Charles M Cannon
Charles Cannon is a geologist at the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. Since joining the USGS in 2008, he has devoted his career to studying the geology and geomorphology of the Columbia River region and specializes in geographic information systems. While Charlie's current research focuses on mapping Quaternary geology in the region near The Dalles, Oregon,
Since 2010, he has been working to understand the geology of the lower Columbia River, primarily by way of detailed geomorphic mapping and hydrologic analyses of its tidally-influenced reaches between Bonneville Dam and the Pacific Ocean. Since 2014, he has been working to map Quaternary geology in the region near The Dalles, Oregon. His interests include using geographic information systems, remote sensing, and modeling for geologic and geomorphic studies.
Professional Experience
2015 - Present, Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
2008 - 2015, Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
Education and Certifications
M.S., Geology, Portland State University, 2015
Graduate Certificate, Geographic Information Systems, Portland State University, 2010
B.S., Geology with Computer Applications Minor, Portland State University, 2008
Affiliations and Memberships*
2007 - present, Geological Society of America
Science and Products
Pacific Northwest Geologic Mapping: Northern Pacific Border, Cascades and Columbia
The Pacific Northwest is an area created by active and complex geological processes. On its path to the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River slices through a chain of active volcanoes located along the western margin of the U.S. in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. These volcanoes rest above the active Cascadia subduction zone, which is the boundary where the oceanic tectonic plate dives...
Orthophotograph of the Columbia River between Portland and The Dalles, Oregon, acquired in 1935
This data release consists of high quality georeferenced orthophoto mosaics of a 160 kilometer long portion of the Columbia River between Portland and The Dalles, Oregon created from aerial photographs collected in 1935 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dataset comprises three GeoTIFF files, each covering about 40-60 kilometers. This metadata document summarizes the entire data release. See
Field, Geochemical, Geochronological, and Magnetic Data from a Pliocene basalt flow along the Deschutes River in north-central Oregon
This dataset represents a variety of scientific measurements of basalt rock outcrops in central Oregon, United States. It consists of field observations, geochemical measurements, paleomagnetic directional measurements, magnetic susceptibility, and geochronology data (Ar-Ar methodology). This dataset was collected from 2014-2022 by the authors.
Extent of Pliocene hyaloclastic deposits and related lava flows in the Columbia Gorge, Oregon and Washington
This dataset contains polygons representing deposits of hyaloclastic debris that were generated between about 3.5 and 3.0 million years ago when a series of basaltic lava flows entered the canyon of the ancestral Columbia River. The lava flows were erupted from volcanoes in the area of the Hood River graben of McClaughry and others (2012), generally have low-potassium tholeiitic basalt composition
Digital terrain model of upper North Fork Toutle River valley, Washington, derived from historical topographic maps
This digital terrain model represents historical elevations along the valley of the North Fork Toutle River upstream of its confluence with the Green River in Cowlitz and Skamania Counties, Washington. Most elevations were derived from U.S. Geological Survey 1:62,500 scale topographic quadrangle maps published from 1953 to 1958 that were derived from aerial photographs taken in 1951 and 1952. Elev
Digital Terrain Model to Support Modeling of Lahars Originating on the West Side of Mount Rainier, Washington
This digital elevation model contains ground surface elevations for the valleys of rivers draining the west side of Mount Rainier, Washington. Elevations are mostly from the 1/9th arc-second (approximately 3 meter) resolution U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset (NED). The NED data were projected to the Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 10 coordinate system and mosaicked to form a si
Data to support modeling of the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska
Landslide-generated tsunamis pose significant hazards, but developing models to assess these hazards presents unique challenges. George and others (2017) present a new methodology in which a depth-averaged two-phase landslide model (D-Claw) is used to simulate all stages of landslide dynamics and subsequent tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Because the model describes the evolution
Filter Total Items: 15
A far-traveled basalt lava flow in north-central Oregon, USA
Widely separated basalt lava-flow outcrops in north-central Oregon, USA, expose products of a single eruptive episode. A Pliocene lava flow, here informally termed the Tetherow basalt, issued from vents near Redmond, in the Deschutes basin of Oregon, as a plains-forming basalt now exposed in continuous outcrops northward for 60 km. A similar basalt crops out 47 km farther north, near Maupin, withi
Authors
Anthony Francis Pivarunas, David R. Sherrod, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles M. Cannon, Mark E. Stelten
The magmatic origin of the Columbia River Gorge, USA
Along subduction zones, high-relief topography is associated with sustained volcanism parallel to the plate margin. However, the relationship between magmatism and mountain building in arcs is poorly understood. Here, we study patterns of surface deformation and correlated fluvial knickpoints in the Columbia River Gorge to link long-term magmatism to the uplift and ensuing topographic development
Authors
Nathaniel Klema, Leif Karlstrom, Charles M. Cannon, Chengxin Jiang, Jim E. O'Connor, Ray Wells, Brandon Schmandt
Modeling the dynamics of lahars that originate as landslides on the west side of Mount Rainier, Washington
Large lahars pose substantial threats to people and property downstream from Mount Rainier volcano in Washington State. Geologic evidence indicates that these threats exist even during the absence of volcanic activity and that the threats are highest in the densely populated Puyallup and Nisqually River valleys on the west side of the volcano. However, the precise character of these threats can be
Authors
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
Major reorganization of the Snake River modulated by passage of the Yellowstone Hotspot
The details and mechanisms for Neogene river reorganization in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains have been debated for over a century with key implications for how tectonic and volcanic systems modulate topographic development. To evaluate paleo-drainage networks, we produced an expansive data set and provenance analysis of detrital zircon U-Pb ages from Miocene to Pleistocen
Authors
Lydia M. Staisch, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles M. Cannon, Christopher Holm-Denoma, Paul K. Link, John Lasher, Jeremy A. Alexander
Arc versus river: The geology of the Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is the Columbia River’s long-held yet evolving passage through the volcanic arc of the Cascade Range. The globally unique setting of a continental-scale river bisecting an active volcanic arc at the leading edge of a major plate boundary creates a remarkable setting where dynamic volcanic and tectonic processes interact with diverse and energetic fluvial processes. This th
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Ray Wells, Scott E. K. Bennett, Charles M. Cannon, Lydia M. Staisch, James L Anderson, Anthony Francis Pivarunas, Gabriel Wells Gordon, Richard J. Blakely, Mark E. Stelten, Russell C. Evarts
Diverse cataclysmic floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula
In late Wisconsin time, the Purcell Trench lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet dammed the Clark Fork of the Columbia River in western Montana, creating glacial Lake Missoula. During part of this epoch, the Okanogan lobe also dammed the Columbia River downstream, creating glacial Lake Columbia in northeast Washington. Repeated failure of the Purcell Trench ice dam released glacial Lake Missoula, caus
Authors
Roger P. Denlinger, David L. George, Charles M. Cannon, Jim E. O'Connor, Richard B. Waitt
The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin
The Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington State, USA, brought megafloods to the scientific forefront. A 30,000-km2 landscape of coulees and cataracts carved into the region’s loess-covered basalt attests to overwhelming volumes of energetic water. The scarred landscape, garnished by huge boulder bars and far-travelled ice-rafted erratics, spurred J Harlen Bretz’s vigorously disputed flood hypot
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Victor R. Baker, Richard B. Waitt, Larry N Smith, Charles M. Cannon, David L. George, Roger P. Denlinger
Seamless numerical simulation of a hazard cascade in which a landslide triggers a dam-breach flood and consequent debris flow
Numerical simulations of hazard cascades downstream from moraine-dammed lakes commonly must specify linkages between models of discrete processes such as wave overtopping, dam breaching, erosion, and downstream floods or debris flows. Such linkages can be rather arbitrary and can detract from the ability to accurately conserve mass and momentum during complex sequences of events. Here we describ
Authors
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
New methodology for computing tsunami generation by subaerial landslides: Application to the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska
Landslide-generated tsunamis pose significant hazards and involve complex, multiphase physics that are challenging to model. We present a new methodology in which our depth-averaged two-phase model D-Claw is used to seamlessly simulate all stages of landslide dynamics as well as tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Because the model describes the evolution of solid and fluid volume fra
Authors
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
Landslide mobility and hazards: implications of the 2014 Oso disaster
Landslides reflect landscape instability that evolves over meteorological and geological timescales, and they also pose threats to people, property, and the environment. The severity of these threats depends largely on landslide speed and travel distance, which are collectively described as landslide “mobility”. To investigate causes and effects of mobility, we focus on a disastrous landslide that
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, David L. George, Kate E. Allstadt, Mark E. Reid, Brian D. Collins, James W. Vallance, Steve P. Schilling, Jonathan W. Godt, Charles Cannon, Christopher S. Magirl, Rex L. Baum, Jeffrey A. Coe, William Schulz, J. Brent Bower
Columbia River Estuary ecosystem classification—Concept and application
This document describes the concept, organization, and application of a hierarchical ecosystem classification that integrates saline and tidal freshwater reaches of estuaries in order to characterize the ecosystems of large flood plain rivers that are strongly influenced by riverine and estuarine hydrology. We illustrate the classification by applying it to the Columbia River estuary (Oregon-Washi
Authors
Charles A. Simenstad, Jennifer L. Burke, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles Cannon, Danelle W. Heatwole, Mary F. Ramirez, Ian R. Waite, Timothy D. Counihan, Krista L. Jones
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Umpqua River basin, Oregon
The Umpqua River drains 12,103 square kilometers of western Oregon; with headwaters in the Cascade Range, the river flows through portions of the Klamath Mountains and Oregon Coast Range before entering the Pacific Ocean. Above the head of tide, the Umpqua River, along with its major tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers, flows on a mixed bedrock and alluvium bed, alternating between bedr
Authors
J. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Scott Anderson, Mackenzie K. Keith, Charles Cannon, John C. Risley
Science and Products
Pacific Northwest Geologic Mapping: Northern Pacific Border, Cascades and Columbia
The Pacific Northwest is an area created by active and complex geological processes. On its path to the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River slices through a chain of active volcanoes located along the western margin of the U.S. in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. These volcanoes rest above the active Cascadia subduction zone, which is the boundary where the oceanic tectonic plate dives...
Orthophotograph of the Columbia River between Portland and The Dalles, Oregon, acquired in 1935
This data release consists of high quality georeferenced orthophoto mosaics of a 160 kilometer long portion of the Columbia River between Portland and The Dalles, Oregon created from aerial photographs collected in 1935 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dataset comprises three GeoTIFF files, each covering about 40-60 kilometers. This metadata document summarizes the entire data release. See
Field, Geochemical, Geochronological, and Magnetic Data from a Pliocene basalt flow along the Deschutes River in north-central Oregon
This dataset represents a variety of scientific measurements of basalt rock outcrops in central Oregon, United States. It consists of field observations, geochemical measurements, paleomagnetic directional measurements, magnetic susceptibility, and geochronology data (Ar-Ar methodology). This dataset was collected from 2014-2022 by the authors.
Extent of Pliocene hyaloclastic deposits and related lava flows in the Columbia Gorge, Oregon and Washington
This dataset contains polygons representing deposits of hyaloclastic debris that were generated between about 3.5 and 3.0 million years ago when a series of basaltic lava flows entered the canyon of the ancestral Columbia River. The lava flows were erupted from volcanoes in the area of the Hood River graben of McClaughry and others (2012), generally have low-potassium tholeiitic basalt composition
Digital terrain model of upper North Fork Toutle River valley, Washington, derived from historical topographic maps
This digital terrain model represents historical elevations along the valley of the North Fork Toutle River upstream of its confluence with the Green River in Cowlitz and Skamania Counties, Washington. Most elevations were derived from U.S. Geological Survey 1:62,500 scale topographic quadrangle maps published from 1953 to 1958 that were derived from aerial photographs taken in 1951 and 1952. Elev
Digital Terrain Model to Support Modeling of Lahars Originating on the West Side of Mount Rainier, Washington
This digital elevation model contains ground surface elevations for the valleys of rivers draining the west side of Mount Rainier, Washington. Elevations are mostly from the 1/9th arc-second (approximately 3 meter) resolution U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset (NED). The NED data were projected to the Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 10 coordinate system and mosaicked to form a si
Data to support modeling of the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska
Landslide-generated tsunamis pose significant hazards, but developing models to assess these hazards presents unique challenges. George and others (2017) present a new methodology in which a depth-averaged two-phase landslide model (D-Claw) is used to simulate all stages of landslide dynamics and subsequent tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Because the model describes the evolution
Filter Total Items: 15
A far-traveled basalt lava flow in north-central Oregon, USA
Widely separated basalt lava-flow outcrops in north-central Oregon, USA, expose products of a single eruptive episode. A Pliocene lava flow, here informally termed the Tetherow basalt, issued from vents near Redmond, in the Deschutes basin of Oregon, as a plains-forming basalt now exposed in continuous outcrops northward for 60 km. A similar basalt crops out 47 km farther north, near Maupin, withi
Authors
Anthony Francis Pivarunas, David R. Sherrod, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles M. Cannon, Mark E. Stelten
The magmatic origin of the Columbia River Gorge, USA
Along subduction zones, high-relief topography is associated with sustained volcanism parallel to the plate margin. However, the relationship between magmatism and mountain building in arcs is poorly understood. Here, we study patterns of surface deformation and correlated fluvial knickpoints in the Columbia River Gorge to link long-term magmatism to the uplift and ensuing topographic development
Authors
Nathaniel Klema, Leif Karlstrom, Charles M. Cannon, Chengxin Jiang, Jim E. O'Connor, Ray Wells, Brandon Schmandt
Modeling the dynamics of lahars that originate as landslides on the west side of Mount Rainier, Washington
Large lahars pose substantial threats to people and property downstream from Mount Rainier volcano in Washington State. Geologic evidence indicates that these threats exist even during the absence of volcanic activity and that the threats are highest in the densely populated Puyallup and Nisqually River valleys on the west side of the volcano. However, the precise character of these threats can be
Authors
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
Major reorganization of the Snake River modulated by passage of the Yellowstone Hotspot
The details and mechanisms for Neogene river reorganization in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains have been debated for over a century with key implications for how tectonic and volcanic systems modulate topographic development. To evaluate paleo-drainage networks, we produced an expansive data set and provenance analysis of detrital zircon U-Pb ages from Miocene to Pleistocen
Authors
Lydia M. Staisch, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles M. Cannon, Christopher Holm-Denoma, Paul K. Link, John Lasher, Jeremy A. Alexander
Arc versus river: The geology of the Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is the Columbia River’s long-held yet evolving passage through the volcanic arc of the Cascade Range. The globally unique setting of a continental-scale river bisecting an active volcanic arc at the leading edge of a major plate boundary creates a remarkable setting where dynamic volcanic and tectonic processes interact with diverse and energetic fluvial processes. This th
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Ray Wells, Scott E. K. Bennett, Charles M. Cannon, Lydia M. Staisch, James L Anderson, Anthony Francis Pivarunas, Gabriel Wells Gordon, Richard J. Blakely, Mark E. Stelten, Russell C. Evarts
Diverse cataclysmic floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula
In late Wisconsin time, the Purcell Trench lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet dammed the Clark Fork of the Columbia River in western Montana, creating glacial Lake Missoula. During part of this epoch, the Okanogan lobe also dammed the Columbia River downstream, creating glacial Lake Columbia in northeast Washington. Repeated failure of the Purcell Trench ice dam released glacial Lake Missoula, caus
Authors
Roger P. Denlinger, David L. George, Charles M. Cannon, Jim E. O'Connor, Richard B. Waitt
The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin
The Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington State, USA, brought megafloods to the scientific forefront. A 30,000-km2 landscape of coulees and cataracts carved into the region’s loess-covered basalt attests to overwhelming volumes of energetic water. The scarred landscape, garnished by huge boulder bars and far-travelled ice-rafted erratics, spurred J Harlen Bretz’s vigorously disputed flood hypot
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Victor R. Baker, Richard B. Waitt, Larry N Smith, Charles M. Cannon, David L. George, Roger P. Denlinger
Seamless numerical simulation of a hazard cascade in which a landslide triggers a dam-breach flood and consequent debris flow
Numerical simulations of hazard cascades downstream from moraine-dammed lakes commonly must specify linkages between models of discrete processes such as wave overtopping, dam breaching, erosion, and downstream floods or debris flows. Such linkages can be rather arbitrary and can detract from the ability to accurately conserve mass and momentum during complex sequences of events. Here we describ
Authors
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
New methodology for computing tsunami generation by subaerial landslides: Application to the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska
Landslide-generated tsunamis pose significant hazards and involve complex, multiphase physics that are challenging to model. We present a new methodology in which our depth-averaged two-phase model D-Claw is used to seamlessly simulate all stages of landslide dynamics as well as tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Because the model describes the evolution of solid and fluid volume fra
Authors
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
Landslide mobility and hazards: implications of the 2014 Oso disaster
Landslides reflect landscape instability that evolves over meteorological and geological timescales, and they also pose threats to people, property, and the environment. The severity of these threats depends largely on landslide speed and travel distance, which are collectively described as landslide “mobility”. To investigate causes and effects of mobility, we focus on a disastrous landslide that
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, David L. George, Kate E. Allstadt, Mark E. Reid, Brian D. Collins, James W. Vallance, Steve P. Schilling, Jonathan W. Godt, Charles Cannon, Christopher S. Magirl, Rex L. Baum, Jeffrey A. Coe, William Schulz, J. Brent Bower
Columbia River Estuary ecosystem classification—Concept and application
This document describes the concept, organization, and application of a hierarchical ecosystem classification that integrates saline and tidal freshwater reaches of estuaries in order to characterize the ecosystems of large flood plain rivers that are strongly influenced by riverine and estuarine hydrology. We illustrate the classification by applying it to the Columbia River estuary (Oregon-Washi
Authors
Charles A. Simenstad, Jennifer L. Burke, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles Cannon, Danelle W. Heatwole, Mary F. Ramirez, Ian R. Waite, Timothy D. Counihan, Krista L. Jones
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Umpqua River basin, Oregon
The Umpqua River drains 12,103 square kilometers of western Oregon; with headwaters in the Cascade Range, the river flows through portions of the Klamath Mountains and Oregon Coast Range before entering the Pacific Ocean. Above the head of tide, the Umpqua River, along with its major tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers, flows on a mixed bedrock and alluvium bed, alternating between bedr
Authors
J. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Scott Anderson, Mackenzie K. Keith, Charles Cannon, John C. Risley
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government