt and others, 2001)) but left thin onlapping sequences of sand and gravel on 

the margins of the older flood deposits.

The suspended load of the floods, composed of micaceous quartzofeldspathic silt, clay, and sand 

entrained from the loess-covered plains of eastern Washington, was deposited in slack-water areas along 

the flood route; in the map area, such deposits (Qfs) are found mainly at elevations less than 400 ft (120 

m) on top of Pleistocene terrace deposits along the Sandy River and on benches carved into older 

deposits north of the Columbia River. Rare exposures reveal massive silt that resembles and may include 

compositionally similar loess. Where better exposed in eastern Washington and the Willamette Valley, 

multiple graded slack-water beds separated by tephra layers and bioturbated zones are the primary 

evidence that several dozen Missoula floods affected the lower Columbia River (Glenn, 1965; Waitt, 

1980, 1985; Atwater, 1986; Smith, 1993; O’Connor and others, 2001; Benito and O’Connor, 2003). 

Alluvial and Lahar Deposits Derived from Mount Hood Volcano

The lower Sandy River has been episodically inundated by volcaniclastic debris generated at 

Mount Hood. As described above, Pleistocene terrace-gravel deposits along the Sandy River within and 

upstream from the map area locally contain lahar deposits and several-meter-thick sections of stratified 

gray sand that record lahar-runout deposition and post-eruption channel aggradation (J.W. Vallance and 

J.E. O’Connor, unpub. mapping). In addition to these Pleistocene deposits of Mount Hood eruptive 

materials, two late Holocene episodes of eruptive activity are recorded by stratified sand and gravel and 

diamictons that locally filled the bottom of the Sandy River valley (Qh). These deposits range from 130 

ft (40 m) above sea level (and 20 m above the modern Sandy River) at the southern boundary of the map 

area to near the present Columbia River level (3 ft (1 m) above sea level at low flow) in the area at the 

confluence of the Sandy River with the Columbia River known informally as the Sandy River delta. 

The Timberline eruptive period (Crandell, 1980) began at or slightly after A.D. 400 and may 

have persisted episodically for several decades or perhaps centuries. Eruptive activity included 

numerous pyroclastic flows and ash clouds affecting the edifice area and extensive lahars that moved 

down several drainages (Cameron and Pringle, 1986; Scott and others, 1997; Pierson and others, 2009). 

At least three Timberline-age lahars flowed down the Sandy River into the map area and presumably all 

the way to the Columbia River (Rapp, 2005). These lahars, and subsequent eruption-induced 

sedimentation, constructed the extensive lowland of the Sandy River delta at the mouth of the Sandy 

River. Charcoal in Columbia River sediment beneath the oldest lahar indicates that all three lahars 

postdate A.D. 433 (Rapp, 2005; calibration reported in Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). River-bank 

exposures, excavations, auguring, and drill logs show that locally more than 8 m of lahar deposits and 

stratified sand associated with the Timberline Eruptive Period underlie much of the delta. In places, 

these deposits buried standing forests of large conifers. Little or no pedogenic alteration within this 

sequence suggests that aggradation was rapid and essentially continuous. Radiocarbon dating of 

Columbia River sediment inset into Timberline-age deposits in the Camas quadrangle to the east

indicates that incision to near present levels, at least near the Columbia River confluence, was 

accomplished by A.D. 890 (Rapp, 2005; calibration reported in Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). Upstream, 

the lower Sandy River valley within the map area was filled by more than 25 m of diamict and stratified 

sand during and shortly after the Timberline eruptive episode, forming broad benches with remnants 

now locally more than 20 m above the present channel elevation (Pierson and others, 2009).

Following a several-century-long hiatus when the Sandy River incised to at least a few meters 

below its present level in parts of the map area (Pierson and others, 2009), renewed volcanic activity at 

Mount Hood triggered another period of Sandy River aggradation. The Old Maid eruptive period 

(Crandell, 1980), as dated by dendrochronology, began in A.D. 1780 and may have ended about AD 
22

1801 (Pierson and others, 2009). This was a smaller eruptive episode, producing only about one fifth as 

much clastic debris as generated during the Timberline period. Several lahars flowed into and down the 

Sandy River (Cameron and Pringle, 1986), including one that probably reached the map area (Pierson 

and others, 2010). Although lahar deposits of this age are not evident, downstream fluvial transport and 

reworking of Old Maid-age volcaniclastic debris caused more than 20 m of local aggradation along the 

lower Sandy River in the southern part of the map area (Pierson and others, 2009), overtopping all but 

the highest of the Timberline-age deposits, and as much as 5 m of aggradation and the occupation and 

abandonment of several channels on the Sandy River delta (Rapp, 2005). These channel fills are 

composed of very loose stratified sand and gravel, locally enclosing standing conifer snags, and are 

subject to rapid bank erosion at high flows where they form banks of the present Sandy River. 

Aggradation ceased by 1806 in the Camp Collins area and by 1806 or shortly thereafter on the Sandy 

River delta (Pierson and others, 2010). 

The similar maximum elevations of the Timberline and Old Maid aggradation sequences along 

the Sandy River resulted in the valley bottom mostly, but not everywhere, being coated by the younger 

Old Maid-age deposits. Consequently, the Timberline and Old Maid deposits are not distinguished on 

this map.

Other Alluvial, Eolian, and Mass Wastage Deposits

Holocene Columbia River Alluvium

Since the end of the last glacial epoch, sea level has been rising and the Columbia River has 

aggraded its channel and floodplain. Borehole data from Warrenton, Oregon, at the modern mouth of the 

Columbia River, shows that river level was about 365 ft (112 m) below present sea level at 

approximately 15 ka (Baker, 2002). Consistent with this, well records and seismic-reflection profiles 

indicate that nearly 100 m of predominantly sand and silt fill a buried Late Pleistocene paleochannel in 

the Portland-Vancouver area (Gates, 1994; Pratt and others, 2001; Rapp, 2005). In the map area, the 

paleochannel thalweg is located near the south shore of the modern river (Pratt and others, 2001).

Sea level rise slowed in the late Holocene, and most deposits above present low-water elevation 

of the Columbia River (about 3 ft (1 m) above sea level) are less than 2,000 years old (table 4). These 

deposits (Qac) have accumulated by overbank deposition and bar accretion, primarily during snowmelt 

floods that inundated the historic floodplain each summer before 20th-century construction of dams and 

floodplain dikes. The largest floods, such as those in 1894 and 1948, achieved stages of nearly 40 ft (12 

m) above sea level in the map area, but their deposits are too thin to map above 30 ft (10 m) elevation. 

Local diatomaceous beds and layers of organic-rich sediment probably formed in floodplain marshes, 

ponds, and lakes.

Several islands in the Columbia River are formed mostly of Holocene alluvium, including Reed 

Island and Flag Island. Reed Island, like most of the upper several meters of the Columbia River 

floodplain, is underlain by couplets of fine sand and silt as much as 30 cm thick, probably representing 

vertical accretion of overbank deposits during large spring freshets prior to mid-20th-century flow 

regulation. Very slight westward dips for traceable beds and westward onlap of younger beds on Reed 

Island indicate that the island grew by downstream progradation in conjunction with vertical accretion. 

Radiocarbon dates from beds near river level indicate that most deposits forming the island accumulated 

after A.D. 1500 (table 4).
23

Holocene Alluvium of Tributary Streams

Thin, areally restricted alluvium and lacustrine deposits (Qa) flank the Sandy, Washougal, and 

Little Washougal Rivers and smaller tributary streams in the map area. Although not directly dated, they 

almost certainly postdate the 20–15 ka Missoula floods. The deposits mapped along the Sandy River 

postdate the early 1800s culmination of the Old Maid eruptive period on Mount Hood. Some of these 

areas have been modified by diking and draining.

Landslide and Talus Deposits

Much of the Washougal quadrangle is underlain by weakly consolidated or deeply weathered 

sedimentary deposits, and landslides (Qls) are therefore common, especially where lava flows overlie 

the sediments. The 5-km-long Mount Norway landslide on the south side of the Washougal River valley, 

part of the Washougal River landslide complex (Palmer, 1977) is a composite feature. The eastern part 

of the slide formed when clayey fine-grained sediments of the Troutdale Formation (Ttfc) and (or) 

Sandy River Mudstone (Tsr) failed beneath the >100-m-thick basaltic andesite of Mount Norway 

(Qmmn), whereas the western part was caused by failure of weathered Oligocene tuffaceous rocks 

beneath the basaltic andesite of Bear Prairie (Qmbp). A continuous apron of post-landslide talus (Qt) 

has accumulated at the base of the headwall scarp of the Mount Norway landslide. Collapse of Troutdale 

and (or) Sandy River sediments, overlain by the basaltic andesite of Bear Prairie, was responsible for the 

Bear Prairie landslide north of the river. Small landslides are widespread in areas underlain by the 

Troutdale Formation, but larger ones typically occur where the Troutdale overlies Sandy River 

Mudstone, most notably in the Little Washougal River valley. 

The Rooster Rock landslide east of Chanticleer Point appears to be a composite feature with two 

discrete failure planes. In the uppermost headwall, a columnar-jointed Pliocene lava flow (Tlkt) overlies

the weathered hyaloclastic sandstone member of the Troutdale Formation (Ttfh). Failure of the 

hyaloclastic sandstone member has produced landslides elsewhere, such as northwest of Chamberlain 

Hill, and is clearly responsible for active slumping of the Historic Columbia River Highway directly east 

of the map boundary. At lower elevations, however, slide debris includes abundant large blocks

(including Rooster Rock itself1) of the basalt of Rosalia flow that forms Chanticleer Point, indicating 

that another failure plane lies within or below the Columbia River Basalt Group. Exposures at the base 

of the upper headwall show that the Troutdale Formation rests on a yellow-orange to brick-red earthy 

paleosol at least 3 m thick. Lowry and Baldwin (1952) and Trimble (1963) also recognized this paleosol 

(“laterite”), which they interpreted as weathered Columbia River Basalt. Below the paleosol is a bench 

above a steep lower headwall. Outcrops on the lower headwall consist of one or two flows of the 

Frenchman Springs Member of the Wanapum Basalt (Twfsh). Therefore two failure planes are involved

in the Rooster Rock landslide, an upper one within the Troutdale Formation and a lower one within a

paleosol that developed on the Frenchman Springs Member before emplacement of the Rosalia flow less 

than 1 m.y. later. Mechanically weak pillow breccia zones at the base of the basalt of Rosalia likely also 

contributed to landsliding. A discontinuous mantle of micaceous silts, probably related to the 

cataclysmic Missoula floods, covers the slide, and undercutting by the floods may have triggered the 

slope failure. Such landslides may have also been promoted by significant incision (as much as 100 m) 

of the Columbia River during glacial episodes, resulting in debuttressing of valley sides.

 1 Rooster Rock is misidentified on the topographic base map; its actual location, as shown on the topographic map of the 

adjacent Bridal Veil quadrangle, is north of Interstate highway 84.
24

Loess

Massive, micaceous, quartzofeldspathic silt (Qlo) blankets most upland surfaces in the map area 

above the 400-ft (120-m) maximum stage of the largest Missoula floods, although these high deposits 

are mapped only on uplands south of the Columbia River, where they are exceptionally thick and 

obscure the underlying geology. The loess deposits are pedogenically reddened and probably 

accumulated over several episodes during the Quaternary, probably most significantly during glacial 

ages. They are equivalent to the Portland Hills Silt, a regionally extensive loess deposit found on 

uplands west of the Portland Basin (Lentz, 1981). In the type area, the Portland Hills Silt contains 

paleosols, which indicate episodic accumulation separated by periods of relative surface stability 

enabling soil development (Lentz, 1981). The general westward thinning of the loess in the Portland 

area indicates deposition by easterly winds. Such winds are not the prevailing condition but are common 

in winter when atmospheric high pressure in the interior drives easterly airflow in the Columbia Gorge. 

Easterly winds may have been more common during Quaternary glacial ages. Such winds could readily 

entrain particles from Columbia River beach and floodplain deposits and redeposit them on surrounding 

uplands (Lentz, 1981).

Lower and younger loess deposits cover benches etched into Tertiary rocks between 

Chamberlain Hill and Chanticleer Point. These accumulations are composed of massive micaceous fine 

sand and silt, to 5 m thick, and locally contain multiple weakly developed soil horizons. Their position 

in areas that would presumably be stripped by Missoula flooding and a circa 1 ka radiocarbon age (table 

4) signify Holocene deposition.

Eolian Deposits

Small dunes of medium to coarse sand (Qe) have locally accumulated on the Holocene 

floodplain and islands of the Columbia River. Most of these dunes probably formed near the shoreline

from strong easterly winds entraining exposed Columbia River beach sand during winter low flow 

periods prior to significant flow regulation commencing in the 1930s. These dunes, formed on top of the 

Holocene floodplain, are all late Holocene in age, as corroborated by a post-A.D. 780 age (table 4) for 

the small dune on the northern edge of the Sandy River delta. Most of these dunes, except where 

actively eroding, are vegetated, and original dune morphology is obscure. Dune formation has probably 

diminished historically as a consequence of flow regulation reducing winter-time exposure of Columbia 

River shoals and beaches.

Structural Features

The Washougal quadrangle lies near the east margin of the Portland Basin, a structural and 

topographic depression that began to form in middle Miocene time (Beeson and others, 1989; Beeson 

and Tolan, 1990). In contrast to the sharply well defined southwest side of the basin (fig.1B), the east 

and north margins are topographically and structurally complex, reflecting a complex interplay between 

local tectonics and Columbia River fluvial processes (Evarts and others, 2009a).

Oligocene strata in the northwestern part of the map area dip about 20–25° southeast, whereas 

correlative strata in areas to the northwest and west (Evarts, 2006b; Evarts and O’Connor, 2008) exhibit 

lower dips (<10°), suggesting that bedrock exposed along the lower Washougal River constitutes a faultbounded block that has been tilted relative to adjacent areas. This deformation largely predates 

deposition of the conglomerate member of the Troutdale Formation (Ttfc), the surface of which dips 

gently southwestward from the Mount Norway area. Comparable surfaces to the northwest also dip 

basinward (Mundorff, 1964; Howard, 2002; Evarts, 2004a, 2006a,b). We interpret these surfaces to be 

primarily depositional and suggest that the dip reflects postdepositional tilting and uplift of the east 
25

margin of the Portland Basin, perhaps related to late Pliocene regional uplift of the Cascade Range 

(Tolan and Beeson, 1984). Regional tilting probably also accounts for the gentle (<2°) southwestward 

dips of Grande Ronde Basalt and Wanapum Basalt flows and overlying strata of the younger part of the 

Troutdale Formation (Ttfh) south of the Columbia River, although dips of the hyaloclastic beds may in 

part be primary and reflect deposition on an aggrading west-sloping alluvial surface.

Faults

Several predominantly northwest-striking faults cross the map area. Most are inferred from 

vertical offsets of Oligocene bedrock or Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group flows, and the regional 

tectonic setting suggests they may have experienced strike-slip motion as well (Beeson and Tolan, 1990; 

Blakely and others, 2000). These structures played an important role in the development of the Portland 

Basin during late Miocene and Pliocene time but none are known to have been active in the Holocene.

Sandy River Fault

Beeson and others (1989), Beeson and Tolan (1990), and Blakely and others (1995) inferred the 

presence of one or more northwest-trending faults along the lower Sandy River. Working in the Sandy 

quadrangle south of the map area, Lite (1992) suggested that the top of the Grande Ronde Basalt was 

displaced approximately 245 m down to the west on the Sandy River Fault, but he found no evidence for 

comparable deformation in the overlying sedimentary units. The Sandy River Fault apparently 

originated in Miocene time as one of a set of basin-bounding normal faults, but significant vertical 

motion ceased before deposition of Troutdale Formation hyaloclastic sandstone and conglomerate in late 

Pliocene time. Subsequent displacement, if any, has been predominantly lateral.

Faults near Corbett

Two faults with orientations and displacements similar to that of the Sandy River Fault offset the 

Grande Ronde Basalt and Wanapum Basalt near Corbett. Collectively, these faults and a nearby 

northeast-trending fault drop the Columbia River Basalt Group at least 200 m between Chanticleer Point 

and Corbett Station. They are projected toward the southeast corner of the map area based on well logs 

that indicate that the top of the basalt bedrock is more than 100 m lower near the Sandy River than it is 

in eastern Howard Canyon. Along with the Sandy River Fault, these structures define the complex 

eastern margin of the Portland Basin. The westernmost fault juxtaposes the Troutdale Formation against 

the basalt of Sand Hollow, so it must be late Pliocene or younger; whether movement on the other faults 

in the Corbett zone is similarly young is unknown.

Graben along Little Washougal River

Two northwest-striking faults define a graben that is roughly coincident with the valley of the 

lower Little Washougal River and continues to the northwest of the map area (Evarts, 2006a; Evarts and 

O’Connor, 2008). The river flows on a bedrock surface that is about 150 m lower than bedrock on the 

flanks of the valley. Water-well logs indicate that these structures displace the Sandy River Mudstone 

and the conglomerate member of the Troutdale Formation but not, apparently, the younger unnamed 

conglomerate. The axis of the graben projects eastward toward the thickest section of the conglomerate 

member of the Troutdale Formation, south of Mount Norway, and toward the deep, conglomerate-filled, 

post-Priest Rapids paleocanyon in the adjacent Bridal Veil quadrangle described by Tolan (1982) and 

Tolan and Beeson (1984). During late Miocene and Pliocene time, the Columbia River may have been 

confined within this developing graben, until eventually its valley filled with Troutdale Formation 

sediments and the river’s location shifted to its present course.
26

Other Faults

The Blue Lake Fault and the Lacamas Lake Fault are projected eastward from the Camas 

quadrangle, where they bound an uplifted block at Prune Hill (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). The Blue 

Lake Fault is interpreted as a north-side-up reverse fault and may explain why Paleogene rocks crop out 

only north of the Columbia River. We speculate that it is truncated by the northwest-striking faults near 

Corbett, although subsurface information to verify this is lacking. The Lacamas Lake Fault is thought to 

be a dextral oblique-slip structure and may extend as far as Corbett, where similar faults are mapped. 

Unlike the graben-bounding faults to the north, both of these faults appear to have moved during the 

Pleistocene (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008).

The northeast-striking fault inferred near Campen Creek is based on water-well logs that show 

that the top of Oligocene bedrock drops from near the surface to the west to more than 170 m deep to the 

east. Because of rapid facies changes in the Troutdale Formation, it is unclear whether they, too, are 

offset, although the pronounced northeast grain to the drainage pattern east of Campen Creek Fault is 

suggestive of structural control.

Age of Deformation

Subsidence of the Portland Basin and accumulation of its fluvial sedimentary fill occurred 

throughout late Neogene time. Some of this subsidence clearly took place on northwest-striking 

structures in the map area, but the movement history of these faults is complex, diverse, and poorly 

understood. The Sandy River Fault, for example, vertically displaces the Wanapum Basalt but not the 

overlying sediments, whereas similarly oriented faults near Corbett offset hyaloclastic sandstone beds 

showing they must be as young as late Pliocene. The graben north of Washougal grew during deposition 

of the conglomerate member but became inactive by the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene time when the 

unnamed conglomerate was deposited across it. The graben appears to be truncated by more northerly 

faults. Evidence in the Camas quadrangle indicates that the Blue Lake Fault and segments of the 

Lacamas Lake Fault are compressional structures that were active in the early Pleistocene, although the 

latter may have originated earlier as a normal fault (Evarts and O’Connor, 2008). All of these faults may 

have experienced strike-slip motion, which is difficult to detect from well logs.

Late Quaternary deformation in the map area is possible but difficult to detect, owing in large 

part to the effects of cataclysmic floods in latest Pleistocene time. Evidence for Late Pleistocene or 

younger faulting in the map area from seismic reflection surveys along the Columbia River is equivocal 

(Ryan and Stephenson, 1995; Pratt and others, 2001).

Geologic Resources

Known geologic resources available in the Washougal quadrangle are limited to nonmetallic 

industrial materials, chiefly aggregate for road construction and similar purposes (Johnson and others, 

2005). Quarries for crushed rock (all now inactive) have been developed in Oligocene basaltic andesite 

(Tbem) near Woodburn Hill, in Wanapum Basalt (Twfsh) at Corbett Station, in Quaternary volcanic 

rocks (Qbch) near Chamberlain Hill, and in Holocene alluvium and volcaniclastic sediment near the 

Sandy River confluence with the Columbia River. The columnar-jointed basalt of Bridal Veil Creek 

(Qbbv) on the ridge north of Howard Canyon is currently mined for landscape rock.

Sand and gravel have been obtained from the conglomerate member of the Troutdale Formation 

near the mouth of Gibbons Creek and from young alluvial deposits directly west of the map area in the 

city of Camas. 
27

Geologic Evolution

Paleogene volcanic bedrock exposed in the western Washougal quadrangle comprises tholeiitic 

lava flows of the basaltic andesite of Elkhorn Mountain. These flows form a chemically related suite and 

were probably emplaced on the middle and lower flanks of a large shield volcano. Neither dikes nor 

hydrothermal alteration are present in the map area, indicating that the vent for this volcano is located 

outside the quadrangle, most likely to the north. Age determinations in adjacent quadrangles (table 2; 

Phillips and others, 1986; Evarts, 2006a,b; Evarts and O’Connor, 2008) show that this volcano was 

active in Oligocene time, about 27–25.5 Ma. Andesite flows that interfinger with the upper part of the 

Elkhorn Mountain unit may be late differentiates of the same magmatic system. The Oligocene rocks 

exhibit minor but widespread zeolite-facies metamorphism owing to shallow burial. Deformation 

reflected in the southeastward dips of these strata may be related to middle Miocene regional folding in 

the southern Washington Cascade Range described by Evarts and Swanson (1994).

Between 16 to 12 m.y. ago, massive flood-basalt flows entered western Oregon and Washington 

from the east though a 60-km-wide ancestral Columbia River valley, the Cascade trans-arc lowland of

Beeson and others (1989) and Beeson and Tolan (1990). The route of the modern Columbia River in the 

map area coincides with the north margin of the trans-arc lowland, because the Columbia River Basalt 

Group is not present north of the river. Grande Ronde Basalt and early Wanapum Basalt flows issued so 

rapidly that the ancestral river was rarely able to re-establish integrated drainage between eruptions, and 

the flows spread out into vast horizontal sheets that constitute useful datums for recording regional postbasalt deformation (Beeson and Tolan, 1990). Roughly 1 m.y. separated emplacement of the Frenchman 

Springs Member and the basalt of Rosalia (Tolan and others, 1989). During this interval, the ancestral 

Columbia River incised a deep canyon in the northern part of the trans-arc lowland, and a deep 

weathering profile developed on basalt underlying adjacent highlands. At 14.5 Ma, the Rosalia flow 

filled this canyon to overflowing, generating substantial hyaloclastite (Tolan, 1982; Tolan and Beeson, 

1984).

During and after emplacement of the Columbia River Basalt Group, the Portland Basin gradually 

subsided, in part along northwest-striking normal faults such as the Sandy River Fault, and accumulated 

predominantly fine-grained sediments of the ancestral Columbia River. These sediments, the Sandy 

River Mudstone, were deposited in low-energy fluvial environments, probably near sea level. In latest 

Miocene time, the sedimentary regime of the lower Columbia River changed dramatically as cobbly 

gravel of the older Troutdale Formation (Ttfc) accumulated within a relatively narrow, possibly faultcontrolled, channel in the map area and prograded northwestward across the wider Portland Basin. As 

much as 200 m of gravel, now preserved beneath uplands east of Washougal, were deposited in the 

channel during this time. The pronounced change in Columbia River sedimentation may record regional 

uplift east of the Cascade Range, integration of upstream basin areas, or climate changes resulting in a 

higher-energy gravel-rich river system. As the supply of coarse sediment diminished, the river incised 

the gravelly deposits, which were subsequently uplifted and are preserved only north of the modern 

river.

During an episode of intra-arc rifting in Pliocene time, about 4–3 Ma, voluminous basaltic lava 

flows (Tlkt) erupted in the Cascade Range east of the map area (Tolan and Beeson, 1984; Conrey and 

others, 1996b, 2004). Some of these lavas entered the Columbia River and interacted explosively with 

river water to produce huge quantities of hyaloclastite. This debris was rapidly flushed downriver and 

deposited where the Columbia River valley opened into the broad eastern Portland Basin (Tolan and 

Beeson, 1984). The distal parts of some of these flows overlie the hyaloclastite member of the Troutdale 

Formation south of Chanticleer Point. To the west, hyaloclastic sandstone beds of the Troutdale 
28

Formation are now located at depths as great as 150 m below sea level (Hartford and McFarland, 1989; 

Swanson and others, 1993; Evarts and O’Connor, 2008), indicating that subsidence of the basin 

depocenter continued into at least the late Pliocene.

During Pliocene and early Pleistocene time, dominantly andesitic volcanism at a long-lived 

center at the site of Mount Hood (Conrey and others, 2004) generated voluminous debris that was 

transported as lahars and flood-flows down the ancestral Sandy River drainage. These volcaniclastic 

flows and associated fluvial deposits built multiple west-sloping surfaces along the west flank of the 

northern Oregon Cascade Range; the erosional remains constitute the Springwater Formation of Trimble 

(1963). Simultaneous aggradation of the Columbia River is recorded by the unnamed conglomerate unit 

(QTc). Compared to the older Troutdale Formation conglomerate (Ttfc), the unnamed conglomerate 

contains a higher proportion of volcanic clasts derived from the adjacent Cascade Range, reflecting both 

enhanced volcanism and uplift-driven erosion in the volcanic arc in post-Miocene time.

Beginning about 2.6 Ma, mafic volcanic activity spread westward from the Cascade Range into 

the Portland Basin to form the Boring Volcanic Field (Treasher, 1942; Trimble, 1963; Allen, 1975; 

Conrey and others, 1996a; Evarts and others, 2009b). Volcanic rocks of this age in the Washougal 

quadrangle include the products of several eruptive centers, two of which, Mount Norway and 

Chamberlain Hill, are within the map area. The oldest Boring flow in the Washougal quadrangle is the 

basalt of Bridal Veil Creek (Qbbv), which erupted from a vent east of the map area at about 2.25 Ma. 

Between 1.3 and 1.1 Ma, basalt and basaltic andesite issued from the vent at Chamberlain Hill (Qmbb

and Qbch) and from a vent at Bear Prairie (Qmbp) north of the map area. A lava flow from Pepper 

Mountain (Qmpm) entered the map area from the east at about 850 ka. The youngest volcanic activity 

in the quadrangle, at 693±9 ka, produced two small cinder cones and the thick basaltic andesite flow of 

Mount Norway (Qmmn), which partially buried the basalt of Bear Prairie.

The Washougal quadrangle lies beyond the limits of Pleistocene glaciers emanating from the 

Cascade Range (Crandell, 1980; Mundorff, 1964; Evarts, 2006a), although glacial outwash gravel may 

be present in the Quaternary terraces flanking the Sandy River (Qtds2 and Qtds2) and loess episodically 

blanketed uplands, probably chiefly during glacial periods. The map area was, however, profoundly 

affected by the latest Pleistocene glacier-outburst floods from Glacial Lake Missoula (Bretz, 1925; 

Trimble, 1963; Allison, 1978; Waitt, 1994, 1996; Benito and O’Connor, 2003; Minervini and others, 

2003). Scores of these floods jetted through the western Columbia River Gorge between 20 and 15 ka, 

probably attaining flow velocities of 35 m/s in the map area (Benito and O’Connor, 2003) and stripping 

the valley flanks. As the flows decelerated upon entering the Portland Basin, they deposited immense, 

coarse-grained bars (Qfg) that apparently blocked both the Sandy and Washougal rivers, leading to 

aggradation of the lower portions of each of these rivers. In backflooded areas, the Missoula floods also 

mantled much land surface below 120 m elevation with locally bedded micaceous sand and silt (Qfs). 

Since the last glacial sea-level low stand of about 112 m below present sea level at 15 ka (Baker, 

2002), the Columbia River has aggraded more than 60 m in the map area to its present low-water 

elevation of about 1 m above sea level and formed the historic floodplain, beach deposits, and midchannel islands (Qac), locally covered with small eolian dunes (Qe). Coarse-grained volcaniclastic 

deposits (Qh) generated by two late Holocene eruptive periods of Mount Hood covered the Sandy River 

valley bottom. These volcaniclastic deposits constitute much of the Holocene sediment entering the 

Columbia River within the map area and substantially built out the Sandy River delta (Rapp, 2005). 

Since the early 1900s, much of the historic Columbia River floodplain has been diked and drained, and 

in-channel patterns and processes of deposition have been modified by dike and jetty construction, 

dredging, and upriver impoundments that now strongly control the flow regime.
29

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Table 1. Chemical and modal analyses of volcanic rocks, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, 

and Multnomah County, Oregon.

[X-ray fluorescence analyses. Rock-type names assigned in accordance with IUGS system (Le Maitre, 2002) applied to recalculated analyses. 

FeO*, total Fe calculated as FeO; Mg#, atomic ratio 100 Mg/(Mg+Fe2+) with Fe2+ set to 0.85 x Fetotal. Modal analyses, secondary minerals 

counted as primary mineral replaced. -, not present; tr, trace. X-ray fluorescence analyses by D.M. Johnson Cornelius at GeoAnalytical 

Laboratory of Washington State University using methods described in Johnson and others (1999)]

Map No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Field sample No. 02CM-T27 03CM-T189B 03CM-T166 03CM-T234B 03CM-T200A 03CM-T189A 03CM-T194 03CM-T195 03CM-T192

Latitude (N) 45°37.375' 45°36.031' 45°37.442' 45°36.100' 45°35.571' 45°36.074' 45°35.516' 45°35.573' 45°35.703'

Longitude (W) 122°19.230' 122°20.443' 122°19.859' 122°20.232' 122°21.544' 122°20.474' 122°22.283' 122°19.642' 122°22.019'

Map unit Tob Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem

Rock type Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basaltic Basaltic

andesite andesite

Analyses as reported (wt percent)

SiO2 47.45 50.55 51.26 51.63 51.69 51.62 51.73 51.31 52.14

TiO2 1.46 1.15 1.59 1.21 1.24 1.89 1.82 1.63 1.90

Al2O3 17.44 18.41 16.84 18.51 18.06 16.42 16.26 17.48 15.82

FeO* 11.59 10.19 12.50 9.45 10.50 11.94 12.35 10.24 13.02

MnO 0.20 0.21 0.23 0.19 0.19 0.29 0.23 0.21 0.26

MgO 7.87 5.64 4.57 5.45 4.76 4.80 4.44 4.32 3.97

CaO 10.38 11.32 9.70 10.87 10.56 9.47 9.44 9.93 9.00

Na2O 2.26 2.55 3.00 2.67 2.90 3.28 2.87 2.86 3.25

K2O 0.29 0.21 0.35 0.29 0.44 0.32 0.49 0.58 0.50

P2O5 0.16 0.13 0.17 0.16 0.13 0.21 0.20 0.19 0.22

Total 99.09 100.35 100.20 100.44 100.44 100.24 99.81 98.74 100.10

Analyses recalculated volatile-free and normalized to 100% with all Fe as FeO (wt percent)

SiO2 47.88 50.37 51.16 51.41 51.46 51.49 51.83 51.97 52.09

TiO2 1.47 1.14 1.58 1.21 1.23 1.88 1.82 1.65 1.90

Al2O3 17.60 18.34 16.80 18.43 17.98 16.38 16.29 17.70 15.81

FeO* 11.70 10.15 12.47 9.41 10.45 11.92 12.37 10.37 13.01

MnO 0.20 0.21 0.23 0.19 0.19 0.29 0.23 0.21 0.26

MgO 7.94 5.62 4.56 5.43 4.74 4.79 4.45 4.38 3.97

CaO 10.47 11.28 9.68 10.82 10.51 9.45 9.45 10.06 8.99

Na2O 2.28 2.54 3.00 2.66 2.88 3.27 2.88 2.89 3.25

K2O 0.29 0.21 0.35 0.29 0.44 0.32 0.49 0.59 0.50

P2O5 0.16 0.12 0.17 0.16 0.12 0.21 0.20 0.20 0.22

Mg# 58.8 53.8 43.4 54.7 48.8 45.8 43.0 47.0 39.0

Modes (volume percent)

Plagioclase 24.0 15.9 11.1 20.5 12.4 4.3 28.8 18.6 5.1

Clinopyroxene 1.6 0.9 0.8 - 0.3 1.0 0.1 0.4

Orthopyroxene - - - - - - - -

Olivine 8.8 3.3 1.3 2.4 0.9 0.9 0.5 0.5 1.2

Fe-Ti Oxide 0.1 - - trace - - - - 0.1

Hornblende - - - - - - - - -

Biotite - - - - - - - - -

Quartz - - - - - - - - -

K-feldspar - - xenoliths - tr - - - - - -

Other - - - - - - - - -

Groundmass 65.5 79.9 86.8 77.1 86.4 94.8 69.7 80.8 93.2

No. points counted 800 800 800 800 790 800 840 800 800

Texture (rock/ seriate/ porphyritic/ seriate/ porphyritic/ porphyritic/ seriate/ seriate/ porphyritic/ seriate/

groundmass) intergranular intergranular intergranular trachytic trachytic trachytic intergranular intergranular intergranular

Trace element analyses (ppm)

Ba 85 104 130 125 118 125 163 153 148 

Rb 5 3 5 4 11 5 10 16 10 

Sr 256 259 263 268 285 263 269 293 258 

Y 26 21 28 23 21 32 32 27 34 

Zr 91 71 101 93 76 117 116 111 121 

Nb 7.2 4.2 6.4 5.6 4.1 8.5 8.4 7.6 8.6

Ni 74 24 8 24 10 11 9 23 3 

Cu 182 141 237 187 198 311 221 181 232 

Zn 85 90 107 88 87 111 116 98 115 

Cr 120 66 21 93 29 39 15 58 0 

Sc 38 38 42 34 39 42 41 38 45

V 278 284 337 233 304 352 341 294 351
38

Table 1. Chemical and modal analyses of volcanic rocks, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, 

and Multnomah County, Oregon—Continued

Map No. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Field sample No. 02CM-T33 03CM-T153A 03CM-T213C 03CM-T235 03CM-T213B 02CM-T32 07CM-T332 03CM-T212 03CM-T193

Latitude (N) 45°36.866' 45°37.248' 45°36.315' 45°35.291' 45°36.372' 45°36.599' 45°32.531' 45°36.666' 45°35.689'

Longitude (W) 122°20.584' 122°20.261' 122°20.319' 122°22.237' 122°20.347' 122°21.082' 122°16.012' 122°20.437' 122°21.892'

Map unit Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem Tbem Ta Ta Ta

Rock type Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Andesite Andesite Andesite

andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite

Analyses as reported (wt percent)

SiO2 51.84 52.67 53.93 53.94 54.79 54.67 57.28 59.86 60.12 

TiO2 1.17 1.75 1.17 1.95 1.59 1.71 1.26 1.38 1.42 

Al2O3 20.34 16.25 18.07 15.31 16.22 15.22 16.21 16.30 15.47 

FeO* 8.71 12.71 9.67 12.74 10.88 11.61 8.13 8.67 9.91 

MnO 0.17 0.23 0.22 0.26 0.22 0.26 0.18 0.19 0.20 

MgO 3.21 3.96 4.05 3.55 3.87 3.10 2.91 2.48 2.19 

CaO 10.37 8.24 9.52 8.05 7.94 7.73 6.30 5.91 5.72 

Na2O 3.06 3.49 3.21 3.62 3.64 3.66 3.74 4.62 4.27

K2O 0.40 0.58 0.51 0.67 0.79 0.62 1.12 0.78 0.93

P2O5 0.15 0.20 0.16 0.27 0.25 0.21 0.21 0.27 0.27

Total 99.42 100.08 100.51 100.35 100.18 98.79 97.34 100.47 100.49

Analyses recalculated volatile-free and normalized to 100% with all Fe as FeO (wt percent)

SiO2 52.15 52.63 53.66 53.75 54.69 55.34 58.84 59.59 59.83

TiO2 1.17 1.75 1.17 1.95 1.59 1.73 1.30 1.37 1.41

Al2O3 20.46 16.24 17.98 15.25 16.19 15.41 16.66 16.23 15.39

FeO* 8.76 12.70 9.62 12.69 10.86 11.76 8.36 8.63 9.86

MnO 0.17 0.22 0.22 0.26 0.22 0.26 0.19 0.19 0.20

MgO 3.23 3.96 4.03 3.54 3.86 3.14 2.99 2.47 2.18

CaO 10.43 8.23 9.47 8.02 7.92 7.82 6.47 5.88 5.69

Na2O 3.08 3.48 3.19 3.60 3.64 3.70 3.84 4.60 4.25

K2O 0.40 0.58 0.51 0.67 0.78 0.63 1.15 0.78 0.92

P2O5 0.15 0.20 0.16 0.27 0.25 0.21 0.21 0.27 0.27

Mg# 43.6 39.5 46.8 36.9 42.7 35.9 42.8 37.5 31.7

Modes (volume percent)

Plagioclase 25.5 2.0 19.1 0.3 2.8 6.4 7.8 2.8 5.9

Clinopyroxene trace trace 0.9 trace 0.6 0.3 0.7 0.5 0.5

Orthopyroxene - - - - - - 0.5 0.3 0.4

Olivine 0.8 0.2 2.0 - 1.3 0.5 - trace -

Fe-Ti Oxide trace - - - - 0.1 0.2

Hornblende - - - - - - - - -

Biotite - - - - - - - - -

Quartz - - - - - - - - -

K-feldspar - - - - - - - - -

Other - - - - - - - - -

Groundmass 73.7 97.8 78.0 99.7 95.3 92.8 91.0 96.3 93.0

No. points counted 800 800 800 800 800 800 850 792 784

Texture (rock/ seriate/ sparsely seriate/ sparsely porphyritic/ seriate/ seriate/ seriate/ seriate/

groundmass) intergranular intergranular intergranular microphyric trachytic pilotaxitic pilotaxitic pilotaxitic pilotaxitic

Trace element analyses (ppm)

Ba 108 157 143 171 188 166 258 209 234 

Rb 7 13 12 18 19 11 32 18 23 

Sr 298 279 265 252 249 245 306 279 240 

Y 24 30 26 39 35 36 27 38 38 

Zr 86 115 102 142 155 129 151 155 170 

Nb 6.2 7.6 6.2 9.6 10.7 10.6 8.7 10.8 11.2

Ni 5 6 9 0 8 5 0 2 0 

Cu 108 219 208 161 95 245 146 60 60 

Zn 84 108 97 122 105 115 94 108 119 

Cr 28 0 29 1 13 13 0 4 7 

Sc 33 36 37 44 35 48 26 28 28

V 186 284 228 257 242 249 171 80 75
39

Table 1. Chemical and modal analyses of volcanic rocks, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, 

and Multnomah County, Oregon—Continued

Map No. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Field sample No. 05CM-T303A 03CM-T204B 04CM-T262 07CM-T327 05CM-T312 MBCG-17* 04CM-T261 04CM-T263 11CM-T341A

Latitude (N) 45°37.487' 45°37.492' 45°32.471' 45°32.580' 45°32.486' 45°32.471' 45°32.388' 45°32.474' 45°32.125'

Longitude (W) 122°17.553' 122°19.457' 122°17.138' 122°16.440' 122°16.277' 122°16.864' 122°17.143' 122°17.635' 122°15.150'

Map unit Ta Tiba Tgsb Tgsb Tgsb Tgsb Twfsh Twfsh Twfsh

Rock type Andesite Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic

andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite Andesite Andesite Andesite

Analyses as reported (wt percent)

SiO2 58.73 53.66 53.54 52.74 53.34 54.35 50.63 51.09 51.88

TiO2 1.02 1.08 1.88 1.91 1.92 1.99 2.83 2.89 2.87

Al2O3 16.99 18.05 13.94 13.60 13.83 14.23 12.96 13.30 13.31

FeO* 7.98 9.11 11.38 11.82 11.96 11.40 14.27 12.91 13.91

MnO 0.13 0.17 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.22 0.24 0.21 0.22

MgO 1.92 4.50 5.00 4.66 4.75 4.60 3.83 4.02 4.29

CaO 5.78 10.19 8.75 8.49 8.55 8.70 8.04 8.28 8.25

Na2O 4.01 3.03 2.83 2.88 2.93 2.97 2.86 2.75 2.90

K2O 0.91 0.34 1.29 1.08 1.13 1.31 1.22 1.47 1.44

P2O5 0.24 0.15 0.29 0.28 0.28 0.31 0.56 0.58 0.57

Total 97.71 100.27 99.11 97.68 98.90 100.08 97.45 97.50 99.64

Analyses recalculated volatile-free and normalized to 100% with all Fe as FeO (wt percent)

SiO2 60.11 53.51 54.01 53.99 53.94 54.30 51.96 52.40 52.07

TiO2 1.04 1.07 1.90 1.95 1.95 1.99 2.91 2.96 2.88

Al2O3 17.39 18.00 14.07 13.93 13.98 14.22 13.30 13.64 13.35

FeO* 8.16 9.08 11.48 12.10 12.09 11.39 14.64 13.24 13.96

MnO 0.14 0.16 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.22 0.25 0.22 0.23

MgO 1.96 4.49 5.04 4.77 4.80 4.60 3.93 4.12 4.31

CaO 5.91 10.17 8.83 8.69 8.6 8.7 8.2 8.5 8.3

Na2O 4.11 3.03 2.86 2.95 2.96 2.96 2.94 2.82 2.91

K2O 0.93 0.34 1.31 1.11 1.14 1.31 1.25 1.51 1.45

P2O5 0.25 0.15 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.31 0.57 0.59 0.58

Mg# 33.5 50.9 47.9 45.3 45.4 45.9 36.0 39.5 39.3

Modes (volume percent)

Plagioclase trace 17.3 trace trace - - 0.2 trace trace

Clinopyroxene - 0.1 - - - - - - -

Orthopyroxene - - - - - - - - -

Olivine - 0.8 - - - - - - -

Fe-Ti Oxide - - - - - - - - -

Hornblende - - - - - - - - -

Biotite - - - - - - - - -

Quartz - - - - - - - - -

K-feldspar - - - - - - - - -

Other - - - - - - - - -

Groundmass 100.0 81.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.8 100.0 100.0

No. points counted 800 800 800 800 - - 800 - -

Texture (rock/ ~aphyric/ porphyritic/ ~aphyric/ ~aphyric/ aphyric/ aphyric/ ~aphyric/ aphyric/ aphyric/

groundmass) intergranular trachytic intergranular intergranular intergranular intergranular intergranular intergranular intersertal

Trace element analyses (ppm)

Ba 236 142 481 464 453 488 563 571 590 

Rb 21 17 26 27 28 30 35 36 37 

Sr 289 245 307 312 320 328 316 327 322.1 

Y 25 25 33 32 33 34 42 45 42

Zr 165 108 157 156 156 163 186 199 198

Nb 9.0 6.2 9.6 9.8 10.7 11.0 15.6 16.6 14

Ni 8 15 7 4 15 16 22 20 21

Cu 30 139 34 28 27 29 30 28 31

Zn 87 84 117 115 117 129 143 148 142

Cr 5 66 37 22 22 27 40 38 39

Sc 19 34 39 37 37 38 37 36 37

V 113 223 323 330 337 348 409 404 398

*Analysis provided by S.P. Reidel, written commun., 2004
40

Table 1. Chemical and modal analyses of volcanic rocks, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, 

and Multnomah County, Oregon—Continued

Map No. 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Field sample No. 11CM-T341B 05CM-T307 05CM-T297 05CM-T294A 05CM-T295 05CM-T296† 03CM-T252 05CM-T292B 03CM-T253A

Latitude (N) 45°32.106 45°32.251' 45°32.455' 45°32.415' 45°32.373' 45°32.280' 45°30.611' 45°31.940' 45°31.060'

Longitude (W) 122°15.208' 122°15.664' 122°15.814' 122°15.961' 122°15.925' 122°16.140' 122°17.817' 122°15.400' 122°15.483'

Map unit Twfsh Twprr Twprr Twprr Twprr Twprr Tlkt Tlkt Qbbv

Rock type Basaltic Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt

Analyses as reported (wt percent)

SiO2 51.65 48.82 48.21 49.02 48.91 49.36 46.73 48.95 49.87

TiO2 2.81 3.53 3.58 3.61 3.57 3.63 1.23 1.25 1.50

Al2O3 13.29 12.52 12.45 12.79 12.54 12.87 16.64 16.98 16.48

FeO* 14.02 15.27 15.03 14.54 15.10 13.77 11.49 11.20 9.17

MnO 0.23 0.26 0.25 0.26 0.22 0.33 0.13 0.18 0.16

MgO 4.47 4.18 4.39 4.51 4.38 3.66 7.36 8.17 7.57

CaO 8.31 7.92 8.36 8.52 8.01 8.62 9.03 9.29 9.68

Na2O 2.83 2.81 2.61 2.66 2.78 2.57 2.57 3.09 3.41

K2O 1.39 1.25 1.27 1.31 1.23 1.17 0.11 0.27 1.17

P2O5 0.57 0.77 0.78 0.81 0.76 0.81 0.11 0.12 0.40

Total 99.55 97.33 96.92 98.02 97.51 96.79 95.39 99.48 99.42

Analyses recalculated volatile-free and normalized to 100% with all Fe as FeO (wt percent)

SiO2 51.88 50.16 49.74 50.01 50.16 50.99 48.99 49.20 50.16

TiO2 2.82 3.62 3.69 3.68 3.66 3.75 1.29 1.25 1.51

Al2O3 13.35 12.86 12.84 13.05 12.86 13.30 17.44 17.07 16.58

FeO* 14.09 15.69 15.50 14.83 15.48 14.22 12.04 11.26 9.23

MnO 0.23 0.27 0.26 0.26 0.23 0.34 0.14 0.18 0.16

MgO 4.49 4.30 4.53 4.60 4.50 3.78 7.71 8.21 7.62

CaO 8.3 8.1 8.63 8.69 8.21 8.91 9.47 9.3 9.74

Na2O 2.84 2.88 2.69 2.72 2.85 2.66 2.69 3.10 3.43

K2O 1.40 1.29 1.31 1.33 1.27 1.21 0.11 0.27 1.18

P2O5 0.57 0.80 0.81 0.82 0.78 0.84 0.12 0.1 0.40

Mg# 40.1 36.5 38.0 39.4 37.8 35.8 58.5 60.6 63.5

Modes (volume percent)

Plagioclase trace - - - trace - - - -

Clinopyroxene - - - - - - - - -

Orthopyroxene - - - - - - - - -

Olivine - - - - - - - - 8.6

Fe-Ti Oxide - - - - - - - - -

Hornblende - - - - - - - - -

Biotite - - - - - - - - -

Quartz - - - - - - - - -

K-feldspar - - - - - - - - -

Other - - - - - - - - -

Groundmass 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 91.4

No. points counted - - - - - - - 800 790

Texture (rock/ aphyric/ ~aphyric/ microphyric/ microphyric/ ~aphyric/ microphyric/ aphyric/ aphyric/ porphyritic/

groundmass) intergranular intergranular intersertal intersertal intergranular intersertal intergranular subophitic trachytic

Trace element analyses (ppm)

Ba 582 561 547 576 1116 43 100 360

Rb 573 33 30 30 31 36 0 2 10

Sr 34 266 288 285 266 298 239 315 869

Y 322 52 50 51 51 51 23 20 24

Zr 42 221 227 221 218 222 81 74 152

Nb 194 18.3 15.9 17.8 18.0 17.7 5.1 3.3 14.5

Ni 15 19 21 20 19 16 125 149 149

Cu 22 23 27 22 20 23 68 55 69

Zn 30 158 162 160 151 166 85 94 87

Cr 147 13 15 15 14 14 251 199 328

Sc 42 38 38 39 39 41 30 29 28

V 38 409 413 423 417 428 182 192 208

† clast in hyaloclastite
41

Table 1. Chemical and modal analyses of volcanic rocks, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, 

and Multnomah County, Oregon—Continued

Map No. 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

Field sample No. 03CM-T253A 03CM-T253B QV00-23 02CM-T26 02CM-T25 03CM-T210 05CM-T311 07CM-T328B QV01-47

Latitude (N) 45°31.060' 45°31.131' 45°36.998' 45°37.343' 45°36.715' 45°36.435' 45°36.374' 45°31.758' 45°32.400'

Longitude (W) 122°15.483' 122°15.384' 122°18.002' 122°19.377' 122°15.798' 122°17.264' 122°15.060' 122°21.947' 122°22.470'

Map unit Qbbv Qbbv Qmbp Qmbp Qmmn Qmmn Qmmn Qmbb Qmbb

Rock type Basalt Basalt Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic

andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite

Analyses as reported (wt percent)

SiO2 49.87 49.69 52.43 52.54 56.04 56.36 56.38 52.43 51.78

TiO2 1.50 1.52 1.52 1.49 1.17 1.27 1.19 1.35 1.35

Al2O3 16.48 16.58 17.70 17.70 18.53 18.38 18.61 17.19 17.21

FeO* 9.17 9.56 8.55 8.48 7.84 7.69 7.47 8.09 8.35

MnO 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.13

MgO 7.57 7.11 6.28 6.02 3.61 3.19 3.71 6.67 6.54

CaO 9.68 9.32 8.10 7.96 7.18 6.96 7.37 8.36 8.24

Na2O 3.41 3.23 3.94 3.94 4.03 4.13 4.10 3.69 3.76

K2O 1.17 1.14 1.02 1.02 0.85 0.87 0.89 0.76 0.77

P2O5 0.40 0.40 0.35 0.35 0.29 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.29

Total 99.42 98.69 100.04 99.64 99.67 99.28 100.14 98.96 98.42

Analyses recalculated volatile-free and normalized to 100% with all Fe as FeO (wt percent)

SiO2 50.16 50.35 52.41 52.73 56.22 56.77 56.30 52.98 52.61

TiO2 1.51 1.54 1.52 1.49 1.17 1.28 1.19 1.37 1.37

Al2O3 16.58 16.80 17.69 17.77 18.59 18.52 18.58 17.37 17.49

FeO* 9.23 9.69 8.55 8.51 7.87 7.74 7.46 8.17 8.48

MnO 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.14

MgO 7.62 7.20 6.28 6.04 3.62 3.21 3.70 6.74 6.64

CaO 9.74 9.44 8.10 7.99 7.21 7.01 7.36 8.44 8.37

Na2O 3.43 3.27 3.93 3.95 4.04 4.16 4.09 3.73 3.82

K2O 1.18 1.15 1.02 1.03 0.86 0.87 0.89 0.77 0.78

P2O5 0.40 0.41 0.35 0.35 0.29 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.29

Mg# 63.5 61.2 60.6 59.8 49.1 46.5 51.0 63.6 62.5

Modes (volume percent)

Plagioclase - - - - - - - 0.1 -

Clinopyroxene - - - - - - - - -

Orthopyroxene - - - - - - - - -

Olivine 8.6 8.3 5.9 6.5 - - - 6.2 8.7

Fe-Ti Oxide - - - - - - - - -

Hornblende - - - - - - - - -

Biotite - - - - - - - - -

Quartz - - - - - - - - -

K-feldspar - - - - - - - -

Other - - - - - - - -

Groundmass 91.4 91.7 94.1 93.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 93.8 91.3

No. points counted 790 800 800 800 -- -- -- 850 812

Texture (rock/ porphyritic/ porphyritic/ porphyritic/ porphyritic/ aphyric/ aphyric/ aphyric/ microphyric/ porphyritic/

groundmass) trachytic trachytic intergranular trachytic pilotaxitic trachytic trachytic trachytic trachytic

Trace element analyses (ppm)

Ba 360 359 271 270 231 244 230 254 247

Rb 10 8 10 10 6 7 6 6 6

Sr 869 803 660 646 710 729 711 635 687

Y 24 23 28 56 22 22 19 20 21

Zr 152 145 169 166 139 136 136 136 132

Nb 14.5 13.9 17.9 17.1 8.8 9.2 8.0 10.1 12.8

Ni 149 140 110 110 38 29 39 116 121

Cu 69 64 50 46 56 42 58 48 42

Zn 87 84 87 85 93 96 93 82 85

Cr 328 329 163 163 39 32 43 235 220

Sc 28 28 24 23 17 14 18 25 23

V 208 207 189 186 138 132 135 170 169
42

Table 1. Chemical and modal analyses of volcanic rocks, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, 

and Multnomah County, Oregon—Continued

Map No. 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

Field sample No. 05CM-T300A 05CM-T300B 08CM-T334B 08CM-T334C 03CM-T249 03CM-T250 07CM-T331 05CM-T299 03CM-T217C

Latitude (N) 45°32.393' 45°32.381' 45°32.350' 45°32.337' 45°31.699' 45°31.630' 45°32.324' 45°32.279' 45°34.718'

Longitude (W) 122°21.245' 122°21.249' 122°20.930' 122°20.942' 122°21.018' 122°20.252' 122°20.617' 122°20.052' 122°17.877'

Map unit Qmbb Qmbb Qmbb Qmbb Qbch Qbch Qbch Qbch Ttfc

Rock type Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basaltic Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt Basalt

andesite andesite andesite andesite

Analyses as reported (wt percent)

SiO2 51.74 51.73 52.56 51.91 49.87 50.12 51.42 49.00 49.32

TiO2 1.34 1.28 1.35 1.28 1.28 1.27 1.29 1.30 2.26

Al2O3 17.29 17.21 17.52 17.33 17.67 17.69 17.34 17.37 16.37

FeO* 7.81 7.92 8.33 8.22 9.37 8.91 8.65 9.03 10.15

MnO 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.15 0.18 0.17 0.16 0.17 0.15

MgO 5.78 6.77 6.30 6.78 7.71 7.27 7.02 7.37 6.92

CaO 8.25 8.46 8.33 8.73 10.46 10.07 9.26 10.55 10.07

Na2O 3.70 3.58 3.74 3.53 3.30 3.18 3.53 3.34 3.06

K2O 0.78 0.73 0.77 0.74 0.43 0.45 0.61 0.42 0.66

P2O5 0.26 0.27 0.28 0.26 0.19 0.22 0.24 0.19 0.38

Total 97.09 98.09 99.31 98.93 100.46 99.34 99.51 98.72 99.33

Analyses recalculated volatile-free and normalized to 100% with all Fe as FeO (wt percent)

SiO2 53.29 52.73 52.93 52.47 49.64 50.45 51.67 49.64 49.65

TiO2 1.38 1.31 1.36 1.30 1.28 1.28 1.29 1.31 2.28

Al2O3 17.81 17.55 17.64 17.52 17.59 17.81 17.43 17.59 16.48

FeO* 8.05 8.08 8.39 8.31 9.32 8.97 8.69 9.14 10.22

MnO 0.14 0.15 0.13 0.15 0.18 0.17 0.16 0.17 0.15

MgO 5.96 6.90 6.35 6.85 7.68 7.32 7.05 7.46 6.97

CaO 8.50 8.62 8.38 8.82 10.42 10.13 9.30 10.69 10.14

Na2O 3.81 3.65 3.77 3.57 3.29 3.20 3.54 3.38 3.08

K2O 0.80 0.74 0.77 0.75 0.43 0.45 0.62 0.43 0.67

P2O5 0.27 0.27 0.28 0.26 0.19 0.22 0.24 0.19 0.38

Mg# 61.5 64.6 61.5 63.6 63.2 63.3 63.1 63.4 59.0

Modes (volume percent)

Plagioclase 0.3 0.1 0.4 - 3.0 3.5 1.4 1.9

Clinopyroxene - - - - - - - -

Orthopyroxene - - - - - - - -

Olivine 4.9 6.0 2.3 4.1 4.5 4.9 5.5 4.3

Fe-Ti Oxide - - - - - - - -

Hornblende - - - - - - - -

Biotite - - - - - - - -

Quartz - - - - - - - -

K-feldspar - - - - - - - -

Other

Groundmass 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 95.5 95.1 94.5 100.0

No. points counted 800 800 800 800 812 740 840 800

Texture (rock/ microphyric/ microphyric/ seriate/ porphyritic/ seriate/ seriate/ seriate/ seriate/

groundmass) trachytic intergranular subophitic intergranular intergranular intergranular trachytic trachytic

Trace element analyses (ppm)

Ba 253 226 247 228 172 220 225 150 195

Rb 6 5 6 5 3 3 5 3 7

Sr 673 595 660 588 454 572 569 455 563

Y 19 21 20 22 27 25 23 24 22

Zr 130 129 134 131 106 113 124 104 154

Nb 10.1 9.4 10.0 10.1 5.4 6.6 7.5 5.2 18.8

Ni 115 140 114 125 118 107 102 95 100

Cu 67 43 60 65 68 69 67 45 30

Zn 84 80 84 83 77 75 76 75 98

Cr 225 240 228 245 259 239 237 222 169

Sc 24 27 24 28 37 35 31 36 24

V 170 176 163 175 234 214 194 235 221

† clast in conglomerate
43

Table 2. Summary of K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar incremental-heating age determinations, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, and 

Multnomah County, Oregon.

Field Location Map Rock Material Method Age Source

sample no. Latitude (N) Longitude (W) unit type dated (±1σ error)

MM0903851* 45°37.52' 122°19.58' Tbem Basaltic 

andesite

Whole rock K-Ar 27.9±1.9 Ma Phillips and others, 

1986

02CM-T25 45°36.715' 122°15.798' Qmmn Basaltic 

andesite

Whole rock 40Ar/39Ar 693±9 ka R.J. Fleck, written 

commun., 2012

03CM-T250 45°31.630' 122°20.252' Qbch Basalt Groundmass 

separate

40Ar/39Ar 1,159±14 ka R.J. Fleck, written 

commun., 2012

QV01-47 45°32.400' 122°22.470' Qmbb Basaltic 

andesite

Groundmass 

separate

40Ar/39Ar 1,292±19 ka R.J. Fleck, written 

commun., 2012

92TB-8 45°32.49' 122°22.37' Qmbb Basaltic 

andesite

Whole rock K-Ar 1.53±0.39 Ma Conrey and others, 

1996a

03CM-T253A 45°31.060' 122°15.483' Qbbv Basalt Groundmass 

separate

40Ar/39Ar 2,284±16 ka R.J. Fleck, written 

commun., 2012

*Locality is directly north of map area in Larch Mountain quadrangle.
44

Table 3. Summary of feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence and thermoluminescence age determinations, 

Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon.

[Sample location on quadrangle indexed by map letter, leaders (--) indicate sample from adjacent quadrangle but within units 

correlative to those in Washougal quadrangle; age from silt sized potassium feldspar using multiple aliquot additive dose, fit 

by linear plus exponential regression, errors are one sigma; potassium, thorium, and uranium contents by gamma 

spectrometry; cosmic doses and attenuation with depth were calculated using methods of Prescott and Hutton (1994); ages 

calculated assuming water content of 50–55 percent saturation; all analyses and calculations conducted by S.A. Mahan, U.S. 

Geological Survey Luminescence Dating Laboratory, Denver, Colorado]

Map Field sample Location Stratigraphic context Sample water 

Letter No. Latitude (N) Longitude (W) content in wt 

percent (value at 

saturation)

A RW05-916-

12:45

45°30.005' 122°17.140' Within Qtds3, in hornblende-feldspar lithic sand 

(Mount Hood lahar runout?), less than 1 m above 

basal contact with hyaloclastic sandstone member of 

Troutdale Formation (Ttfh)

18 (22)

-- RW05-916-

10:40

45°28.721' 122°17.932' Within Qtds2, in hornblende-feldspar fine sand, 

fluvial, 10.2 m below top of deposit; 9 m above basal 

contact with hyaloclastic sandstone member of 

Troutdale Formation (Ttfh)

14 (27)

-- RW05-916-

10:20

45°28.721' 122°17.932' Within Qtds2, in hornblende-feldspar lithic medium 

sand, fluvial, 3.5 m below top of deposit; 15.7 m 

above basal contact with hyaloclastic sandstone 

member of Troutdale Formation (Ttfh)

19 (25)

-- RW05-916-

15:45

45°31.883' 122°22.700' Within Qtds1, in poorly sorted hornblende-feldspar 

lithic medium-coarse sand (inferred to be Mount 

Hood lahar runout), 15 m below surface; at basal 

contact with hyaloclastic sandstone member of 

Troutdale Formation (Ttfh)

29 (41)

Map Field sample Thorium Uranium Cosmic dose Total dose rate Equivalent dose Age

Letter No. in parts per 

million

in parts per 

million

additions in Grays per 

thousand years

in Grays per 

thousand years

in Grays in thousands 

of years

A RW05-916-

12:45

2.93±0.13 0.88±0.06 0.11±0.01 1.26±0.05 >2701 >220

-- RW05-916-

10:40

3.15±0.12 1.00±0.05 0.07±0.01 1.75±0.06 >1551 >220

-- RW05-916-

10:20

3.20±0.13 0.93±0.06 0.14±0.01 1.65±0.07 37.1±2.771 22.4±2.46

-- RW05-916-

15:45

3.13±0.11 0.93±0.04 0.26±0.01 1.65±0.053 23.6±1.542 14.3±1.223

1

Anomalous fading experiments indicate a fade of 0 to 2 percent, and this has been applied to the calculated equivalent doses.

2

Anomalous fading experiments indicate a fade of 10 to 15 percent, and this has been applied to the calculated equivalent 

doses.

3

Dose rate and age by thermoluminescence rather than infrared stimulated luminescence due to high glass content of sample.
45

Table 4. Summary of radiocarbon age determinations, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, and 

Multnomah County, Oregon.

[Conventional corrected radiocarbon ages, referenced to A.D. 1950, calculated on basis of Libby half-life of 5,568 years; 1-σ

error based on combined measurements of sample, background, and modern reference standards. “Modern” results indicate a 

post-A.D. 1950 age and are not calibrated; calibrated ages, referenced to A.D. 1950, calculated on basis of CALIB REV4.4.2 

using intcal98 calibration data set (Stuiver and others, 1998) and a laboratory error multiplier of 1; where multiple intercepts 

calculated, we list solutions in order of greatest likelihood summing to >90 percent of the probability density function]

Map Field Lab Location Stratigraphic Material

No. sample sample Latitude Longitude context dated

No. No. † N W

1 TCP 000816-2Z Beta 146978 45°30.029' 122°19.843' Within Qh, near base of Old Maid age fluvial 

deposits, ~18 m below surface

Douglas-fir cone

2 TCP 930714-2 Beta 66189 45°31.076' 122°21.102' Within Qh, detrital charcoal in Timberlineage fluvial deposits 0.5 m below surfacecharcoal

3 TCP 991020-1 Beta 146979 45°31.040' 122°21.087' Within Qh, in Timberline-age fluvial 

deposits, 4.8 m below surface

charcoal

3 4/11/97-1(1) Beta 118283 45°31.040' 122°21.087' Within Qh, in Timberline-age fluvial 

deposits, 4.8 m below surface 

wood

3 8/7/02-1(1) Beta 170599 45°31.040' 122°21.087' Within Qh, in Old Maid-age fluvial deposits, 

3.1 m below surface

charcoal

4 7/20/93-2 Beta 66181 45°31.003' 122°21.176' Within Qh, charred soil overlain by Old 

Maid age fluvial deposits

charcoal

4 7/20/93-5 Beta 66182 45°31.003' 122°21.176' Within Qh, outer wood of growth-position 

tree buried by Old Maid age fluvial deposits

wood

5 10/4/01-1(9) WW 3985 45°33.051' 122°18.593' Within Qac, 3.6 m below surface of Reed 

Island

plant fragments

5 10/4/01-1(14) WW 3981 45°33.051' 122°18.593' Within Qac, 4.0 m below surface of Reed 

Island

Douglas-fir needles

6 9/24/02-1(8) WW 4356 45°32.834' 122°22.200' Within Qh in Timberline-age fluvial 

deposits, 2.1 m below surface (probably

re-transported charcoal)

charcoal

6 9/24/02-1(12) WW 4681 45°32.834' 122°22.200' Within Qh in Timberline-age lahar, 3.0 m 

below surface

wood

6 9/24/02-1(23) WW 4658 45°32.834' 122°22.200' Within Qac, below Qh, 8.0 m below surface charcoal

7 9/26/02-1(7) WW 4359 45°32.913' 122°22.504' Within Qh in Old Maid-age fluvial deposits, 

2.5 m below surface

wood 

7 9/26/02-1(27) WW 4360 45°32.913' 122°22.504' Within Qac, below Qh, 5.7 m below surface 

(bad result)

wood 

7 9/26/02-1(31) WW 4834 45°32.913' 122°22.504' Within Qac, below Qh, 6.2 m below surface charcoal 

7 9/26/02-1(35) WW 4361 45°32.913' 122°22.504' Within Qac, below Qh, 6.2 m below surface wood 

8 9/27/02-1(1) WW 4362 45°32.727' 122°22.332' Within thin, unmapped Columbia River 

alluvium above Timberline-age Qh, 0.27 m 

below surface

charcoal 

8 9/27/02-1(10) WW 4363 45°32.727' 122°22.332' Within Qh in Timberline-age lahar, 3.7 m 

below surface

wood

8 9/27/02-1(19) WW 4364 45°32.727' 122°22.332' Within Qac, below Qh, 8.1 m below surface alder cone

9 3/12/04-2(1) WW 4837 45°33.103' 122°20.960' Within Qac, below Qe, 6.2 m below surface charcoal

10 3/12/04-4(2) WW 4939 45°32.959' 122°20.998' Within Qac, 2.5 m below surface wood

11 3/16/04-3(1) WW 4840 45°32.914' 122°21.923' Within Qh in Timberline-age fluvial 

deposits, 1.8 m below surface

charcoal

12 3/16/04-4(2) WW 4841 45°32.941' 122°21.907' Within Qh in Old Maid-age fluvial deposits, 

1.8 m below surface

organic fragments

13 2/21/03-1(1) Beta 176999 45°33.501' 122°15.466' Buried log within Qac wood

14 9/30/03-1(4) WW 4835 45°32.405' 122°16.602' Within Qe, 5.0 m below surface charcoal

15 9/30/03-2(8) WW 4836 45°32.219' 122°18.126' Within Qlo, 2.5 m below surface (bad result) plant fragments

*13C/12C not measured; value of -25‰ assumed for determining conventional corrected age.

† WW samples analyzed in U.S. Geological Survey radiocarbon laboratory, Reston, Virginia, by J. McGeehin; Beta samples 

analyzed by Beta Analytic, Inc., Miami, Florida.
46

Table 4. Summary of radiocarbon age determinations, Washougal 7.5' quadrangle, Clark County, Washington, and 

Multnomah County, Oregon.—Continued

[Conventional corrected radiocarbon ages, referenced to A.D. 1950, calculated on basis of Libby half-life of 5,568 years; 1-σ

error based on combined measurements of sample, background, and modern reference standards. “Modern” results indicate a 

post-A.D. 1950 age and are not calibrated; calibrated ages, referenced to A.D. 1950, calculated on basis of CALIB REV4.4.2 

using intcal98 calibration data set (Stuiver and others, 1998) and a laboratory error multiplier of 1; where multiple intercepts 

calculated, we list solutions in order of greatest likelihood summing to >90 percent of the probability density function]

Map Field Conventional age 13C/12C* Calibrated 2- σ age ranges Source

No. sample No. in 14C yr B.P. in calendar yr B.P.

±1- σ error (fraction of 46robability density function)

1 TCP 000816-2Z 240±30 -23.2 272-318 (0.60); 146-191 (0.31) T.C. Pierson, written commun., 2000

2 TCP 930714-2 1330±60 -26.0 1167-1347 (0.93) T.C. Pierson, written commun., 1993

3 TCP 991020-1 2000±70 -26.5 1816-2131 (0.99) T.C. Pierson, written commun., 2000

3 4/11/97-1(1) 1650±50 -26.3 1414-1630 (0.90)

3 8/7/02-1(1) 300±40 -24.8 291-466 (1.0) this report

4 7/20/93-2 520±110 -26.4 501-563 (0.81); 596-636 (0.09) this report

4 7/20/93-5 170±80 -24.9 0-319 (0.98) this report

5 10/4/01-1(9) 242±49 * 259-341 (0.38); 138-223 (0.31); 347-461(0.24) this report

5 10/4/01-1(14) 224±44 *

137-225(0.47); 255-324 (0.36); 1-33(0.07); 369-

429(0.07) this report

6 9/24/02-1(8) 6125±45 * 6863-7098 (0.80); 7109-7160 (0.16) Rapp (2005; delta hole #2)

6 9/24/02-1(12) 1650±40 * 1477-1627 (0.82); 1418-1473 (0.12) Rapp (2005; delta hole #2)

6 9/24/02-1(23) 2970±50 * 2970-3267 (0.96) Rapp (2005; delta hole #2)

7 9/26/02-1(7) 165±40 * 64-232 (0.64); 240-291 (0.19); 0-38 (0.17) Rapp (2005; delta hole #4)

7 9/26/02-1(27) modern * Rapp (2005; delta hole #4)

7 9/26/02-1(31) 520±60 * 473-571 (0.67); 578-649 (0.33) Rapp (2005; delta hole #4)

7 9/26/02-1(35) 415±45 * 425-530 (0.76); 320-392 (0.24) Rapp (2005; delta hole #4)

8 9/27/02-1(1) 450±40 * 439-545 (0.97) Rapp (2005; delta hole #5)

8 9/27/02-1(10) 1985±40 * 1861-2004 (0.95) Rapp (2005; delta hole #5)

8 9/27/02-1(19) 1575±40 * 1385-1541 (0.96) Rapp (2005; delta hole #5)

9 3/12/04-2(1) 1165±35 * 1046-1172 (0.72); 974-1036 (0.28) this report

10 3/12/04-4(2) 190±35 * 137-225 (0.57); 255-303 (0.23); 1-33 (0.16) this report

11 3/16/04-3(1) 1820±60 * 1605-1882 (0.99) this report

12 3/16/04-4(2) 185±35 * 136-226 (0.56); 253-301 (0.21); 1-34 (0.17) this report

13 2/21/03-1(1) 64±40 -23.2 22-143 (0.70); 217-267 (0.25); 0-3 (0.05) A. Bourdeau, written commun., 2003

14 9/30/03-1(4) 1290±35 * 1169-1291 (0.98) this report

15 9/30/03-2(8) modern * this report