Geological Survey Bulletin 581—B Oil and Gas in the Western Part of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

ROCKS EXPOSED ALONG QUEETS RIVER FROM ITS MOUTH TO THE MOUTH OF SAMS CREEK AND ALONG THE LOWER COURSES OF SALMON RIVER AND MATHENY AND SAMS CREEKS.

QUEETS RIVER.

The rocks exposed at the mouth of Queets River for about a mile from the ocean consist of beds of clay, sand, and gravel of Pleistocene age. At location A, on the south side of the river, near the center of sec. 35, T. 24 N., R. 13 W., dark bluish-gray sandstone, stained yellow in places with limonite, is exposed for a short distance. The strata dip 70° N. and strike N. 15° E. About one-half mile upstream and on the north side of the river, in the vicinity of location B, rocks of the same formation ("supposed Cretaceous") are exposed. They consist of about 200 feet of gray coarse-grained thin to medium bedded sandstone, overlain by approximately 400 feet of dark-bluish sandy shale. The shale is characterized by weathering into small cubes, the joints of which have a conchoidal fracture. The underlying sandstone dips about 38° SE. and strikes N. 32° E. Possibly a thousand feet farther upstream the shale dips 48° SE. and strikes N. 25° E. Both the sandstone and shale in this exposure are broken by faults and are somewhat contorted by small folds. The upper part (stratigraphically) of the shale is more sandy than the lower part and contains "flaglike" beds, which consist of alternating beds of shaly sandstone and darker sandy shale, each bed of which is generally from 2 to 3 inches thick. A few hundred feet farther upstream the "flaglike" beds overlain by bluish sandy shale dip about 24° SE. and strike N. 50° E. At location C, approximately in the SW. 1/4 sec. 36, T. 24 N., R. 13 W., and on the west side of Queets River, yellowish-gray slightly argillaceous "supposed Cretaceous" sandstone, Which dips 29° SE. and strikes N. 20° E., is well exposed for a few hundred feet. The shaly "flaglike" beds of this formation are exposed at location D, just above Moses Bend. The strata are so much folded and broken by small faults that dip and strike readings have little value and hence none were made. At location E, on the south side of the river about half a mile farther upstream, a very argillaceous sandstone, which dips 43° NE. and strikes N. 66° W., is exposed. About half a mile farther upstream, at location F, in the NW. 1/4 sec. 31, T. 24 N., R. 12 W., just west of the mouth of Elk Creek, a very massive, much jointed, and fractured dark-gray sandstone outcrops for a short distance along the river bank. The beds dip 58° NE. and strike N. 30° W. The "supposed Cretaceous" rocks are well exposed for several hundred yards along the south bank of the river at location G, near Frank Harlow's place, at the mouth of Clearwater River. The westernmost exposure in this locality consists of the "flaglike" beds of sandstone and shale, which dip about 32° SW. and strike N. 45° E. A few hundred feet farther northeast, in front of the house, dark-bluish iron-stained sandy shale is exposed for about 125 feet. The shale rests with apparent conformity on the "flaglike" beds just described; it dips about 51° NE. and strikes N. 16° W. The apparent discordance in the strike of the rocks at these two places so near each other is due probably to a minor fold. At location H, on the north side of the river, about one-half mile northeast of Frank Harlow's, there is about 40 feet of dark-gray fine-grained argillaceous sandstone that dips 36° NW. and strikes N. 30° E. At location I, in the NE. 1/4 sec. 28, T. 24 N., R. 12 W., 75 to 100 feet of almost flat-lying beds of Pleistocene conglomerate and sandy clay is exposed.

In the vicinity of the mouth of Salmon River there are broad bottom lands to the south and west of both Salmon and Queets rivers. On the north side of Queets River in this locality and within possibly one-fourth to one-third of a mile of the stream there are terraces 50 to 75 feet above the level of the river flood plain. These terraces consist of practically the same material as that exposed at location I except that it has been worked over by the present stream since Pleistocene time.

At location J, on the north side of Queets River, in the NW. 1/4 sec. 26, T. 24 N., R. 12 W., 600 to 800 feet of thin-bedded gray "supposed Cretaceous" sandstone is exposed at low water. The bed dips 42° E. and strikes north at the west end of the exposure, whereas it dips 48° SE. and strikes N. 25° E. at the east end. At location K, on Hartzel Creek near its mouth, in the SE. 1/4 sec. 26, T. 24 N., R. 12 W., a very hard yellowish-brown sandstone, which dips 31° E. and strikes north, is exposed a short distance southeast of the cabin on the Bill Donaldson homestead. On the same side of the river, and about 300 yards upstream from the Donaldson house, hard gray fine-grained sandstone, which dips 47° SE. and strikes from N. 25° E. to N. 65° E., is exposed for a few hundred feet. The strata are also fairly well exposed for about one-half mile at location L, on the south side of the river, in the vicinity of the mouth of Mud Creek. The rocks at the western end of this outcrop, which is about one-third of a mile east of the Steeple place, consist of hard massive quartzitic sandstone overlain by medium-bedded, very dark gray, somewhat argillaceous sandstone. At one place near the west end of the exposures the quartzitic sandstone shows in the river bed at a low stage of water in the form of a half dome. The sandstone is about 20 feet thick and is overlain by more than 300 feet of dark gray argillaceous sandstone. These strata are affected by small faults and folds. At one place near this dome the beds dip 15° SE. and strike approximately N. 30° E. A few feet west of the point where the last-mentioned dip was measured, and on the east side of a very distinct fault, the beds dip about 10° S. and strike approximately east. A little farther upstream soft argillaceous thin-bedded sandstone overlies the hard sandstone mentioned above, dipping about 51° E. and striking north. About 500 feet farther east "flaglike" beds of the same formation are exposed. They dip approximately 80° NE. and strike N. 40° W. About 800 to 1,000 feet of the"flaglike" beds are exposed in the eastern part of the rather extensive exposures in the vicinity of the mouth of Mud Creek. Near the east end of this outcrop grayish-blue to brown shaly sandstone, which dips 70° SW. and strikes N. 15° W., is exposed. The exposed rocks are much broken by joints cut by veins of quartz and possibly by some calcite, so that reliable dip and strike measurements could not be made. It is believed, however, that this sandstone, 400 feet or more thick, is very similar to the beds exposed at location B, a mile or two above the mouth of the river.

At location M, which is on the south side of the river, about three-fourths of a mile east of the old Evergreen post office and in the northern part of sec. 21, T. 24 N., R. 11 W., blue sandy clay with yellowish and bluish gravel of Pleistocene age outcrops for a short distance. These beds have been disturbed by slumping, so that they now dip about 27° SE. and strike N. 50° E. At a few places along the river beds of Pleistocene clay, sand, and gravel have been disturbed by slumping, so that they now lie in positions much different from those in which they were originally deposited. An example of the disturbance created by one of these slides is well illustrated by a landslide that began about 10 years ago at location N, on the south side of Queets River, just west of the mouth of Matheny Creek and about one-half mile east of location M. At the time this slide began to move the bed of the river seemed to rise and form a dam, so that for a few days the water was ponded and flowed over the broad bottom lands south of the Streater place. A flood that occurred a little later cut a channel through this obstruction in the river bed, so that the principal channel was left in almost the same position as it had been formerly. This phenomenon was believed by some of the settlers to be caused by the expansion of a large quantity of gas underlying the river. Others, however, believed it to be simply a landslide, in which the pressure from the side of the river caused the river bed to buckle, thus forming the dam. The latter explanation is undoubtedly correct, as indications of an immense landslide extending for at least one-fourth of a mile south from the river are very noticeable. It is believed by the writer that additional deformation of the Pleistocene beds will occur from time to time at this place. The buckling, as one would naturally expect, has left the beds of poorly consolidated clay and sand inclined at various angles, hence wherever marked dips are found it may be assumed that they are due to slumping.

All the rocks exposed along Queets River, from location M, about 1 mile west of the mouth of Matheny Creek, to a point 2 miles up Sams Creek, consist entirely of clay, sand, and slightly consolidated conglomerate of Pleistocene age. Generally the beds are horizontal, but in places they are very much inclined through slumping, as explained above. It is reported that these beds are exposed some distance up Queets River above the mouth of Sams Creek, but as the writer did not traverse that part of the river a confirmation of the report was not made.

Horizontal bluish sandy clay, overlain by conglomerate and soil, is exposed on the east side of Queets River, about one-half mile north of the mouth of Matheny Creek. At location 0, in the SW. 1/4 sec. 10, T. 24 N., R. 11 W., on the north side of the river, the same formation as that outcropping at the mouth of Matheny Creek is exposed for a short distance. The bluish sandy clay, which everywhere weathers into a soft sticky mud, contains at this locality irregular sandy concretions, some of which are in the shape of disks and others are very much elongated, but all of them are flat. At location P, also on the north side of the river, and about a mile farther northeast, the same beds are exposed. They dip 39° W. and strike practically north. The finest clay from this place, after being thoroughly mixed with a certain proportion of milk, has been used by some of the settlers as paint, which is reported to be very durable.

At location Q, on the north side of the river, approximately in the SW. 1/4 sec. 1, T. 24 N., R. 11 W., and just above the Aker place, flat-lying bluish sandy clay of the Pleistocene formation is exposed for a short distance. At location R, about one-half mile farther upstream, similar bluish sandy clay is exposed, dipping about 36° NW. and striking N. 60° E. The older rocks are not known to be exposed between location R and the Billy Howard place, in the NW. 1/4 sec. 1, T. 24 N., R. 10-1/2 W., but it is possible that they are present in high tree-covered ridges situated from one-third to three-fourths of a mile back from the river. As these ridges were not visited and no information was obtained regarding them it is impossible to determine the point.

SAMS CREEK.

At location A, at the mouth of Sams Creek, and for a short distance up Queets River on the south side, flat-lying beds of bluish sandy clay were observed. Gas is reported just above the mouth of Sams Creek, but no evidence of its escape was seen by the writer when the locality was visited in September, 1913. All the rocks outcropping along Sams Creek between location A and location C, in the SE. 1/4 sec. 34, T. 25 N., R. 10 W., consist of beds of clay, sand, and gravel of Pleistocene age and soil, gravel, and hill wash derived principally from the erosion of these beds.

At location B, approximately in the N. 1/2 sec. 5, T. 24 N., R. 10 W., the bluish sandy clay, so common along Queets River above Matheny Creek, is exposed for a short distance. This material contains flat sandy concretions similar to those noted at location P, on Queets River. The beds dip about 40° NW. and strike N. 80deg; E. At location C, which is about a mile downstream from the west end of Sams Creek canyon, hard resistant grayish-brown quartzitic sandstone is exposed for about one-fourth of a mile along the south side of the creek. It was not possible to obtain an accurate measurement of the dip and strike at this place. At location D, on the north side of the creek and a little farther east than location C, Pleistocene bluish sandy clay that dips about 40°; NW. and, strikes N. 70° E. is exposed for a short distance. At location E, on the south side of the creek and about one-half mile east of location D, quartzitic sandstone similar to that exposed at location C on this creek outcrops for a distance of 600 feet. These beds, which include some interbedded shaly sandstone, dip about 85° NE. and strike N. 50° W. Approximately 500 feet farther upstream the beds flatten so that they dip only 65° NE. and strike the same as at location E. At location F, on the south side of the creek, in the northeastern part of sec. 4, T. 24 N., R. 10 W., about one-half mile southeast of the mouth of the canyon, beds of sandstone and sandy shale, which are slickensided in places and somewhat broken by small faults, are exposed. It is believed that the shale constitutes less than 5 per cent of the rocks exposed. The general dip seems to be 76° E. and the general strike north. At location G beds of sandstone and shale that dip 72° E. and strike N. 55° W. are exposed. At location H, which is about a mile from Queets River and the easternmost point reached on Sams Creek, a bed of shale that dips 69° SE. and strikes N. 50° E. is exposed for a short distance.

Along Sams Creek pebbles of the metamorphic rocks and also the softer and lighter-colored "supposed Cretaceous" sandstones are numerous.

MATHENY CREEK.

The strata exposed along Matheny Creek from its mouth to location A, a distance of about 3 miles, consist entirely of bluish sandy clay and yellowish-brown sandy gravel. The gravel seems to lie unconformably on the clay, which contains the sandy disks and irregular flat concretions noted at location P, a few miles up Queets River above the mouth of this creek. The Matheny Creek canyon begins at location A and extends for 2 miles or more to the east. The rocks exposed at the mouth of the canyon are principally sandstone with a little sandy shale interbedded, but it is believed that the shale constitutes not more than 2 per cent of the entire thickness of rock exposed. At a point about one-third of a mile up the canyon the beds dip approximately 47° E. and strike N. 3° E. The rocks in general at this place are very much jointed and broken by small faults. About one-half mile above the mouth of Matheny Creek canyon the rocks are the same as those at location A, between which point and the lower end of the canyon fully 800 feet of strata are exposed. At another point in this part of the canyon, a few hundred feet farther upstream from the point at which the dip and strike readings given above were taken, the strata dip 59° E. and strike approximately north.

SALMON RIVER.

The rocks exposed along Salmon River from its mouth to location A, a distance of about 2 miles, consist of sand, clay, and gravel of Recent age, and possibly here and there an outcrop of the underlying Pleistocene beds, but above location A, as far as the writer examined the section, the rocks exposed belong to the "supposed Cretaceous" formation. At location A, on the south side of the river, the rocks consist of grayish-brown soft sandstone and sandy shale. These strata dip 27° SE. and strike N. 33° E. About 75 feet farther upstream on the same side of the river the rocks dip 48° W. and strike N. 5°-10° E. On account of the discordance in dip and strike it is believed that a fault lies between the two points at which these dip and strike readings were measured. About 150 feet upstream from location A the rocks dip 41° NW. and strike N. 65° E. At location B, about 450 feet upstream from location A, the beds dip 65° NE. and strike N. 55° W. At location C, approximately three-fourths of a mile up the canyon, the same rocks dip 30° SE. and strike N. 25° E. The beds are very much contorted between locations B and C, dipping at many angles and striking in practically all directions. This condition is due not only to small faults but also to numerous small folds. At location D, about a mile up the canyon and near the reservation line, the beds dip 25° E. and strike practically north. At location E, about 1-1/2 miles up the canyon, the strata dip 20° NE. and strike N. 15° W. Location E was the southeasternmost point reached in the examination of the lower course of Salmon River. It is reported that the river flows through two main canyons. The westernmost canyon is said to extend probably not more than a mile east of location E, and the second canyon is reported to lie east of the trail which crosses the river near the Salmon ranger station in sec. 5, T. 23 N., R. 11 W.

SUMMARY.

To judge from the general eastward dip of the older strata along the Queets and Salmon rivers and Sams and Matheny creeks, it seems logical to assume without conclusive paleontologic evidence that the older rocks of the section lie farthest to the west and the younger formations to the east. The rocks exposed farther east along these streams are harder and more resistant than those that outcrop near the coast, but this condition is probably due to the greater metamorphism of these supposedly younger strata lying near the mountains in the eastern part of the section traversed.

The rocks exposed along Queets River from its mouth to the vicinity of location H, a mile or more above the mouth of Clearwater River, are undoubtedly the same beds as those that outcrop along the coast, which in this report have been classed as "supposed Cretaceous." The hard resistant sandstones outcropping on Queets River and along the lower course of Salmon River may belong to the "supposed Cretaceous" formation, but they are undoubtedly younger and lie stratigraphically above the rocks exposed near the mouth of Clearwater and Queets rivers. The beds outcropping in the canyons of Matheny and Sams creeks are probably still younger than the rocks farther west.

The beds of bluish sandy clay and gray to yellowish, poorly consolidated gravel outcropping at different places along Queets and Salmon rivers and Matheny and Sams creeks are, with but little question, of Pleistocene age. The terrace gravel, soil, hill wash, and talus at different places along these streams are entirely of Recent age.