GSOC Member and College Teacher Sheila Alfsen will be teaching this class at the Woodburn Public Library. The class will run for 6 Wednesday afternoons (3 - 5 pm) from July 2nd through August 13th (no class 7/23) and the cost will be $50.  

The format of the class will be a 45 minute lecture and then a "hands on" session where you will be examining rocks in small groups and noting their aspects for identification.

Registration for GSOC members will begin on June 4th.  One week later we will open registration to Oregon Naturalist members. 

A password is needed to sign up for this class - if you don't have it on June 4th or later and you are a member, email membership@gsoc.org for help with it.

The class will focus on the description and hands-on identification of the principal rock-forming and economically valuable minerals and the most common igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. You will learn the natural processes that form rocks and minerals and the relationships of rock types to their environments of formation. In addition Sheila will discuss the important uses of minerals and rocks in society and the rock cycle.

Sheila Alfsen is the instructor; she has a long history of education at all levels and enjoys seeing students catch the wonder of our magnificent planet!

For a more detailed syllabus, see here.

Carpooling - Given that many of us may be coming from Portland, we encourage you to carpool to these classes if at all possible.  

Now meeting at Dick's Primal Kitchen, 4905 S.E. Woodstock Blvd, Portland. 

DO YOU HAVE A ROCK YOU WANT TO BRING TO SHOW-&-TELL?

Feel free to bring an interesting rock, mineral, or fossil to bring to show-and-tell! No scientific knowledge is required, but it's always fun to discuss:

WHERE DID YOU FIND IT? e.g. "my grandmother's yard" or "Wyoming" or "Clackamette Park" or even GPS coordinates on a map.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? Our group uses a scientific lens to look at the world, but the natural world has a lot of meanings to different people, so this might include:

• "This is the quartz crystal that started my love of geology at age 5!"
  
• "This cobble has special meaning to my fellow tribal members."
  
• "This 3 billion year-old fossil inspires awe every time I hold it!"
  
• "This is one of my field samples from my research last summer."

PSU graduate student Natalie Culhane will present Understanding Mount Hood's Twin Lakes Fault, and Alyssa Smith returns with her Geology in a Nutshell News and Research.

Zoom link here.

Title: Understanding Mount Hood's Twin Lakes Fault

Description: Immediately south of Mount Hood, the Twin Lakes fault cuts off several drainage channels, forming a series of basins. This talk will summarize findings from lake sediment coring, surficial geologic mapping, geophysical surveys, and paleoseismic trenching I and my colleagues performed between two of these fault-dammed basins, Frog Lake and Lower Twin Lake, in one busy summer of 2024. Preliminary interpretations of these various data sources suggest multiple fault ruptures in recent geologic time, deeming the Twin Lakes fault an active tectonic feature that should be considered in local seismic hazard modeling.

Brief bio: Natalie Culhane is a second-year masters student at PSU working in the Active Tectonics lab under Dr. Ashley Streig. On her path to becoming a professional geologist, she has cored lake sediment from the Australian alpine, produced a USGS data release and publication on the runout lengths of earthquake-triggered landslides, and performed geohazard assessments at a local consulting firm. She currently interns part-time at DOGAMI, mapping landslides in the Sandy River corridor.

Register at https://www.taborfriends.org/urban-nature-series

Free 45-minute geology walk led by GSOC Communications Director Paul Edison-Lahm.

Every 4th Sunday of the Month at 2:00 p.m. this summer, starting at the Mt. Tabor Visitors Center.

Sponsored by Friends of Mt. Tabor/Urban Nature Series.  

Sunday, August 10, 2025 - Noon to 3:00 PM

Join us for our potluck picnic which will be held at the Stevens Pavilion on Sunday August 10th at noon.  The pavilion is located just across the road from the Hoyt Arboretum's Visitor Center at 4000 SW Fairview Blvd. There is no fee - registration is required for planning purposes and will be open from July 20th through August 9th.  GSOC members and guests are invited. 

Overview:

The Hoyt Arboretum was originally envisioned by Portland Parks superintendent Elliot T. Mische (an Olmsted Brothers' protege) for the site that had been a poor farm in the early 1900s.  With Multnomah County approval in 1928, planting, landscaping, and trail building began in 1930. There are currently more than 6,000 specimens of global tree diversity in the arboretum collection, including 67 threatened or endangered species.

Food:

Potluck: GSOC will provide sandwich fixings, water, ice and soda.  GSOC will provide table cloths, plates, and cutlery.

Last name begins with letters A – M: Salad or side

Last name begins with letters N – Z: Dessert

What to Bring

There are 10 picnic tables available (six are underneath the pavilion shelter) and all are shaded by trees.  Participants can bring folding chairs if they prefer them to bench seating.  

Directions:

Hoyt Arboretum is two miles from downtown Portland and is accessible by US-26 and W Burnside Street. 

Public Transit:

Hoyt Arboretum is accessible by MAX to the zoo, then the free Washington Park Shuttle to the Arboretum.  For more info, see this link: MAX and Shuttle.

Parking:

There are two pay-to-park lots at the Visitor Center (4000 SW Fairview Blvd) and one by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Parking costs $2.40/hour or $9.60 per day and is enforced every day, including Sundays.  Meters take credit cards and coins, or use Parking Kitty to pay with your phone.  Additional roadside parking is available at trailheads on SW Fischer Ln and SW Fairview Blvd.  Be sure to look for "No Parking" signs along park roads; parking in these areas can result in a citation.

Accessibility:

The two Visitor Center lots have a total of three ADA accessible parking spaces. The sloping path to the pavilion is paved and accessible restrooms are available at the Visitor Center (street level).

Cleanup:

Please pitch in to clean up after lunch.

If you can help with this event, please contact Bonnie Prange or Julian Gray.  

Do plan to join us!

Best regards,
Geological Society of the Oregon Country

Tsunamis and Survival

Tsunamis pose a major threat to visitors and residents of the Orgon coast. The talk will focus on what you need to know to survive tsunamis whether you are at the coast or at sea. The Oregon, Washington, and northern California coasts are vulnerable to both local tsunamis arriving in minutes from giant earthquakes on the Cascadia subduction zone and distant tsunamis arriving in hours from similar earthquakes around the Pacific rim. The Newport- area will be used to illustrate tsunami evacuation maps and port hazards.

Register for Zoom event here (no charge for registration)

Speaker Bio:

Dr. George R. Priest has a doctorate in geology from Oregon State University, has taught geology at Portland State University, worked in private industry as a geologist, and from 1979 to 2019 as a senior geologist with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI). While at DOGAMI, he led applied research programs in geothermal energy and geologic hazards such as landslides, earthquakes, and tsunamis, opening a coastal field office in 2000. He tapered off his work with DOGAMI to part-time positions from 2005 to 2019 and is now an affiliated scholar with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). VIMS is where tsunami simulations for Oregon are done by Dr. Joseph Zhang, one of the foremost tsunami modelers in the world. Dr. Priest's publications can be viewed at the following website:  George PRIEST | Affiliated Scholar | Bs, MS, PhD | William & Mary, Williamsburg | WM | Research profile

Hazards from the Nevado del Ruiz and Mount Rainier volcanoes — Leveraging lessons learned to prevent future disasters

Mount Rainier in the central Cascade Range of the U.S. and Nevado del Ruiz near the northern end of the Andes volcanic chain in Columbia exist a hemisphere apart. Similarities in their geographies, structures, eruption processes, and hazards make them an ideal couple for comparison and instruction. Both edifices contain weak and collapse-prone rock mantled by glacially distributed rock debris. Five major rivers descend each volcano within narrow valleys that serve as conduits for lahars. 

At Mount Rainier, evidence of a lahar 500 years ago comes alive in a scant extent of oral traditions. At Nevado del Ruiz, memories remain tender and just below the surface for survivors of a 1985 lahar that caused an estimated 25,000 fatalities. During this 40-year anniversary of that catastrophic lahar, we examine an exchange program that brings together public officials and educators of each nation for purposes of education, motivation, and exchange of best practices. We demonstrate that for improvements in risk reduction, commitment to motivating populations may be as important as understanding the nature of a volcano, and that a whole community approach is necessary to maintain preparedness for high consequence/low frequency volcanic events.

Register for the Zoom event here (no charge for registration)

Speaker Bio:

Carolyn Driedger is a Hydrologist now working in Scientist Emerita status at the U. S. Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) in Vancouver, Washington. Her science career began in 1978 with research on glaciers and glacier-related hazards in Alaska and the Cascade Range. Carolyn witnessed the May 18, 1980 catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens and participated in the scientific response. The experience provided an opportunity for observation and reflection about the roles of scientists in society. It set the course for participation in multiple projects across science and societal disciplines. As the USGS-CVO long-term Outreach Coordinator, Carolyn has worked in partnership with public officials, emergency planners, media, park interpreters, and educators to advance the cause of eruption preparedness.