1.
High water mark
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A high water mark is a point that represents the maximum rise of a body of water over land. Such a mark is often the result of a flood, but high water marks may reflect an all-time high, knowledge of the high water mark for an area is useful in managing the development of that area, particularly in making preparations for flood surges. High water marks from floods have been measured for planning purposes since at least as far back as the civilizations of ancient Egypt. This may be a flood level sign or other marker. A high water mark is not necessarily an actual physical mark, a landscape marking left by the high water mark of ordinary tidal action may be called a strandline and is typically composed of debris left by high tide. The area at the top of a beach where debris is deposited is an example of this phenomenon, where there are tides, this line is formed by the highest position of the tide, and moves up and down the beach on a fortnightly cycle. The debris is chiefly composed of rotting seaweed, but can include a large amount of litter, either from ships at sea or from sewage outflows. The strandline is an important habitat for a variety of animals, one kind of high water mark is the ordinary high water mark or average high water mark, the high water mark that can be expected to be produced by a body of water in non-flood conditions. The ordinary high water mark may have significance and is often being used to demarcate property boundaries. The ordinary high water mark has also used for other legal demarcations. For the purposes of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, for the purposes of Sections 9 and 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, the OHWM defines the lateral limits of federal jurisdiction over traditional navigable waters of the US. Likewise, many states use similar definitions of the OHWM for the purposes of their own regulatory programs, in 2016, the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled that land below the OHWM along Lake Michigan is held by the state in trust for public use. In Australia, the definition of the Mean High Water Mark is. the line of the high tide between the highest tide of each lunar month and the lowest each lunar month averaged over the year. Terrace, benches left by lakes Wash margin
2.
Lahar
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A lahar is a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley, lahars are extremely destructive, they can flow tens of metres per second, be 140 metres deep, and destroy any structures in their path. Notable lahars include those at Mount Pinatubo and Nevado del Ruiz, the word lahar is the Javanese term for flowing lava. A lahar is a volcanic mudflow or debris flow, lahars have the consistency, viscosity and approximate density of wet concrete, fluid when moving, solid at rest. Lahars can be huge.3 cubic kilometres, a lahar of sufficient size and intensity can erase virtually any structure in its path, and is capable of carving its own pathway, making the prediction of its course difficult. Conversely, a lahar quickly loses force when it leaves the channel of its flow, even frail huts may remain standing, a lahars viscosity decreases with time, and can be further thinned by rain, but it nevertheless solidifies quickly when coming to a stop. Lahars vary in size and speed, small lahars less than a few metres wide and several centimetres deep may flow a few metres per second. Large lahars hundreds of metres wide and tens of metres deep can flow tens of metres per second. With the potential to flow at speeds up to 100 kilometres per hour, and flow distances of more than 300 kilometres, a lahar can cause catastrophic destruction in its path. Lahars from the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption in Colombia caused the Armero tragedy, which killed an estimated 23,000 people, a lahar caused New Zealands Tangiwai disaster, where 151 people died after a Christmas Eve express train fell into the Whangaehu River in 1953. Lahars have been responsible for 17% of volcano-related deaths between 1783 and 1997, a lahar can cause fatalities years after its precipitating eruption. For example, the Cabalantian tragedy occurred four years subsequent to the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the word lahar is of Indonesian origin. Lahars have several causes, Snow and glaciers can be melted by lava or pyroclastic flows during an eruption. Lava flows out of vents and can mix with wet soil and mud on the slope of the volcano making a very viscous. A flood caused by a glacier, lake breakout, or heavy rainfall can release a lahar, also called glacier run or jökulhlaup Water from a crater lake, heavy rainfall on unconsolidated pyroclastic deposits. Snow and glaciers can melt during periods of mild weather Earthquakes underneath or close to the volcano can shake material loose and cause it to collapse triggering a lahar avalanche. Rainfall can cause the still-hanging slabs of solidified mud to come rushing down the slopes at a speed of more than 30 kilometres per hour, causing devastating results. Several towns in the Puyallup River valley in Washington state, including Orting, are built on top of lahar deposits that are only about 500 years old
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Washington (state)
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It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, the Washington Territory was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The area was part of a region called the Columbia District after the Columbia River. The area was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president. To distinguish it from the U. S. capital, which is named for George Washington, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, or, in more formal contexts. Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest refer to the state simply as Washington, calling the nations capital Washington, D. C. or, often, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
5.
Skamania County, Washington
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Skamania County /skəˈmeɪniə/ is a county located in the U. S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,066, the county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. The county was founded in 1854 and derives its name from the Cascades Chinook word skmániak, Skamania County is included in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Skamania County was formed on March 9,1854, on May 18,1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,684 square miles. 90% of Skamania is forested and 80% is a part of Gifford Pinchot National Forest, cascade Mountains Columbia River Mount St. The population density was 6 people per square mile, there were 4,576 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 92. 11% White,0. 30% Black or African American,2. 20% Native American,0. 54% Asian,0. 17% Pacific Islander,2. 43% from other races, and 2. 25% from two or more races. 4. 03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,17. 7% were of German,12. 5% English,12. 1% Irish,11. 2% United States or American and 5. 2% Norwegian ancestry. 21. 10% of all households were made up of individuals and 6. 60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was out with 26. 60% under the age of 18,6. 70% from 18 to 24,28. 60% from 25 to 44,27. 10% from 45 to 64. The median age was 39 years, for every 100 females there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.40 males, the median income for a household in the county was $39,317, and the median income for a family was $44,586. Males had an income of $36,732 versus $25,130 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,002, about 10. 00% of families and 13. 10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18. 10% of those under age 18 and 7. 90% of those age 65 or over. There are more Seventh-day Adventists in Skamania County than members of any religious group. Skamania County is the county in the United States for which this is true. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 11,066 people,4,522 households, the population density was 6.7 inhabitants per square mile
6.
Mount St. Helens
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Mount St. Helens or Louwala-Clough is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is 96 miles south of Seattle, Washington, and 50 miles northeast of Portland, Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a friend of explorer George Vancouver who made a survey of the area in the late 18th century. The volcano is located in the Cascade Range and is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and this volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows. Mount St. Helens is most notorious for its major 1980 eruption, fifty-seven people were killed,250 homes,47 bridges,15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles in volume, the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created to preserve the volcano and allow for its aftermath to be scientifically studied. As with most other volcanoes in the Cascade Range, Mount St. Helens is a large eruptive cone consisting of lava rock interlayered with ash, pumice, the mountain includes layers of basalt and andesite through which several domes of dacite lava have erupted. The largest of the domes formed the previous summit. Both were destroyed in the 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens is 34 miles west of Mount Adams, in the western part of the Cascade Range. These sister and brother volcanic mountains are approximately 50 miles from Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, the nearest major volcanic peak in Oregon, is 60 miles southeast of Mount St. Helens. Mount St. Helens is geologically young compared with the other major Cascade volcanoes and it formed only within the past 40,000 years, and the pre-1980 summit cone began rising about 2,200 years ago. The volcano is considered the most active in the Cascades within the Holocene epoch, prior to the 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens was the fifth-highest peak in Washington. It stood out prominently from surrounding hills because of the symmetry and extensive snow and ice cover of the summit cone. The peak rose more than 5,000 feet above its base, the mountain is 6 miles across at its base, which is at an elevation of 4,400 feet on the northeastern side and 4,000 feet elsewhere. At the pre-eruption tree line, the width of the cone was 4 miles. Streams that originate on the volcano enter three main systems, the Toutle River on the north and northwest, the Kalama River on the west. The streams are fed by abundant rain and snow, the average annual rainfall is 140 inches, and the snow pack on the mountains upper slopes can reach 16 feet. The Lewis River is impounded by three dams for power generation. The southern and eastern sides of the drain into an upstream impoundment, the Swift Reservoir
7.
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
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Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a National Forest located in southern Washington, USA, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of 1.32 million acres, it extends 116 km along the slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River. The forest straddles the crest of the South Cascades of Washington State, spread out over broad, old forests, high mountain meadows, several glaciers. The forests highest point is at 12,276 ft. at the top of Mount Adams and it includes the 110, 000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, established by Congress in 1982. Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of the national forests in the United States. Included as part of the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve in 1897 and it was renamed the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in honor of Gifford Pinchot, on June 15,1949. In 1985 the non-profit Gifford Pinchot Task Force formed to protect the area, people for over 6,000 years have made an impact in the ecology of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Native Americans hunted in high meadows below receding glaciers, the natives then began to manage the forest to meet their own needs. One method they used was to burn areas to help in the huckleberry production. About 338 spots more than 6,000 culturally modified trees were identified, archaeological investigations on the forest continually find new information to this day about the past lifestyles of the Native Americans. The forest was named after Gifford Pinchot, one of the figures in the creation of the national forest system of the United States. The forest is home to the Big Tree at the flank of Mt Adams. This region of Southwest Washington is noted for its complex topography, about 65 percent of the forest acreage is located in Skamania County. In descending order of area the others are Lewis, Yakima, Cowlitz. The Pacific Northwest brings abundant rainfall to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the forest has only one river currently designated as Wild and Scenic, the White Salmon River, fed from glaciers high on Mount Adams. The Gifford Pinchot National Forest recommends four rivers to be added to the Wild and they are the Lewis River, the Cispus River, the Clear Fork and the Muddy Fork of the Cowlitz River. There are an additional thirteen rivers in the forest being studied for consideration into the national Wild, the following listed are the major streams and rivers of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Many of these provide excellent fishing, most of the lakes offers excellent fishing
8.
Lewis River (Washington)
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The Lewis River is a tributary of the Columbia River, about 95 miles long, in southwestern Washington in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range north of the Columbia River, the drainage basin of the Lewis River covers about 1,046 square miles. The rivers mean discharge is about 6,125 cubic feet per second. Unlike nearby Lewis County and Fort Lewis the Lewis River was not named for Meriwether Lewis, but rather for A. Lee Lewis, an early settler who homesteaded near the mouth of the river. The Lewis River rises in the Cascades in northeastern Skamania County, high on the west flank of Mount Adams, approximately 75 miles northeast of Portland and it flows generally southwest through Gifford Pinchot National Forest, across central Skamania County, passing south of Mount St. Helens. It forms the boundary, along the Dark Divide on its north side, towns along the river include Cougar, Ariel, and Woodland. In its lower 10 miles, it turns south, then west. The mouth of the Lewis River is at Columbia river mile 87 or river kilometer 140, near the confluence with the Columbia River, the Lewis River is joined by the East Fork Lewis River. The main Lewis River, sometimes called the North Fork Lewis River, the East Fork flows westward from headwaters on the western flanks of Lookout Mountain in Skamania County. Parks along the East Fork include Moulton Falls, Lucia Falls, Lewisville, a variant name of the East Fork is the South Fork Lewis River. It is impounded for hydroelectricity in its course by Swift Dam, forming Swift Reservoir, Yale Dam, forming Yale Lake. List of rivers of Washington Tributaries of the Columbia River USGS, Lewis River Basin North Fork Lewis River Photo Essay Documentary produced by Oregon Field Guide
