Hike to Cape Alava

Last week I had a couple of work adventures on the Olympic Peninsula. I was very prepared to get wet, but rain shadowing resulted in the first day being just light rain. The second day was outside the path of most of the rain. When I finished up I had just enough time to get over to Lake Ozette and take a hike to the ocean at Cape Alava.  

Ozette Island from the end of the trail at the beach

Tskawahyah Island

Cape Alava is named for Jose Manuel de Alava. He was supportive of early Spanish exploration of the Northwest coast; hence, the many Spanish names along the Northwest coast. He was also a commisioner for Spain on negotiations to resolve the Nootka Sound Controversy involving trading conflicts between the Spanish and other non Indian traders on the Pacific Northwest Coast in particular with Great Britain due to Spansh capturing ships from Great Britain and America. War bteween Spian and Great Britain was avoided when Spain agreed to leave the Nootka area including the coast of what is now Washington.

A Makah village was located just north of Cape Alava. A landslide at the village preserved pre European structures and artifacts. Archeology studies of the village have been important in establishing treaty rights of the Makah. The site demonstrated that the Makah possessed metal prior to the arrival of European, Russian and American traders. Periodically boats from Japan drifted across the ocean and washed ashore at this area and thus the acquisition of metal prior to European arrival. In 1834 a boat with three surviving Japanese sailors landed on the Makah coast hhistorylink.org/File/9065.

With the wet weather and rather dire rain predictions that in fact did take place, I was the only biped on the trail and beach. I did see some signs of other visitors but they did not show themselves.   

Blue River and Rare Earths in British Columbia

Flying back to home I recognized the small British Columbia town of Blue River through a break in the clouds. 

Blue River (town) and Mud Lake

I recognized this location because of some recent literature research I was doing on carbonatites combined with a bit of Google Earth viewing to find the locations of carbonatite claims so I could do some comparative geology. I had looked careful at this area and read numerous reports on the carbonatites found in the area so easily recognized the lake and town through the break in the clouds. Carbonatites are igneous rocks containing predominantly carbonate minerals. Carbonatites have been a focus of exploration in British Columbia and there have been several claims with associated exploration sampling in the Blue River area. The carbonatites occur within an area of alkaline igneous rocks that intrude the Paleozoic strata west of the Rocky Mountains in the eastern part of the Omineca Belt.

The interest in these rocks is that carbonatites can be enriched with rare earth elements. A hot topic in geopolitics. With a long and ongoing mining history as well as mineral processing, BC may be well positioned to exploit these resources if it proves feasible. The thick forest and rugged terrain do present a challenge relative to the well exposed deposits in China. China also has had the advantage of a longer period of figuring out processing the ores - an underappreciated aspect of the minerals industry. 

The Canadian federal government has been supporting some of the exploration as well as mineral processing.  

https://www.canada.ca/en/campaign/critical-minerals-in-canada/federal-support-for-critical-mineral-projects-and-value-chains/critical-minerals-geoscience-and-data-initiative.html

Vivianite Notes

Hurowitz and many others (2025) discuss organic carbon bearing mudstones on Mars that have bluish nodules. The analysis of the reaction fronts on the nodules indicated ferrous iron phosphate and sulfide minerals with the blue possibly being vivianite. Vivianite nodules are known to form in fresh water and marine settings as a by-product of low-temperature microbially mediated Fe-reduction reactions. Hence, these nodules on Mars have generated intense interest. Hurowitz and many others (2025) do note that there are alternative explanations, but the biotic explanation is intriguing. Kawahara and others (2022) note that there are non biological processes for similar appearing nodules. So at that this point nothing definitive -- such is science. At some future date this rocks may be subject to more sophisticated analyses. 

 

My first encounter with the mineral was in regards to phosphorus removal from waste water or stormwater. There were some clever chemists trying to come up with solutions to minimize nutrient loading in lakes fro waste water. 

A while back I did some research based on coincidental inquiries about sources of blue coloration. One inquiry was regarding possible sources of blue coloration used on canoes by Salish Sea peoples prior to European contact. I was asked if I knew of any vivianite depsoits in the area. The other inquiry was similar but came from an art supplier who thought I might have some insight regarding vivianite sources. I did find some references of pre European trading associated with a site in Alaska.

Vivianite Fe(II)3(PO4)2.8H2O shows up around buried organic material. It also shows up in sewage facilities. A local source for the Salish might have been along clay rich tidal sloughs where lots of wood would have been buried. 

Another potential source could be clay rich Bellingham Glacial Marine Drift that has remained saturated and is in close contact with buried organic material. The saturated drift is already blue from the iron and magnesium not being oxidized. The contact with buried wood would provide the phosphate to have added blue color, but I have not observed any vivianite features when excavating or drilling into the local glacial marine drift.

   

It is my understanding that in finishing cedar canoes the wood would be rubbed with wet clay. I do wonder if some vivianite would precipitate during processing of the bluish clay with the organic material of the canoe thus fixing the iron with microscopic vivianite. That is if you took the very wet and very soft blue glacial drift out of a bank and then mixted it with organic material the vivianite would form within the clay mix and stop the oxidation of the iron that is present and instead create the iron/phosphate oxide vivianite and thus "fix" the blue color. Even rubbing the blue clay on the wood might cause the same reaction. 

Blog Pause

I have been on a bit of a pause from posting. The pause has been for a vaiety of reasons: personal, other schemes, starting posts that bog me down, work, distractions, bad and good habits, and travel (mostly personal with family overseas and east of the mountains). 

Louis

Henry and Louis 

I am still adjusting to the new city when visiting Henry and now Louis. I had very much liked visiting Halle, but time to learn a new city and maybe a very small bit of a new language. Hope that Henry will be a good teacher. 

Hope to get back in the blog routine again. Dark winter days may help.

 

Rocky Mountain Trench Rivers

On my way home I had a nice view of the Rocky Mountain Trench.

Rocky Mountain Trench looking towards the north. 

The north arm of Kinbasket Lake is in the trench on the right.

The valley west of the trench is the upper Thompson River.

The Trench is a remakable feature that is about 1,000 miles long. The feature jumps out in satelite imagery and Google Earth as the lower elevation of the trench forms a dark swath through the high snow covered mountains of the BC interior. The trench follows a major strike-slip tectonic fault, the Tintina Fault. There are other trench like feautes that are somewhat parallel, but none are as continuous. A number of major western rivers flow into and out of the trench. The river plumbing is complex and intriguing.

A few of the Trench rivers: Fraser, Canoe, Columbia and Kootenay. 

The source of the Columbia River is within the trench south of the photograph I took. Kinbasket Lake was formed in the Trench when Mica Dam was built across the location where the Columbia leaves the Trench. The north arm of Kinbasket Lake in the picure is the now flooded Canoe River. Not far north of the lake and Canoe River the Fraser River flows into the Trench and follows the Trench to the north for a long distance. Like the Columbia, the Fraser leaves the Trench and makes a U turn and heads south. I also marked the Kootenay River on the Google Erath view. The Kootenay flows into the trench from the east about 1 mile south of the Columbia source at Canal Flats, but the Kootenay heads south down the Trench whereas the Columbia flows north. Eventually the Kootenay exits the Trench and joins the Columbia.        

It is intriguing to think about how the ice ages may have rearranged the upper river systems. If we look at the current river routes, one can imagine glacial ice filling the northern portion of the Trench and forcing the upper Fraser south into the Columbia. Or the Columbia being blocked by ice and flowing south down what is now the Kootenay route. I can also imagine that prior to the last glacial period the upper river routes may have differed possibly resulting in an even larger Columbia or alternatively a larger Fraser.  

Returning Home with a 'View' of the BC Coast Range

 Returning home the southern portion of the BC Coast Range was obscured by low clouds; hence, I was unable to observe some of the challenging areas from past geology ventures of another work era as the plane descended towards Vancouver. One peak poked above the cloud cover.

The cloud cover was not a bad mimic of the past when the BC Coast Range was mantled with a massive ice sheet that flowed down into the lowlands into the northern Washington straits and out the Strait of Juan de Fuca and filling the Puget lowland with ice all the way to south of Olympia.

The Apple State and Tariff Talking Points

Washington State grows a lot of apples.

Washington State apple growers grows far more apples than we can possibly eat. Washington State exports a lot of apples. I watched the the Whitehouse discussion of tariffs. Apple exports to India was one of the talking points about tariffs: Misinfomed about apples and India (just past 7:40 miniutes) (thanks Don for the link). Mr.Jamieson, the United States Trade Representive stated that India charges 50% tariff on apples as a talking point about unfair trade. The talking point is not true (after-indias-tariffs-eased-washington-state-apple-exports-improved) (washingindia-ends-apple-tariffs) I would note that the talking point  right befoer apples about rice and Japan was aslo very misleading.

It will be interesting how Washington State Representaive Dan Newhouse responds to this issue. And in Washington State it is more than just appples. The State exports include wheat, lentils, chick peas and livestock feed, all a big part of Mr. Newhouse's district.