Description
Geology and geologic hazards in the Whittier area, Southcentral Alaska, Preliminary Interpretive Report 2024-10, presents mapping of surficial and bedrock geology and a general assessment of natural hazards near Whittier, Alaska. The city of Whittier, Alaska (pop. ~250), is one of only two all-weather, ice-free ports that serve the Alaska mainland via both railroad and road access. The city lies about 100 km by road southeast of Anchorage near the head of Passage Canal, a deep fjord in western Prince William Sound. The hazards assessment is in support of informed community planning, mitigation, and emergency response in and around this high-risk community and its associated critical infrastructure. Fieldwork during the mapping portion of this study was conducted during eight days on the ground in 2012. Additional time was spent over two field seasons assessing specific features related to potential hazards. Outcrops were accessed by helicopter, road, and trail. Samples were collected for petrology, geochronology, and thermochronology analyses. Bedrock geology is modified from Nelson and others (1985). Surficial geology was mapped principally by the interpretation of 1:63,360-scale, false-color, infrared stereo aerial photographs taken in 1978 and refined using airborne lidar data collected in 2012. Recent satellite imagery from the Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA) was also utilized. Air-photo interpretations were verified by ground observations during field work in 2012. The complete report, geodatabase, and ESRI fonts and style files are available from the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys website: http://doi.org/10.14509/31426.
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| geodatabase | Unknown | geologic map | Open resource |
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Tags
- alaska
- alluvial
- alluvial deposits
- alluvium
- bedrock
- billings creek
- blackstone bay
- bur point
- channel
- chlorite
- clay
- cochrane bay
- contact
- cove creek
- cretaceous
- decision point
- deltaic facies
- dggs
- diorite
- divide lake
- emerald bay
- emerald island
- exhumation
- fan
- fan delta
- feldspar
- fluvial
- flysch
- gabbro
- gems db l3 compliant
- gems db v2
- geochronology
- geologic
- geologic map
- geology
- glacial
- glacial deposits
- glaciation
- glaciers
- gradual point
- granite
- gravel
- greenschist
- hollow bight
- holocene
- hornblende
- hornfels
- ice
- intrusive
- lacustrine
- lacustrine sedimentation
- lakes
- landslide deposit
- laumontite
- learnard glacier
- liquefaction
- logging camp bay
- lowell glacier
- marine sedimentation
- maynard mountain
- meltwater
- metamorphic
- metamorphic rocks
- metasedimentary rocks
- mica
- mineralogy
- minerals
- moraines
- muscovite
- neptune point
- outwash
- outwash fan
- passage canal
- pebble
- placer creek
- plagioclase
- plutonic
- plutons
- poe bay
- portage creek
- portage lake
- portage mine
- portage pass
- port wells
- pyrrhotite
- quartz
- rocks
- sand
- sandstone
- sediment
- seth glacier
- shale
- shear
- shotgun cove
- silt
- siltstone
- squirrel cove
- squirrel point
- strain
- strong point
- subduction
- surface
- surficial
- talus
- tertiary
- till
- trinity point
- valdez group
- volcanic
- whittier
- whittier creek
- zircon