IGC FIELD TRIP T382:
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF MAJOR DAMS ON
THE COLUMBIA RIVER
Richard W. Galster
Consulting Engineering Geologist, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Alan S. Imrie
British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
INTRODUCTION
This excursion will visit dams constructed on the
main stem of the Columbia River and some of its major
tributaries during the half-century between 1933 and
1983. Engineering geology problems associated with
siting, design, and construction of these projects and
the relation of the regional geology to the various sites
will be discussed. In the process, the trip will pass
through portions of six major geologic provinces of the
North American Cordillera: Puget Sound Basin,
Cascade Mountains, Willamette Lowland, Columbia
Plateau, Northern Rocky Mountains, and Okanogan-
Shuswap Highlands. The Columbia River system
drains parts or all of these geologic provinces except for
the Puget Sound Basin, where the trip will begin and
end. The approximate boundaries of these geologic
provinces, together with some of their internal
divisions, are shown on Figure 0-1.
THE COLUMBIA BASIN
The Columbia River has its source in Columbia
Lake which lies at elevation 2,650 ft (808 m) in the
Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia (Figures
0-1, 0-2). It flows 1,243 mi (2,000 kIn) to the Pacific
Ocean near Astoria, Oregon, making it the eighth
longest river in North America and the only stream of
continental proportions that flows directly into the
Pacific Ocean. Its drainage basin has an area of
259,000 sq mi (670,810 sq kIn), and includes much of
the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western
Montana, the southeastern part of the province of
British Columbia, Canada, and minor portions of the
states of Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada. The average
discharge of the river (at The Dalles, Oregon) is
194,600 cfs (cubic feet per second) (5,511 cu m/sec),
and 275,000 cfs (7,788 cu m/sec) at the mouth, making
the Columbia the second largest river by discharge in
the United States (after the Mississippi) (U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, 1985). The maximum recorded
discharge of the Columbia River (1894 at The Dalles,
Oregon) was 1,240,000 cfs (35,114 cu m/sec) (Allen
1984). ' Columbia River Basin and includes projects on the main
Major tributaries of the Columbia River are: the
Snake River, which drains the southern part of the
Northern Rocky Mountains and the Snake River Plains,
T382:
the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille, Kootenai, and the Coeur
d'Alene-Spokane rivers, all of which drain the Northern
Rocky Mountains. Major tributaries draining the
eastern slope of the Cascade Range include the
Okanogan-Similkameen, Methow, Wenatchee, and
Yakima rivers of Washington and the Deschutes River
of Oregon. Draining the western Cascade slope are the
Cowlitz and Lewis Rivers in Washington and the
Willamette River in Oregon (Figure 0-1). About .15
percent of the drainage basin lies in Canada, which
furnishes about 25 percent of the total runoff. Sixty
percent of the Columbia Basin runoff occurs during
May, June, and July in response to snowmelt in the
Northern Rocky Mountains and eastern slope of the
Cascade Range.
BASIN DEVELOPMENT
Although tributaries of the Columbia River were
developed for irrigation and hydropower early in the
20th century, development on the main stem did not
start until the 1930s when construction of Rock Island,
Bonneville, and Grand Coulee dams was completed
prior to World War ll. After a hiatus during World War
II, work on the main stem began again in the 1950s.
With the ratification of the Columbia River Treaty
between the United States and Canada in 1964, work
began on major storage projects on both sides of the
international boundary. The Libby Project in western
Montana and Mica Dam in British Columbia were
completed during the early 1970s with Revelstoke Dam
completed in the early 1980s. There are now 92 dams
and hydropower projects in the basin that have a
significant influence on the system. Of these 35 are
owned and operated by the United States Government
(U. S. Army Corps of Engineers or U. S. Bureau of
Reclamation), 6 by British Columbia Hydro and Power
Authority (B. C. Hydro), 8 by various public utility
districts in Washington, and 44 by private power
companies.
This excursion will focus on the northern part of the
stem of the river, the lower Snake River Basin, the
Flathead River (tributary to the Clark Fork), and
Kootenai River (Figure 0-2, Table 1).
 -52N

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Columbia River Basin

Boundary

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25 0 25 50 75 MI

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FIGURE 0-1. Map of the Columbia River Map of the Columbia River Basin showing major tributaries and geologic provinces. B-
Boise, Idaho, IB-Idaho batholith, L-Lewiston, Idaho, LCL-Lewis and Clark line, M-Missoula, Montana, OWL-Olympic-Wallowa
lineament, P-Portland, Oregon, PS-Palouse Slope, RG-Republic graben, RMBR-Rocky Mountain basin-and-range, RMT-Rocky
Mountain Trench, RMTB-Rocky Mountain thrust belt, S-Seattle, SP-Spokane, Washington, UB-Umatilla Basin, WL-Willamette
Lowland, WP-Waterville Plateau, YFB-Yakima Fold Belt. Sub-province boundaries and major structural elements are delineated by
dashed lines.

FIGURE 0-2. Map of the northern Columbia River Basin. Field trip route is dashed line. Circled numbers ------i~~
represent overnight stops. Major dams to be visited: BO-Bonneville, CJ-Chief Joseph, DW-Dworshak, GC-Grand
Coulee, HH-Hungry Horse, IH-Ice Harbor, JD-John Day, KE-Kerr, LG-Little Goose, LI-Libby, LM-Lower
Monumental, MF-Mayfield, MI-Mica, MN-McNary, MR.-Mossyrock, PR-Priest Rapids, RI-Rock Island, RR-Rocky
Reach, RS-Revelstoke,TD-The Dalles, WA-Wanapum, WE-Wells. MSH-Mount St. Helens.

T382: 2
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Columbia River Basin

Boundary

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 TAblE 1. Project Statistics
DAM

Struc-
Year tural Crest
Dam River Type l Completed Height Length Foundation
ft(m) ft(m)
Mayfield Cowlitz CG/A 1963 250 850 basalt/andesite
(76) (259)
Mossyrock Cowlitz A 1968 606 1,648 basalt
(185) (502)
Bonneville Columbia CG 1937/ 197 2,477 diabase/siltstone/
1982 ( 60) (755) conglomerate
The Dalles Columbia CG/E 1957 200 8,735 basalt
( 61) (2,662)
John Day Columbia CG/E 1968 230 5,900 basalt
( 70) (1,798)
McNary Columbia CG/E 1957 220 7,365 basalt
( 67) (2,245)
Ice Harbor Snake CG/E 1962 213 2,790 basalt
( 65) ( 850)
Priest Rapids Columbia CG/E 1959 196 8,412 basalt
( 60) (2,564)
Wanapum Columbia CG/E 1963 213 8,537 basalt
( 65) (2,602)
lower Monumental Snake CG/E 1969 242 3,800 basalt
( 74) (1,158)
Little Goose Snake CG/E 1970 226 2,655 basalt
( 69) ( 809)
Dworshak N.Fk.Clearwater CG 1973 717 3,287 granite gneiss
(219) (1,002)

Kerr Flathead A/CG/E 1938 200 690 argillite/meta-

( 61) (210) sandstone
Hungry Horse S.Fk.Flathead A/G 1953 564 2,115 limestone
(172) (645)

Libby Kootenai CG 1973 420 2,900 argillite

(128) ( 884)
Mica Columbia E 1973 820 2,625 gnefss/quartzite
(250) ( 800)

Revel stoke Columbia CG/E 1983 575 5,350 gneiss/marble/

(175) (1,631) quartzite
Grand Coulee Columbia CG 1942/ 550 5,223 granite
1982 (168) (1,592)

Chief Joseph Columbia CG/E 1955/ 230 4,300 granite/gneiss

1980 ( 70) (1,311)

Wells Columbia CG/E 1967 196 4,380 granite/gneiss

( 60) (1,335)

Rocky Reach Columbia CG 1962 197 4,800 granite/gneiss

( 60) (1,463 )

Rock Island Columbia CG 1933/ 108 2,657 basalt

1981 ( 33) ( 810)

l CG = concrete gravity; A = arch; E = embankment

2U5CE - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; USSR-U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; PUD-Public utility
of indicated county; BC Hydro - British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority

T382: 4
 TABLE 1. Project Statistics (continued)
POWERHOOSE RESERVOIR ENGItEE~ OW~

Normal Full Gross Capacity Area Reservoir

No. Installed Rated Pool Elevation 1,000 acre ft sq mi Length
Units Capacity, Mw ft (m) (1,000 cu Hm) (sq km) mi (km)
3 121.5 425.0 184 4 13 Harza City of Tacoma
(129.5) (149) (9) (21)
2 300 778.5 1,715 19 23.5 Harza City of Tacoma
(237.3) (1,389) (48) (38)
10/8 518/532 77.0 537 38 47 USCE USCE
( 23.5) ( 435) (99) (75)

22 1,780 160.0 330 15 24 USCE USCE

( 48.8) ( 267) (38) (39)

16 2,160 268.0 253 84 76 USCE USCE

( 81.7) ( 205) (219) (122)
14 980 340.0 1,350 60 64 USCE USCE
(103.6) (1,094) (154) (102)
6 603 440.0 376 13 32 USCE USCE
(134.1) ( 305) (34) (51)
10 788.5 486.0 250 13 18 Harza Grant PUD
(148.1) ( 203) (34) (29)
10 831.25 570.0 749 23 37 Harza Grant PUD
(173.7) ( 606) (60) (59)
6 810 540.0 376 10 29 USCE USCE
(164.6) ( 305) (27) (46)
6 810 638.0 556 16 37 USCE USCE
(194.5) ( 451) (40) (59)

3 300 1,600.0 3,468 27 53 USCE USCE

(487.7) (2,810) (69) (85)

3 168 2,893.0 1,1003 188 4 4/32 5 Ebasco Montana Power Co

( 881.8) ( 891) (486) (6/51)

4 285 3,560.0 3,468 37 34 USSR USSR

(1,085.1) (2,810) (96) (54)

5 525 2,459.0 5,850 73 90 USCE USCE

( 749.5) (4,740) (188) (145)

4 1,740 2,475.0 20,000 166 137 Be Hydro Be Hydro

754.3 (16,205) (430) (220)

4 1,840 1,880.0 4,300 45 80 Be Hydro Be Hydro

( 573.0) (3,480) (115) (130)

18/6 2,250/3,900 1,290.0 9,562 125 151 USSR USSR

( 393.2) (7,748) (324) (242)

27 2,069 956.0 593 13 51 USCE USCE

( 291.4) ( 481) (34) (82)

10 774.3 781.0 361 17 30 Bechtel Douglas PUD

( 238.0) ( 293) (43) (48)

11 1,213.1 707.0 412 14 43 Stone & Chelan PUD

( 215.5) ( 334) (37) (69) Webster

10/8 212.1/410 613.0 130 4 7 Stone & Chelan PUD

( 186.8) ( 105) (10) (11) Webster

3Active storage including 10 ft (3m) drawdown of Flathead Lake

4Includes area of Flathead Lake
5Not including Flathead Lake/Including Flathead Lake

T382: 5
GEOLOGIC SETTING
Puget Sound Basin
A slightly arcuate, convex-eastward, lowland lies
between the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains of
Washington State. This is known variously as the
Puget Sound Basin, Puget Lowland, or Puget Trough,
depending on the emphasis desired. The basin geology
is dominated by Pleistocene glacial drift, which includes
till, outwash, glacial-lake deposits, glaciomarine drift,
and a variety of ice-contact and ice-marginallandfonns.
The glacial deposits are a result of multiple continental
glaciations moving south from the Canadian coastal
mountains and occupying the entire basin and the Strait
of Juan de Fuca. The Pleistocene deposits range in
thickness from very thin to more than 3,700 ft (1,214
m) in the vicinity of Seattle and between 800 and 2,400
ft (262 and 787 m) in the southern part of the basin
(Hall and Othberg, 1974; Yount et al., 1985).
The rocks underlying the glacial drift are folded and
faulted Paleogene sedimentary and volcanic rocks
including volcaniclastic and some coal-bearing
sedimentary rocks. These are exposed mainly along the
margins of the basin. To the north, Paleozoic-Mesozoic
metamorphic rocks underlie the basin and major ridges
of the North Cascades dominate both the landscape and
the geology along the basin's eastern margin.
The Cascade Range
The Cascade Range extends from southern British
Columbia on the north some 700 mi (1,100 km) into
northern California on the south, interruped only by the
gorge of the Columbia River along the border between
Washington and Oregon. The geology of much of its
length is characterized by Tertiary and .Quaternary
volca~ic and volcaniclastic rocks, and its skyline is
dominated by a series of Pleistocene-Holocene
stratovolcanoes, many rising to elevations of over
10,000 ft (3,300 m), several of which have been active
in historic time. Most Paleocene to Miocene volcanic
rocks lie west of the highest part of the range and are
known as the Western Cascade Group (Hammond,
1980). These rocks originated from many eruptive
centers and are mapped under a variety of formational
names. Much of the Pliocene to Holocene part of the
range is usually higher and the rocks are termed the
High Cascade Group (Hammond, 1980). In southern
Washington, the western Cascade foothills essentially
merge with the Coast Range to the west.
A little north of latitude 47N the Cascade Range
changes character across a zone of transverse structure--
the Olympic-Wallowa Lineament (Raisz, 1945). To the
north the range is characterized by a crystalline core of
structurally complex Paleozoic to Mesozoic
metamorphic rocks, granitic gneiss, schist, hornfels,
greenstone, and related rocks intruded by Mesozoic and
Tertiary plutons. The core rocks are flanked by
Cretaceous to early Tertiary sedimentary rocks well
preserved in grabens that lie on the east, and on the
west by Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks
T382: 6
(Misch, 1966, 1977; Tabor et al., 1987). The North
Cascades, as these mountains are called, rise to
elevations of 7,000 to 9,000 ft (2,300 to 3,000 m).
Two Pleistocene-Holocene volcanic cones rise 2,000 ft
(700 m) higher. Intense Pleistocene-Holocene
glaciation has caused them to be referred to as "the Alps
of America."
Willamette Lowland
The lowland that separates the Cascade Range from
the Coast Range in Oregon is the Willamette Lowland
or valley, which occupies a continental position similar
to that of the Puget Sound Basin. It is underlain by
Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks that are mantled
by Willamette alluvium and locally thick residuum. The
northern part of the lowland, near Portland, Oregon, is
further characterized by a field of Pliocene-Pleistocene
volcanoes that form isolated hills. The Columbia River
utilizes the lowland as its valley between Troutdale,
Oregon, and Kelso-Longview, Washington. Much of
the northern section of the lowland is underlain by
Pleistocene cataclysmic glacial flood deposits into
which the Columbia River is now channeled.
Columbia Plateau
The intermontane basin between the Northern
Rocky Mountains of northern Idaho and western
Montana and the Cascade Range of Washington and
northern Oregon is occupied by the largest field of flood
basalt in North America, and one of the largest in the
world. The basalts cover 62,000 sq mi (160,000 sq
km), including one-third of Washington, a large area of
northern Oregon, and adjacent parts of northern Idaho
(Figure 0-3) (Hooper and Swanson, 1987). The basalt
was erupted between 17 Ma and 6 Ma from a system of
fissures in northeastern Oregon and southeastern
Washington. The total volume of the Columbia River
Basalt Group (CRBG) may be greater than 40,800 cu
mi (170,000 cu km) (Tolan et aI., 1987). Nearly 90
percent of this volume was erupted over a one-million-
year period between 16.5 - 15.6 Ma. The lavas filled
the lower parts of the intermontane basin and flooded
through a structural-topographic low in the Cascade
volcanic pile near the present Columbia River Gorge,
spreading into the northern Willamette Lowland, along
the present northern Oregon coast, and over part of
southwestern Washington. Several of the later
voluminous flows may be traced from the main lava
field, through the Columbia River Gorge and to the
coast. Maximum thickness of the CRBG in the central
plateau (Pasco Basin) is more than 10,700 ft (3,250 m)
(Hooper and Swanson, 1987). Flow stratigraphy has
been under study since the mid-1950s and has
progressed to a division of four formations and
widespread mapping of many members.
Deformation of the CRBG began during the
extrusion of the basalt by a combination of (1) tilting of
the plateau to the NW brought on by isostatic rise of the
Idaho Batholith, and (2) N to NNW horizontal
compression. The deformation continued into the
 BRITISH
WASHINGTON
o 75
, 150 km
, ,
I i OREGON
o 50 100 mi
FIGURE 0-3. Map showing distribution of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). Modified from Anderson et al.,
1987.
Pliocene resulting in development of the generally E-W-
trending Yakima Fold Belt (YFB) and the deposition of
fluvial and overbank sediments in the synclines and
basins between the folds. Pleistocene-Holocene
deformation within the plateau has been documented
(Campbell and Bentley, 1981).
For the most part, drainage, including the ancestral
Columbia River, was diverted around the northern
periphery of the lava field. Cascade detritus and
structural development kept the major Columbia
drainage on the lava field south of Wenatchee.
Similarly, the lower Snake River drainage was
maintained across the surface of the lava field by
continued uplift of the Blue Mountains. The resulting
canyons later served as important conduits for
Pleistocene glacial drainage, including the cataclysmic
glacial flooding that influenced both the surface of the
lava plateau and the major river canyons. The plateau
surface (Palouse Slope) east of the Yakima Fold Belt is
largely mantled by dunes of Pleistocene loess (palouse
loess). This material was locally removed during
development of tracts of channeled scablands by
T382: 7
COLUMBIA
.. -,. _., -"-'r-"- .. _.
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LIMIT OF THE
COLUMBIA RIVER
BASALT GROUP
cataclysmic Pleistocene glacial flooding across the
plateau surface.
Northern Rocky Mountains
The Northern Rocky Mountains extend northward
from the Snake River Plains of southern Idaho and the
Yellowstone Plateau of northwestern Wyoming, some
1,300 mi (2,100 km) to the northern border of British
Columbia. For much of its length, the eastern band of
the Northern Rockies consist of long, parallel N to
NNW-trending mountain ranges consistiag largely of
Precambrian through Paleozoic sedimentary and
metasedimentary rocks. The structure of this eastern
band is one of low- and moderate-angle thrusts,
including multiple thrusts of Laramide (late Cretaceous)
age. Along the eastern edge, the Precambrian and
Paleozoic section is thrust over the weaker Cretaceous
rocks of the Great Plains. The western belt of the
Northern Rocky Mountains is composed of rocks
similar to those in the eastern belt, but it is generally
more structurally and topographically subdued, with
arching, gentle folding, and high-angle thrust faulting.
This western belt is termed Columbia Mountains in
British Columbia and Purcell and Salish mountains in
the United States. Separating these two major belts is
the Rocky Mountain Trench, a broad linear depression,
probably a "pull-apart" feature, that extends from west-
central Montana to northern British Columbia.
Although other broad N-trending valleys or trenches,
probably bounded by Tertiary normal faults, are
common within the ranges, the Rocky Mountain Trench
is the longest and most consistent.
However, a 20-mi- (32 km) wide zone of
transverse structure trending WNW strikes through
west-central Montana, and interrupts the trend of the
Northern Rocky Mountains. The zone truncates the
Rocky Mountain Trench and many of the ranges, and
bends the eastern thrust ranges in a left-lateral sense
around its eastern end. This zone is known as the
Montana Lineament or Lewis and Clark Line (LCL).
The region south of the LCL is dominated by the
Triassic-Cretaceous Idaho batholith on the west and by
basin-and-range structure and topography on the east.
The largest historic earthquakes in the Northern Rocky
Mountains have occurred in this basin-range area (1959
Hebgen Lake, magnitude 7.1; 1983 Borah Peak,
magnitude 7.5).
The basins and trenches both north and south of and
within the Lewis and Clark Line have been subjected to
subsidence and deposition of sediments throughout
much of Tertiary and Quaternary time. These sediments
range from coarse gravel to fine-grained lake beds,
some of which are coal-bearing, and include deposits of
Pleistocene continental and alpine glaciation and
periglacial lakes. The best known of the glacial lakes is
Lake Missoula which occupied much of the basin area
of western Montana and was the source of much of the
cataclysmic flooding across the Columbia Plateau and
downstream in the Columbia valley. . lake level reached a critical depth at the ice dam, the ice
Okanogan-Shuswap Highlands
A broad belt of dominantly crystalline rocks,
including pre-Jurassic gneiss and schist, Jurassic-
Cretaceous batholiths, and Tertiary granitic rocks, lies
north of the Columbia Plateau and between the North
Cascades and Northern Rocky Mountains in the United
States and between the Columbia Mountains and
Interior Plateau region of British Columbia. There are
areas of folded and faulted Paleozoic and Mesozoic
sedimentary rocks .within this complex, and the
boundary between the Okanogan-Shuswap Highlands
and the Northern Rocky (Columbia) Mountains is
locally problematical. However, the increased
metamorphic and crystalline character of most of the
rocks, more intense deformation, and the more rounded
and subdued topography generally distinguishes the
province from the Northern Rocky Mountains.
Glaciation of the Columbia Basin
The Cordilleran ice sheet formed over a vast
mountainous area of western Canada from the Northern
T382: 8
Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean during the
Pleistocene. On at least four occasions it extended as
far south as the southern end of the Puget Sound Basin,
south of latitude 47 N. In the intermontane basin and
in the Northern Rocky Mountains five Pleistocene
glacial stages are recognized. Only the two most recent,
the Bull Lake and Pinedale, have left widespread
deposits. Both represent Wisconsin stage glaciations.
Although the southern encroachment of the ice was not
so great as that of the Puget lobe, the periglacial effects
are seen far beyond the ice border (Figure 0-4).
In addition to the continental ice sheet, numerous
alpine glacial centers developed in the Northern Rocky
Mountains of Idaho and western Montana and the
Cascade Range of Washington and Oregon.
Within the United States the western part of the
continental ice covered nearly all the Okanogan
Highlands, crossed the W-trending segment of the
Columbia River valley, and edged out onto the basalt
plateau (Okanogan lobe). Farther east the ice covered
much of the Northern Rocky Mountains in and west of
the Rocky Mountain Trench. Between these major ice
masses a series of linear lobes or tongues extended
south along major valleys, producing a highly lobate ice
front. Two of the most important linear lobes occupied
the Purcell (Purcell lobe) and Rocky Mountain
(Flathead lobe) trenches as far south as the Lewis and
Clark Line. The Purcell lobe effectively blocked the
drainage of the western Montana-northern Idaho region,
impounding large ice-marginal lakes behind the ice
dam. The largest of these lakes, glacial Lake Missoula,
was impounded in the Clark Fork basin and covered
about 3,000 sq mi (7,770 sq km). The lake was about
950 ft (284 m) deep at Missoula and contained an
estimated 500 cu mi (2,100 cu km) of water. Maximum
lake elevation was 4,150 ft (1,265 m), and its depth at
the ice dam was nearly 2,000 ft (610 m). When the
became buoyant permitting discharge of part or all of
the lake in a colossal "jokulhlaup", a high-volume,
high-discharge flood. The maximum rate of flow has
been estimated at 9.5 cu mi/hr (40 cukm/hr) or about
386 million cfs (1.1 million cu m/sec). Flood waters
passed rapidly down the Purcell Trench and entered the
Columbia Plateau through the Spokane Valley. Three
major tracts of "channeled scablands" and numerous
minor channels were cut through the loess mantling the
plateau and into the basalt as the flood waters made their
way to the Pasco Basin. Because Wallula Gap
provided the only hydraulic outlet to the basin,
significant impoundments occurred with an estimated
flow of40 cu mi/day (167 cu km/day) passing through
Wallula Gap and down the Columbia valley and gorge,
cutting scabland channels, and depositing giant gravel
bars along the entire course.
Present evidence indicates that the discharge of Lake
Missoula was episodic over a 2,600 yr period between
15.3 ka and 12.7 ka. Evidence from slack-water
rhythmites around the periphery of the plateau suggests
scores of individual floods occurred during this late
Pinedale time. Evidence for earlier (Bull Lake) floods is
also available. In addition to the Missoula floods,
 I

BRITISH COLUMBIA
~

-49N - ~A

UNITED STATES - - - - - -

.......

'<,MONTANA
'- .....

'"( )

-47N

area influenced
by Missoula floods IDAHO
-EN

o 50 1ooMI.
OREGON I I I I

o 100 2~OKm

FIGURE 0-4. Map showing major features of Pleistocene continental glaciation. CRG-Columbia River Gorge, M-Missoula,
Montana, P-Portland, Oregon, S-Seattle, Sp-Spokane, Washington, Wenatchee, Washington, WG-Wallula Gap. After Waitt and
Thorson (1983).

failure at the natural Lake Bonneville (a large glacial

lake occupying .the eastern Great Basin) spillway in
southern Idaho sometime between 15 kaand 14 ka
resulted in partial draining of Lake Bonneville and the
passage of high-volume, high-velocity floods down the
Snake River valley into the Pasco Basin.
As the ice retreated for the last time, a spectacular
series of kame terraces and valley fill terraces was
created in the valleys adjacent to the ice front by
detritus-swollen meltwater streams. These features
dominate valley topography in northeastern
Washington, northern Idaho, northwest Montana, and
southeastern British Columbia. These complex glacial
terraces and the scouring of major sections of the
Columbia River valley and lower Snake River valley
have had important impacts on the development of dam
sites throughout the basin (Waitt, 1985; Weiss. and
Newman, 1974; Richmond et al., 1965; Bretz, 1969;
Baker, 1973; Waitt and Thorson, 1983).
DAY 1: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON TO
PORTLAND, OREGON
Itinerary
The excursion will traverse the southern part of the
glaciated Puget Sound Basin, the western Cascade
foothills, and lower Cowlitz River valley on Interstate
Highway 5 (1-5). Side excursions will be made to the
Mima Mounds, Mayfield and Mossyrock Dams, Mount
St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Visitors
Center), and the Toutle River sediment retention dam
presently under construction. South of the Puget
Sound Basin the geology is characterized by volcanic
rocks of the Western Cascade Group and early Tertiary
sedimentary rocks. South of the Kelso-Longview area,
exposures of the Columbia River basalt will be seen.

T382: 9
Stop I-I: Mirna Mounds
Mirna Prairie is the type locality for the enigmatic
Mirna Mounds, the origin of which 'has been a subject
of some controversy for more than a century. The
mounds are composed of black pebbly silt and sand that
overlie stratified sand and gravel outwash from the last
major glaciation of the Puget Sound Basin (Vashon
Stade, Frazer Glaciation). The mounds range in height
from a barely perceptible swelling on the prairie surface
to 7 ft (2.1 m) and range in diameter up to 70 ft (21.4
m), averaging 40 ft (12.2 m). The mounds are
bioconvex in that a shallow "root" of black pebbly silt
and sand extends into the coarse gravelly substratum.
The mounds are closely but irregularly spaced, with
mound areas approximately equal to the intermound
areas.
Although many theories and variations of theories
have been advanced to explain the origin of the
mounds, two (one geological and the other biological)
are worthy of mention: The geological explanation
proposed by Newcomb (1952) satisfies the observation
that all the mounds lie on various terrace levels of the
Vashon recessional gravel. The theory involves
continuation of permafrost conditions and formation of
FIGURE 1-1. Mayfield Dam, forebay structure (left), powerhouse (center), dam (right). Photo courtesy, Tacoma City Light
T382: 10
a fissure-polygon network in the- outwash gravels,
lateral thickening of the ice wedges accompanied by
thrusting of late stage glacial or eolian silt into center
spaces, followed by the eventual sloughing of material
into mounds during melting of the ice wedges. The
biological theory (Dalquest and Scheffer, 1942) holds
that the mounds were built by colonies of the western
pocket gophers in their foraging and nesting habitat.
The coarse gravel plain constitutes a substratum that
difficult to burrow and restricts gopher families to
working from a fixed point over many generations. In
their workings, more soil is pulled toward the center of
the nest burrow than is pushed away, gradually
accreting the mound. In either case, a constructional
hypothesis is required because the mounds cannot have
been formed by erosion. Washburn (1988) has
summarized the pros and cons of the various
hypotheses.
Stop 1-2: Mayfield Dam
Mayfield Dam is a composite, thin-wall, single-
-curvature arch and gravity dam (Figure 1-1). Bedrock
units in the area consist of andesite and basalt lava
flows and intercalated tuffs, breccias, sandstones, and
shales all probably part of the Goble Volcanics of the
Western Cascade Group. The lower part of the thin-
wall arch and the gravity dam are founded on sound
andesite exposed in the crest of a N30 W-trending
anticline through which the Cowlitz River has cut a
narrow post glacial canyon. The upper part of the arch
rests against massive thrust blocks founded on andesite.
Construction of the dam required a low-level diversion
tunnel through the north (right) bank. A remote
powerhouse is located 1,300 ft (427 m) downstream on
the north (right) bank and is serviced by a short tunnel,
forebay and four surface penstocks. These features are
founded in sandstone and tuffaceous shale, overlain and
underlain by basalt on the west flank of the anticline.
The rocks dip downstream and into the canyon about
30 0 The upper basalt was fractured, pennitting water
to reach the underlying tuffaceous shale. During
construction of the forebay, powerhouse, and penstock
facilities, several slides occurred in this slope which
required scaling back of the basalt slope above,
construction of a crib wall to protect the powerhouse
from rock fall damage, and the installation of 75
tendons 150 ft (49 m) into the sandstone and basalt
underlying the shale (Figure 1-2). The tendons served
to reinforce the rock mass below the forebay structure.
Two early Pleistocene alpine glacial drifts have been
mapped in the vicinity of Mayfield and influenced the
design of the dam. Wingate Hill Drift (including both
till and outwash) makes up the ridge immediately north
of the project. The younger Hayden Creek Drift
overlies the bedrock surface in the upper canyon walls
at the site and is locally overlain by a Pleistocene
pumice-bearing, silt- loess (Coombs, in press; Crandell
and Miller, 1974).
-400FT
-300FT
-100FT
FIGURE 1-2. Mayfield Dam, geologic section through forebay-powerhouse area.
From Coombs (in press).
T382: 11
Stop 1-3: Mossyrock Dam
This double-curvature thin-arch dam (Figure 1-3)
spans a canyon cut in flat-lying intercalated basalt,
andesite, and flow breccia characteristic of the lower
Western Cascade Group. The dam is structurally much
higher than it appears because an early Pleistocene
canyon, 240 ft (79 m) deeper than the present canyon,
required excavation of a large quantity of glacial till and
intercalated fluvial deposits. No unusual slope stability
or dewatering problems were encountered in the
excavation, however. The bedrock stratigraphy of the
canyon can be divided into three units (Figure 1-4): the
lowest unit (C) consists of about 300 ft (98 m) of
dense, massive to platy andesite with minor lenses of
flow breccia. This unit supports the highest section of
the dam and provides the foundation for the
powerhouse. The plunge basin is also within this lower
unit. The vertical jointing in the platy andesite required
local reinforcement beneath the powerhouse, penstock
foundations, and plunge basin. The middle unit (B)
consists of mostly amygdaloidal basalt and porphyritic
andesite with thin layers of flow breccia. Much of the
amygdaloidal basalt in this unit is susceptible to air
slaking and required special foundation treatment.
Excavation progressed to 2 ft (0.6 m) above grade and
the rock surface was sprayed with a plastic material.
Final excavation was made just prior to pouring
concrete. About 20 percent of the arch dam is founded
on the middle unit. The upper unit (A) consists of
porphyritic andesite with thin beds of flow breccia and
serves as foundation for the thrust blocks and wing
walls on each abutment. Near-vertical basalt dikes cut
all three bedrock units on both abutments. The bedrock
MAYFIELD PROJECT
Sketch of Section at
Powerhouse Slide
 FIGURE 1-3. Aerial view of Mossyrock Dam, on-site powerhouse at left. Photo courtesy, Tacoma City Light.

EI.789 240m)

iA
'""C..:::-IOO (183)-
i
u. A
.E B
5- 500 (152)-
i>
~
w
-400

-300
c (11)-

E1. 221.8 (701n) --,'-===./'_---- C

HelgIII of DMI Move low. . bedrock 606 ft. (184m)

FIGURE 1-4. Mossyrock Dam, geologic section looking upstream. Units A, B, and C are described in text. From Coombs
(in press).

T382: 12
 surface is mantled by Hayden Creek Drift and post- The debris avalanche combined with snow and ice
Hayden Creek pumice-bearing silt-loess. from the volcano's flank and water from Spirit Lake
Although the bedrock surface rises above reservoir generated major mudflows that charged down the North
level at the dam, it drops 250 ft (82 m) below the Fork Toutle River, depositing more than 50 million cu
reservoir surface in a former river channel that intersects yd (38 million cu m) of sediments and debris in the
the valley about 1 mi (1.6 km) upstream from the south lower Cowlitz River and about 45 million cu yd (34
(left) abutment. Concern for potential leakage through million cu m) in the Columbia River. Navigation on the
this channel resulted in construction of a drainage adit Columbia River was restricted for several months until
2,117 ft (645 m) long into the left abutment within the the channel was cleared by dredging. Other smaller
upper bedrock unit. At this distance no channel was mudflows charged down the South Fork Toutle River
encountered. A series of relief wells was drilled to and down tributaries of the Lewis River, the latter
intersect the adit. Shorter drainage adits were also reaching Swift Reservoir on the south side of the
constructed into the right abutment. The dam includes volcano. Mudflows and debris floods destroyed 48
grout and drainage curtains. Maximum depth of the bridges on both sides of the volcano, buried roadways
grout curtain is about 300 ft (91 m) beneath the and clogged water supply intakes. Operation of sewage
maximum arch section. Consolidation grouting was , treatment facilities in eastern Washington was affected
also accomplished just ahead of concrete placement. by deposition of ash
(Beck and Smith, 1968; Wengler, 1982; Coombs, in The eruption removed about 0.65 cu mi (2.7 cu km)
press; Crandell and Miller, 1974). from the mountain mass, reducing the mountain summit
from elevation 9,677 ft (2,950 m) to 8,364 ft (2,549 m)
Stop 1-4: Mount St. Helens Visitor Center and leaving a north facing amphitheater crater 1.25 mi
(2 km) wide and 2.4 mi (3.9 km) long. The present
World attention focused on Mount St. Helens composite lava dome in the crater (Figure 1-5) is the
during its eruptive activity in 1980. Probably no third and most long-lived of the lava domes; it began in
volcanic eruption has been so well documented. The October 1980 and has grown by episodic extrusion
volcano has been episodically active for about 40,000 since (Lipman and Mullineaux, 1981).
yr with dormant periods ranging from a few hundred
years to 15,000 yr. The stratigraphic record of the Stop 1-5: Toutle River Sediment
volcano for the past 13,000 yr is fairly complete. Prior Retention Dam
to 1980 the most recent period of eruptive activity was
during the fIrst half of the 19th century although several The May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens
minor steam explosions are recorded during the triggered a debris avalanche that deposited over 3.8
intervening period. billion cu yd (2.9 billion cu m) of rock, soil, and
The 1980 sequence began with a swarm of organic debris in the upper 17 mi (25 km) of the North
earthquakes between March 20 and 27 followed by an Fork Toutle River valley. The eruption also produced
explosive ash eruption on March 27. Earthquakes, mudflows that caused widespread flooding in the
fumerole activity, and ash and steam eruptions Toutle/Cowlitz/Columbia River system. A sediment
continued at varying levels of activity over the retention structure, now under construction on the
following weeks along with the development of a new North Fork of the Toutle River, was designed to control
summit crater and a pronounced "bulge" on the sediment deposition in the lower Cowlitz River, thus
mountain's north flank:. At 0832, May 18, a magnitude maintaining the authorized level of flood protection.
5 earthquake under the volcano caused rapid failure of The structure will be an earth and rockfill embankment
the north flank. The resulting debris avalanche was founded on Quaternary alluvial sands and gravels in the
accompanied by a northward and upward blast of ash valley and on hard to soft basalt and flow breccia of the
and debris which devastated 235 sq mi (600 sq km) late Eocene Hatchet Mountain Formation (Western
north of the volcano. Within a few minutes a Plinian Cascade Group) on the abutments (Figure 1-6). The
eruption column began to rise from the summit crater, less dense mudflow materials from the 1980 eruption
and within 10 min it reached a height of more than 12.5 were removed from the dam foundation before
mi (20 km). The eruption cloud moved ENE, 'embankment construction began. The spillway and
producing lightning, starting hundreds of forest fIres, outlet works will be founded in rock on the right
and causing darkness eastward for more than 125 mi abutment. The basalt and flow breccia units dip gently
(200 km). Major ash falls were deposited as far as ~ 10) to the SW and are part of the NW-trending
central Montana, and visible ash falls were recorded on Napavine syncline, the major structural feature in the
the Great Plains of the United States more than 900 mi region. Dam construction is expectedto-be completed
(1,500 km) away. by September 1989.

T382: 13
FIGURE 1-5. Mount St. Helens. View south from Harry's Ridge showing lava dome in the crater on May 20, 1988, eight years
after cataclysmic eruption. Photo courtesy Lyn Topinka, U.S. Geological Survey, Cascade Volcano Observatory, Vancouver,
Washington.

L
embankment creat elev 900 ft. (305.5 m)

~6-- ~~,~~../",,_
glacial drift " - - - "'- " ' -- - - _ - - J
--"" I
\ I apiliway
~-'outlet work.
top of bedrock

100
(111)

FIGURE 1-6. Toutle River sediment retention dam, geologic section looking downstream.

T382: 14
DAY 2: PORTLAND, OREGON TO Richland lies in the Pasco Basin section of the
RICHLAND, WASHINGTON Columbia Plateau. It is the center of activity for the
Hanford Nuclear Reservation which lies immediately to
Itinerary the north of the city.

The excursion route will follow the Columbia River
upstream, passing through the Columbia River Gorge,
a 50-mi-(80 km) long, 3,000-4,000 ft (900-1,200 m)
deep canyon cut through the southern Cascade Range.
After a general overview of the gorge at Crown Point,
visits will be made to Bonneville Dam, where a new
navigation lock is under construction and to The Dalles
Dam at the eastern end of the gorge. Lunch will be
provided during a visit to the Stonehenge Memorial.
This will be followed by a visit to John Day Dam. The
excursion will then enter the central part of the Umatilla
Basin and, after a visit to McNary Dam, continue
through Wallula Gap in the Horse Heaven Hills into the
Pasco Basin. The final stop for the day will be at Ice
Harbor Dam, the dam farthest downstream on the
Snake River.
The geology along the route includes typical
features of the southern Cascade Range volcanic and
intrusive rocks together with related sediments (Figure
2-1). The Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG)
dominates much of the scenery, however, and provides
the foundations for four of the five dams to be visited
Stop 2-1: Crown Point-Columbia Gorge
Overlook
Many geological features of the lower gorge and
surrounding countryside can be seen from Crown
Point, a famous stop on the old Columbia River Scenic
Highway which was originally completed in 1916. The
approach to Crown Point from the west passes through
a series of exposures of Troutdale Formation
(sandstone) intercalated with Boring Lavas, all of which
overlie the Priest Rapids Member of the CRBG which
forms Crown Point. The Priest Rapids basalt and its
basal hyaloclastite fill a paleocanyon to a depth of more
than 700 ft (215 m) at this point. Important geologic
features visible across the river on the Washington side
include, from west to east: Mounts Pleasant and Zion
which are Boring Lava cinder cones; a remnant of the
Pomona basalt (CRBG) occupying a paleochannel; and
Beacon Rock, a volcanic plug or neck. Eastward on the
Oregon side are Pepper and Larch mountains, which are
a Boring Lava cinder cone and Cascade shield volcano,
respectively. Below Crown Point is Rooster Rock, one

W .Columbla River Gorge umatilla Baln E

~ landsides ~.-.-.-< _

~_I......._. .:==::::=====:..-:..-:.-:.-=.S=_-"'"'I,=~~C'" glac_I_"_flood

__ lt-;_~~~~~~==:s;--;;a
depoa
__ =_
2'" High cascade and
Boring lavas and associated
volcaniclastic sediments
The Dalles Fm (Group)
!
B
E Troutdale Fm

ci:Rhododendron F~
...
12
Pomona M
Elephant Mountain M
Pomona M
saddle
Mountains
&auK
UmatlilaM
n
Columbia Priest Rapids M
Priest Rapids M
! River RozaM Wanapum
I2 Basalt
Frenchman Springs M Frenchman Springs M BaaaK

....
14
Group
"Quinton group"
"Rufus group"

Grande Ronde Basalt

...
16.5

Western Eagle Creek Fm

! cascade John Day Fm
Group

I (Skamania
Volcanic
series) Ohanapecosh Fm ("Weigle Fm")

FIGURE 2-1. Stratigraphic diagram, Columbia River Gorge to lower Snake River. From Galster and Sager (in press).

T382: 15
of many large basalt landslide blocks that characterize
the gorge. West of Crown Point is the Crown Point
landslide. The failure is probably on the contact
between the Columbia River basalt and the underlying
Skamania Volcanics of the Western Cascade Group
(Tolan and Beeson, 1984; Allen, 1984).
Stop 2-2: Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Dam (Figure 2-2) lies within the
Columbia River Gorge where the gorge walls, though
dominated by the Columbia River basalt, include
volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks of the Western
Cascade Group, Troutdale Formation, and volcanic and
related intrusive rocks of the High Cascade Group.
Pleistocene-Holocene landslides also dominate sections
of this part of the gorge. The Cascade (Bonneville)
landslide has here diverted the river against the Oregon
shore from its Pleistocene channel located about 1 mi
(1.6 km) north of and more than 100 ft (30 m) deeper
than the present channel. This diversion occurred about
700 years ago. The slide covers about 14 sq mi (36 sq
km) although the active part of the slide upstream from
the dam covers only 2.7 sq mi (7 sq km) and involves
about 250 million cy (191 million cu m) of slide debris.
Even though the toe of the landslide is in the Bonneville
pool, movement does not appear influenced by pool
fluctuations. Relocation of the Burlington Northern
Railroad for construction of the second (north)
powerhouse required a 1,400 ft (427 m) tunnel through
the toe area of the Cascade landslide which presented
difficulties in ground control and stabilization.
Landsliding on the south (left) bank is an important
consideration in excavating the upstream approach
channel for the new lock.
Most of the valley floor is underlain by the
tuffaceous sedimentary rocks of the Ohanapecosh
(Weigle) Formation, that dip about 15 southward
(Figure 2-3). The second (north) powerhouse
(Washington shore) and spillway are founded on this
unit. The center part and south abutment of the
spillway dam is founded on conglomerate, but the

FIGURE 2-2. Aerial view of Bonneville Dam looking upstream. Original powerhouse across channel, center, second
powerhouse at upper center, spillway dam between. Navigation lock on near shore. Toe of Cascade landslide at upper center
beyond second powerhouse. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

T382: 16
 remainder of the spillway dam is on weak tuffaceous
sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone beds. The entire
second powerhouse was founded also on these
relatively weak beds beneath as much as 180 ft (55 m)

E l; I of slide debris. Excavation was accomplished within a
lEi I
~
0
:-
I
concrete cut-off wall to the bedrock surface that
surrounded the excavation. The foundation beneath
both structures required special overexcavation and
dental backfill of numerous minor faults and shear
I zones. During foundation preparation for the second
E

..
I
r
\ I ~
powerhouse, the sensitivity of the tuffaceous siltstone
to air slaking required use of shotcrete and foundation-
il- ~\ protection concrete to preserve the rock between the
I time of excavation and structural concrete placement
I
I II On the south bank (Oregon shore) most of the
original powerhouse and navigation lock as well as the
I new navigation .lock is founded on an intrusive mass
o 0
locally termed Bonney Rock diabase. This hard
bedrock is characterized by columnar jointing .and
sheeting and is locally highly fractured. The intrusive is
limited in extent both upstream and downstream where
the bedrock surface falls rapidly to elevations below
economic foundation levels (Sager, in press).

Stop 2-3: The Dalles Dam

Prior to construction of The Dalles Dam (Figure 2-

I 4) the Columbia River passed through a 4-mi-(6.4 Ian)
I
.5
long section of deep channels and potholes called The
Dalles. These were originally formed as scablands on
I\._- the surface of the CRBG (Wanapum Basalt) during
cataclysmic Pleistocene flooding, and they were later
modified by the normally flooding river. During non-
flood periods the river was confined to the scabland
channels and potholes, some which extended more than
I 200 ft (61 m) below sea level, leaving extensive
I.!! bedrock reefs spanning much of the valley floor. This
fortuitous topography pennitted the "dog leg" layout of
structures and construction of the concrete sections of
J the dam without river diversion.
The concrete sections of the dam are founded on
several of the flows of the Priest Rapids Member
(Wanapum Basalt) and portions of the navigation lock
were excavated into the underlying Roza Member. As
many as five basalt flows or flow units, each 60- to
100- ft (18 to 30 m) thick, were involved in the
foundation of the various structures. No persistent
interbeds were encountered, although clay minerals,
weathering, and local paleosols were found. This is in
contrast to the area downstream from the dam where the
Priest Rapids Member contains extensive hyaloclastites.
Flow contacts varied from tight to open. The top of
each flow was characterized by 5 to 15 ft (1.5 to 4.6 m)
of vesicular basalt underlain by an equal thickness of
microvesiclliar basalt The remainder of each flow was
dense basalt. The basalt flows dip about 2 0 s.
Two NW-trending faults cross the site area (Figure
2-5).. The Three Mile Rapids fault passes immediately
downstream of the navigation. lock, the lock being sited
upstream of it. The fault has about 40 ft (12 m) vertical
displacement, west side down. The Big Eddy fault
passes upstream of the powerhouse, directly through

T382: 11
 FIGURE 2-4. Aerial view of The Dalles Dam, view upstream of spillway dam with intake dam and powerhouse at right
center. Navigation lock to left out of photo. Columbia Hills are upper center to left. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.

the closure dam. A NE-trending fault passes along the
trend of the old river channel below the powerhouse.
Shear zones of these faults range from 50 to 300 ft (15
to 91 m) across. In addition, minor faults, including
low- angle thrust faults, were found in the foundations
of most structures. Near-vertical contraction cooling
joints are common in all flows, as are horizontal joints
parallel to the upper flow surface high in each flow.
Most joint surfaces were coated with a black, glassy
mineraloid which air slaked on exposure and tended to
weather to a brown limonitic material.
Grout curtains for the spillway, powerhouse intake
structure, and upper end of the navigation lock were
extended through the flow contact below the foundation
grade and in some places through the underlying
vesicular zone. During foundation excavation, large
spiracles were locally encountered at the base of flows;
these required overexcavation and concrete backfilling.
Many of the pre-existing potholes in the river bed away
from the dam structures were filled with waste
excavation during construction (Sager, in press; Tolan
and Beeson, 1984 a,b; Allen, 1984).
Stop 2-4: Stonehenge Memorial (lunch)
This concrete replica of the original sarsen circle of
Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, was constructed in
the 1920s as a memorial to men of Klickitat County,
Washington, who were killed in World War I. The
monument was built by Samuel Hill, builder of the
original Columbia River Scenic Highway on the Oregon
side of the Columbia River Gor~e and founder of
Maryhill nearby. Hill's remains are buried under the
monument. The.monument lies on the south flank of
the Columbia Hills anticline and overlooks the
Columbia River valley with views south to the Blue
Mountains of Oregon and west to the High Cascades.
The bench upOIl. which the monument is si~uated is
underlain by Wanapum Basalt (CRBG), probably the
Frenchman Springs Member. .

T382: 18
 , '-..-'
. . 't, .... P... '
~. .

.;
w
ex>
r\)

\0

l.EgENQ

CI:J. ~IA "IVIR IAIALT-'LOW

CiJ CDLUIIeIA -IR MlALT-,LOW R

a:J CDLUIIeIA _lit MlALT-'LOW Q

C!J CDLUIIeIA MVlR IAlALT- 'LOW ,.

[E -..-. RlVIR MIALT-aw&..ow ~
m -..-. IWIA IAlALT-,LOW 0
CiiJ ...
CiiJ~
en "LL

U- MuLT,
--L [LATIY! ".NT-
"'1'10 CONCIALIo
.J AIIO .,. or lUI
OIn'AL.I.
" ' - Of' YDTCAL ...,..

FIGURE 2-5. Geologic plan view of The Dalles Dam showing relationship of dam to major faults. Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From Sager (in press).
 FIGURE 2-6. John Day Dam, view southeast across navigation lock to spillway and powerhouse. Photo courtesy U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
Stop 2-5: John Day Dam
The Columbia River valley in the vicinity of John
Day Dam (Figure 2-6) is characterized by continuous
exposures of Grande Ronde Basalt (CRBG) overlain by
Wanapum Basalt along the higher elevations. The
Columbia Hills anticline and the north-verging thrust
faults associated with its southern flank lie close to the
north (right) abutment of the dam. The NW-trending
Goldendale fault crosses the river just downstream from
the dam. The Grande Ronde basalt flows here are
characterized by a lower dense, blocky-jointed section
and upper, highly brecciated aa section. The rugged
and abrupt relief on the contact between these
significantly different phases ranges from 20 to 50 ft (6
to 15 m), commonly with tongues of lava having risen
above the contact and into the breccia. The flow-top
breccias are highly penneable, have a low modulous of
elasticity, and are very weak rocks. Where erosion by
cataclysmic Pleistocene flooding had selectively
removed the breccia, the result is a characteristic craggy
topography.
T382: 20
Major design modifications were required during
construction owing to the distribution of flow breccia,
and considerable extra excavation and mass concrete
backfill was required in order to provide suitable
foundation for the powerhouse structure. Similar
removal was locally required beneath part of the
spillway and navigation lock. Where faults were
crossed, reinforcing steel was added to the mass
concrete to provide a bridging over very deep, soft
zones (Figure 2-7). The navigation lock was
excavated behind a perimeter grout curtain to control
leakage into the excavation through flow breccia.
The difference between basalt and flow breccia
characteristics caused stress problems in the walls of the
navigation lock after several years of operation. A
program of consolidation grouting of the breccia
followed by installation of 73 post-tensioned tendons
was required to mitigate the problem. The grout
program injected about 30,000 cu ft (850 cu m) of
cement grout into the lock foundation.
Although a grout curtain was constructed,
substantial leakage occurs into the dam through the
foundation rock and the concrete construction joints.
 CONSTRUCTION BASE LINE
o
I
1000
I
i
,
2OOOft.

o 300
SCAlE

FIGURE 2-7. John Day Dam, geologic section looking upstream. From Sager (in press).

Leakage increased from 2,500 gpm (9 cu m/min) in
1980 to 5,000 gpm (18 cu m/min) in 1985. Remedial
work has since reduced this quantity to an estimated
750 to 1,000 gpm (2.7 to 3.6 culm/min).
Stop 2-6: McNary Dam
McNary Dam (Figure 2-8) lies adjacent to the
northern edge and in the lowest part of the Umatilla
Basin, which occupies the region between the Blue
Mountains on the south and the Columbia Hills anticline
of the Yakima Fold Belt on the north. The dam is sited
about 1 mi (1.6 Ian) east of the crest of the N-trending
Service anticline, which crosses the basin to the
Columbia Hills. The Columbia valley here is about 1.5
mi (2.4 km) wide and approximately 250 ft (76 m)
deep. Deposits from Pleistocene catastrophic flooding
are on both sides of the valley and beneath the valley
floor.

FIGURE 2-8. Aerial view of McNary Dam. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

T382: 21
 The concrete sections of the dam are founded on the
eroded surface of the Umatilla Member, Saddle
Mountains Basalt, CRBG (Figure 2-9). The upper part
of the basalt flow is ch~acterized by a varied thickness
of flow breccia. The breccia consists of hard, highly
scoriaceous basalt fragments in a soft cinder matrix.
Much of the breccia had been removed by erosion
beneath the valley floor prior to construction of the dam
and the dam is founded on dense basalt. At depths
ranging from 25 to 50 ft (7.6 - 15 m) below foundation
grade, the Mabton interbed, consisting mainly of
tuffaceous siltstone and claystone, underlies the
Umatilla Member. Because the contact is brecciated and
fractured, an artesian aquifer has developed within it in
the basin. Beneath the 40- to 60-ft- (12 to 18 m) thick
Mabton lies the Priest Rapids Member of the Wanapum
Basalt (CRBG). Two reverse faults were encountered
in the foundation, one beneath the spillway and one
beneath the powerhouse (Figure 2-9). Both required
over-excavation and concrete backfill. Grout and
drainage curtains along the centerline of the dam were
extended into the upper part of the Mabton interbed for
control of underseepage and uplift pressures.
The flanking embankment dams are founded partly
or entirely on flow breccia at the top of the Umatilla
Member, the shells are founded on glacial flood
gravels. The left (south) abutment tie is also in flood
gravels. The presence of a deep scour channel in the
bedrock of the left abutment made excavation to
bedrock impractical. A seepage control blanket was
installed for a distance of 1,000 ft (305 m) upstream
and tied to the embankment core to minimize leakage
around the abutment, and an internal drainage system
was constructed leading to the river downstream.
Approximately 3 cfs (0.085 mls) is discharged through
this system (Miklancic, in press; Monahan, 1957).
Stop 2-7: Ice Harbor Dam
Ice Harbor Dam (Figure 2-10). is sited in an area
where some of the youngest flows of the CRBG, all
upper members of the Saddle Mountains Basalt, ~e
exposed. It is also an area of the eastern Pasco BasIn
where NW-trending linear vent and dike systems
transect the Snake River valley. About 1 mi (1.6 km)
downstream on the left (south) bank, a tuff cone built
over a vent for one of the Ice Harbor Member (a
member of limited extent overlying the Elephant
Mountain Member) flows can be seen and will be
visited.
The present Snake River valley is an incised channel
cut in glacial flood deposits. The valley floor beneath
the dam is underlain by basalt of the Pomona Member
(Saddle Mountains Basalt), and the concrete structures
of the dam are founded on this unit (Figure 2-11).
Flows of the Pomona Member rest on and show
invasive relations with sedimentary units, which; were
apparently saturated and very soft at the time of basalt
extrusion. Thus sedimentary materials of varied
thickness are found in the vicinity of flow contacts.
The Pomona flow, upon which the dam rests, extends
105 ft (32 m) below foundation grade beneath the south
nonoverflow section and as little as 80 ft (24.4 m)
beneath the powerhouse. Overlying the Pomona is the
Rattlesnake Ridge interbed, overlain by the Elephant
Mountain (basalt) Member which also exhibits invasive
relations with sedimentary units. The Elephant
Mountain and associated interbeds serve as the left
(south) abutment of the nonoverflow dam. The basalt
flows are essentially horiwntal.
A series of faults and shear zones trends across the
river subparallel to the vent and dike system. The dam
rests on a downthrown block between two such high-
angle faults. A downstream fault transecting the

Righf EmlJankm.nf
400-
E
(122) ti
a.J
300'"
(91) ~

Tyum 200~
' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tymi (61) ;:;
C
100 >
.------.~~
Tymi Typr (30) ~
FQU If
Ty,r o 141
I I I
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 Ft.
(305) (608) (113) (1216) (1520) (1824) (2128) (2a2)(m)

LEGEND
IDi5iII Terrace Gravel Deposita
o 1000 2000 Ft.
t--I---+.'------1'.'
Typo Pomona Member o 300 600m
Tyum Umatilla Member Scale
Tyml Mabton Interbed
Typr Preist Rapids Member

FIGURE 2-9. McNary Dam, geologic section looking downstream. From Miklancic (in press).

T382: 22
FIGURE 2-10. Aerial view of Ice Harbor Dam. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

EIeV. Elev.
A.(m) Ft.(m)
eoo(183) NONOMWlOW DAMe 100 (183)
RIGHT EMBANKMENT

sao (152) 500(152)

400 (122) ... llLWAY QGF 400 (122)

300 (91) TYPO 300 (91)

- ...:====ilII=?r=- ....- - .... -.....--e~+===.....- -
MSI ~Sl <MSI
200 (81)
M.I
TYPO
100 (3D) 100 (30)

0 500 1000 4000 Ft.

(152) (305) (1216)(m)

LeGeND

o 500 1000 Ft.

t-I----+,'-------wll
TYIM ILI ..HANT MOUNTA~ MIM.I~ o 150 300m
sc...
TYPO . "OMONA MEM.e~

MS' SED'MENTARY 'NTEABED

FIGURE 2-11. Ice Harbor Dam, geologic section looking downstream. From Miklancic (in press).

T382: 23
downstream guidewalls of the navigation lock was
found to be deeply scoured and filled with gravel. This
required wood pile supports across several wall
monoliths. The 40-ft- (12 m) thick interbed in the left
abutment required some special design and treatment
owing to its low competency and the potential for
abutment leakage. The end monolith of the dam was
designed as a toe block to support both the interbed and
the overlying basalt flow. Contact grouting was done
and a fliter zone was placed from the abutment along the
downstream toe for drainage. A grout curtain extends
to depths varying from 60 to 110 ft (18 to 33.5 m)
beneath the concrete dam. A drainage curtain has also
been provided.
The right embankment dam abuts into glacial flood
and alluvial gravels. A graded seepage control blanket
extends 900 ft (247 m) upstream to minimize abutment
leakage.
Interior drainage into the dam was high after the
reservoir was initially filled in 1962; the total was 7,600
gpm (28.8 cu m/min) from all sources. Four years later
(1966) the leakage had reduced to about 4,000 gpm (15
cu m/min), and at the present time it is about 25 gpm
(0.09 cu m/min). This is believed to have resulted from
natural siltation of the reservoir and calcification of
concrete cracks (Miklancic, in press).
DAY 3: RICHLAND, WASHINGTON
TO LEWISTON, IDAHO
Itinerary
The excursion route crosses the western Pasco
Basin, skirting the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and
providing views of bluffs formed on the Pliocene
Ringold Formation in the distance and excellent views
of Rattlesnake Mountain, Yakima Ridge, and Umtanum
Ridge, which are topographic expressions of the
Yakima Fold Belt. The route crosses the Columbia
River downstream from Priest Rapids, then a visit will
be made to Priest Rapids Dam. Continuing north
(upstream) we will make a brief stop at Sentinel Gap
through the Saddle Mountains before proceeding to
Wanapum Dam. This stop will be followed by lunch
and a discussion of the classic Wanapum Basalt section
at Vantage. Leaving the Columbia River, the tour will
go overland to Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake
River, crossing several glacial flood channels en route.
After a stop at Palouse Falls on the Palouse River, the
tour will cross the Snake River at Lyons Ferry, visit
Little Goose Dam on the Snake River then proceed
overland to the Lewiston, Idaho area.
The geology of the day will be dominated by the
CRBG, super-basalt sediments (Figure 3-1), and
features of cataclysmic glacial flooding. The day's end
will place the tour in the Clearwater embayment section
of the Columbia Plateau where the CRBG laps onto the
granitic rocks of the Idaho batholith and Precambrian
basement which characterize this part of the Northern
Rocky Mountains.
T382: 24
Stop 3-1: Priest Rapids Dam
The steep north face of the Umtanum Ridge
anticline dominates the topography and geology at
Priest Rapids. Basalt flows are standing vertically or
slightly overturned on the north limb, and a steeply,
south-dipping thrust fault (Umtanum fault) lies at the
toe of the ridge and adjacent to the right abutment of the
dam.
The dam (Figure 3-2) is sited near the lower end of
a series of rapids (Priest Rapids) formed on the
relatively flat-lying surface of the Priest Rapids
Member, Wanapum Basalt. At this type locality the
member consists of four distinct basalt flows or flow
units having, in ascending order, thicknesses of 30 ft
(9.1 m), 40 ft (12.2 m), 60 ft (18.3 m), and 90 ft (27.4
m) (Figure 3-3). The uppermost flow is the Lolo flow
and the lower three units the Rosalia flow. Prior to dam
construction the rapids consisted of several bedrock
islands and deep channels with much of the
scoriaceous/vesicular top of the Lolo flow stripped
away by erosion. Locally, channels had cut into the
underlying flow. The contact between the two upper
flows is characterized by as much as 6 in. (15 cm) of
altered glass or ash.
The concrete sections of the dam are founded on the
eroded colonnade of the uppermost flow. A grout
curtain was installed, with the contact between the two
upper flows as the principal target. The flanking
embankments are founded on terrace gravels with a cut-
off trench extending to the bedrock surface beneath the
embankment sections. A portion of the cut-off trench
beneath the left (N) embankment extends to a
sedimentary interbed (Selah interbed) in the Saddle
Mountains Basalt. The presence of the Moran fault
passing under the embankment together with minor
structural undulations have resulted in the northern part
of the cut-off trench being founded on the Pomona
Member.
The left (N) end of the dam abuts into highly
permeable glacial flood gravels (Wahluke gravels).
This required construction of an impervious blanket tied
to a cut-off trench that extends 1,000 ft (305 m)
upstream from the left (N) abutment and extends down
to the bedrock surface. Downstream from the
powerhouse the left (north) bank of the river channel is
formed by a remnant of the Huntzinger flow (Asotin
Member, Saddle Mountains Basalt) which occupies an
ancestral Columbia River channel (Galster, in press;
Mackin, 1961).
Stop 3-2: Sentinel Gap
The Columbia River cuts a spectacular water gap
through the Saddle Mountains anticline, exposing a
complete section of Wanapum Basalt and the uppermost
1,000 ft (300 m) of Grande Ronde Basalt. South of the
gap on the east side of the river, several flows and
interbeds of the Saddle Mountains Basalt are also
exposed. On the west bank downstream is an extensive
 5.6M
'?-?-

GRANDE
RONDE N2
BASALT

more than 30 flows R2

6.5 N1
Paleogene sediments FU

FIGURE 3-1. Stratigraphic diagram for the central Columbia Plateau and mid-Columbia River. From Galster and
Coombs (in press). Modified from Mackin (1961); Reidel and Fecht (1981); and Swanson et ale (1979a).

T382: 25
FIGURE 3-2. Priest Rapids Dam, aerial view north to Wahluke slope (top). Photo courtesy Grant County Public Utility District

Wahluke Moran
Terrace I Slough 'Left Bank Terrace I Columbia River Channel I Right Bank Terrace g

!~I~ ~~.~'=':"'~'F"~'~8~_ rw~:?~S-=~\ E~ !

~3 ~,\ ~--- --,- - - - -- -- Fault E:, !
Moran Fault

Legend
o 1oooA.
1::"~::-::4
Columbia River Gravels I!!r!!!!!!!!Iiiiiiii"'~
ru::g] Wahluke Gravels o 305m
SMp Pomona (1) Basalt sca..
B Bever1y sediments
Wpr IV Priest RapidS Basalt, flow IV
Wpr Pri st Rapids Basalt, undifferentiated
Wr Roza Basalt
GR Grande Ronde Basalt

FIGURE 3-3. Priest Rapids Dam, geologic section looking downstream. From Galster (in press).

T382: 26
exposure of the Huntzinger flow (Asotin Member)
(Figure 3-1) filling an ancient Columbia River channel.
This is the same flow that fills a narrow channel at
Priest Rapids Dam. On the west wall of the gap, the
volcaniclastic sandstone and siltstone of the Vantage
interbed separates the Grande Ronde and Wanapum
basalts. The valley floor in the gap is underlain by
more than 250 ft (76 m) of glacial flood gravel and
Columbia River alluvium (Galster, in press; Mackin,
1961).
Stop 3-3: Wanapum Dam
Wanapum Dam (Figure 3-4) is built across a section
of the Columbia valley that was deeply scoured during
cataclysmic glacial flooding. The basalts exposed in the
valley walls are the uppermost Frenchman Springs
Member and overlying Roza Member of the Wanapum
Basalt. The scoured bedrock surface 50 to 150 ft (15 to
46 m) beneath the valley floor is developed in the
unique sequence of basalt flows, palagonite breccias,
and sediments that characterize the Wanapum-Grande
Ronde boundary here in the central plateau region. In
addition, a SSE-plunging anticline passes beneath the
valley; it has a high angle reverse fault on its eastern
flank (Figure 3-5). This combination of stratigraphy,
structure, and erosional history made the site one of the
most difficult to develop on the Columbia River, the
"dog leg" layout of the dam structures was a. direct
result of the complex geology.
The lower flows of the Frenchman Springs Member
(Sand Hollow and Ginkgo) form the bedrock surface
be"neath each side of the valley floor (Figure 3-5). At
mid-valley the anticline and fault bring the upper two
flows of the Grande Ronde Basalt (Museum and Rocky
Coulee Members) higher, and the bedrock surface at
mid valley is formed on these flows. Stratigraphically
between the Ginkgo and Museum flows are the lower
palagonite breccia of the Ginkgo and the underlying
Vantage interbed, both highly erodable and incompetent
for concrete dam foundations. Deep channels have
been eroded where these units subcrop beneath the
valley alluvium, in addition to scour along the subcrop
of the fault zone. Thus the powerhouse/intake dam and
the spillway were sited on the shallowest bedrock at
mid- valley, the powerhouse oriented parallel to the old
river channel. These structures are founded on the
eroded tops of the Museum and Rocky Coulee flows.
Long flanking embankments across the deep, highly
pervious valley-fill gravels tie the concrete dam to rock
abutments. Beneath the embankments permanent slurry
walls 12-ft- (3.6 m) wide extend to the bedrock surface
to prevent leakage through the glacial flood gravels,
which have permeabilities ranging from 820 ft/day to
8,200 ft/day (0.3 cm/sec to 3 cm/sec). Where the depth
to bedrock was greater than 80 ft (24.4 m) below the
water table beneath the left embankment, a grouted
section was installed. Grout and drainage curtains were
installed beneath the heel of the concrete structures
(Galster, in press).
T382: 27
Stop 3-4: Vantage (lunch)
Some of the early work on the basalt stratigraphy
was done during the early 1950s in connection with
dam site investigations at Priest Rapids and Wanapum
dams. Standard stratigraphic sections at Vantage and
Sentinel Gap served as a base for these studies and
subsequent studies of the Wanapum and upper Grande
Ronde basalts. The Ginkgo Petrified Forest Museum is
on the eroded top of the Museum flow, the uppermost
unit of the Grande Ronde Basalt in this area. The
extensive occurrence of petrified logs within the
palagonite breccia of the lower Ginkgo flow and the
presence of the Vantage interbed makes this horizon the
most identifiable time-stratigraphic horizon in the central
plateau. A stripped structural surface known as the
"Museum platform" is commonly formed at this
boundary of weak and competent units. At this stop,
the platform can be seen rising on the south flank of the
Frenchman Hills anticline, the most northerly of the E-
W-trending structures of the Yakima Fold Belt. The
Wanapum section above the platform consists, in
ascending order, Ginkgo, Sand Hollow, and Sentinel
Gap flows. The Sentinel Gap flow, which exhibits a
thick, basal palagonite breccia, is not present north of
the Frenchman Hills anticline. These three flows make
up the Frenchman Springs Member in this area and are
overlain by the Roza and Priest Rapids members.
Below the Museum platform, in the core of the
anticline, the Museum, Rocky Coulee, Levering,
Cohassett, and McCoy Canyon flows of the Grande
Ronde Basalt are exposed in descending order (Figure
3-1). The palagonite breccia facies of the Ginkgo flow
will be examined in a road cut southeast of Vantage.
Stop 3-5: Lower Monumental Dam
The approach to Lower Monumental Dam through
Devils Canyon is a spectacular descent through the
Wanapum Basalt section with views also of intracanyon
flows of the Saddle Mountain Basalt. The canyon was
created by Pleistocene glacial flood waters which
scoured the. Snake River valley downstream of the
confluence of Devils Canyon with the Snake River
valley, and deposited a coarse alluvial fan at the
confluence. The north abutment of the dam was sited
downstream of the fan.
The concrete structures of the dam (Figure 3-6) are
founded on the upper flows of the Grande Ronde Basalt
which have not been formally subdivided in this area.
Various flow contacts were informally numbered for
identification (Figure 3-7). Two foundation problems
were encountered. An unexpected thickness and
unusual distribution of flow breccia, ash, and
scoriaceous basalt was found in a highly irregular flow
contact zone near the design foundation grade of the
navigation lock. Final excavation grades were as much
as 55 ft (17 m) below original design grade, and about
50,000 cy (42,000 cu m) of additional excavation was
required. An artesian zone was identified at contact 15
(Figure 3-7); this required special foundation
FIGURE 3-4. Aerial view of Wanapum Dam looking north to water gap through the Frenchman Hills anticline (top).
Photo courtesy Grant County Public Utility District.

900
E w 100
800 800
Left Terrace Right Terrace
700 700

1
u-
lOG Sg ColumbllJ River Sh 800 1
u-
.s 500 - - - - - - Sh --..;;:IJIh.~IRfto.'~___._ 5005
c c
,g 400
----------------~
.~:.;.
400
1
Iw 300 G

-=--=---=-=- ==
3001
200 =::::. -=-__-=-=--= =- v\- -::-:;:, 200
w

100 -- - - - - - - -----------------~,,/
M
100
sea Rc s..
Level Level

Legend
R Roze Member M Mu.....mflow
Sg Sentinel GIIp flow Rc Rocky Coulee flow
Sh sand Hollow flow L Levering flow o, I
1000
, I
2000
,
G Ginkgo flow C Cohassett flow Scale In Feet
V Vantage Interbed

FIGURE 3-5. Geologic section across Columbia River valley at Wanapum Dam, view downstream. From Galster (in press).

T382: 28
FIGURE 3-6. Aerial view of Lower Monumental Dam. Outcrop of Lower Monumental Member can be seen at upper
right Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Elev. aAaALT
Elev.
Ft.(m) Ft.(m)
700 (213) 700 (213)

TOP OF DAM
LOCK
800(113) 600 (183)

500(152) LEFT EMBANKMENT RIGHT EMBANKMENT 500 (152)

FLOW EfRECCIA

400(122)

~------....
............
BASALT

-::::",..~---_:---......... ,L aAIALT
15 -_-.1 400(122)

300 (11) - - - - -. . .- - - - - - - - . . . - 11 - - - - - -......J-3OQ (11)

aAaALT
2110(11) 20Q (11)

0 4000 Ft.
(1211)(m)

LEI.NO

~14 ........
GEOLOGIC CONTACT aETWEEN FLOWS: o 500
I
100QFt.
EACH FLOW HAS CHARACTERI8TIC FLOW I
o 150 300m
aRECCIA AND VESICULAR 'HAaEa AT 8caIe
U"ER SURFACE ...

FIGURE 3-7. Lower Monumental Dam, geologic section looking downstream. From Miklancic (in press).

T382: 29
preparation and substantial pumping of water during
excavation and construction of the powerhouse draft
tubes. The remainder of the foundation grades were
well above this horizon. A grout curtain constructed the
length of the concrete dam extends through contact 15
throughout and downward to two flow contacts deeper
(125 ft [38 m]) beneath the powerhouse intake dam. A
drain curtain downstream from the grout curtain was
stopped above contact 15 to prevent overloading of the
dam's internal drainage system by inflow from
tailwater.
The core sections of both embankment dams were
founded on the bedrock surface and abut into the basalt
forming the valley walls. Embankment shells rest on
flood gravels.
On the south (left) bank of the Snake River is the
type exposure of the Lower Monumental Member,
Saddle Mountains Basalt, the youngest unit
(approximately 6 Ma) of the CRBG. The flow overlies
latest Miocene gravels that occupy a paleochannel of the
Snake-Clearwater drainage. The flow is not recognized
west of this type locality but is seen eastward to the
Lewiston Basin. On the north side of the valley
downstream from the mouth of Devils Canyon, the
Vantage horizon is seen, here a deeply oxidized zone at
the top of the Grande Ronde Basalt, but the Vantage
interbed is missing this far east (Swanson and Wright,
1981; Miklancic, in press). ,
FIGURE 3-8. Aerial view of Little Goose Dam. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
T382: 30
Stop 3-6: Palouse Falls
These falls, a 185 ft (56.4 m) drop, lie near the
distal end of the eastern edge of the Cheney-Palouse
scabland tract, the easternmost tract of scabland
channels on the Columbia Plateau. The lip of the falls
is at the base of the Wanapum Basalt (Frenchman
Springs), though here the basal flow is the Palouse
Falls flow. A 3-ft- (1 m) thick interbed separates it
from the overlying Ginkgo flow. The Grande Ronde
Basalt is exposed below the falls and along the lower
part of the canyon, which extends to the Palouse
canyon confluence with the Snake River canyon at
Lyons Ferry less than 5 mi (8 km) south (Swanson and
Wright, 1981).
Stop 3-7: Little Goose Dam
The Snake River canyon at Little Goose Dam
(Figure 3-8) is cut in of upper Grande Ronde Basalt
flows with the Frenchman Springs and Roza members
of the Wanapum Basalt are exposed high on the canyon
walls. The Pomona and Lower Monumental members
of the Saddle Mountains Basalt occupy paleochannels
locally exposed upstream from the dam. The Grande
Ronde Basalt has not been formally subdivided, in this
area. An informal flow-contact numbering system was
used for identification during exploration and
construction. Individual flows range from 30 to 100 ft
(9 to 305 m) thick, with flow contact zones
characterized by vesicular to scoriaceous basalt,
cinders, and ash. A major artesian aquifer was
identified at contact 16, which passes beneath the dam
about 150 ft (46 m) below the deepest foundation grade
(Figure 3-9). A major thrust fault striking NE and
dipping 26 SE passes beneath the powerhouse.
Because of the strong artesian circuit (140 psi [9.8
kg/sq em]) the dam was designed for uniform uplift
pressures applied throughout the base of the structure
(tailwater plus 50% of the difference between headwater
and tailwater). Each dam component was designed
with its own drainage system, which consists of normal
grout and drain curtains near the heel. A downstream
drainage gallery was also provided from which
foundation drains were fanned out through flow
contacts 14 and 15 to provide as unifonn distribution of
drainage as possible. A downstream (tailrace) grout
curtain was placed the length of the powerhouse and
connected to the upstream grout curtain to facilitate draft
tube dewatering. Upon the raising of the Lower
Monumental pool in 1969, prior to completion of Little
Goose Dam, the drainage galleries of the dam were
flooded by the higher tailwater. Drain holes were
subsequently capped as water was pumped out and
drain hole pressures subsequently monitored.
Maximum pressures were 30 psi (1.2 kg/sq em). Little
pressure change was noted when the little Goose
reservoir was raised in 1970, and the project has
continued to operate in this mode.
The navigation lock walls were designed with
buttress stems. The walls were founded on dense
basalt (below contact 14), but the stems were founded
on the next higher flow, which is about 25 ft (7.6 m)
thick and has a thin flow breccia at its base. Over
several years of operation, deflections in the walls,
owing to filling and emptying of the lock were as great
as 0.7 in. (1.8 em), causing rupture of waterstops
between monoliths and concrete spalting at construction
joints. Foundation grouting beneath the buttress stems,
with the shallow flow contact as the target, was
accomplished in 1978 and has been partly successful
(Miklancic, in press).

Elev. Elev.
Ft.(m) TOP OF DAM Ft. (m)
LOCK
700 (213) 700 (213)

600 (183) 600 (183)

POWERHOUSE RIGHT EMBANKMENT

500 (152)

400(122)~-- 15 . _-.-----,=---.. . . . _.--.~B~AS~A~L:T

SHEAR ZONE
BASALT
....
500 (152)

400 (122)

300 (11) 300 (11)

200 (61) BASALT

200 (61)

o 3200 Ft.
(973)(m)
LEGEND

GEOLOGIC CONTACT BETWEEN FLOWS:

EACH FLOW HAS CHARACATERISTtC FLOW
o 400 100 Ft.
---~'- - - - - - r "
240 m
t-I

BRECCIA AND VESICULAR PHASES AT o 120

UPPER SURFACES. Scale

FIGURE 3-9. Little Goose Dam, geologic section looking downstream. From Miklancic (in press).

T382: 31
DAY 4: LEWISTON, IDAHO TO
KALISPELL, MONTANA
Itinerary
The excursion begins in the Clearwater embayment
where the CRBG laps onto both the Precambrian
basement and the granitic mass of the Idaho batholith
along the western border of the Northern Rocky
Mountains. After a visit to Dworshak Dam on the
North Fork Clearwater River, we will cross the
northern part of the Idaho batholith, through Lolo Pass
between the Clearwater and Bitterroot Mountains, and
drop into the broad Bitterroot Valley, the type area for
glacial Lake Missoula. At Lolo Hot Springs the route
passes from the granite of the Idaho batholith into the
Precambrian metasedimentary rocks of the Belt
Supergroup, which will dominate the bedrock geology
for the next several days. After stopping near
Missoula, Montana, to observe the shorelines of Lake
Missoula, the excursion will cross the Lewis and Clark
Line, and the St. Mary fault, then drop into the southern
end of the Rocky Mountain Trench. This portion of the
trench was glaciated by the Flathead lobe of the
continental ice sheet at least twice during the
Pleistocene. Kerr Dam and the Polson moraine will be
visited followed by a traverse along the west side of
Flathead Lake to Sommers, a small community at the
north end of the lake near Kalispell, Montana.
FIGURE 4-1. Aerial view of Dworshak Dam. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
T382: 32
Stop 4-1: Dworshak Dam
Dworshak Dam (Figure 4-1) lies within the
Clearwater embayment where basalt of the CRBG laps
onto the Idaho batholith section of the northern Rocky
Mountains. The Precambrian sedimentary rocks of this
region have been metamorphased to granitic gneiss
forming a halo around the intrusive Idaho batholith.
Sediments deposited in lava-impounded lakes (Latah
Formation) are locally present between the basalt and
underlying gneiss. The region has been deeply
dissected, leaving valleys in the gneissic-Precambrian
complex and ridge crests capped by basalt. A residuum
of varying thickness mantles substantial parts of the
valley sides.
The dam is entirely founded on granite gneiss in
which pronounced foliation dips about 50 NE. The
foundation contains several major and minor N-striking
high-angle shear zones and minor- low-to-moderate
angle shears that strike E-W and dip S (Figure 4-2).
Three N- to NNE-striking vertical basalt dikes and
several N- to NW-trending shears that dip at moderate
to high angles NE (upstream) are also present. Rock
quality was classified on the basis of extent of
weathering (decomposition by kaolinization of feldspars
and some chloritization of mafic minerals) into four
groups: highly weathered, moderately weathered,
lightly weathered, and fresh. The highly weathered
rock was excavated by ripping and was considered as
 common excavation. All of the high monoliths are ;' drainage divide between the Snake River and the Clark
founded on lightly weathered or fresh rock having an Fork of the Columbia. In September 1805 the Lewis
average unconfined compressive strength of 13,800 psi and Clark Expedition, the first overland American
(95,000 k Pa) and elastic moduli ranging from 2.9 to expedition into the Pacific Northwest, passed through
13.6 x 106 psi (203.9 to 956.4 x 103 kg/sq cm). on the ridge to the north enroute to their destination at
Jointing in the foundation is well developed along the mouth of the C?lumbia River. The visitor center
foliation in the moderately weathered rock. A here documents thIS event. South of the pass the
prominent NE-striking vertical joint set is evident Precambrian basement and the granite of the Lolo
throughout much of the foundation. The various shears batholith, an arm of the Idaho batholith, are in fault
required considerable over excavation and backfilling contact. A short distance northeast the route enters
with concrete. Excavation of moderately-to-Iow Precambrian metasedimentary rocks of the Belt
dipping shears was extended so that 20 ft (6 m) of Supergroup. Lolo Hot Springs lies at the contact
"sound" rock separated the foundation from the hanging between the Belt Supergroup and the Idaho batholith.
wall of the shear. The Belt Supergroup consists of a 12.5-mi- (20 km)
A single-line zoned grout curtain was installed from thick section of dominantly shallow water, low grade
a gallery near the heel of the dam. Zone 1 extends 120 metasedimentary rocks deposited in Precambrian Y time
ft (36.5 m) vertically below the foundation, zone 2 from (1,600 Ma to 800 Ma) in a basin appended to the
120 to 200 ft (36.5 to 61 m), and zone 3 from 200 to Cordilleran miogeocline. The sequence has been
250 ft (61 to 76 m). Zones were grouted in descending divided into the following major units, in ascending
order. Grout holes were angled 3V to IH upstream. order: Prichard Formation, Ravalli Group, Piegan
The foundation drainage system consists of a drain Group, and Missoula Group. Within these broad
curtain extending 150 ft (46 m) below the foundation. stratigraphic divisions numerous formational units have
One exploratory adit on the left abutment and two on the been mapped from area to area but are not always
right abutment were included in the foundation drainage readily correlated. The Ravalli and Missoula groups are
system. Some leakage into the system along the left dominated by varicolored siliceous argillite,
abutment foundation contact has been noted. metasandstone, and quartzite. The argillites commonly
During construction the river was diverted by means display fossil ripple marks, mud cracks, salt crystal
of a 40-ft- (12 m) diameter unlined tunnel 300 ft (91 m) casts, and rarely preserved rain drop casts. A limestone
beneath the left abutment. Concrete aggregate was unit is commonly found at the base of the Ravalli and an
obtained by crushing of the granite gneiss obtained extensive olivine basalt unit (Purcell lava) occurs within
from a quarry adjacent to the left abutment. Crushing the Missoula Group. The Piegan Group is dominated
facilities were placed in an underground chamber below by limestone and dolomite which locally exhibit
the quarry and the quarry rock fed to the crusher development of stromatolites. The Prichard Formation
through a 20-ft': (6 m) diameter shaft. is generally characterized by more crystalline argillite
and metasandstone which tend to develop rust-colored
Stop 4-2: Lolo Pass (lunch) weathering characteristics. Rocks of the Belt
Supergroup dominate western Montana, northern
Lolo Pass separates the Clearwater Mountains of Idaho, and adjacent parts of southeastern British
northern Idaho from the Bitterroot Mountains, which Columbia where they are in part equivalent to the
mark part of the border of Idaho and Montana. It is the Purcell Group and are uncomformably overlain by the

-
.... ....
.... ....

N Legend:

---- - Shear
~ Shearzone
~ Basandlke
0 200 400Ft.
I
I I' i
0 60 120m
Scale

FIGURE 4-2. Dworshak Dam, geologic plan. Modified from U.S. Anny Corps of Engineers unpublished data.

T382: 33
metasedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Windennere
Group (Ross, 1963; Harrison et aI., 1974).
Stop 4-3: Glacial Lake Missoula
On the mountainside east of Missoula, Montana,
several shorelines of glacial Lake Missoula may be
seen. The highest stand is at elevation 4,150 ft (1,265
m). At its maximum stand, the lake covered about
3,000 sq mi (7,770 sq km) of western Montana and
contained an estimated 500 cu mi (2,100 cu km) of
water. This, the largest of the Northern Rocky
Mountain glacial lakes, was confined to the Clark Fork
basin. The lake was most recently filled between 15.3
ka and 12.7 ka during the late Pinedale (Wisconsin)
glaciation. It was impounded by the Purcell Trench
lobe of the continental ice sheet, yet derived much of its
water from wasting of the Flathead lobe in the Rocky
Mountain Trench and alpine glaciation within the Clark
Fork basin. Episodic lake discharge, owing to
buoyancy of the ice and failure of the dam as the lake
reached a critical depth (2,000 ft [610 m]), is well
documented downstream. Varied lake deposits are seen
over the former lake bottom, and giant current ripple
marks are documented in numerous areas of the former
lake and its discharge channels (Pardee, 1910, 1942;
Waitt, 1985).
Stop 4-4: Lewis and Clark Line - St. Mary
Fault - Rocky Mountain Trench
The north end of the Bitterroot Valley is sharply
truncated by the WNW-trending Nine Mile fault which
represents the southern boundary of the Lewis and
Clark Line in this area. This zone of transverse
structure is manifest in WNW-trending ridges and
valleys broken only by water gaps of the Clark Fork
and Flathead rivers. South of St. Ignatius, Montana,
the route abruptly drops across the St. Mary fault into
the south end of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The fault
truncates both the trench and the Mission Range to. the
east and represents the northern boundary of the Lewis
and Clark Line in this area and eastward. The trench
was glaciated to its southern end during Bull Lake time,
but only as far south as the southern end of Flathead
Lake during Pinedale time. Glacial Lake Missoula
occupied the southern part of the trench during the
Pinedale advances. Former lake shorelines can be seen
on many mountain slopes. The Pinedale glaciation left
the Polson moraine which provided the early
impoundment of Flathead Lake and established the
major outlet and drainage along the western margin of
the trench where the lower Flathead River has
subsequently cut a shallow valley.
The Lewis and Clark Line has been seismically
active in historic time and continues to be, especially
east of the Rocky Mountain Trench. Although
maximum earthquakes have historically been less than
magnitude 5, the eastern part of the line where it merges
with the Rocky Mountain basin-and-range region near
Helena, Montana, has known historic events as great as
magnitude 6.3. Numerous Holocene fault scarps have
T382: 34
been identified or suggested along the eastern part of the
line.
As we traverse northward along the Rocky
Mountain Trench the subdued arch of the Salish
Mountains on the west (left) will be seen to be in
contrast to the abrupt scarp of the Mission Range on the
east (right), the latter representing the beginning of the
Rocky Mountain Thrust Belt. The rocks are similar,
but the structure and resulting topography provide a
great contrast. A Tertiary nonnal fault (Mission fault) is
mapped at the foot of the Mission Range (Qamar and
Stickney, 1983; Richmond et al., 1965; Harrison et al.,
1974; Waitt and Thorson, 1983; Waldron and Galster,
1984).
Stop 4-5: Kerr Dam-Polson Moraine
The Polson moraine represents the terminal deposits
of the Flathead lobe of Pinedale time. It provided the
original Holocene impoundment of Flathead Lake. The
drainage outlet developed at a low point near the
western edge of the moraine. The south face of the
moraine was covered by the rising waters of glacial
Lake Missoula, and during late Pinedale time, Flathead
Lake was a glacial lake standing about elevation 3,200
ft (975 m), more than 300 ft (91 m) above its present
nominal leveL The establishment of Holocene drainage
along the western margin of the trench included
development of gorges across bedrock spurs of the
metasandstone, quartzite, and argillite of the Ravalli
Group. The uppermost of these gorges provides the
site for Kerr Dam.
Kerr Dam (Figure 4-3) is an arch structure founded
on and abuted into metasandstone of the Ravalli Group
(Revette Quartzite) which strikes N 10 W and dips 32
NE at this location. The dam rises slightly above the
bedrock surface on the north (right) bank and a short
gravity wall and embankment section with a concrete
core wall to bedrock completes the dam. The
embankment abuts into morainal deposits. Three 700 to
800-ft- (213 to 244 m) long, 23-ft- (7 m) diameter,
horseshoe shaped concrete-lined power tunnels extend
from an intake structure adjacent to the left (south) dam
abutment through a bedrock spur to a remote
powerhouse sited 2000 ft (610 m) downstream from the
dam. A 1,600-ft- (488 m) long unlined tunnel was
used for diversion of the river during construction.
Bedding in the metasandstone-quartzite is at 1-ft- (0.3
m) intervals and is separated at about 20-ft- (6 m)
intervals by thin beds of argillite in units several inches
(centimeters) thick. The jointing system consists of two
conjugate sets of high-angle shear joints striking N700E
and N700W, and a joint set striking N100W and dipping
65SW. The combination of bedding dip, development
of bedding faults in the less competent argillite, and the
regional jointing system has allowed development of
large rock blocks which translate toward the valley
down-dip from the left (south) valley wall upstream of
the dam. This poses special problems to the intake
structures. In addition to hydropower, the dam
controls the level of Flathead Lake between elevations
 FIGURE 4-3. Kerr Dam, view north. Photo by R. W. Galster.
2,893 ft (881.8 m) and 2,883 ft (878.7 m) (U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, 1985; Richmond et al., 1965;
Ebasco, unpublished data).
Stop 4-6: Flathead Lake - Big Arm
Flathead Lake is the remnant of a glacial lake that
was formed by the Polson moraine during Pinedale
time. The late Pinedale lake level was about elevation
3,200 ft (975 m), and the present nominal lake level is
2,893 ft (881.8 m). The lake is the largest natural
freshwater lake in the western United States, covering
nearly 200 sq mi (500 sq km). The lake is about 26 mi
(41.6 km) long and ranges in width between 6 and 13
mi (9.6 and 21 km). The widest part of the lake
includes Big Arm, an inlet extending westward into Big
Draw. A major E-W-trending right-lateral strike-slip
fault, known as the Big Draw fault or Schroder Creek
fault is mapped along this valley, which is now partly
filled with glacial deposits. Farther west the fault
appears to break Miocene volcanic rocks. The
intersection of the fault with the Rocky Mountain
Trench is an area of frequent, low-level earthquakes
known as the "Flathead Lake seismic hot spot."
Although most of the historic seismicity is less than
magnitude 5, an event estimated at magnitude 5.5
occurred in 1945. A wide range of fault plane solutions
is noted (Qamar and Stickney, 1983).
The Elmo moraine (Pinedale) can be seen rising
beyond the west end of Big Arm. Waters of glacial
Lake Missoula encroached on the back (west) side of
this moraine.
T382: 35
DAY 5: KALISPELL, MONTANA TO
LIBBY, MONTANA
Itinerary
Leaving the rock-bound shores of Flathead Lake,
the excursion will cross the Flathead Valley portion of
the Rocky Mountain Trench. The floor of the trench is
underlain by recessional glacial deposits and silt from
an earlier stage of Flathead Lake. We then enter the
western "Rocky Mountain thrust belt to visit Hungry
Horse Dam. The NE-trending Creston fault is crossed
just north of Somers. This is an active fault that has
been identified by seismic and gravity evidence as
spanning the width of the Rocky Mountain Trench.
The maximum historic event attributed to this fault was
a magnitude 5 event in 1975. North of the fault, the
depth to bedrock in the trench increases, and the
orientation of the trench swings from N to NW. At the
same latitude (48 0 10' N) the thrust ranges to the east
show a similar orientation change.
Leaving Hungry Horse Dam, the excursion will
again cross the Rocky Mountain Trench and pass into
the more subdued ranges of the western belt of the
Northern Rocky Mountains, passing a chain of lakes
called the Thompson Lakes and entering the Libby
Trough. From the town of Libby, we will turn
eastward up the Kootenai River for lunch and an
afternoon visit to Libby Dam.
The geology of the region is dominated by
metasedimentary rocks of the Precambrian Belt
Supergroup which, in this region, is divided into the
following units (in ascending order): Prichard
Formation, Ravalli Group, Piegan Group, and
Missoula Group. The remainder of the observable
geology is Pleistocene glacial deposits and include till,
morainal deposits, outwash, and glacial lake deposits.
Although Tertiary lake and fluvial deposits characterize
the subsurface beneath the deep valleys, they are rarely
exposed. (Qamar and Stickney, 1983; U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, 1979; Johns, 1970.)
Stop 5-1: Hungry Horse Dam
Hungry Horse Dam (Figure 5-1) is near the head of
a deep gorge on the South Fork Flathead River.
Upstream, the bulk of the reservoir area lies in a broad
glaciated valley largely bounded by Tertiary clastic
sediments. Quaternary diversion of the stream on to the
eastern edge of the Swan Range resulted in the river
being incised deeply into the bedrock. Two splays of

FIGURE 5-1. Aerial view of Hungry Horse Dam, view south. Morning glory spillway at left end of dam, August 1975. Photo
courtesy U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

T382: 36
the NW-trending Flathead fault control the valley
upstream, the closest passing about 2 mi (3 km).east of
the dam. The Swan fault passes about 7 mi (11 km)
west of the dam.
The gravity arch dam is founded on limestone of the
Siyeh Formation, Piegan Group. Bedding strikes
N38W and dips 30 0 NE into the right abutment. The
limestone contains varying amounts of siliceous,
argillaceous, and dolomitic materials which increase its
hardness and reduce its solubility. Individual beds
range from 1 in. (2.5 cm) to 3 ft (1 m) thick. High-
angle conjugate joint sets strike N38E and N63E; a
third set is nonnal to bedding. Although bedding faults
were generally minor, a major, open, partly clay-filled
bedding fault was discovered 5 to 19 ft (1.5 to 5.8 m)
beneath the rock surface over part of the left (west)
abutment. Rather than removing 7,100 cy (5,428 cu m)
of rock, the zone was flushed out and grouted with
8,200 cu ft (232 cu m) of grout. Six minor WNW-
trending faults were encountered in the foundation
(Figure 5-2). Three were treated by grouting, and three
were treated by upstream and downstream concrete cut-
off shafts ranging from 36 to 208 ft (11 to 63 m) deep.
Some shallow consolidation grouting was done. A
low- pressure (20-40 psi [138 - 276 kPa]) grout curtain
was emplaced to depths of about 25 ft (7.6 m) prior to
pouring concrete. An intermediate pressure curtain
(150 to 200 psi [1,034 to 1,374 kPa]) was installed to
depths of 50 to 75 ft (15.2 to 22.8 m) at the upstream
Left abutment
60 t'
I
I '" \"<
I
i....--~
.........- - " I I r - - -
t'
Outline of Dam
Legend
,.. - - - Shear
FIGURE 5-2. Hungry Horse Dam, geologic plan. Modified from U. S. Bureau of Reclamation unpublished data.
T382: 37
edge (heel) of the dam. As the dam was brought up, a
high pressure (up to 500 psi [3,448 kPa]) was installed
to depths ranging from 110 to 310 ft (33.5 to 94.5 m)
below the foundation.
Rock conditions for the morning glory spillway
tunnel behind the right abutment were generally good
though several bedding faults with clay gouge as thick
as 15 in. (37 cm) were encountered. The tunnel was
concrete lined and contact grouted, and some local
consolidation grouting was included. A low-level
construction diversion tunnel was plugged with
concrete beneath the dam.
Pre-glacial gorges that intersect the reservoir about 2
mi (3 km) upstream, where the reservoir leaves the
present bedrock gorge, were investigated for potential
leakage prior to project completion and found to be of
little concern. Progressive landsliding in the soft
Tertiary sediments of the reservoir rim is common, with
individual slides as large as 250,000 cy (191,000 cu m)
(D. S. Bureau of Reclamation, unpublished data;
Johns, 1970).
Stop 5-2: Libby Dam
The approach to Libby Dam is along the Kootenai
(or Kootenay) River which separates the Purcell
Mountains on the northwest from the Salish Mountains
on the southeast. The Kootenai River has its
headwaters in the Canadian Rocky Mountains north of
""
~
l't. Spillway tunnel
, _ '" Right abuntment
rnlng Glory
Spillway
o 250
I
500Ft.
I
I i
o 75 150m
Scale
~
w
CD
I'\)

w
CD

FIGURE 5-3. Aerial view of Libby Dam. Left abutment slope wedge failure at right. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Columbia Lake and passes 1.6 mi (2.5 km) from that
lake" the source of the Columbia River. The Kootenai
River follows the Rocky Mountain Trench south into
the United States, cuts west across the western Rocky
Mountain ranges to the Purcell Trench and flows north
into Canada again, flowing through Kootenay Lake
before meeting the Columbia River. Libby Dam is the
only original project built in the United States as a result
of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty.
The concrete gravity dam (Figure 5-3) is sited near
the southern end of a long glaciated valley just upstream
of where the river turns westward. The valley walls are
dominated by Precambrian metasedimentary rocks
representing all major groups of the Belt Supergroup.
The dam spans the transition zone between the Ravalli
Group of siliceous argillite, quartzite, and
metasandstone (left abutment) and the calcareous
argillites of the overlying Piegan Group (right
abutment). Bedding strikes N300W and dips 40-45
SW downstream and into the valley from the left
abutment. Extensive glacial terraces are prominent over
the entire valley length. The bedrock topography is
greatly influenced by several joint sets: an E-W
conjugate set of high-angle shear joints, N-S trending
joints and transverse tension joints. The foundation and
abutments exhibit numerous bedding and several E-W-
trending faults that influenced the stability of the left
abutment and locally required special foundation
excavation and backfill concrete (Figure 5-4). The
wedge-shaped slot in the highway cut adjacent to the
left abutment attests to the potential instability problem
on the left valley wall. A rock mass aggregating 60,000
cy (45,800 cu m) moved into the uncompleted roadway
on January 31, 1971, during construction of the dam.
The mass had been instrumented prior to construction
of the cut, and the failure was not unexpected. The
entire slope adjacent to the dam and for some distance
upstream to a prehistoric post-glacial slide has been
heavily instrumented. The prehistoric slide had an
estimated volume of 2.5 million cy (1.9 million cu m).
It was a high-velocity slide that blocked the valley and
climbed part way up the west valley side.
Construction of the dam required about 4,761,600
cy (3,640,200 cu m) of common excavation, including
part of a glacial terrace on the right valley side and 30 to
50 ft (9 to 15 m) of alluvium beneath the valley floor.
0
N250 500Ft.
I i
I
I
!
0 75 150m
FIGURE 5-4. Libby Dam generalized geologic plan. After U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1979).
T382: 39
About 594,300 cy (454,300 cu m) of rock excavation
was required for foundation shaping and abutment
keyways. The dam was constructed in essentially two
surface diversion stages: the abutments and the left half
of the foundation prepared during the fIrst stage, and
the right side of the foundation during the second stage.
The remainder of the dam was completed by diversion
through low blocks and temporary sluiceways. The
powerhouse was constructed behind a separate
cofferdam after the dam was completed.
A single-line grout curtain, extending approximately
160 ft (49 m) below the foundation, was constructed
for underseepage control. Grouting pressure was
normally 85 psi (587 kPa). This is complemented by
an upstream and downstream drainage curtain extending
about 100 ft (30 m) and 60 ft (16 m), respectively,
below the foundation (U.S. Anny Corps of Engineers,
1979).
DAY 6: LIBBY, MONTANA TO
REVELSTOKE, BRITISH
COLUMBIA
Itinerary
The route northward will follow the east side of
Lake Koocanusa (Libby reservoir) for about 50 mi (80
km) to the Rocky Mountain Trench. This scenic route
will include a stop at the Lake Koocanusa Bridge, the
highest bridge in Montana. Entering the Rocky
Mountain Trench, the excursion will cross the border
into Canada at Roosville and continue north up the
trench past the upper reaches of Lake Koocanusa, to
Fort Steele (lunch), where some of the North American
frontier days can be relived. North of Fort Steele, a
stop will be made at Canal Flats and Columbia Lake,
the source of the Columbia River. Continuing north up
the trench past Golden, the route will climb over Rogers
Pass in the Columbia Mountains and drop into the
Columbia River valley at Revelstoke, British Columbia.
The geology continues to be dominated by Precambrian
metasedimentary rocks north to about latitude 50 0N.
Somewhat south of Columbia Lake the eastern wall of
the Rocky Mountain Trench is composed of Cambrian
to Devonian sedimentary rocks interspersed. with
Legend:
- - - Major Bedding faults
- Other major faults
exposures of Precambrian rocks as the route crosses the
Columbia (Selkirk) Mountains. Approaching
Revelstoke, rocks of the Shuswap (Monashee)
metamorphic complex and Cretaceous intrusive rocks
will also be seen. Deposits of the Pleistocene and
Holocene glaciations underlie the valley floors through
which the route traverses.
Stop 6-1: Lake Koocanusa
The 90-mi- (145 km) long reservoir behind Libby
Dam impounds water into the Rocky Mountain Trench
and 42 mi (67 km) into British Columbia. Normal full
pool is at elevation 2,459 ft (749.5 m); the minimum
regulated pool is at elevation 2,287 ft (697 m).
The southern 45 mi (72 km) of the lake lies within
the steep-sided Kootenai Valley between the Purcell and
Salish mountains. The geology of this segment is
characterized by steep rock cliffs developed in the
Prichard Formation and Ravalli and Missoula groups.
As the valley crosses the Purcell anticlinorium at an
acute angle, a significant part of the route is dominated
by the rusty Prichard Formation, which, exposed in the
crest of the anticlinorium, is flat-lying or dipping at
shallow angles. Several major E-trending faults
displace these beds. The downstream part of the valley
(the western flank of the anticlinorium) exposes SW-
dipping Ravalli beds. The upstream part of the valley
(the eastern flank of the anticlinorium) exposes NE-
dipping Ravalli beds that are faulted, and beds of the
overlying Missoula Group (including the Purcell lava)
are exposed in downdropped blocks. The lower slopes
of the valley are characterized by late Pleistocene kame
terraces, debris flows, and other valley side deposits.
Locally, the highways, which traverse each side of the
lake, are built on terrace surfaces. Many of the terraces
have been subjected to reservoir-related landslide
activity.
The northern half of the lake lies within the Rocky
Mountain Trench. In this region the floor of the trench
is underlain by more than 200 ft (60 m) of Pleistocene
lake deposits (fine sand and silt) locally intercalated
with fluvial and ice contact sediments. Late glacial
meltwaters and the postglacial river have cut a deep,
broad valley into these deposits. The impoundment and
fluctuation of the reservoir in this environment has
resulted in severe landslides, slope retreat, and reservoir
turbidity.
The Lake Koocanusa Bridge is the only crossing of
the lake. It is 2,437 ft (743 m) long and rises 250 ft (76
m) above the lake bottom. The depth of bedrock
beneath this section of the valley was never determined
but it is probably in excess of 200 ft (60 m), and at a
lower elevation than the bedrock surface at Libby Dam.
The three center piers are thus founded on steel pile
foundations driven more than 150 ft into the glacial
alluvium.
Stop 6-2: Fort Steele
Mount Fisher, sharply etched against the easterly
sky, forms a backdrop for Fort Steele, a carefully re-
T382: 40
created turn-of-the-century East Kootenay town. In
1864 the discovery of gold in Wild Horse Creek
marked the beginning of the community known as
Galbraith's Ferry. Gold seekers flooded the area in the
short-lived bonanza, to be followed by more permanent
settlers and hardrock miners. In 1887, Superintendent
Samuel B. Steele and a detachment of 75 Northwest
Mounted Police arrived to resolve a dispute between
settlers and Indians that threatened the peace of the
region. Within a year, Sam Steele had done his job and
had left Galbraith's Ferry for Fort McLeod. In honor
of his achievement, the citizens of Galbraith's Ferry
renamed their community "Fort Steele."
The present provincial park, a "living museum,"
contains both new construction and restoration. Some
of the buildings were once part of Fort Steele, others
have been brought in from other areas of the East
Kootenay. Each has been painstakingly rebuilt to give
visitors the impression of how things were nearly a
century ago. Volunteers in vintage costume add to the
authenticity of the scene.
Stop 6-3: Canal Flats/Columbia Lake
From its source in Columbia Lake, the Columbia
River flows northwest for 206 mi (330 km) through the
Rocky Mountain Trench, flowing into Kinbasket Lake
(Mica reservoir) before making an abrupt turn to flow
south for some 280 mi (450 km) to the Canada-United
States border.
The Kootenay (Kootenai) River rises in the main
range of the Rocky Mountains to the east of the trench
and flows southerly on a course parallel to the
northward-flowing Columbia River. At Canal Flats the
Kootenay River enters the Rocky Mountain Trench,
continues in a southerly direction for some 94 mi (.150
km) to' the Canada-U.S. border, and then it makes a
162 mi (260 km) loop into the United States, re-
entering Canada near the south end of Kootenay Lake.
From this lake, the Kootenay River flows west and
joins the Columbia River at Castlegar, British
Columbia.
The Rocky Mountain Trench is a major topographic
and structural feature of western North America, and at
Canal Flats it represents the boundary between the main
Rocky Mountains on the east and the Purcell Mountains
to the west. The mountains on both sides of the trench
rise from 3,900 to 8,800 ft (1,200 to 2,700 m) above
the valley floor, which is at about elevation 2,500 ft
(760 m). Bedrock consists mainly of laminated
dolomite, limestone, quartzite, shales, and
conglomerates that are locally metamorphosed. These
rocks are of Devonian, Cambrian, and older age.
The sides of the trench are commonly marked by
one or two intermittent kame terraces at varied
elevations above the valley floor. These features are
present on at least one side of the trench in most of the
Canal Flats area. Rock outcrop is rarely seen on the
terraces, but in a number of places it occurs at the base
of the steep front of the terrace just above the floor of
the trench and along the valley walls.
Over the length of the trench traveled on this trip,
glacial lake beds are common at lower elevations. The
top of the lake beds are usually below elevation 2,805 ft
(855 m), but they reach an elevation of 2,900 ft (885 m)
in a few places. The lake beds are younger than and
locally overlap the high kame terraces. Where both are
present, the valley side may have two steps, the lower
one formed by lake beds.
At Canal Flats the topography, including the large
islands in the Kootenay River, is uniformly flat and
only a few feet (meters) higher than the level of the river
and of Columbia Lake. At the closest point the
Kootenay River is about 11 ft (3.3 m) higher than
Columbia Lake. In 1888 they were joined by a canal
dug for navigational purposes. The canal was 6,600 ft
(2,000 m) long and equipped with a wooden lock 32 ft
(10 m) wide and 100 ft (30 m) long. The lock was
insisted on by the British Columbia government to
prevent the Kootenay River from draining northward
into the Columbia River system.
The Columbia River Treaty permits the possible
diversion of up to 1,500,000 acre-ft (1,850 million cu
m) of water per year. From the Kootenay River to the
headwaters of the Columbia River at Canal Flats,
provided that the diversion does not reduce the flow of
the Kootenay River below the lesser of 200 cfs (5.7 cu
m/sec) or the natural flow. The diversion facilities at
Canal Flats would not involve major structures and
would be relatively simple to construct. However, the
proposed diversion would result in significantly greater
flows in the upper reaches of the Columbia River and
corresponding lower flows in the Kootenay River. The
impact of these changes in the flow regimes on the
rivers and lakes and valley bottom lands and
downstream generating facilities would need to be
assessed before the project can be seriously considered.
Such a diversion is not being proposed at this time.
Stop 6-4: Rogers Pass Avalanche Control
Facilities.
The Selkirk Mountains are a major obstacle to traffic
between the Canadian prairies and the Pacific coast.
Valleys are deep and narrow, and rugged mountains
reach elevations of 11,000 ft (3,400 m). Road-building
problems are magnified by heavy snowfall and frequent
snow avalanches. The average annual precipitation at
Rogers Pass at elevation 4,320 ft (1,320 m) in the
center of the Selkirk Mountains is 52.4 in. (1,330 mm),
about 70 percent of which falls as snow; about 29.5 ft
(9 m) of snow in an average year.
Rogers Pass (Figure 6-1) was chosen by the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) as the route for the
fITst east-west railway link in Canada. During the years
following the completion of the line in 1885, avalanches
forced the railway engineers to build galleries
(snowsheds) that eventually reached a combined length
of 5 mi (8 Ian). Between 1885 and 1911 more than 200
people were killed by avalanches. In 1916, the
T382: 41
Connaught railway tunnel, built to overcome avalanche
problems, was completed, and the open railway line
through the pass was abandoned.
In 1956 Rogers Pass was selected as the shortest
and most economical crossing place for the Trans-
Canada Highway. It was apparent at that time that
avalanches would be a major problem, and defenses
against avalanches were built during construction of the
highway. Avalanche control measures became effective
when the route was opened in 1962. Eighty-six
avalanche sites are crossed by the highway over a
distance of 30 mi (50 km). The hazard varies from site
to site. At some locations, a dozen dangerous
avalanches may reach the highway in an average winter;
at others, the avalanches usually produce harmless
snow dust, and only once in 30 years will deep snow
be deposited on the highway.
Because of the great variation in type and frequency
of avalanches and in the terrain, many methods of
control are used at Rogers Pass. Eight galleries
(snowsheds), with a combined length of 6,125 ft
(1,870 m), and two small areas of snow-retaining
barriers form a strong core of structures that give
protection under nearly all circumstances. The galleries
were built in the track of large avalanches that typically
run over the highway more than once every year. Other
structures (earthmounds, catching dams, and diversion
dams) give only partial protection; their principal
function is to reduce the amount of avalanche snow that
reaches the highway. Earthmounds have been placed in
the avalanche overrun zones. They have proven
effective in stopping avalanches of wet and moist snow
flowing along the surface but have had little effect
against dry and airborne snow (Schaerer, 1972).
The defense structures are supplemented by a
program of controlled release of the snow cover by
gunfire. An artillery crew of the Canadian Armed
Forces is available at Rogers Pass from November until
April. Its task is to release avalanches, under controlled
conditions, from 134 starting zones using a 105 mm
howitzer cannon as well as by explosives detonated
remotely.
Rogers Pass Railway Tunnel
The longest railway tunnel, 9.25 mi (14.8 km), in
North America has recently been completed in the
Rogers Pass area to improve the Canadian Pacific
Railway (CPR) route. The Mount MacDonald tunnel
also includes a 1,500-ft- (450 m) deep vertical
ventilation shaft which is located approximately at mid-
point of the tunnel. The prime reason for the new
tunnel is to lower the grade of the line from 2.2% to
1.0%. This allows the heavily-loaded west bound
freights to use the new grade, while the more lightly
loaded east bound can use the old, steeper grade.
Speed and efficiency are thus increased.
The Selkirk Mountains, through which the tunnel is
driven, trend from NW to SE and form a natural barrier
of high-glacier capped mountains separated by steep-
sided, glacially-carved valleys. Local peaks rise to
about 10,000 ft (3,048 m) elevation, while relief from
FIGURE 6-1. Rogers Pass, British Columbia, view west down Beaver Creek valley. Canadian Pacific Railway passes
beneath the Trans-Canada Highway in foreground center. Canadian Pacific Rail Photo from Canadian Tunneling, 1985,
courtesy John Gadsby.

T382: 42
mountain top to valley floor is as much as 7,000 ft
(2,130 m).
The ~10unt MacDonald tunnel is located almost 0.9
mi (1.5 kIn) below the summit of its namesake. The
tunnel geology consists mainly of metasedimentary
rocks of Precambrian Hamill and Horsethief Creek
Formations (Figure 6-2). The older 6-mi- (9.6 kIn)
long Connaught Tunnel crosses in the area about 200 ft
(60 m) above the new tunnel which assisted greatly in
assessing ground conditions to be expected. A number
of faults and folds are present in the area, most of
which strike approximately normal to the tunnel
alignment. The rocks are reasonably hard and
competent, and since geologic structure is generally
steep and at right angles to the proposed tunnel, the
tunnel excavation conditions were generall good.
The Hamill Formation consists mainly of white
quartzite and grit beds with local thin beds of phyllite
and mica schist. The Horsethief Creek Formation
which we will also see tomorrow at Mica Dam, is
composed of paragneissic rocks, phyllite, micaschist,
and quartzite.
Unconsolidated Quaternary deposits in the area
include alluvium, colluvium talus, glacial deposits, and
related overburden materials. While the amount of
overburden at the east portal is not significant,
approximately 1,700 ft (515 m) of tunnel at the west
portal was excavated by cut-and-cover methods through
unconsolidated material.
The eastern half of the tunnel was driven using a
22.3 ft (6.8 m) diameter tunnel boring machine to cut
the top heading, about 75% of the total face.
Conventional drill and blast methods were used to
excavate the lower bench section as well as the entire
western half of the tunnel.
Mount MacDonald
tunnel
FIGURE 6-2. Mount MacDonald tunnel, geologic section. Mter Tunneling Technology Newsletter, Number 52, December
1985~ Q, quartzite; P, phyllite; M, marble; MS, mica schist; MQ, micaceous quartzite; QBGS, quartz, biotite garnet schist;
BGS, biotite garnet schist; QMS, quartz, mica, schist.
T382: 43
DAY 7: THE COLUMBIA RIVER
VALLEY NORTH OF
REVELSTOKE, BRITISH
COLUMBIA
Itinerary
The excursion will leave Revelstoke and travel north
along the east bank of the Columbia River. The tour
will stop at the Downie Slide look-out to view this
ancient bedrock slide and to discuss stabilization
measures before continuing on to Mica Dam.
At Mica Dam, we will view the dam and tour the
underground powerhouse. We will then inspect the
drainage facilities at a potential slide at Dutchman's
Ridge before returning along the same route to
Revelstoke to inspect the Revelstoke concrete dam.
Prior to 1962 all vehicular traffic between
Vancouver, British Columbia, and Calgary, Alberta,
travelled through this valley on a winding road close to
river level, although rail traffic had been traversing the
Rogers Pass since 1885. The low-level road was open
only in the summer months because of high snowfall.
Glaciation
During the maximum extent of the Wisconsin
glaciation, this area of British Columbia was covered by
the Cordilleran ice sheet to an elevation of 8,000 ft
(2,440 m) or more. Only a few of the highest peaks
projected above the ice as nunataks. The disruption of
preglacial drainage, the overdeepening of glaciated
valleys, and the deposition of a wide variety of
unconsolidated deposits are of particular interest relative
to engineering geology. In many of the rivers in British
Elev.
:T1 Ft.
- 2700 ~856
- 2100 6888
492')
- 900 2852
- 300 984
2km
.........-_....1....------.,--,--I'
1ml
approximate scale
Columbia, narrow, steep- sided canyons that appear to
be favorable sites for dams have been eroded by the
rivers in post-glacial times. Commonly an older buried
river channel, usually eroded well below the present
river grade and filled with a variety of unconsolidated
materials, parallels the modem canyon. Evaluation of
these buried channels and control of seepage through
them may represent a significant cost in development of
a site.
One of the important effects of this glacial erosion
was oversteepening of the valley walls, and in many
places, great landslides occurred when the glaciers
melted and support was removed from the
oversteepened valley sides. The debris from these
landslides is of considerable importance in planning
engineering works, but such landslides can only be
recognized in small-scale vertical air photographs
covering many square miles in a single picture (Dishaw,
1967).
A wide variety of unconsolidated deposits formed
during the Pleistocene. In the Okanogan-Shuswap
Highlands and Interior Plateau many late glacial lakes
formed as the ice sheet melted, and extensive deposits
of soft lacustrine silts and clays were formed. In the
Okanagan valley (Day 8), these form the white silt
deposits that have striking erosional fonns. Elsewhere,
these glacial lake silts and clays may be concealed by
talus deposits or recent alluvium and thus, they may
present unforeseen hazards to engineering
developments.
Regional Geology
Mica and Revelstoke dams are located in steep,
relatively narrow, V-shaped sections of the Columbia
River valley where considerable thicknesses of till,
glaciofluvial deposits, and postglacial lacustrine
deposits cover the floor and lower sides of the valley.
The river has removed most of this material, leaving
remnant terraces on the valley sides well above the
present river level. With the exception of these terraces
and pockets of till, the valley walls have little
overburden and are heavily forested.
The bedrock underlying these sites consists mainly
of paragneissic rocks within the fringe of the Shuswap
and Monashee metamorphic complexes (Figure 7-1).
This metamorphic assemblage underlies a broad area of
south-central British Columbia, west of the Rocky
Mountain Trench. Within the region underlain by rocks
of the Shuswap and Monashee complexes, a number of
oval-shaped centers of metamorphism occur; these are
surrounded by aureoles, some tens of miles
(kilometers) in diameter, of different metamorphic
zones. The cores of these centers are composed of
granitized crystalline layered rocks, including granitic
gneiss and pegmatites. Outwards (or upwards) from
these cores, the rocks are less granitized and more
recognizable as metamorphosed sedimentary rocks of
identifiable ages. The sedimentary strata, which form
the Monashee rocks, are Proterozoic, Paleozoic, and
Mesozoic in age and were deformed and
T382: 44
metamorphosed probably in early Jurassic time (Lane
and Brown, 1987; Brown and Read, 1983).
East of the Revelstoke-Mica highway, significant
lower grade metamorphic rocks and an allochthonous,
predominantly intrusive body of rock are seen (Figure
7-1). The Columbia River fault zone separates the
high- grade metamorphic rocks on the west bank and
the low- grade metamorphic and intrusive rocks on the
east bank:. This fault zone, which dips moderately (20
to 30) to the northeast, contains zones of weak,
sheared and brecciated rock predominately on the east
side of the river. A considerable part of the relocated
highway around the Revelstoke Dam and the east
abutment of the dam lies within this fault zone.
Extensive bedrock and surficial mapping in the region
indicated that no Holocene displacement has occurred
along this fault.
Flow slides (debris flows), have occurred in a
number of steep tributary stream valleys. In addition a
number of flow slides are present in the fine (silty)
terrace deposits on which the existing highway is built.
Both types of mass movement normally occur shortly
after heavy rainfalls or the spring snowmelt.
The highway generally follows the eastern limit of
the Monashee metamorphics. The boundary between
the Monashee and the lower-grade metamorphic rocks
to the east is marked by a crushed zone of the Columbia
River fault which extends from south of Revelstoke to
just south of Mica dam. West of the river,
Frenchman's Cap, a prominent "Matterhorn-like" peak,
represents one of the core areas of Shuswap
metamorphism. From 15 mi (25 km) to about 40 mi
(65 kIn) north of Revelstoke Dam, spectacular flow-
folding in the gneiss can be seen in the gneisses near the
top of Frenchman's Cap.
Stop 7-1: Downie Slide
The Downie slide is a 1.8-billion-cy (1.4-billion-cu
m) bedrock slide located on the west bank of the
Columbia River 41 mi (65 kIn) upstream of Revelstoke
Dam (Figure 7-2). The toe of the slide has been
submerged 230 ft (70 m) by the reservoir since 1984.
Disturbed material, which is evident for about 1.5 mi
(2.4 km) along the river, rises for more than 2,985 ft
(910 m) from the river to the top of a prominent 395-ft-
(120 m) high scarp, 2 mi (3.2 kIn) back from the river
(Figure 7-2). Generally, the surface slope of the slide
is 18 except below elevation 2,000 ft (160 m) where
the river bank is steeper. An examination of the local
geology and past slide movements suggests that
movement began between 9,000 and 10,000 years ago
and that no high velocity sliding has occurred (Imrie
and Bourne, 1981). The slide has a maximum known
thickness of 804 ft (245 m) and is considered to have
failed on pre-existing foliation shears undercut by river
or ice erosion. The lower shear zone at the base of the
slide (Figure 7-3) ranges from 49 to 66 ft (15 to 20 m)
thick and consists of highly broken rock, crushed mica
schist and gneiss, and clay gouge.
During feasibility studies for the Revelstoke Dam,
the stability of the Downie slide was reviewed, and it
 KAMLOOPS

,
Scole: KM
I I
~O 0 40 80
Scole: Miles
F" I i I
0 25 50

FIGURE 7-1. Generalized geologic map of region around Revelstoke and Mica dams.

was concluded that no movements would result with the
submergence of the toe owing to the dam at Revelstoke.
However, because of the magnitude of the slide and the
location of the city of Revelstoke just downstream of
the dam, a cautious approach was taken. Drainage of
the toe area was improved by the installation of two
drainage adits. The total length of these adits is 7,978 ft
(2,430 m), and about 45,000 ft (12,200 m) of drain
holes were installed from the adits.
In order to provide immediate warning of any
significant movement or unusual activity on the slide
during reservoir filling and operation, an automatic,
continuous surveillance system, consIstIng of a
microseismic unit, in-place inclinometer sensors,
borehole extensometers, automatic water-flow recorders
measuring discharge from the adits, and pressure
transducers on key piezometers have been installed.
Data from these devices are transmitted from the slide
area by a microwave telemetry system to the B.C.
Hydro control center in Vernon, British Columbia.
The drainage works at Downie have been successful
in lowering the groundwater levels to well below the
potential effect of the reservoir. This has been
confmned by instrumentation results obtained since the

T382: 45
 "

}
I
"
., /'

COLUMBIA RIVER
PRESENT RESERVOIR
LEVEL

FIGURE 7-2. Downie slide, oblique perspective view. Courtesy British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority.

EAST WEST

Lorge mosses disjointed

rock----

5000 Scattered blocks

disjointed rock - - - -

Disjointed rock
4500

No rock exposure (mainly till cover) 7

~
w
4000 /
w /'
~

,
3500 Active slides in
SO/~S to south
Borehole (typ.)

--- -------
---- --./'"
/'"
//Heod
scarp

z 3000
o
~
Ofsection~

~Bi9 Be;~x~w:armol
0 ------ .-------
----
~ 2500
-'
w
reservoir level
El/880
COLUMBIA R.
I--~:r shear zane

/ ' ,...- Upper shear zone

2000
....__ . .",. ,
'----l-~;l""'""1'""~---r...,-.,..-- ~ Drainage adi! No. I

1500
----------
FIGURE 7-3. Downie slide, geologic section looking south (downstream).

T382: 46
reservoir started filling in October 1983. The reservoir sloughing does not jeopardize the stability of the large
was kept 30 ft (9 m) below normal full pool until slide mass.
stabilization measures were complete. Filling was
completed by the summer of 1984. Movement of the Stop '-2: Mica Dam
slide mass has been insignificant, and water pressures
have remained low. Some sloughing has taken place The Mica Dam (Figure 7-4,) lies within low-to
along the steep slopes at the toe of the slide owing to medium-grade metamorphic rocks near the northern
beaching action by reservoir waves. However, such .fringe of the Shuswap complex. Most of the rock

FIGURE 7-4. Aerial view of Mica Dam. The embankment rises 804 ft (245 m) above the bedrock surface beneath the river
channel. The underground powerhouse is within the rock abutment at left. Dutchman's Ridge is the slope beyond the reservoir at far
left. The Rocky Mountain Trench and the Rocky Mountains are in the right background. Photo courtesy British Columbia Hydro and
Power Authority.

T382: 47
layers at the site are categorized as mica gneisses and or
feldspathized quartzites. Beds, or layers, of marble,
pegmatite, and mica schist also occur within the layered
sequence but they are minor, lenticular, and relatively
thin. All of the rocks are generally medium crystalline
and gneissic banded. Coarse-grained micaceous
pegmatite, occurring as lenses, dikes and sills, is
ubiquitous throughout the area. This region was
originally prospected for and named after the large
"books" of mica found in these pegmatites. The strata
at the site are part of a regional monocline striking
eastward across the valley and dipping south between
10 and 30. Local folds and flexures are superimposed
on this trend at the Mica site and are exposed as local
steepening and flattening in the dip and as complex
ptygmatic folds ranging in size from inches
(centimeters) to tens of feet (meters) in amplitude. The
ptygmatic folds, which are spectacularly exposed in the
spillway cut, generally occur in certain rock layers,
such as pegmatites and marbles. These layers have
obviously been folded while in a plastic state, so that
the resulting folds are looped and geometrically
unconfortable with the enclosing rock which may also
be defonned, but only into a simple fold.
Scattered, small-scale faults are locally present in
the underground excavations, resulting in some minor
wedge-type wall rock instability during. construction
where the orientation of the structure and the excavation
_was unfavorable. The faults are steeply inclined and
normal. Thrust faulting in the Rocky Mountains
northeast of the site is not reflected in the structures
seen at the dam.
A simplified Pleistocene-Holocene stratigraphic
sequence at the dam site in ascending order is: (1) basal
till overlying bedrock; (2) silt and clay layer; and (3)
deposits of sand and gravel. This sequence indicates
glaciation, followed by a glacial lake, and subsequent
re-establishment of river drainage. A layer of volcanic
EAST ABUTMENT
2700
2300
...... : . .... , ...
-,..,,...,---,.:,;;.::,:.; .....
2.100
1900
1700
Inlerlayered mica gneiss
and quartzite wilh mica SChist
1500
FEET
r-a r-=-' r---a ,
o 200 400 600
METRES
i i i
o 100 200
FIGURE 7-5. Geologic section at Mica Dam, looking downstream.
T382: 48
ash within a sand and gravel terrace on the left bank of
the Columbia River, some 8 miles downstream from the
dam site, occurs stratigraphically below the Bridge
River ash (2.33 ka) found at the dam site. This older
ash, dated by radiocarbon determinations on ancient
forest fire charcoal layers above and below it, is
believed to be Mount Mazama ash (Crater Lake,
Oregon) deposited about 6.6 ka (Lemke et al., 1975).
Thus, lower slopes of the valley in the vicinity of the
damsite were free of glacial ice as long ago as 6.6 ka.
There is also indication that changes in the level of the
river bed at this location have been on the order of only
a few feet (meters) since the time of deposition of the
lower volcanic ash.
The dam site is at a narrow section of the valley
with relatively steep abutments that average 40 (Figure
7-5). The dam is an 800-ft (245 m) high zoned earthfill
dam that contains 43 million (33 million culm) of fill.
The central core is composed of glacial till and the shells
of the dam are sand and gravel. Discovery of a stratum
of gravel overlying bedrock below the glacial till in the
riverbed resulted in the decision to excavate the full 150
ft (46 m) depth of overburden for the core foundation.
Under the shells, the top 50 ft (15 m) of overburden
which contained lenses of silty sand was removed
because of its potential for liquefaction under seismic
loading.
The entire core contact area was subjected to a
blanket grouting program which extended to a depth of
30 to 60 ft (9 to 18 m). In addition a single line grout
curtain was installed ranging from 150 ft (46 m) on the
abutments to 300 ft (91 m) in the riverbed.
.Pre-construction investigations of the rock indicated
that the underground conditions within the right
abutment at Mica were generally favorable to
accommodate practically any type of design and layout
of the powerhouse complex, provided the main
chamber arch and the draft tubes were located in a
WEST ABUTMENT
2700
Dam cresf /. 2500
2100
Borehole, fyp.
1900
1700
1500
08 = Overburden including
alluvium and glacial till
competent quartzite-gneiss layer (Imrie and Campbell,
1976). The permanent structural support of all of the
roof arches was maintained with grouted rock bolts,
supplemented by shotcrete in the roofs of the
powerhouse, transformer, and draft tube gate
chambers. The powerhouse chamber is 145 ft (44 m)
high, 80 ft (24 m) wide, and 778 ft (237 m) long, and
is located about 740 ft (225 m) downstream from the
intakes. The upstream wall of the underground
transformer chamber is located 50 ft (15 m)
downstream from the downstream wall of the
powerhouse.
Six penstocks convey water from the intakes to the
turbines. The upper and lower bends of the penstocks
are similar. The lower horizontal sections are steel lined
whereas the inclined sections are concrete lined, and the
internal hydrostatic pressure is assumed to be taken
fully by the surrounding rock. The concrete-lined
portions of the penstocks act as thick-walled cylinders
when empty, with a strength of three times the
maximum compressive external pressures.
The flow from the turbines is conveyed to the
Columbia River through 50-ft- (15 m) wide by 60-ft-
(18 m) high "egg-shaped" tailrace tunnels. These are
free-flow tunnels that are unlined because of the
competency and resistance of the rocks to erosion.
Stop 7-3: Dutchman's Ridge
Dutchman's Ridge is a marginally stable bedrock
slope that has its toe in the Mica Reservoir about 4,900
ft (1,500 m) upstream from Mica Dam (Figure 7-6).
This slope has been studied since 1961 as part of the
design work for Mica Dam and the surveillance of the
Mica reservoir slopes. At Dutchman's Ridge the rocks
are predominantly mica gneiss and hornblende gneiss.
These rocks are similar in nature to the quartzite gneiss
of Downie slide except that the hornblende gneiss is
commonly poorly foliated to massive. In 1982
detection of very slow downhill creep of about 150
million cy (115 million cu m) of rock along an
underlying fault zone alerted B.C. Hydro to a potential
hazard, and resulted in a major investigation and
monitoring program. Since 1987, drainage and
monitoring systems have been installed (Lewis and
Moore, 1988) (Figure 7-7). The underground
drainage system consists of an adit collared near
reservoir level and which crosses the basal fault zone
and extends below the fault; it is combined with an
extensive system of curtain drainholes and long
drainholes. Long drainholes fan out from four drill
chambers, and curtain drainholes are spaced along a
drainage adit approximately every 10 ft (3 m). Pre-
drainage holes were drilled to drain the adit face during
excavation. A branch adit was extended 269 ft (82 m)
toward an area of high groundwater pressures in that
part of the potential slide. The ground excavation
conditions ranged from exceptionally poor to fair (CSIR
rating) in the basal fault zone and weaker schistose rock
units to good to extremely good in the more massive
hornblende gneiss rock units. The rock support
systems range from steel sets or spiling with shotcrete
T382: 49
in the basal fault zone and weaker rock units to
corrosion-protected "swellex" anchors or resin-grouted
dowels in the more competent units. Detailed profiles
of the piezometric levels below, within, and above the
basal fault zone have been developed, and seasonal
trends have been established for the potential slide. The
results show that the undrained head along the basal
fault zone varyed from a low of 15 ft (4.6 m) to a high
of 404 ft (123.2 m). Head differences across the basal
fault zone were common, indicating that it acts as a
relatively impenneable boundary. During construction
in 1987 and 1988, several large flows were intercepted
by the adit and drainage holes, and pressure drops, both
above and beneath the basal fault zone, have been
widespread.
In-place inclinometers, normal inclinometers, and
surface monuments have been installed at Dutchman's
Ridge to monitor slope movements. The results of the
instrumentation readings and observations indicate that
movements, at small, constant rates, are occurring at
depth along the basal fault zone. They are consistent
with the geological model of the potential slide and
indicate marginal stability along the basal fault zone.
Some indications of seasonal variations in movement
rates are beginning to appear in the inclinometer
records. Monitoring of groundwater instrumentation at
Dutchman's Ridge indicates that the drainage facilities
have successfully dropped piezometric levels on the
potential failure plane (i.e., the basal fault zone) to
levels which more than offset the raising of levels that
occurred as a result of reservoir impoundment.
Stop 7-4: Revelstoke Dam
Revelstoke Dam (Figure 7-8) consists of a 525-ft-
(160 m) high concrete gravity dam, a powerhouse
immediately downstream of the dam in the riverbed, a
three-bay gated chute spillway on the west bank, and an
earthfill dam across the west bank terrace. The concrete
dam is in a steep-sided postglacial canyon cut into rock
adjacent to an ancestral river valley. The ancestral
valley beneath the west bank terrace is now infilled with
glacial sand, gravel, silt, and clay.
At the damsite the Columbia valley forms the
boundary between polydeformed metasedimentary
rocks of the Monashee Metamorphic Complex (Figure
7-1) on the west and granodioritic plutonic rocks on the
east. The dam foundation is entirely in the metamorphic
rocks; and the plutonic rocks were exposed only in
excavations for a highway being constructed to bypass
the dam site. The damsite stratigraphy can be generally
characterized as a succession of micaceous gneisses
interlayered with calc-silicates and lesser amount~ of
quartzites and marbles. Prediction of the detailed
bedrock conditions at the Revelstoke dam site was
hindered by the extensive cover of glacial deposits,
weathered rock, and widespread rock slumps and slides
on glacially oversteepened slopes. In detail, the
geology of the highly metamorphosed sediments at the
site is extremely complex (Figure 7-9). Despite
extensive early investigations, the geology was not fully
understood until the rock was, exposed in the
~
w
(X)
N

Ul
o

FIGURE 7-6. Aerial view of Dutchman's Ridge area near Mica Dam. The triangular-shaped rockmass is underlain by a tectonic fault which dips toward the reservoir.
Photo courtesy British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority.
 ELEVATION
meters

1200

1100

15 1000
monitoring
zones

900

KINBASKET
LAKE 800

DRAINHOLE
700
DRAINAGE ADIT
20 monitoring LEGEND
zones
IS \ \ \ \ \ S \1 FAULT ZONE (low permeability)
DH86-34
DRILLHOLE
GROUNDWATER TABLE, before
GW drainage
--' __ - - PIEZOMETRIC LEVEL BELOW
PI..-<\Z.. FAULT, before drainage
0 200 400
I I I __ -- - PIEZOMETRIC LEVEL BELOW
P2__~ -- FAU LT, after drainage
meters ..-
0 500 1000 1500
I I I I
feet

FIGURE 7-7. Dutchman's Ridge slope, geologic section looking downstream.

T382: 51
~
w
OJ
I'\)

U1
I'\)

FIGURE 7-8. Aerial view of Revelstoke Dam. The concrete gravity dam was constructed across the modern Columbia River channel (Little Dalles Canyon). The
embankment dam extends across a broad terrace composed of glacial drift which conceals ancestral Columbia channels. Photo courtesy British Columbia Hydro and Power
Authority.
 EAST WEST
Earthfi II dam

Left bonk gravity section Power intake section Riaht bank Spillway section Transition section
~
I ..I gravity section
, - Top of dam EI.1895
IL?........

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LLI
lL.
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t- t-
lIJ Grouting a droinog
lIJ gallery ~
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ex> lLJ
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Diversion
tunnel ~
LEGEND
G - QUARTZITE
M - MARBLE
CS - CALC - SILICATE

- Foundation rock is a succession of micaceous GRAPHITE SHEAR

gneisses interlayered with calc- silicates and
lesser amounts of quartzites and marbles

FIGURE 7-9. Revelstoke Dam. Concrete dam, geologic section looking.downstream.

 excavations and further drilling was done during
construction. On the right bank, a series of thin,
graphitic, foliation shears, striking parallel to the river
and dipping 30 towards the left (east) abutment were
found. On the left bank, large areas of soft, chloritized
rock, relatively deep weathering, numerous joints and
several cross-cutting shears as well as foliation shears
were found. These moderately poor rock conditions are
related to the proximity of the site to the Columbia River
fault. This major regional fault has now been mapped
for a length of about 125 mi (200 km) along the
Columbia valley. It has an inferred downdip
displacement of some 50 mi (80 Ian) most of which
occurred during a period of ductile defonnation between
110 and 160 Ma. A later, brittle defonnation within the
earlier fault zone was largely completed some 45 Ma.
Although it was known that rock conditions were
not ideal, the topography at the site necessitated steep
rock cuts as high as 1,083 ft (330 m) on the left bank
and 330 ft (100 m) high on the right bank. The original
design included a system of rock bolts and drainage,
and provisions for special rock problems and rock
monitoring. Different stages of the excavations were
included in four separate contracts, enabling geological
conditions revealed in the initial stages to be taken into
account in the subsequent contracts.
During construction numerous rock movements
occurred, mostly notably a 15,700-cy (12,000 cu m)
slide into the diversion tunnel approach channel and a
39,500-cy (30,000 cu m) slump just above the left
abutment. In addition, slow but persistent rock
movements along shears were noted above the
diversion tunnel approach channel and in the right wall
of the powerhouse. On the left bank slow movements
of 330,000 cy (250,000 cu m) of rock above a shear
zone near dam crest began when the shear was
daylighted. Also, general relaxation of the left rock
wall of the powerhouse occurred as excavations
proceeded.
Successful remedial measures included excavation,
drainage, temporary toe berms, large-capacity
prestressed rock anchors, and large-capacity passive
anchors, as well as shotcrete, wire mesh, steel straps,
and smaller capacity anchors. Extensive monitoring of
the rock slopes was carried out. The support measures
used were generally standard in the industry, except for
the use of grouted dowels on the left abutment instead
of pretensioned anchors (Moore and Imrie, 1982).
Exploratory results indicated that the average
penneability of the foundation was less than 0.27 ft/day
(1 x 10-4 cm/s) and that grouting was generally not
necessary. A single line exploratory grout curtain was
constructed from a gallery in the dam with an initial hole
spacing of 20 ft (6 m). Some local areas of fractured
rock required consolidation grouting before concrete
placement.
T382: 54
DAY 8: REVELSTOKE, BRITISH
COLUMBIA TO GRAND
COULEE, WASHINGTON
Itinerary
Day 8 will begin by completing our tour of
Revelstoke Dam.' We will view the earthfill dam by
driving up the west side of the Columbia River to a
lookout at the right abutment of the dam.
With completion of this inspection, we take a break
from dams for most of the day, heading west through
the Monashee Mountains via Eagle Pass and the Trans-
Canada Highway. In addition to some magnificent
scenery, we will be looking at slide movements and
Pleistocene-Holocene geology. At Sicamous, British
Columbia, we leave the Trans-Canada Highway and
travel south through the Okanagan Valley along
Okanagan Lake and cross back into the United States
near the south end of Osoyoos Lake at Oroville,
Washington. The excursion will continue south along
the Okanogan Trench where the geology is dominated
by glacial terraces backed on the west by folded and
thrusted Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and by local
Tertiary volcanic rocks exposed on the upper plate of a
large thrust fault. On the east is the Mesozoic
Okanogan gneiss dome. At Omak the route leaves the
Okanogan Trench, crosses southeast across the
Okanogan gneiss dome and, west of Nespelem, enters
the Republic graben. The graben here is floored by
Pleistocene glacial lake sediments (Nespelem
Formation) which were deposited in glacial Columbia
Lake, and by other glacial drift. Northward, the early
Tertiary graben is floored by Eocene volcanic and
volcaniclastic rocks. Overview stops will be made on
the east and west sides of the Columbia River valley in
the vicinity of Grand Coulee Dam (Orr and Cheney,
1987; Moye, 1987).
Stop 8-1: Revelstoke Earthfill Dam
The Revelstoke earthfill dam (Figure 8-1) is
constructed on the right bank terrace at the project site.
It is about 3,807 ft (1,160 m) long and has a maximum
height of about 280 ft (85 m) above the existing ground
surface and about 410 ft (125 m) above the deepest
bedrock at the core contact. The east end of the earthftll
dam wraps around a 600-ft- (183 m) long concrete
gravity transition section projecting westward from the
concrete gravity spillway structure. At the west end the
dam abuts the rock slope. The dam has a freeboard of
26 ft (8 m) above the probable maximum flood level of
elevation 1,883 ft (574 m). The outer shells of the dam
are composed of sand and gravel, the impervious core
 is of recompacted glacial till, and filter, transition, and
133=1 NI NOI1"1f\313 drain zones are of processed granular material. The
8~ volume of earthfill in the dam is approximately 17.9
~I" ~I ~I ~I ~I ~I ~I million cy (13.7 million cu m). In order to ensure the
dam would have the best possible water barrier, it was
decided to extend the central core to bedrock for the
entire length of the dam.
00+5t ""I1S A core trench as deep as 250 ft (76 m) had to be
excavated through the overburden in order to found the
,- '''\.
core on rock, and approximately 10 million cy (7.6
(~
.;""
I
w \...-
~
N
: j
\
uJ

.......
\ .-J
million cu m) of overburden was removed In one area,
the core trench was excavated through 200 ft (61 m) of
~ \ .......
a::: \If') soft, wet, silt and clay. Electro-osmosis treatment was
< I I
::J
o
\(J
1.-1
,4
used to stabilize the core trench cut slopes in the area of
_ ~.I.
.........-\
U
the soft, wet silt. The dam axis crosses two deep cuts
\ in the bedrock, and adjustments were made in the
x
o
\
\ , design to suit the unexpected anomalies in the bedrock
0::
a.. \, surface. Extensive field and lab testing was carried out
n...
< , to determine the density and strength of the overburden
\

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.....
\
'I
"I
material. Empirical and analytical methods were used to
m \ assess the liquefaction potential under seismic loading
J
of the wet silt/clay and the in situ fme sands left in place
L&J under the shells of the earthfill dam.
~
c.n
L&J
a:
(J
Stop 8-2: Camp Creek Slide
~
< A debris flow, known as the Camp Creek slide
o
(Nasmith, 1972), can be seen about 16 mi (25 kIn) west
of Revelstoke, at the west end of Griffin Lake. This
slide, which occurred on June 5, 1968, is a recent
example of a mud/rock debris flow common in
mountainous terrain. The character of the slide debris at
the highway is similar to that of material exposed in
many road cuts, and suggests that this type of slide is
an important mechanism for transporting debris to the
valley floor from adjacent slopes. The debris covered
the Camp Creek Bridge and the Trans-Canada
Highway. The slide originated as a slump which left a
scarp 30 ft (9 m) high in glacial till in the channel of
Camp Creek about 3,000 ft (1,100 m) above and 1.8 mi
(3 kIn) from the highway. The slump was precipitated
by heavy rainfall and snowmelt, and the block of
- ----
OO+Ott "V1S
moving soil soon broke up and mixed with water in the
stream to form a debris flow that accelerated downslope
and gouged out the creek bed to depths of from 15 to 80
\t'I
ft (4.5 to 24 m). The mudflow moved rapidly
0
GO
N
(estimated 20 mph [30 km/hr]) while it was confmed to
the steep creek valley, but rapidly came to rest where it
0

0
N emerged onto the main valley bottom and spread out in
<D
a fan-shapeddeposit. The total volume of the slide is
~ estimated to be 105,000 cy (80,000 cu m).
~
~
Stop 8-3: Enderby Cliffs Landslide
0
N
......I
U')
W 00
The Enderby Cliffs landslide (222 million cy [170
I-
~
w
w
a:
~ million cu m]) is a complex slope failure involving
~
C.f)

Lt- 0 0
Eocene sedimentary and volcanic 'rocks (Evans, 1983).
w
The Eocene sequence at this site dips gently into the
slope and overlies pre-Tertiary metamorphic rocks. It
comprises the following units in ascending order: (1)
thinly bedded shale, sandstone, and conglomerate, (2)

T382: 55
conglomerate and fanglomerate-breccia, and (3) lava
flows and volcanic breccia (Mathews, 1981). The
steep, exposed scarp of the landslide is mainly in Unit
3, but the surface ~f rupture extends into the upper part
of Unit 2. The margins of the scarp are parallel to
prominent structural lineaments which apparently
controlled the development of the landslide.
The blocky slide debris is currently being degraded
by weathering and secondary flow. An active
secondary flow lobe, possible related to groundwater
discharge near the base of lava flows, is encroaching on
farm land in the valley below Enderby Cliff. Similar
groundwater flow may have been important in the initial
failure.
The toe of the landslide overlies glaciolacustrine
sediments dating to the end of the Fraser Glaciation.
Consequently, the failure must have occurred during the
Holocene. As yet, no material for absolute age dating
has been recovered from the debris (Evans, 1983;
Mathews, 1981).
Stop .8-4: Kalamalka Lake
This stop is at the junction of two major valleys,
one occupied by Kalamalka Lake and the other by
Coldstream Creek. Several peaks of the Monashee
Mountains are visible up Coldstream valley to the east.
The lake occupies a branch of the Okanagan Trench.
The Okanagan Trench extends more than 188 mi (300
km) from Columbia River in Washington to Shuswap
Lake in British Columbia where the excursion left the
Trans-Canada Highway. Seismic profiles just north of
Vernon show that 1,800 ft (550 m) of unconsolidated
sediments lie between the present valley floor and
bedrock, which is 590 ft (180 m) below sea level. The
stratigraphy of this thick fill is complex in detail, but the
following general comments can be made: (1)
Glaciolacustrine silt constitutes the upper 390 ft (120 m)
of the fill; (2) the glaciolacustrine silt is underlain by
thick interbedded silt and sand containing plant debris
(and thus is presumably a nonglacial deposit); and (3)
these two units are not separated by a recognizable till
(Fulton, 1975).
Even though the valley has many of the geomorphic
characteristics ascribed to glacially carved valleys, the
presence of a thick fill predating the last glaciation
indicates that erosion during this glaciation was
insufficient to deepen the bedrock valley.
At the end of the Fraser Glaciation, ice disappeared
first from highlands and later from valleys. At first,
remnant ice tongues dammed lakes in tributary valleys;
later, glacial lakes rimmed ice tongues in the main
valleys. The St. Annes Road area which will be
pointed out is located on a kettled delta deposited at the
margin of the remnant ice tongue that occuped
Okanagan valley.
During its early high stages, the late-glacial lake in
Okanagan valley (Lake Penticton) probably was
dammed by the ice tongue in the center of the valley and
by an ice and sediment dam near Okanagan Falls at the
south end of Okanogan Lake (Nasmith, 1962).
T382: 56
Stop 8-5: Penticton Area
In the Penticton area white silt cliffs have caused
geotechnical problems in cultural development of the
area. Towards the end of the last glacial period, the ice
sheet irregularly melted into stagnant ice blocks that
partly filled the major valleys. Meltwater-deposited
sand and gravel and till were deposited on the uplands.
As the glaciers melted farther, a large lake was formed,
partly by blockage of drainage by the remaining ice
lobes. The fmer material was washed into the lake from
the uplands, resulting in large glaciolacustrine deposits
of silt. The silt deposits are varved, contain an average
of 10% clay and 2% sand sizes, and are slightly
micaceous. The measured void ratio is between 1.1 and
1.3. When complete melting occurred and present
drainage systems were established, these silt deposits
were left high above the former lake level and are now
terraces eroded by deep gulleys and faced with steep
cliffs. In the semiarid Holocene climate, the silt
deposits became dessicated (presently having natural
water content of 2% to 5%), as can be seen by apparent
shrinkage cracks and blocky structure.
Deep gullies formed by storm and annual snowmelt
runoff have been subsequently filled with colluvium
from the cliffs and some loess. The surface of the silt
plateau is also covered with as much as 10 ft (3 m) of
loess.
When left alone, the silt is reasonably stable,
exhibiting shallow block or toppling failures at the tops
of the nearly vertical faces. Another phenomenon is
the natural formation of sink holes and pipes. The tops
of the cliffs are marked in some areas by ground
depressions, or sink holes, which are commonly near
"pipes" or caves up to 13 ft (4 m) in diameter in the cliff
face. The main danger of these has been injury to
children playing in the area.
The population has been encroaching on the silt
cliffs, which leads to two main concerns: excessive and
unpredictable settlement, and slope failures. The
settlements nearly always are associated with' the
addition of extra water, and these are more severe in the
colluvial and loessial deposits. Gardening, lawn
sprinkling, orchard cultivation and sewage disposal
contribute additional water. The silts are "conditionally
collapsible" and when saturated and even lightly loaded
can result in a sudden settlement. The exact mechanism
is not yet fully understood. Slope failures have also
been attributed to either irrigation or storm runoff. A
dramatic strength decrease of the natural silt occurs as
the water content increases, and the hydrostatic forces
in the cracks and joints contribute to instability. A few
slides resulting in deaths and property damage have
been attributed to irrigation.
Stop 8-6: Seatons Grove Overlook
Downstream from Grand Coulee Dam the Columbia
River valley is deeply incised into glacial drift and
granite spurs of the Colville batholith. The "Great
Terrace" of the Columbia is well exposed in this
segment. The edge of the Columbia River basalt lies
high on the canyon wall on the west side of the valley.
The complexities of glacial drift overlying a highly
irregular bedrock surface and varying ground water
levels have resulted in extensive prehistoric and historic
landsliding throughout this segment of the valley.
Because the segment is more populated than many
sections of the Columbia valley, private property has
suffered considerable damage. Most of the historic
landsliding has occurred within prehistoric landslide
areas. The landslides are related to ground water
fluctuations and build-up of pore pressures within the
Pleistocene deposits. The landslides have historically
been related to periods of high rainfall and/or
snowmelt. In more recent years the fluctuation of the
Grand Coulee Dam tailwater appears to have influenced
slide activity. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
constructed a "stabilization berm" of waste rock from
the excavation for the Third Powerplant forebay for a
distance of 6 mi (9.6 km) downstream along the right
bank of the river to help stabilize the landslide areas.
The berm was not totally successful because portions
rest on landslide materiaL Subsequently, critical areas
have been drained through systems of pumping wells
and shafts with horizontal drains. The "stabilization
berm" was modified by placement of additional fill and
armor rock. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has
installed an extensive state-of-the-art ground water and
slope stability monitoring system that monitors more
than 600 stations (Jones et aL, 1961; Hansen, in press).
Stop 8-7: Grand Coulee Dam Overlook
(Crown Point)
Grand Coulee Dam (Figure 8-2) lies at the boundary
of the Columbia Plateau and Okanogan-Shuswap
Highlands. The dam is entirely founded on and abuted
into granitic rocks of the Colville batholith. The dam is
the keystone of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's
Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. The siting of the
dam just downstream from the northern end of the
Grand Coulee was done so that the coulee could
provide a natural conduit for irrigation water.
Completed in 1941, for many years it was the largest
concrete structure in the world and remains the largest
concrete structure in North America. The dam was
modified in the late 1960s and early 1970s by addition
of a forebay dam parallel to the east valley wall and a
third powerplant. The reservoir impounds Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake which extends of 151 mi (242 km) to
the Canadian border. During the original construction
approximately 17.5 million cy (13.4 million cu m) of
common material were excavated, mainly glacial
deposits and landslide materiaL About 4.5 million cy
(3.4 million cu m) of rock excavation was required to
shape the foundation. An additional 14.5 million cy (11
million cu m) of common and 8.5 million cy (6.5
million cu m) of rock excavation was required for the
third powerplant and forebay.
The foundation consists of a coarse-grained biotite
granite intruded by dikes and larger masses of finer-
grained granite, syenite and monzonite (Figure 8-3).
Because glaciation and river action have deeply scoured
T382: 57
the rock surface it was typically found to be only
slightly weathered or fresh when exposed by excavation
of the Pleistocene fill. Three major sets of joints are
present in the foundation; high-angle joints striking
N200E and N700Wand a third set striking N700W and
dipping 5 to 15 SW. Joint spacing ranges from 2to 4
ft (0.6 to 1.2 m) in the older coarse-grained granite and
is typically less than 1 ft (0.3 m) in the younger granite.
Numerous faults and shear zones, generally paralleling
the high- angle joints, were uncovered in the foundation
and treated by excavation and concrete backfill.
Foundation grouting was accomplished in three
stages at successively higher pressures. The shallow
(20 to 30 ft [6 to 9 m]) multi-line curtain was grouted at
pressures as high as 250 psi (1,724 kPa) prior to
placement of any concrete. After about 25 ft (7.6 m) of
concrete was placed, a single-line grout curtain, 50 to
100 ft (15 to 30 m) deep, was installed at the upstream
toe (heel) under pressures as great as 400 psi (2,758
kPa). When the dam was essentially complete, a
single- line grout curtain, 150 to 200 ft (45 to 61 m)
deep, was installed from the grouting gallery in the dam
at pressures as great as 1,000 psi (6,895 kPa).
Probably the most difficult 'problem during both
construction periods was the control of landslides in the
glacial deposits all of which had suffered prehistoric
landsliding. Stabilization of landslides was
accomplished by flattening slopes, by drainage, by
retaining walls, and, in one noteworthy instance, by
freezing material to form an ice dam. Major landsliding
in Pleistocene deposits, which has been a chronic
problem along a considerable part of Roosevelt Lake
since original reservoir impoundment, has required re-
evaluation of government property lines. Downstream
from the dam the "stabilization berm" extends for a
distance of 6 mi (9.6 km). Drainage and pumping and
instrumentation facilities for control and monitoring of
landslides are scattered behind the berm at various
elevations. In addition a landslide area downstream
from the west (left) powerhouse has been also treated
by installation of rock berms, pumping facilities and
instrumentation (Hansen, in press; Jones et al., 1961;
Nickel, 1942; Irwin, 1938; Flint and Irwin, 1939).
DAY 9: GRAND COULEE,
WASHINGTON TO
WENATCHEE, WASHINGTON
Itinerary
The excursion will complete the visit to Grand
Coulee Dam facilities, then proceed south into the upper
Grand Coulee, now the site of the "equalizing
reservoir" (Banks Lake) for the Columbia Basin
Project. After crossing Dry Falls Dam, an
embankment which forms the south end of the lake, a
stop will be made at Dry Falls where Pleistocene flood
waters plunged into the 10werGrand Coulee. Climbing
out of The Grand Coulee the route will diagonally
traverse the Waterville Plateau section of the Columbia
Plateau, crossing the terminal moraine of the
 FIGURE 8-2. Aerial view of Grand Coulee Dam, view southwest. Third Powerplant is lower center. North Dam of the
equalizing reservoir (Banks Lake) at upper right with feeder canal and pump/generating plant at right center to upper right.
Photo courtesy U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, July 21, 1983.

Pleistocene Okanogan lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet
and drop back to the Columbia River valley at
Bridgeport, Washington. After lunch, Chief Joseph
Dam and the Bridgeport slide will be visited. The route
will then cross the southern end of the Okanogan
Trench and proceed down the Columbia River, with
stops at Wells and Rocky Reach dams prior to arriving
in Wenatchee, Washington.
The geology of the route will be dominated by the
Columbia River basalt (CRBG) and by the granite-
gneiss complex of the Okanogan-Shushwap Highlands
and the Northern Cascade Range. The effects of
cataclysmic flooding by Pleistocene meltwaters (Lake
Missoula floods) and extensive glacial fill terraces are
evident in the valley areas.
Stop 9-1: Grand Coulee Dam (continued)
Although Grand Coulee Dam was completed in
1941 and provided electric power to the Pacific
Northwest during World War II, the prime purpose of
the dam is to provide irrigation to the arid Columbia
Plateau. Facilities for pumping water from the reservoir
into a complex distribution system of canals, tunnels,
siphons, and reservoirs known as the Columbia Basin
Project were constructed in the late 1940s and 1950s.
The upstream segment of the distribution system
includes a pumping plant, penstocks, feeder canal, and
the North Dam, which impounds the equalizing
re~ervoir (Banks Lake) in the upper Grand Coulee
(Figure 8-2). The original pumping plant and feeder

T382: 58

Ii
o 500ft.
,
o
sea..
"
152m
Plan View
Max. pool level EI. 1290.0 (392)
Spillway Crest EI. 1260.0 (383)
500
Section Along Axis, View Downstream
FIGURE 8-3. Grand Coulee Dam, geologic plan and section of dam. Mter Nickel (1942).
canal were constructed in the 1950s, and were modified
in the early 1980s to provide reversible flow for a
pump/generating system.
The pump/generating structure, penstocks leading to
the feeder canal, and the northern part of the feeder
canal are founded on or in granite. The geology of the
southern part of the feeder canal and the North Dam of
Banks Lake is far more complex, owing to the lava field
border, the Pleistocene ice border, and the catastrophic
Pleistocene flooding. Along the northern and eastern
margins of the Columbia River basalt lava field the
impoundment of Miocene drainage by encroaching lava
resulted in extensive deposition of clastic sediments.
The resulting weak siltstones and sandstones of the
Latah Formation lie between the granite and overlying
basalt and are also interbedded with basalt flows.
During the Pleistocene development of the upper Grand
Coulee, the soft Latah beds were undermined leaving an
extensive jumble of landslide blocks of basalt and Latah
sediments. A re-advance of the Okanogan lobe
subjected this landslide surface to ice-thrusting, and
later deposits of Nespelem silt in glacial Lake Columbia
further complicated the geology. Thus, the southern
part of the feeder canal is excavated into a complex of
Latah sediments and basalt-Latah landslide blocks. The
original feeder canal was placed in a twin-conduit cut-
and-cover section through the landslide area after open
excavation resulted in re-activation of the ancient
landslide deposits. Construction of the modified and
enlarged canal utilized the twin conduits as a buttress to
the landslide by installation of soil anchors as deep as
150 ft (46 m). Although these anchors were not
extended to bedrock, they pass through all known
T382: 59
i: ';:-'::h('_I~'.'
li\/',;,5:'~:;:f Coarse-grained granite
I:: : : : tI FIne-grained granite
- - - - - Faun of completely c~hed and altered materlalL
~ Cn.lshed zone
(213)
152)
failure planes. The slope was thoroughly instrumented,
and the open cut construction downslope from the
conduits was completed without any problems related to
geology.
The North Dam is a zoned embankment with an
impervious core. The dam has its north abutment in a
large rotated basalt landslide block and most of its
foundation is on disturbed Latah landslide material.
The southern third of the foundation and the south
abutment rests on granite. Both abutments were
grouted but there was no special treatment of the
landslide foundation. Where the highway passes the
dam is a deep (200 ft [60 m]) channel was encountered,
developed in a shear zone in the granite bedrock. An
impervious cut-off wall was installed in this gravel-
filled channel to limit leakage (Hansen, in press; Neff,
in press).
Stop 9-2: Upper Grand Coulee
The Grand Coulee is actually two SW-trending
coulees in tandem, broken by a major Pleistocene
cataract known as Dry Falls. The coulee extends 50 mi
(80 Ian) from the Columbia valley at Grand Coulee
Dam to the Quincy Basin at Soap Lake. It varies from 1
to 6 mi (1.6 to 9.6 km) wide and has a maximum depth
of 900 ft (274m). The coulee was the focus of the
"normal" ice-meltwater drainage from the eastern part of
the Okanogan lobe of the Pleistocene ice sheet and
probably drainage.from the Flathead and Purcell lobes
as well. It also served as the western route for the
cataclysmic floods from glacial Lake Missoula between
15.3 and 12.7 ka, which resulted in the present
erosional features of the coulee. The upper Grand
Coulee owes its position to the eastern edge of the
Okanogan ice lobe along which meltwaters
concentrated. The lower Grand Coulee owes its
position to the Coulee monocline, which apparently
served as a structural-topographic feature during the
Pleistocene with ice-meltwaters and later cataclysmic
flood waters concentrating along its down east side.
The NE-trending monocline crosses the coulee floor
near the southern end of the upper coulee.
The floor of the upper Grand Coulee contains the
"equalizing reservoir" (Banks Lake) for the Columbia
Basin irrigation project. The lake is 27 mi (43 km)
long, covers 42 sq mi(109 sq km), and has an active
storage capacity of 715,000 acre-ft (880 million cu m).
Normal lake elevation is 1,570 ft (478.5 m), and the
maximum depth of the lake is 85 ft (26 m). Although
most of the lake is underlain by the upper flows of the
Grande Ronde Basalt, the lake also lies across the
Coulee monocline. Dry Falls Dam (south dam) is
founded on the scabby eroded surface of the uppermost
Wanapum Basalt (Priest Rapids) flows. The dam is a
9,800-ft-(2,987 m) long zoned embankment. It has an
impervious core and a cut-off trench to bedrock. The
cut-off trench ties to a grout curtain. The bed of the
lower Grand Coulee is more than 400 ft (122 m) lower
than Banks Lake. The hydraulic conductivity therefore
was critical if the lake was to hold water. The
preconstruction piezometric levels in the basalt flows
between the dam and Dry Falls were found to be much
higher than the lower coulee floor. Anestimated
leakage of 5 cfs (0.14 m/sec) was predicted and has
been substantiated by post-impoundment experience.
The Coulee monocline serves as a hydraulic barrier to
the west, and an eastward-rising piezometric surface
prevents leakage east of the lake (Neff, in press; Allen
et aI., 1986; Swanson et al., 1979).
Stop 9-3: Dry Falls
Dry Falls is the largest and westernmost unit of a
complex of horseshoe-shaped dry cataracts, channels,
and scablands across and into which cataclysmic flood
waters from periodic discharges from glacial Lake
Missoula were conducted; these floods shaped the
lower Grand Coulee. The complex extends for nearly
15 mi (24 km) eastward. The scarp of Dry Falls is
nearly 400 ft (120 m) high and 3.3 mi (5.5 km) long.
Maximum flood discharge over the cataract is estimated
to have been on the order of 168 million cfs (4.75
million cu m/sec) with water depths greater than 200 ft
(60 m).
The lip of the dry cataract is formed on the eroded
top of the Priest Rapids Member and locally on the
Roza Member, Wanapam Basalt; the floor of the lower
Grand Coulee is in Grande Ronde Basalt. Numerous
"kolk" lakes and lakes occupying old plunge basins
now dot the landscape both above the dry cataract and
in the lower Grand Coulee (Neff, in press; Baker,
1987, 1973; Allen et al., 1979).
T382: 60
Stop 9-4: Chief Joseph Dam (lunch)
Chief Joseph Dam (Figure 9-1), like Grand Coulee
Dam, lies in a section of the Columbia River valley
along the northern edge of the lava plateau. It is here
also that the Columbia Valley enters the SE corner of
the Okanogan Trench. Bedrock in the valley is
"granite" and "granitic gneiss," which characterizes the
Colville batholith and the Okanogan gneiss dome.
Basalt of the CRBG locally overlies and is interbedded
with Latah sediments high on the valley walls. Because
this E-W-trending segment of the valley is essentially
transverse to the direction of movement of the
Okanogan lobe of the Pleistocene continental ice sheet,
a somewhat jumbled sequence of glacial deposits has
been deposited at lower elevations in the valley. The
complexities of interglacial erosion and postglacial
downcutting have left a varied group of ice-contact, fill,
and cut terraces at various elevations. Fields of basalt
"lag" blocks, plucked from the Omak Plateau to the
north by the ice, litter extensive areas of the valley at all
elevations.
At the dam site the postglacial "inner" valley of the
Columbia River is against the south side of the 12,000-
ft- (3,650 m) wide, 1,000-ft- (305 m) deep older
preglacial valley. This positioning resulted in important
geologic features on each side of the inner valley. A
broad glacial terrace ranging in elevation from 1,100 to
1,200 ft (335 to 366 m) occupies the northern half of
the preglacial valley. The terrace is composed of till,
"dump moraine," and proglacial gravel in descending
order overlying the bedrock surface which rises gently
northward. The right abutment of the dam is in this
terrace face (Figure 9-2). The concrete structures of the
dam are all founded on hard granitic rock characterized
by varied joint patterns and minor faults. The most
common joint set strikes N60 0 W and dips NE at a high
angle. Joints are usually slickensided, though healed
with chlorite, and faults usually exhibit only a few
inches (centimeters) of gouge. The rock surface at the
left abutment of the dam rises above the reservoir.
However, just upstream, postglacial downcutting by the
river against the south valley side resulted in a large
landslide area involving glacial deposits, basalt, and
associated sediments. This feature, known as the
Bridgeport slide, covers an area of 1.25 sq mi (3.2 sq
km). The toe of the slide is within the reservoir, and
the head of the slide is as much as 500 ft (152 m) above
the reservoir. Portions of the slide .are periodically
active; the main failure zone is in lubricated, weak
sediments overlying the granite. The slide is monitored
by surface and subsurface instrumentation.
Original construction of the dam included a right
abutment treatment consisting of an embankment
section wrapping around three concrete monoliths. The
embankment is tied to an impervious blanket that
extends 2,000 ft (610 m) upstream. A 1,000-ft- (305
m) long drainage relief adit and well system was driven
into the highly pervious proglacial gravel immediately
downstream of the dam. At initial filling of the
reservoir in 1955 to elevation 946 ft (288.3 m), the .adit
 FIGURE 9-1. Aerial view of Chief Joseph Dam and part of Bridgeport slide (top). Features are: spillway dam (left center),
"buttonhook" (center), intake dam and powerhouse (right center) and closure dam (far right). Foster Creek enters the Columbia
River at lower right. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

RIGHT
FILTER BLANKET
ABUTMENT
RANDOM FILL E1in~T.
0
970
(2")
~--r,-r=ri-='=fnr;-----r.::.r;-:;n--,-,---n;:t~1=n::::rl=~n:::fI~::::n::~~=n:~rr=fii=rF=n=~H-:'T1rT""'\\+\:---j---7'G LACIAL
I TILL
97
(2i5j
870 .AP,-,-.-r.r-""'--'.-ri"I'NE 870
(264) (2iij
770 OPENWORK GRAVEL 770
(234) (234)

970
(215)
870
(2iij
770
(Hi)
,
o

.
200 400 100 100 FT
I
1

I : I
lEFT
ABUTMENT
110 I

970
(Hi)
870
(2M)
GRANITIC ROCK

FIGURE 9-2. Chief Joseph Dam, geologic section looking downstream. From Eckerlin and Galster (in press).

T382: 61
discharged 93 cfs (2.6 cu m/sec). Over the years this
has reduced to about 25 cfs (0.7 cu m/sec).
Original construction also included a grout curtain
extending 80 ft (24 m) beneath the spillway foundation,
50 to 75 ft (15 to 23 m) beneath the intake dam, and 55
ft (17 m) beneath the buttonhook and closure dams.
The drain curtain extends 40 ft (12 m) beneath the
spillway and 28 ft (8.5 m) beneath the buttonhook and
closure dams. Fan drains to collector pipes in the
penstock openings and exterior drains from the
downstream rock face provide drainage from beneath
the intake structure.
During the late 1970s the entire dam and reservoir
was raised 10 ft (3 m) and the powerhouse completed to
its full 27 units. Raising of the spillway dam required
removal of portions of and .the rebuilding of the
spillway piers. This work was accomplished by
controlled blasting behind floating cofferdams. The
reservoir was not lowered to accomplish this
modification (Eckerlin and Galster, in press; Eckerlin,
in press).
FIGURE 9-3. Aerial view of Wells Dam showing hydrocombine (center) and fish rearing facilities (left center). Photo
courtesy Douglas County Public Utility District
T382: 62
Stop 9-5: Wells Dam
The Columbia River valley at Wells Dam (Figure
9-3) is about 4,000 ft (1,220 m) wide, and the river
channel is against the east (left) valley wall. The east
valley wall rises as a series of narrow terraces backed
by granitic bedrock of the Colville-Chelan batholith
complex. More extensive glacial terraces are exposed
on the west (right) valley side, partly burying granitic
rock knobs. The valley floor is underlain by an
unevenly stratified sequence of glacial and fluvial
-sediments consisting of ~ravel and sand with local
cobble and boulder units, silty sandy gravel, and
lenticular units of [me sand and silt representing glacial
lake deposits. The site is close to the distal section of
the Pleistocene Okanogan ice lobe. Till-like units
pervasively overlie bedrock beneath the eastern part of
the valley floor, and glacial lake deposits underlie the
Columbia River gravels. These overburden deposits
range from 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30 m) thick (Figure 9-4).
The fluvial and glaciofluvial units are highly pervious.
 850_
(251)
_ 800_

7._
!(2")
1
11.(227)
East Embankment Hydrocombine

's71II
I (213)

!(:)-
eoo
(113) Maximum excavation Elev. 609Ft. (185m)
550
(118) _850
(251)

.".:~;j;;-~;-~ <:,!1
.
EIev.797Ft. 242m) --------. 750
--------------=
;
w

~
West Embankmer1t : :: :: ::.:
:~~:~ ---.
/~-
.~..:

~ (:'~
(227)
_700 C
(213).2
650 >
c
LL.

?(183)
_550
(168)

Legend (surficial materials not shown)

~--~
--- Silt and sandy sin (Iakebeds)

~ Silty gravelly sand to sl"y sandy gravel o

F"~ Fluvial and glacial sand and gravel
I 100' 200 300
I
{
,
400 A.
I
I
~
(Includes valley side colluvium) a 81 122m
Horizontal sea.
~ SUrface of granitic bedrock

FIGURE 9-4. Wells Dam, geologic section looking downstream. From Galster (in press).

West of the right (west) abutment a deep ancient

channel in the bedrock surface extends to below
elevation 354 ft (108 m), 200 ft (60 m) lower than the
present channel bottom of the river. This ancient
channel is largely filled with glacial lake deposits.
The dam was designed as a hydrocombine with the
spillway on top of the powerhouse in order to take
advantage of a limited area of shallow bedrock adjacent
to the river channel. The foundation was sculpted by
controlled blasting, and only two narrow zones
required additional excavation and concrete backfill. A
grout curtain was placed to a depth of 40 ft (12 m)
below the foundation. The west embankment dam was
constructed in the dry with an impervious core trench
extending to between elevations 720 and 740 ft (219
and 225.5 m). This is tied to a backfilled slurry cut-off
to bedrock. Most of the east embankment was
constructed without dewatering, using underw~ter
placing methods for the lower part of the embankment.
As no compaction was thus possible, significant
settlement of the overlying subaerial embankment was
anticipated and experienced. The rock in both rock
abutments was grouted (Galster, in press).
Stop 9-6: Rocky Reach Dam
The Columbia valley at Rocky Reach Dam (Figure
9-5) is characterized by steep rock walls rising 2,000 ft
(610 m) above the 4,000-ft- (1,200m) wide valley
floor. The walls are composed of Swakane Gneiss, a
biotite gneiss dated as Precambrian. The river hugs the
,west side of the valley and a broad glacial outwash
terrace rising 140 ft (43 m) above the river dominates
the eastern half of the valley bottom. The highest
bedrock lies in and west of the river channel influencing
the "Z"-shaped layout configuration to minimize
excavation. All concrete structures are founded on the
gneissic bedrock. During foundation preparation,
numerous gently-dipping foliation planes were found to
be open as were several similarly oriented faults. This
required overexcavation of fault zones critical to
structural loading.
Beneath the left bank terrace, the bedrock surface
drops to elevations as great as 130 ft (40 m) lower than
the rock surface in the river channel. A sequence of
three geologic units was identified (in descending

T382: 63
 FIGURE 9-5. Aerial view of Rocky Reach Dam. Features include fish passage facilities and non-overflow dam (left),
powerhouse (center), and spillway dam (right), the last abutting into the terrace on the east bank. Photo courtesy Chelan
County Public Utility District.

order): glacial outwash consisting of sand, gravel, and
boulders; varved clay, with thin scattered lenses of
sand; and a gravel unit 10 to 100 ft (3 to 31 m) thick
overlying the bedrock surface (Figure 9-6). The lower
gravels are highly permeable. A cut-off trench was
placed through the upper gravels and a triple-row
cement grout curtain installed by drilling through the
varved clays and into the lower gravels to the bedrock
surface. Near the dam the grout curtain was expanded
to five rows, and toward the opposite end, it was
reduced to a single line curtain. Total length of the
grouted cut-off is 1,950 ft (594 m). A collector
drainage system in the lower gravels was installed
downstream from the left abutment (Coombs, in press).

TERRACE E
SAND, GRAVEL BOULDERS 700e
- ;
(213) L
c
100 -;
(183) .!!
'ii
100e
- >
(152) iii
EAST DAM
ABUTMENT
Length of section approximately 1750 fe

FIGURE 9-6. Rocky Reach Dam, geologic section along left bank cut-off trench, view upstream. From Coombs (in press).

T382: 64
DAY 10: WENATCHEE, WASHINGTON
TO SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Itinerary
The fmal day of the excursion will begin with a visit
to Rock Island Dam, the oldest dam on the main stem
of the Columbia River. The route will then cross the
Chiwaukum graben to Leavenworth, a Bavarian-style
town at the foot of the North Cascades. Continuing
south the excursion will cross the Wenatchee
Mountains, a SE-trending spur off the North Cascades,
at Swauk Pass (elevation 4,102 ft [1,250 m]) (lunch)
and descend into the Yakima River basin to Interstate
Highway 90 (1-90) near CleElum. The route then
proceeds west-northwest along the Olympic-Wallowa
lineament, across the Cascade Range at Snoqualmie
Pass (elevation 3,010 ft [917 m]) and into the Puget
Sound Basin. A final stop will be made at Snoqualmie
Falls.
The route passes through much of the classic central
Cascade geology. Wenatchee lies at the boundary
between the Columbia Plateau and the North Cascades
at the southeast comer of the Chiwaukum graben. A
zone of small Tertiary intrusives and hydrothermally
altered rocks dominates the geology of the graben
immediately southwest of the city. These are probably
related to the Entiat fault, which bounds the east side of
the graben. The graben is floored by folded and faulted
Paleogene sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and tuff of
the Chumstick Formation. The Leayenworth fault
bounds the west side of the graben.
After crossing the metamorphic core of the
Wenatchee Mountains (and the Leavenworth fault
twice) the geology will be dominated by Paleogene
sedimentary rocks of the Swauk, Roslyn, and Naches
formations and the Paleogene Tenaway Basalt and its
feeder dikes. These rocks were deposited in a complex
of fault-bounded blocks within and adjacent to the
Olympic-Wallowa structural zone and its intersection
with the N-trending Straight Creek fault, a major strike
slip feature of the North Cascades.
After crossing Snoqualmie Pass we will pass
through rocks of the Tertiary Snoqualmie batholith
which give way westward to intercalated Tertiary
sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Major glacial features
of the Puget lobe will be seen within the Snoqualmie
embayment, a major re-entrant into the west side of the
Cascade Range along the Olympic-Wallowa zone
(Gresens, 1983; Tabor et aI., 1984; Mackin, 1941).
Stop 10-1: Rock Island Dam
Rock Island Dam (Figure 10-1) was originally
constructed between 1930 and 1933 near the
downstream end of Rock Island Rapids. Here,. the
post-basalt Columbia River departed from its lava-
marginal position and was diverted onto the lava
plateau, probably by the beginning of the Wenatchee
Mountain uplift. The Columbia River here is against
the east (left) wall of the valley, and a large glacial
outwash terrace occupies much of the valley bottom.
T382: 65
The terrace, rising 200 ft (60 m) above the right bank,
is unique, its most recent Pleistocene outwash was
deposited in an up-valley direction. This outwash
apparently originated from Moses Coulee which enters
the Columbia valley from the left bank a short distance
downstream. The surface and riverward slopes of the
terrace are littered with ice-rafted basalt blocks up to 20
ft (6 m) in diameter. Internally, the terrace is largely
composed of sand and gravel, though lacustrine
deposits are also present. A highly irregular bedrock
surface is exposed in the channel, developed on nearly
flat-lying unnamed flows within the R2 section of the
Grande Ronde Basalt (Figure 3-1). The bedrock
surface drops to unknown depths beneath the terrace.
Because of the proximity of the site to the margin of the
lava field, the basalt flows here show invasive
relationships with sedimentary units that were
concurrently being deposited along the lava margin.
Thus, the basalts at the site are commonly found mixed
with tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone as well as
sediment-rich lava breccias and highly vesicular or
scoriacious zones that are common to flow contacts
elsewhere.
As originally constructed, the dam consisted of a
37-bay spillway across the southern (right) part of the
channel and a nonoverflow intake dam-powerhouse in
the north (left) bank channel. The powerhouse
excavation was on sound basalt, but the spillway
section lies on a highly complex and irregular section of
sediments, breccias, and basalt (Figure 10-2).
Grouting was done from the exterior heel of the
structure, but no drainage system was installed below
the foundation contact.
During the late 1970s, the south (right) bank
powerhouse was constructed, and the original concrete
structures were reinforced by installation of 163 steel
cable tendons anchored at varied depths into bedrock.
The deep powerhouse excavation exposed the
intercalation of the basalts and sediments. Although the
powerhouse is founded mostly on dense or vesicular
basalt, substantial portions are founded on siltstone and
flow breccia. A strong artesian circuit was found
beneath the powerhouse. This required installation of
an extensive drainage system consisting of 48 shallow
drains flowing via a collector system to the dewaterin,g
sump where drainage is pumped to tailwater (Galster, in
press).
Stop 10-2: Leavenworth
The town is adjacent to the N-trending Leavenworth
fault, which marks the western boundary of the
Chiwaukum graben. The Wenatchee River enters the
graben through a deep canyon, known as Tumwater
Canyon, cut into the granitic-metamorphic complex that
characterizes the core of the North Cascades. Many
years ago the town established its Bavarian motif and
has since become a popular stop for travelers across
Stevens Pass.
 FIGURE 10-1. Vertical aerial view of Rock Island Dam. Second powerhouse at left, original powerhouse at right. Ice-rafted
basalt blocks may be seen on terrace surface (lower left). Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Stop 10-3: Swauk Meadows (lunch)

In this area swarms of N- to NNE- striking dikes of
the Eocene Teanaway Basalt are seen intruding the
Paleocene Swauk Formation. These are feeder dikes
for the extensive volcanic unit which was extruded
within the Teanaway River block (basin). The
extrusive unit ranges in thickness from 10 ft (3 m) on
the east side of the Teanaway basin to 2,500 ft (762 m)
near Kachess Lake on the west. The basalt is overlain
by mid to late Eocene sandstones, shales, and coal beds
of the Roslyn Formation (Tabor et al., 1984).
Stop 10-4: Snoqualmie Falls
Late Pleistocene glacial diversion of the Snoqualmie
River on to an extensive ledge of Tertiary basalt set the
scene for the world's first fully underground
hydropower plant. Snoqualmie Falls has a drop of 268
ft (81.6 m) into a plunge pool, 65 ft (20 m) deep. The
nominal water surface in the plunge pool is only 130 ft
(40 m) above sea level. The falls have retreated about
1,000 ft (305 m) since deglaciation, a large portion of
the lower valley being established by ice-meltwaters.
Construction of the Snoqualmie Falls powerplant
began in 1898; partial operation began the following
year. The project consists of a 10-ft- (3 m) high
concrete diverson weir resting on bedrock above the lip
of the falls and a 270 ft (82 m) long vertical penstock
shaft located 300 ft (91 m) behind the falls, leading to
an underground powerhouse cavity 200 ft (61 m) long,
40 ft (12 m) wide and 30 ft (9 m) high. Discharge is
via a 650-ft- (198 m) long tailrace tunnel which exits to
the right of the falls toe. All underground facilities are
in massive basalt which stands unlined and
unsupported. The powerhouse walls are whitewashed
to control dust.
An underground facility was selected to prevent
spray from the falls from disrupting the primitive
generating equipment. In 1910 a remote surface
powerhouse was constructed on the right bank a
sufficient distance downstream to eliminate spray
problems. The project is on the United States Register
of Historic Places and continues to be used for power
peaking purposes (Galster and Olmsted, 1977; Galster,
in press).

T382: 66
 S

Right Abutment

Top of DMft (Deck EI. 111 Ft.) (187m)

East Spillway

--,--'
- --
...... _-
n
..2 -, - / -., /,-- - -"
~'-'- ...... , ~
3'
-==---- .=::=..::=--- _ _ _ _ --- ----- 2
3
-500
(152)

Lo..., Level of Excavation

-- - - - ==-=--=-"'T==-
(122)
-400
Elevation
In Feet
(m)

TOp of Dam (D.eck EI. 616 Ft.) (1l7mt

(183)
Powerhouse '1 East
Spillway

_ _ .J''-.2
SCale ,_ 500
o 100 200 300 400R ApproXimate Elevation of 3 '\ u 152)
I ' I I II Drsft TulM Excavation ;
o 60 120m
E~6: . o6:0:oo] Sand and Gravel
(122)
W//////IA 511 and Sand -400
Elevation
~ Top of Basal Bedrock In Feet
(m)

FIGURE 10-2. Rock Island Dam, geologic section looking downstream. Numbered bedrock units are generalized as follows: 1,
columnar basalt; 2, combination of invasive vesicular and scoriaceous basalt, tuffs, and breccia with highly irregular invasive
characteristics; 3, generally columnar to "massive" basalt; 4, tuff. From Galster (in press).

Acknowledgment
The draft of this field guide was technically and
editorially reviewed by Katherine M. Reed, Washington
Division of Geology and Earth Resources, Olympia,
Washington, and Howard H. Waldron, Shannon and
Wilson, Seattle, Washington. The authors gratefully
acknowledge their efforts. Data regarding Kerr Dam
was provided by Michael Pavone of EBASCO in
Bellevue, Washington. Brent H. Carter, U. S. Bureau
of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho, provided data on Hungry
Horse Dam. The assistance of Fred J. Miklancic of the
Walla Walla District, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers,
and John W. Sager, North Pacific Division, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers was most appreciated.
REFERENCES
Allen, J. E., The Magnificent Gateway, Timber Press, Forest
Grove, OR, 1984.
Allen, J. E., Bums, M., and Sargent, S. C., Cataclysms on the
Columbia, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 1986.
Anderson, J. L. Beeson, M. H., Bentley, R. D., Fecht, K. R.,
Hooper, P. R., Niem, A. R., Reidel, S. P., Swanson, D. A.,
Tolan, T. L., and Wright, T. L., Distribution maps of
stratigraphic units of the Columbia River Basalt Group, in
Schuster, J. E. (ed.), Selected Papers on the Geology of
Washington, pp. 183-195, 1987.
Baker, V. R., Paleohydrology and Sedimentology of Lake
Missoula Flooding in Eastern Washington, Goo!., Soc. Am.
Special Paper 144, 1973.
Baker, V. R., Dry Falls of the channeled scabland, Washington,
Geol. Soc. Am. Centennial Field Guide-Cordilleran Sec., pp.
369-372, 1987.

T382: 67