Columbia River Basalt Group#Grande Ronde Basalt
{{Short description|Continental flood basalt province in the Western United States}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
File:Columbia River Flood-Basalt Province.jpg
The Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) is the youngest, smallest and one of the best-preserved continental flood basalt provinces on Earth, covering over {{convert|210000|km2|abbr=on}} mainly eastern Oregon and Washington, western Idaho, and part of northern Nevada.{{USGS|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/cvo_columbia_river_basalt.html|title=Columbia River Basalt Group Stretches from Oregon to Idaho|work=Cascades Volcano Observatory}} The basalt group includes the Steens and Picture Gorge basalt formations.
Introduction
File:Mascall-Mural.jpg animals at the Picture Gorge Basalts]]
During the middle to late Miocene epoch, the Columbia River flood basalts engulfed about {{convert|163700|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of the Pacific Northwest, forming a large igneous province with an estimated volume of {{convert|174300|km3|abbr=on}}. Eruptions were most vigorous 17–14 million years ago, when over 99 percent of the basalt was released. Less extensive eruptions continued 14–6 million years ago.{{Harvnb|Carson|Pogue|1996}}, p.2; {{Harvnb|
Reidel|2005}}, p.{{Page needed|date=September 2011}}.
Erosion resulting from the Missoula Floods has extensively exposed these lava flows, laying bare many layers of the basalt flows at Wallula Gap, the lower Palouse River, the Columbia River Gorge and throughout the Channeled Scablands.
The Columbia River Basalt Group is thought to be a potential link to the Chilcotin Group in south-central British Columbia, Canada.[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-124343378.html Igneous rock associations in Canada 3. Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) in Canada and adjacent regions: 3] The Latah Formation sediments of Washington and Idaho are interbedded with a number of the Columbia River Basalt Group flows, and outcrop across the region.
Absolute dates, subject to a statistical uncertainty, are determined through radiometric dating using isotope ratios such as 40Ar/39Ar dating, which can be used to identify the date of solidifying basalt. In the CRBG deposits 40Ar, which is produced by 40K decay, only accumulates after the melt solidifies.{{Harvnb|Barry|others|2010}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
Other flood basalts include the Deccan Traps (late Cretaceous period), that cover an area of {{convert|500,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in west-central India; the Emeishan Traps (Permian), which cover more than 250,000 square kilometers in southwestern China; and Siberian Traps (late Permian) that cover {{Nowrap|2 million km2}} (800,000 sq mi) in Russia.
Formation
Some time during a 10–15 million-year period, lava flow after lava flow poured out of multiple dikes which trace along an old fault line running from south-eastern Oregon through to western British Columbia.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} The many layers of lava eventually reached a thickness of more than {{convert|1.8|km|ft|abbr=on}}. As the molten rock came to the surface, the Earth's crust gradually sank into the space left by the rising lava. This subsidence of the crust produced a large, slightly depressed lava plain now known as the Columbia Basin or Columbia River Plateau. The northwesterly advancing lava forced the ancient Columbia River into its present course. The lava, as it flowed over the area, first filled the stream valleys, forming dams that in turn caused impoundments or lakes. In these ancient lake beds are found fossil leaf impressions, petrified wood, fossil insects, and bones of vertebrate animals.{{Harvnb|Alt|2001}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}; {{Harvnb|Bjornstad|2006}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}; {{Harvnb|Alt|Hyndman|1995}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}Portions of this article, including a figure, are adapted from works of the United States Government, which are in the public domain.
In the middle Miocene, 17 to 15 Ma, the Columbia Plateau and the Oregon Basin and Range of the Pacific Northwest were flooded with lava flows. Both flows are similar in composition and age, and have been attributed to a common source, the Yellowstone hotspot. The ultimate cause of the volcanism is still up for debate, but the most widely accepted idea is that the mantle plume or upwelling (similar to that associated with present-day Hawaii) initiated the widespread and voluminous basaltic volcanism about 17 million years ago. As hot mantle plume materials rise and reach lower pressures, the hot materials melt and interact with the materials in the upper mantle, creating magma. Once that magma breaches the surface, it flows as lava and then solidifies into basalt.{{Harvnb|Bishop|2003}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
=Transition to flood volcanism=
File:Palouse-Canyon-Washington-State.jpg Canyon just downstream of Palouse Falls, the Sentinel Bluffs flows of the Grand Ronde Formation can be seen on the bottom, covered by the Ginkgo Flow of the Wanapum Basalt.]]
Prior to 17.5 million years ago, the Western Cascade stratovolcanoes erupted with periodic regularity for over 20 million years, even as they do today. An abrupt transition to shield volcanic flooding took place in the mid-Miocene. The flows can be divided into four major categories: The Steens Basalt, Grande Ronde Basalt, the Wanapum Basalt, and the Saddle Mountains Basalt. The various lava flows have been dated by radiometric dating—particularly through measurement of the ratios of isotopes of potassium to argon.{{Harvnb|Carson|Pogue|1996}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}} The Columbia River flood basalt province comprises more than 300 individual basalt lava flows that have an average volume of {{convert|500|to|600|km3}}.{{Harvnb|Bryan|others|2010}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
The transition to flood volcanism in the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG),{{cite book |doi=10.1130/2013.2497(02) |chapter=Eruption chronology of the Columbia River Basalt Group |title=The Columbia River Flood Basalt Province |date=2013 |last1=Barry |first1=T.L. |last2=Kelley |first2=S.P. |last3=Reidel |first3=S.P. |last4=Camp |first4=V.E. |last5=Self |first5=S. |last6=Jarboe |first6=N.A. |last7=Duncan |first7=R.A. |last8=Renne |first8=P.R. |isbn=978-0-8137-2497-3 }} similar to other large igneous provinces, was also marked by atmospheric loading through the mass exsolution and emission of volatiles, via the process of volcanic degassing. Comparative analysis of volatile concentrations in source feeder dikes to associated extruded flow units have been quantitatively measured to determine the magnitude of degassing exhibited in CRBG eruptions. Of the more than 300 individual flows associated with the CRBG, the Roza flow contains some of the most chemically well preserved basalts for volatile analysis. Contained within the Wanapum formation, Roza is one of the most extensive members of the CRBG with an area of 40,300 square kilometres and a volume of 1,300 cubic kilometres.{{cite journal |last1=Thordarson |first1=T. |last2=Self |first2=S. |title=The Roza Member, Columbia River Basalt Group: A gigantic pahoehoe lava flow field formed by endogenous processes? |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |date=10 November 1998 |volume=103 |issue=B11 |pages=27411–27445 |doi=10.1029/98JB01355 |bibcode=1998JGR...10327411T |doi-access=free }} With magmatic volatile values assumed at 1 - 1.5 percent by weight concentration for source feeder dikes, the emission of sulphur for the Roza flow is calculated to be on the order of 12Gt (12,000 million tonnes) at a rate of 1.2Gt (1,200 million tonnes) annually, in the form of sulphur dioxide (SO2).{{cite journal |last1=Self |first1=S. |last2=Thordarson |first2=T. |last3=Widdowson |first3=M. |title=Gas Fluxes from Flood Basalt Eruptions |journal=Elements |date=December 2005 |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=283–287 |doi=10.2113/gselements.1.5.283 |bibcode=2005Eleme...1..283S |s2cid=128482065 |url=http://www.elementsmagazine.org/ |url-access=subscription }} However, other research through petrologic analysis has yielded SO2 mass degassing values at 0.12% - 0.28% of the total erupted mass of the magma, translating to lower emission estimates in the range of 9.2Gt of sulfur dioxide for the Roza flow.{{cite journal |last1=Blake |first1=S. |last2=Self |first2=S. |last3=Sharma |first3=K. |last4=Sephton |first4=S. |title=Sulfur release from the Columbia River Basalts and other flood lava eruptions constrained by a model of sulfide saturation |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |date=November 2010 |volume=299 |issue=3–4 |pages=328–338 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2010.09.013 |bibcode=2010E&PSL.299..328B }} Sulfuric acid, a by-product of emitted sulfur dioxide and atmospheric interactions, has been calculated to be 1.7Gt annually for the Roza flow and 17Gt in total.{{cite journal |last1=Thordarson |first1=Th. |last2=Self |first2=S. |title=Sulfur, chlorine and fluorine degassing and atmospheric loading by the Roza eruption, Columbia River Basalt Group, Washington, USA |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |date=November 1996 |volume=74 |issue=1–2 |pages=49–73 |doi=10.1016/S0377-0273(96)00054-6 |bibcode=1996JVGR...74...49T }} Analysis of glass inclusions within phenocrysts of the basaltic deposits have yielded emission volumes on the magnitude of 310 Mt of hydrochloric acid, and 1.78 Gt of hydrofluoric acid, additionally.
=Cause of volcanism=
Major hotspots have often been tracked back to flood-basalt events. In this case the Yellowstone hotspot's initial flood-basalt event occurred near Steens Mountain when the Imnaha and Steens eruptions began. As the North American Plate moved several centimeters per year westward, the eruptions progressed through the Snake River Plain across Idaho and into Wyoming. Consistent with the hot spot hypothesis, the lava flows are progressively younger as one proceeds east along this path.{{Harvnb|Bishop|2003}}, p.{{Page needed|date=September 2011}} Previous to this eruptive period, it is believed the Yellowstone Hotspot created features like Smith Rock in Central Oregon and perhaps another flood basalt event known as Siletzia which underlies much of the Pacific Northwest coast with exposures in the Oregon Coast Range.{{Cite web |title=Central Oregon Geoscience Society - The Crooked River Caldera |url=https://www.cogeosoc.org/event-4597369 |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=www.cogeosoc.org}}{{cite journal |last1=Camp |first1=Victor |last2=Wells |first2=Ray |title=The Case for a Long-Lived and Robust Yellowstone Hotspot |journal=GSA Today |date=January 2021 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=4–10 |doi=10.1130/GSATG477A.1 |bibcode=2021GSAT...31a...4C |doi-access=free }}
There is additional confirmation that Yellowstone is associated with a deep hot spot. Using tomographic images based on seismic waves, relatively narrow, deeply seated, active convective plumes have been detected under Yellowstone and several other hot spots. These plumes are much more focused than the upwelling observed with large-scale plate-tectonics circulation.{{Harvnb|Humphreys|Schmandt|2011}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
File:HotspotsSRP update2013.JPG
The hot spot hypothesis is not universally accepted as it has not resolved several questions. The Yellowstone hot spot volcanism track shows a large apparent bow in the hot-spot track that does not correspond to changes in plate motion if the northern CRBG floods are considered. Further, the Yellowstone images show necking of the plume at {{convert|650|and|400|km|mi|abbr=on}}, which may correspond to phase changes or may reflect still-to-be-understood viscosity effects. Additional data collection and further modeling will be required to achieve a consensus on the actual mechanism.{{Harvnb|Humphreys|Schmandt|2011}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
=Speed of flood basalt emplacement=
The Columbia River Basalt Group flows exhibit essentially uniform chemical properties through the bulk of individual flows, suggesting rapid placement. Ho and Cashman (1997) characterized the {{convert|500|km|mi|adj=on|abbr=on}}-long Ginkgo flow of the Frenchman Springs Member, determining that it had been formed in roughly a week, based on the measured melting temperature along the flow from the origin to the most distant point of the flow, combined with hydraulics considerations. The Ginkgo basalt was examined over its {{convert|500|km|mi|adj=on|abbr=on}} flow path from a Ginkgo flow feeder dike near Kahlotus, Washington to the flow terminus in the Pacific Ocean at Yaquina Head, Oregon. The basalt had an upper melting temperature of {{nowrap|1 095 ± 5 °C}} and a lower temperature to {{nowrap|1 085 ± 5 °C;}} this indicates that the maximum temperature drop along the Ginkgo flow was 20 °C. The lava must have spread quickly to achieve this uniformity.
Image:YaquinaHead 6382.jpghouse sits atop erosion-resistant Ginkgo flow basalt of the Frenchman Springs Member over {{convert|500|km|mi|abbr=on}} from its origin.]]
Analyses indicate that the flow must remain laminar, as turbulent flow would cool more quickly. This could be accomplished by sheet flow, which can travel at velocities of {{convert|1|to|8|m/s|mph}} without turbulence and minimal cooling, suggesting that the Ginkgo flow occurred in less than a week. The cooling/hydraulics analyses are supported by an independent indicator; if longer periods were required, external water from temporarily dammed rivers would intrude, resulting in both more dramatic cooling rates and increased volumes of pillow lava. Ho's analysis is consistent with the analysis by Reidel, Tolan, & Beeson (1994), who proposed a maximum Pomona flow emplacement duration of several months based on the time required for rivers to be reestablished in their canyons following a basalt flow interruption.{{Harvnb|Ho|Cashman|1997}}{{rp|pages=403–406}}{{Harvnb|Reidel|Tolan|Beeson|1994}}{{rp|pages= 1–18}}
=Dating of the flood basalt flows=
Three major tools are used to date the CRBG flows: Stratigraphy, radiometric dating, and magnetostratigraphy. These techniques have been key to correlating data from disparate basalt exposures and boring samples over five states.
Major eruptive pulses of flood basalt lavas are laid down stratigraphically. The layers can be distinguished by physical characteristics and chemical composition. Each distinct layer is typically assigned a name usually based on area (valley, mountain, or region) where that formation is exposed and available for study. Stratigraphy provides a relative ordering (ordinal ranking) of the CRBG layers.
File:Hole in the Ground Coulee.jpg, Washington. The upper basalt is a Priest Rapids Member flow lying above a Roza Member flow, while the lower canyon exposes a layer of Grand Ronde basalt.]]
Absolute dates, subject to a statistical uncertainty, are determined through radiometric dating using isotope ratios such as 40Ar/39Ar dating, which can be used to identify the date of solidifying basalt. In the CRBG deposits 40Ar, which is produced by 40K decay, only accumulates after the melt solidifies.{{Harvnb|Barry|others|2010}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
Magnetostratigraphy is also used to determine age. This technique uses the pattern of magnetic polarity zones of CRBG layers by comparison to the magnetic polarity timescale. The samples are analyzed to determine their characteristic remanent magnetization from the Earth's magnetic field at the time a stratum was deposited. This is possible because, as magnetic minerals precipitate in the melt (crystallize), they align themselves with Earth's current magnetic field.{{Harvnb|Camp|Ross|2004}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
The Steens Basalt captured a highly detailed record of the Earth's magnetic reversal that occurred roughly 15 million years ago. Over a 10,000-year period, more than 130 flows solidified – roughly one flow every 75 years. As each flow cooled below about {{convert|500|C|F}}, it captured the magnetic field's orientation-normal, reversed, or in one of several intermediate positions. Most of the flows froze with a single magnetic orientation. However, several of the flows, which freeze from both the upper and lower surfaces, progressively toward the center, captured substantial variations in magnetic field direction as they froze. The observed change in direction was reported as 50⁰ over 15 days.{{Harvnb|Appenzeller|1992}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
Major flows
=Steens Basalt=
File:SteensMountain - view from top.jpg with basalt layers visible on the eroded face.]]
The Steens Basalt flows covered about {{convert|50000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of the Oregon Plateau in sections up to {{convert|1|km|ft|abbr=on}} thick. It contains the earliest identified eruption of the CRBG large igneous province. The type locality for the Steens basalt, which covers a large portion of the Oregon Plateau, is an approximately {{convert|1000|m|ft|adj=on|abbr=on}} face of Steens Mountain showing multiple layers of basalt. The oldest of the flows considered part of the Columbia River Basalt Group, the Steens basalt, includes flows geographically separated but roughly concurrent with the Imnaha flows. Older Imnaha basalt north of Steens Mountain overlies the chemically distinct lowermost flows of Steens basalt; hence some flows of the Imnaha are stratigraphically younger than the lowermost Steens basalt.{{Harvnb|Camp|Ross|Hanson|2003}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
One geomagnetic field reversal occurred during the Steens Basalt eruptions at approximately 16.7 Ma, as dated using 40Ar/39Ar ages and the geomagnetic polarity timescale.{{Harvnb|Jarboe|others|2008}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}} Steens Mountain and related sections of Oregon Plateau flood basalts at Catlow Peak and Poker Jim Ridge {{convert|70|to|90|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the southeast and west of Steens Mountain, provide the most detailed magnetic field reversal data (reversed-to-normal polarity transition) yet reported in volcanic rocks.{{Harvnb|Jarboe|Coe|Glen|2011}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
The observed trend in feeder dike swarms associated with the Steens Basalt flow are considered to be atypical of other dike swarm trends associated with the CRBG. These swarms, characterized by a maintained trend of N20°E, trace the northward continuation of the Nevada shear zone and have been attributed to magmatic rise through this zone on a regional scale.{{cite book |doi=10.1130/2013.2497(01) |chapter=The Columbia River flood basalt province: Stratigraphy, areal extent, volume, and physical volcanology |title=The Columbia River Flood Basalt Province |date=2013 |last1=Reidel |first1=Stephen P. |last2=Camp |first2=Victor E. |last3=Tolan |first3=Terry L. |last4=Martin |first4=Barton S. |isbn=978-0-8137-2497-3 }}
=Imnaha Basalt=
Virtually coeval with the oldest of the flows, the Imnaha basalt flows welled up across northeastern Oregon. There were 26 major flows over the period, one roughly every 15,000 years. Although estimates are that this amounts to about 10% of the total flows, they have been buried under more recent flows, and are visible in few locations.{{Harvnb|Alt|Hyndman|1995}}. p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}} They can be seen along the lower benches of the Imnaha River and Snake River in Wallowa county.{{Harvnb|Bishop|2003}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
The Imnaha lavas have been dated using the K–Ar technique, and show a broad range of dates. The oldest is 17.67±0.32 Ma with younger lava flows ranging to 15.50±0.40 Ma. Although the Imnaha Basalt overlies Lower Steens Basalt, it has been suggested that it is interfingered with Upper Steens Basalt.{{Harvnb|Barry|others|2010}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
=Grande Ronde Basalt=
The next oldest of the flows, from 17 million to 15.6 million years ago, make up the Grande Ronde Basalt. Units (flow zones) within the Grande Ronde Basalt include the Meyer Ridge and the Sentinel Bluffs units. Geologists estimate that the Grande Ronde Basalt comprises about 85 percent of the total flow volume. It is characterized by a number of dikes called the Chief Joseph Dike Swarm near Joseph, Enterprise, Troy and Walla Walla through which the lava upwelling occurred (estimates range to up to 20,000 such dikes). Many of the dikes were fissures {{Convert|5|to|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide and up to {{Convert|10|mi|km}} in length, allowing for huge quantities of magma upwelling. Much of the lava flowed north into Washington as well as down the Columbia River channel to the Pacific Ocean; the tremendous flows created the Columbia River Plateau. The weight of this flow (and the emptying of the underlying magma chamber) caused central Washington to sink, creating the broad Columbia Basin in Washington.{{Harvnb|Carson|Pogue|1996}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}; {{Harvnb|Alt|Hyndman|1995}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}{{Cite journal |last1=Perry-Houts |first1=Jonathan |last2=Humphreys |first2=Eugene |date=2018-06-07 |title=Eclogite-driven subsidence of the Columbia Basin (Washington State, USA) caused by deposition of Columbia River Basalt |journal=Geology |language=en |volume=46 |issue=7 |pages=651–654 |doi=10.1130/g40328.1 |bibcode=2018Geo....46..651P |s2cid=133835114 |issn=0091-7613}} The type locality for the formation is the canyon of the Grande Ronde River. Grande Ronde basalt flows and dikes can also be seen in the exposed {{convert|2000|ft|m|adj=on}} walls of Joseph Canyon along Oregon Route 3.{{Harvnb|Bishop|2003}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
File:Grande Ronde River and Grande Ronde Basalt IMG 4536.jpg for the Grande Ronde Basalt lies along the lower Grande Ronde as shown here.]]
The Grande Ronde basalt flows flooded down the ancestral Columbia River channel to the west of the Cascade Mountains. It can be found exposed along the Clackamas River and at Silver Falls State Park where the falls plunge over multiple layers of the Grande Ronde basalt. Evidence of eight flows can be found in the Tualatin Mountains on the west side of Portland.{{Harvnb|Bishop|2003}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
Individual flows included large quantities of basalt. The McCoy Canyon flow of the Sentinel Bluffs Member released {{convert|4278|km3|abbr=on}} of basalt in layers of {{convert|10|to|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} in thickness. The Umtanum flow has been estimated at {{convert|2750|km3|abbr=on}} in layers {{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep. The Pruitt Draw flow of the Teepee Butte Member released about {{convert|2350|km3|abbr=on}} with layers of basalt up to {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick.{{Harvnb|Bryan|others|2010}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
=Wanapum Basalt=
The Wanapum Basalt is made up of the Eckler Mountain Member (15.6 million years ago), the Frenchman Springs Member (15.5 million years ago), the Roza Member (14.9 million years ago) and the Priest Rapids Member (14.5 million years ago).{{Harvnb|Carson|Pogue|1996}}{{page needed|date=September 2011}}; {{Harvnb|Mueller|Mueller|1997}}{{page needed|date=September 2011}}. They originated from vents between Pendleton, Oregon and Hanford, Washington.
File:Park Lake Side Canyon 0303.JPG
The Frenchman Springs Member flowed along similar paths as the Grande Ronde basalts, but can be identified by different chemical characteristics. It flowed west to the Pacific, and can be found in the Columbia Gorge, along the upper Clackamas River, the hills south of Oregon City,{{Harvnb|Bishop|2003}}{{page needed|date=September 2011}}. and as far west as Yaquina Head near Newport, Oregon – a distance of {{convert|750|km|mi|abbr=on}}.{{Harvnb|Ho|Cashman|1997}}{{page needed|date=July 2013}}
=Saddle Mountains Basalt=
The Saddle Mountains Basalt, seen prominently at the Saddle Mountains, is made up of the Umatilla Member flows, the Wilbur Creek Member flows, the Asotin Member flows (13 million years ago), the Weissenfels Ridge Member flows, the Esquatzel Member flows, the Elephant Mountain Member flows (10.5 million years ago), the Bujford Member flows, the Ice Harbor Member flows (8.5 million years ago) and the Lower Monumental Member flows (6 million years ago).{{Harvnb|Carson|Pogue|1996}}, p.{{Page needed|date=July 2013}}
Related geologic structures
=Oregon High Lava Plains=
{{Harvtxt|Camp|Ross|2004}} observed that the Oregon High Lava Plains is a complementary system of propagating rhyolite eruptions, with the same point of origin. The two phenomena occurred concurrently, with the High Lava Plains propagating westward since ~10 Ma, while the Snake River Plains propagated eastward.{{cite web|url=https://www.wou.edu/las/physci/taylor/gs407rivers/High_Lava_Plains.pdf|title=High Lava Plainsa|website=WOU.EDU|access-date=2018-01-23}}
See also
{{Portal|Geology}}
{{Commons Category|Members of the Columbia River Basalt Group}}
References
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- {{cite journal
|first1 = Anita M. |last1 = Ho
|first2 = Katharine V. |last2 = Cashman
|title = Temperature constraints on the Ginkgo flow of the Columbia River Basalt Group
|journal = Geology |year = 1997
|volume = 25 |issue = 5 |pages = 403–406
|doi = 10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0403:TCOTGF>2.3.CO;2
|bibcode = 1997Geo....25..403H
}}
- {{cite journal
|first1 = Eugene |last1 = Humphreys
|first2 = Brandon |last2 = Schmandt
|title = Looking for mantle plumes
|journal = Physics Today |year = 2011
|volume = 64 |issue = 8 |pages = 34
|doi = 10.1063/PT.3.1217 |bibcode = 2011PhT....64h..34H
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- {{cite journal
|first1 = Nicholas A. |last1 = Jarboe
|first2 = Robert |last2 = Coe
|first3 = Jonathan M.G. |last3 = Glen
|title = Evidence from lava flows for complex polarity transitions: the new composite Steens Mountain reversal record
|journal = Geophysical Journal International |year = 2011
|volume = 186 |issue = 2 |pages = 580–602
|doi = 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2011.05086.x |doi-access = free
|bibcode = 2011GeoJI.186..580J
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|ref = CITEREFJarboeothers2008
|first1 = N.A. |last1 = Jarboe
|first2 = R.S. |last2 = Coe
|first3 = P.R. |last3 = Renne
|first4 = J.M.G. |last4 = Glen
|first5 = E.A. |last5 = Mankinen
|title = Quickly erupted volcanic sections of the Steens Basalt, Columbia River Basalt Group: Secular variation, tectonic rotation, and the Steens Mountain reversal
|journal = Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |year = 2008
|volume = 9 |issue = Q11010
|pages = n/a |doi = 10.1029/2008GC002067 |bibcode = 2008GGG.....911010J
|doi-access = free
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- {{cite book
|first1=Marge
|last1=Mueller
|first2=Ted
|last2=Mueller
|year=1997
|title=Fire, Faults & Floods: A road & trail guide exploring the origins of the Columbia River Basin
|publisher=University of Idaho Press
|location=Moscow, ID
|isbn=978-0-89301-206-9
|url=https://archive.org/details/firefaultsfloods00muel
|url-access=registration
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- {{cite book
|first1 = S.P. |last1=Reidel
|first2 = T.L. |last2=Tolan
|first3 = M.H. |last3=Beeson
|editor-first1=D.A. |editor-last1=Swanson
|editor-first2=R.A. |editor-last2=Haugerud
|year=1994
|title = Factors that influenced the eruptive and emplacement histories of flood basalt flows: A field guide to selected vents and flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group
|series=Geologic Field Trips in the Pacific Northwest
|publisher=University of Washington |place=Seattle, WA
|volume=V |pages=1–18
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- {{cite journal
|last1= Reidel |first1 = Stephen P.
|title = A lava flow without a source: The Cohasset flow and its compositional members
|journal = Journal of Geology |date=January 2005
|volume = 113 |issue=1 |pages=1–21
|bibcode = 2005JG....113....1R |doi=10.1086/425966
|s2cid = 12587046
}}
{{div col end}}
{{refend}}
External links
{{commons and category}}
- [http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/ColumbiaPlateau/framework.html USGS - Page on Columbia Plateau]
- [http://www.nps.gov/laro/naturescience/geology.htm Geology of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area] - (source of much of this page)
- [http://or.water.usgs.gov/projs_dir/crbg/index.html USGS Oregon Water Science Center - Columbia River Basalt Group in Oregon]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080514031955/http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_america/crb.html Volcano World: page on Columbia River Flood Basalt Province]
{{Clear}}
{{Columbia River}}
{{Large igneous provinces}}
{{Ice Age Floods}}
{{Volcanoes of Oregon}}
Category:Large igneous provinces
Category:Plateaus of the United States
Category:Volcanism of Washington (state)
Category:Paleogene United States
Category:Geologic provinces of the United States