Find a trip, click, and go!
The entire list is visible on the right side of this (and every) page by scrolling down. Field trips are arranged geographically under the “Field Trip Locations” main page tab.
A primer on using map coordinates is here.
British Columbia:
–Harling Point erratics and migmatite, Oak Bay, Vancouver Island
–Westsong Way and Songhees Point, Victoria.
–Dallas Road waterfront trail, Victoria.
-Capricorn Creek’s giant mudflow of September 2010 is initially described here, and later updated here.
Whidbey Island: A series of trips to see Pleistocene glacial stratigraphy
Glacial erratics in the Salish Sea region are listed as a group, from Vancouver BC south, as well as Hood Canal. This set of trips visits large, unusual, or particularly significant erratics only. This link goes to the online inventory of glacial erratics is maintained by UW students.
Chuckanut formation geology (regardless of location):
Field trips to cool places in the Chuckanut Formation, including the large 2009 Racehorse Creek landslide, and fossils found there.
Lowlands of Whatcom County:
-A short beach walk at Whatcom County’s Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve to see till, erratics, and nice island views.
San Juan Islands:
–West Beach, Lummi Island; alternating thin beds of sandstone and conglomerate (Chuckanut Fm.) on a nice beach.
–Pillow lava on San Juan, Lopez, and Cypress Islands
–Iceberg Point, Lopez Island.
–Washington Park, Fidalgo ophiolite, Part I. A piece of the mantle.
–Mount Erie and environs, Fidalgo ophiolite Part 2. A section of the ocean crust.
Western foothills of the North Cascades.
-Rock Trail, Larrabee State Park. Sandstone stratigraphy, tafoni weathering, landslide blocks.
–Fragrance Lake Trail, Larrabee State Park; discussion of quartzite pebbles in glacial till.
–Oyster Dome on Blanchard Mountain ( “South Chuckanut Mountain”).
–a stilpnomelane and chert deposit on Blanchard Mountain
–Greenstone of Bald Mountain and Big Rock, east of Mount Vernon
-roadside pillow basalt in the Middle Fork Nooksack, Whatcom County.
-greenstone and phyllite on Burlington Hill, at Burlington in Skagit County.
–Gold Mine Trail, Sumas Mountain: basal Chuckanut Fm and relics from a mining scam.
Cascade Mountains (excluding Mount Baker- see Mount Baker below):
– Winchester Mountain trail-side geology (above Twin Lakes, off Mount Baker Highway.
-The Mount Pilchuck Trail: granite intrusion near Granite Falls
–Blue Lake Trail (Washington Pass, Hwy 20). Granite, and the rocks it intruded.
–Hidden Lakes Peak: granodiorite, dikes, schist, ash deposits. Oh, and views!
-The huge 2400 year old Church Mountain landslide in the North Fork Nooksack River at Glacier, Washington.
–Wells Creek Volcanics, near Nooksack Falls, North Fork Nooksack River
–Excelsior Trail from the Nooksack River
-Excelsior Pass via the Damfino Lakes Trail
-Thick accumulation of Mazama ash alongside Highway 20, Skagit River valley
-Intrusive breccia of the Pollywog agmatite along highway 20, east of Ross Lake.
-The Baker River Trail: metamorphosed ocean basalt (greenschist), alluvium, waterfalls, cobbles in streams
–Dickerman Mountain above the South Fork Stilliguamish. Old Cascade volcanic rocks and alpine views.
-the old limestone quarry above Concrete, Skagit valley
-short walk to phyllite east of Saxon, Whatcom County
Mount Baker geology guides (on Baker or it’s flanks):
–Ridley Creek Trail – glacial moraines, limestone, lahar and ash deposits, pre-Baker lava, views of Twin Sisters and Mount Baker. Published July 15, 2015.
–Cougar Divide hike– felsic rocks from the Pleistocene
-The Schreiber’s Meadow cinder cone
-The Pinus andesite lava, above Nooksack Falls, North Fork Nooksack
-A published GSA field trip guide to some Mount Baker Holocene deposits in the Baker River valley.
Olympic Peninsula
–Pillow lava along the Heart O’ The Hills Road, Olympic National Park.
-A beach walk on Marrowstone Island to see an intrusive dike, Pleistocene glacial deposits, and coastal erosion
-Adakite lava and breccia of Tamanowas Rock, west of Chimacum in Jefferson County.
-Unconformities and turbidites at Beach 4, Olympic National Park.
Southwest Washington
Fantastic pillow lava at Cape Disappointment State Park
Where to collect nice black augite crystals in Lewis County
Northwest Geology Field Trips 