willamette valley geology & soils - cascadia fine wines › wp... · 2018-11-01 · open a...

WILLAMETTE VALLEY GEOLOGY & SOILS

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UPDATED 11.1.16

OPEN A BOTTLE OF OREGON WINE AND TASTE A 200-MILLION-YEAR-OLD STORY.

Quite a feat for humble grapes that fought for existence in infertile soils. But in Oregon, we’ve always thought that struggle builds character, and our wines have that in spades.

Oregon Wine Board - 2016 GEOLOGY & SOILS: WILLAMETTE VALLEY

SETTING THE SCENE

Oregon resides in the “Ring of Fire,” an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean that is home to 75% of the world's volcanoes and 90% of the world's earthquakes.

50° N

30° N

30° S

50° S

0° EQUATOR

ACTIVE VOLCANOES

RING OF FIRE

GEOLOGY & SOILS: WILLAMETTE VALLEYOregon Wine Board - 2016

Oregon’s position in the "Ring of Fire" has made for a

magnificent, violent geological history that has carved

dramatic landscapes and yielded some of the most

diverse growing regions in the world.

DRAMATIC EVENTS FORM SPECTACULAR LAND

GEOLOGY & SOILS: WILLAMETTE VALLEYOregon Wine Board - 2016

CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARKImage: Travel Oregon


SMITH ROCK STATE PARKImage: Christian Heeb



COLUMBIA RIVER GORGEImage: Satoshi Eto


PAINTED HILLS, JOHN DAY FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENTImage: Christian Heeb


Marine Sedimentary

Volcanic Loess

The Willamette Valley's predominant grapegrowing soils are the result of millions of years of geological history.

Images: Oregon Wine Press


MARINE SEDIMENTARY SOILS FORM

200

M

100

M

50 M

150

M

175

M

125

M

75 M

25 M

TOD

AY

PACIFIC OCEAN

BLUEMOUNTAINS

KL

AM

AT

HM

OU

NT

AIN

S

Columbia River

NORTH AMERICANPLATE

JUAN DE FUCA PLATE

SUBDUCTION ZONE

PACIFIC OCEAN

200 MILLION YEARS AGO

PACIFIC OCEAN COASTREACHES IDAHO

• The Juan de Fuca tectonic

plate begins to gradually

subduct under the North

American tectonic plate

• Ocean islands and pieces

of the ocean bottom are

"stuck" onto the West Coast

as accreted terrane, creating

Oregon's oldest mountains

and gradually adding land

mass to what is now Oregon


Includes: Willakenzie, Melbourne, Goodin, Wellsdale, Bellpine, Dupee soil series

MARINE SEDIMENTARY SOILS

Developed from sandstone and shale on the ocean floor

Red color from years of weathering

Shallow soil with low nutrients

Forces grapevine roots to struggle and grow deep to source water and minerals

Image: Oregon Wine Press


16-10 MILLION YEARS AGO

TECTONIC PLATES SHIFT

• The Juan de Fuca tectonic

plate continues to subduct

under the North American

plate, uplifting coastal

sediments to form the Coast

Range above water

• Cascade Mountain Range

forms inland above water

from the accumulation of

volcanic rock

• Oregon accumulates enough

landmass due to accreted

terrane to be completely

above water

200

M

100

M

50 M

150

M

175

M

125

M

75 M

25 M

TOD

AY

COAST RANGE

CASCADERANGE

NORTH AMERICANPLATE

JUAN DE FUCA PLATE

SUBDUCTION ZONE

PACIFIC OCEAN

PACIFIC OCEAN

CO

AS

T R

AN

GE

CA

SC

AD

E R

AN

GE

KL

AM

AT

HM

OU

NT

AIN

S

Columbia River

Will

amet

te R

iver



16-14 MILLION YEARS AGO

VOLCANOES CREATE COLUMBIA RIVER BASALT

• Multiple fissures create one of the largest volcanic events on earth between 17 and 6 million years ago, with 80% of activity occurring 16-14 million years ago

• Lava flows travel throughout northern Oregon

• Creates basalt bedrock in the Walla Walla Valley, Columbia Gorge and Willamette Valley winegrowing regions

200

M

100

M

50 M

150

M

175

M

125

M

75 M

25 M

TOD

AY

PACIFIC OCEAN

BLUEMOUNTAINS

CO

AS

T R

AN

GE

CA

SC

AD

E R

AN

GE

KL

AM

AT

HM

OU

NT

AIN

S

Columbia River

Will

amet

te R

iver

VOLCANIC SOILS FORM



VOLCANIC SOILS

Produced from weathering of Columbia River Basalt bedrock

High in clay content and iron resulting in a very distinguishable red hue

Offers fewer nutrients than marine sedimentary soil

Includes: Jory and Nekia soil series



ICE AGE BEGINS

200

M

100

M

50 M

75 M

125

M

175

M

25 M

150

M

TOD

AY

2.5

M

1 M

500

K

10K

2.5 MILLIONYEARS AGO

THE ICE AGE BEGINS


VOLCANIC SOILS FORM


200

M

100

M

50 M

75 M

125

M

175

M

25 M

150

M

TOD

AY

2.5

M

1 M

500

K

10K

100,000-50,000YEARS AGO

WIND BLOWS SILT FROM FLOOD PLAINS ONTO SURROUNDING SLOPES

• Ice Age creates a

combination of weathered

soil composed of rock

ground down by glaciers

• This weathered soil,

called loess, is fed into

the streams and then

blown onto the hillsides,

especially at the northern

end of the Willamette

Valley

WASHINGTON

OREGON

HOOD RIVER

MT HOOD

PORTLAND

W illamett e Riv er

Columbia River

LOESS SOILS FORM


VOLCANIC SOILS FORM

ICE AGE BEGINS


LOESS SOILS

Weathered windblown soils developed on Columbia River Basalt bedrock have a brownish-red hue

Drains well, inducing an appropriate amount of vine stress, resulting in complex grapes

The youngest of Willamette Valley's three main winegrowing soils

Includes: Laurelwood soil series



200

M

100

M

50 M

75 M

125

M

175

M

25 M

150

M

TOD

AY

18,000-15,000YEARS AGO

MISSOULA FLOODS

2,000 foot (600 m) high ice dam breaks 40+ times (about once every 50 years), causing a 300+ foot (90 m) wall of water that:

• Deepens and widens the Columbia Gorge

• Floods the Willamette and Columbia Valleys

• Deposits nutrient-rich loam on the Willamette Valley floor

2.5

M

1 M

500

K

10K

CORDILLERAN ICE SHEET

300 ft (90 m) ta

ll, 17

mill

ion g

al/sec (6

5M L/sec)

PACIFIC OCEAN

BLUEMOUNTAINS

MCCALL, ID

CO

AS

T R

AN

GE

CA

SC

AD

E R

AN

GE

MCCALL, ID

LAKE MISSOULA

1,200 FT(365 m)

DEEP

ICE DAM30 MILES(48 km)

WIDE

2,000 FT (600 km)

TALL


VOLCANIC SOILS FORM

LOESS SOILS FORM

MISSOULA FLOOD SOILS FORM

ICE AGE BEGINS


MISSOULA FLOOD SOILS

Fertile topsoil, not ideal for winegrape growing, but great for other crops such as berries, hazelnuts and grass seed

Relatively balanced amounts of sand, silt and clay

Found along the Columbia Gorge banks and Willamette Valley floor


willamette valley geology & soils - cascadia fine wines › wp... · 2018-11-01 · open a...

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