Geologic Map of the Carlton Quadrangle, Yamhill County, Oregon

Abstract

The Carlton, Oregon, 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in northwestern Oregon, about 35 miles (57 km) southwest of Portland. It encompasses the towns of Yamhill and Carlton in the northwestern Willamette Valley and extends into the eastern flank of the Oregon Coast Range. The Carlton quadrangle is one of several dozen quadrangles being mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) to provide a framework for earthquake- hazard assessments in the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. The focus of USGS mapping is on the structural setting of the northern Willamette Valley and its relation to the Coast Range uplift. Mapping was done in collaboration with soil scientists from the National Resource Conservation Service, and the distribution of geologic units is refined over earlier regional mapping (Schlicker and Deacon, 1967). Geologic mapping was done on 7.5-minute topographic base maps and digitized in ArcGIS to produce ArcGIS geodatabases and PDFs of the map and text. The geologic contacts are based on numerous observations and samples collected in 2002 and 2003, National Resource Conservation Service soils maps, and interpretations of 7.5-minute topography. The map was completed before new, high-resolution laser terrain mapping was flown for parts of the northern Willamette Valley in 2008.