Geodiversity Atlas—North Coast and Cascades I&M Network Index

A hiker on a rocky trail with sharp peaks in the distance
A hiker on the Hidden Lake Trail, North Cascades National Park, Washington.

NPS image by Mike Myers.

Introduction

map of the U.S. northwest coast and cascade range with park boundaries shaded and labeled
Map of North Coast and Cascades I&M Network parks.

NPS image.

The North Coast and Cascades Inventory and Monitoring Network (NCCN) is composed of nine park units in Oregon and Washington. These are Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve (EBLA), Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (FOVA), Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (LACH), Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (LEWI), Mount Rainier National Park (MORA), North Cascades National Park (NOCA), Olympic National Park (OLYM), Ross Lake National Recreation Area (ROLA), and San Juan Island National Historical Park (SAJH); LACH, NOCA, and ROLA are managed together as North Cascades National Park Complex or National Park Service Complex (also NOCA). The parks that comprise the North Coast and Cascades Network protect a combined 749,086 hectares (1,851,032 acres) and vary in size from 83 ha (207 acres) (FOVA) to 373,383 ha (922,650 acres) (OLYM). Elevations within the network range from sea level (EBLA, LEWI, OLYM, and SAJH) to 4,392 m (14,410 ft) above sea level (MORA).

Geology and Stratigraphy

Rocks of the North Coast and Cascade Network consist of a geologic mosaic made of volcanic island arcs, deep ocean sediments, basaltic ocean floor, fragments of old continents, submarine fans, glacial debris, and pieces of deep sub-crustal mantle (Tabor and Haugerud 1999). In a broad sense, the geologic setting of the NCCN is well understood and records at least 400 million years of dynamic earth processes. Due to plate tectonics, dense oceanic crustal plates that comprise the Pacific Ocean Basin (e.g., the Juan de Fuca Plate, a remnant of the Farallon Plate) are converging with comparatively less-dense continental crust composing the North American Plate. Dense oceanic crust is effectively being driven beneath the more buoyant continental crustal rocks that comprise North America to be recycled deep within the Earth. This process, called subduction, has been heavily influencing the NCCN landscape since the Mesozoic Era.

Off the Pacific Northwest coast, subducting oceanic crust acted like a conveyor belt, transporting marine sediments and small landmasses (fragments of volcanic island arcs) closer to the continental margin as it descended beneath North America. At the subduction zone, where the oceanic crust plunged beneath the continental margin, marine sediments were scraped off the down-going slab, resulting in a jumbled and chaotic suite of marine rocks (referred to as “mélange”—a French word meaning “mixture”) that formed an accretionary prism (Fay et al. 2009). The Olympic Mountains (OLYM) represent such an accretionary prism that has been further uplifted, folded, and eroded into the rugged peaks seen today. Other diverse rock suites, called “terranes”, were also transported by the conveyor belt until they were compressed, uplifted, and welded to the continent in a process called accretion. Many terranes of the NCCN parks are geologically and temporally distinct from one another and were subsequently juxtaposed to form a mosaic of diverse rock assemblages. The San Juan Island Archipelago (SAJH), portions of the Olympic Peninsula (OLYM), and a large part of the North Cascade Range (NOCA) are underlain by terranes. Specific examples of accretionary terranes within NCCN include the Chelan Mountains Terrane and Little Jack Mountain Terrane of NOCA, the Turtleback Complex, Deadman Bay Terrane, and Decatur Terrane of SAJH, and the Crescent Terrane, Sooes Terrane, and Ozette Terrane of OLYM.

Deeper inside the earth, subducting rocks of the oceanic plate experience elevated temperature and pressure conditions. As these rocks heat up and lose moisture, the overlying rocks of the North American Plate begin to partially melt and generate magma. Molten rock generated by partial melting erupted at the surface to blanket older rocks with lava and pyroclastic flows while large masses of magma intruded from below and cooled to form hard crystalline basement rocks. The tall, steep-sided volcanoes of the Cascade Range, including Mount Rainier (MORA) are a part of an extensive active volcanic arc created by the subduction of oceanic crust beneath the western margin of Washington, Oregon, Northern California, and southern British Columbia.

In the more recent geologic past, Pleistocene-age continental ice sheets and alpine glaciers have eroded the regional landscape as it has continuously uplifted. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet deposited thick blankets of glacial till deposits during its initial advance and left behind glacial outwash deposits during its final retreat. Such deposits dominate the geologic landscape of SAJH and EBLA. Continental glaciation has contributed to the geology of OLYM and NOCA, but alpine glaciation is more dominant in those areas (Fay et al. 2009).

Intimate details of the geologic history of the NCCN remain somewhat elusive and problematic. Precise geologic reconstructions showing the evolution of the Pacific Northwest region are controversial in part due to the complex, regional geologic processes operating in this area, but also due to dense vegetation and rugged topography that limit access to exposures (Fay et al. 2009). Although the larger geologic framework is largely understood, some pieces of information are still not well understood. Some of the outstanding questions that still need addressed include the timing of certain glacial events, as well as the timing of certain structural and metamorphic events.

(Geology and Stratigraphy, Henderson 2022)

A Brief Geologic History

A few examples of events and Network resources in each geologic time period are highlighted below, from youngest to oldest.

Geology & Soils—North Coast and Cascades Network Parks

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    Network Monitoring Activities

    The North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network actively monitors several physical and biological indicators in Network parks to track overall the health and condition of resources and ecosystems. Monitoring of physical atributes related geologic processes and resources include:

    Type Sections—North Coast and Cascades Network

    thumbnail image of a report cover.
    Image linked to full report.

    The geologic history above is excerpted from a report titled, "National Park Service Geologic Type Section Inventory: North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network". Type sections are essential reference locations for the geoscientists who study geologic history and paleontology. They are important to America's Geoheritage for their Scientific Value. A summary of the type sections in each park can be found at the link(s) below.

    • Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, Washington (contains one identified stratotype)

    • Fort Vancouver National Historical Site, Oregon and Washington (no designated stratotypes identified)

    • Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Oregon and Washington (no designated stratotypes identified)

    • Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (contains five identified stratotypes)

    • North Cascades National Park Complex, Washington (contains five identified stratotypes)

    • Olympic National Park, Washington (contains one identified stratotype)

    • San Juan Island National Historical Park, Washington (no designated stratotypes identified)

    The full Network report is available in digital format from:

    Please cite this publication as:

    • Henderson T and Others. 2022. National Park Service geologic type section inventory: North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NCCN/NRR—2022/2366. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado.

    NPS Stratotype Inventory

    Fossil Resources—North Coast and Cascades Network

    thunbnail image of a report cover
    Image linked to full report.

    Between 2002 and 2011, network-based paleontological resource inventories were completed for all the 32 I&M networks, and six of the earliest were completely updated between 2012 and 2016. The report linked below summarizes the paleontological resources of all park units in the North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network (NCCN). The report provides geologic background and paleontological resource data for each park to support management operations, planning, and science-based decision making as required by NPS management policies and the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (2009).

    The full report is available in digital format from

    Please cite this publication as:

    • Fay, L. C., J. P. Kenworthy, and V. L. Santucci. 2009. Paleontological resource inventory and monitoring— North Coast and Cascades Network. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NRPC/NRTR—2009/250. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.


    Last updated: February 21, 2025

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