Ray Wells
Ray Wells is a research geologist in the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He is a structural geologist investigating the tectonic and volcanic evolution of the Pacific Northwest.
Ray Wells received his B.S. in Geological Science from Penn State, his M.S. from University of Oregon, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has 45 years of field experience documenting the geologic structure and earthquake hazards of the Cascadia convergent margin in Oregon and Washington, focusing primarily on the Coast Range, Seattle - Portland urban corridor, and the Columbia River Gorge.
Professional Experience
2020-current, Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
2017-Research Associate, Portland State University, Portland, OR
2016-Research Geologist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey
1995-2013 Project Chief, Pacific Northwest Urban Corridor Geologic Mapping, USGS, Menlo Park, CA
1991-1996 Cascadia Regional Coordinator - USGS Deep Continental Surveys
1981-2016 Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
1980 Geologist, Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources
1978-1980 Research Assistant, University of California, Santa Cruz
1976-1977 Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Cruz
1975-1976 Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
1974 Geological Field Assistant, Mobil Oil Corp., Tyee Basin
1972-1974 Teaching Assistant, University of Oregon
1971 Geological Field Assistant, Johns-Mannville Ltd, Stillwater Complex
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Geology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1982
M.S., Geology, University of Oregon, 1975
B.S., Geology, Art, Pennsylvania State University, 1972
Affiliations and Memberships*
1977 - Current, American Geophysical Union
1974 - Current, Geological Society of America
1990 - Current, Seismological Society of America
Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries
Bureau of Reclamation
Portland State University
Honors and Awards
Distinguished Service Award of the Department of the Interior
2017 Geological Society of America’s Geologic Mapping Award in honor of Florence Bascom
Science and Products
Maps Showing Inundation Depths, Ice-Rafted Erratics, and Sedimentary Facies of Late Pleistocene Missoula Floods in the Willamette Valley, Oregon
A revised dislocation model of interseismic deformation of the Cascadia subduction zone
Basin-centered asperities in great subduction zone earthquakes: A link between slip, subsidence, and subduction erosion?
Life and death of the resurrection plate: Evidence for its existence and subduction in the northeastern Pacific in Paleocene-Eocene time
Late Holocene earthquakes on the Toe Jam Hill fault, Seattle fault zone, Bainbridge Island, Washington
Field and laboratory data from an earthquake history study of the Toe Jam Hill Fault, Bainbridge Island, Washington
Life and death of the Resurrection Plate
Location, structure, and seismicity of the Seattle fault zone, Washington: Evidence from aeromagnetic anomalies, geologic mapping, and seismic-reflection data
Geologic map and database of the Roseburg 30' x 60' quadrangle, Douglas and Coos Counties, Oregon
Reconnaissance geologic map of the Dixonville 7.5' quadrangle, Oregon
Northward migration of the Cascadia forearc in the northwestern U.S. and implications for subduction deformation
Shaded-relief and color shaded-relief maps of the Willamette Valley, Oregon
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Maps
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 105
Maps Showing Inundation Depths, Ice-Rafted Erratics, and Sedimentary Facies of Late Pleistocene Missoula Floods in the Willamette Valley, Oregon
Glacial Lake Missoula, impounded by the Purcell Trench lobe of the late Pleistocene Cordilleran Icesheet, repeatedly breached its ice dam, sending floods as large as 2,500 cubic kilometers racing across the Channeled Scabland and down the Columbia River valley to the Pacific Ocean. Peak discharges for some floods exceeded 20 million cubic meters per second. At valley constrictions along the floodAuthorsJ.M. Minervini, J. E. O'Connor, R. E. WellsA revised dislocation model of interseismic deformation of the Cascadia subduction zone
CAS3D‐2, a new three‐dimensional (3‐D) dislocation model, is developed to model interseismic deformation rates at the Cascadia subduction zone. The model is considered a snapshot description of the deformation field that changes with time. The effect of northward secular motion of the central and southern Cascadia forearc sliver is subtracted to obtain the effective convergence between the subductAuthorsKelin Wang, Ray E. Wells, Stephane Mazzotti, Roy D. Hyndman, Takeshi SagiyaBasin-centered asperities in great subduction zone earthquakes: A link between slip, subsidence, and subduction erosion?
Published areas of high coseismic slip, or asperities, for 29 of the largest Circum-Pacific megathrust earthquakes are compared to forearc structure revealed by satellite free-air gravity, bathymetry, and seismic profiling. On average, 71% of an earthquake's seismic moment and 79% of its asperity area occur beneath the prominent gravity low outlining the deep-sea terrace; 57% of an earthquake's asAuthorsR. E. Wells, R. J. Blakely, Y. Sugiyama, D.W. Scholl, P.A. DintermanLife and death of the resurrection plate: Evidence for its existence and subduction in the northeastern Pacific in Paleocene-Eocene time
Onshore evidence suggests that a plate is missing from published reconstructions of the northeastern Pacific Ooean in Paleocene- Eocene time. The Resurrection plate, named for the Resurrection Peninsula ophiolite near Seward, Alaska, was located east of the Kula plate and north of the Farallon plate. We interpret coeval near-trench magmatism in southern Alaska and the Cascadia margin as evidence fAuthorsPeter J. Haeussler, Dwight C. Bradley, Ray E. Wells, Marti L. MillerLate Holocene earthquakes on the Toe Jam Hill fault, Seattle fault zone, Bainbridge Island, Washington
Five trenches across a Holocene fault scarp yield the first radiocarbon-measured earthquake recurrence intervals for a crustal fault in western Washington. The scarp, the first to be revealed by laser imagery, marks the Toe Jam Hill fault, a north-dipping backthrust to the Seattle fault. Folded and faulted strata, liquefaction features, and forest soil A horizons buried by hanging-wall-collapse coAuthorsA. R. Nelson, S. Y. Johnson, H.M. Kelsey, R. E. Wells, B.L. Sherrod, S.K. Pezzopane, L. A. Bradley, R. D. Koehler, R.C. BucknamField and laboratory data from an earthquake history study of the Toe Jam Hill Fault, Bainbridge Island, Washington
No abstract available.AuthorsAlan R. Nelson, Samuel Y. Johnson, Ray E. Wells, Silvio K. Pezzopane, Harvey M. Kelsey, Brian L. Sherrod, Lee-Ann Bradley, Rick D. Koehler, Robert C. Bucknam, Ralph Haugerud, William T. LapradeLife and death of the Resurrection Plate
No abstract available.AuthorsPeter J. Haeussler, D. C. Bradley, R. E. Wells, Marti L. MillerLocation, structure, and seismicity of the Seattle fault zone, Washington: Evidence from aeromagnetic anomalies, geologic mapping, and seismic-reflection data
A high-resolution aeromagnetic survey of the Puget Lowland shows details of the Seattle fault zone, an active but largely concealed east-trending zone of reverse faulting at the southern margin of the Seattle basin. Three elongate, east-trending magnetic anomalies are associated with north-dipping Tertiary strata exposed in the hanging wall; the magnetic anomalies indicate where these strata contiAuthorsR. J. Blakely, R. E. Wells, C. S. Weaver, S. Y. JohnsonGeologic map and database of the Roseburg 30' x 60' quadrangle, Douglas and Coos Counties, Oregon
The Roseburg 30' x 60' Quadrangle covers the southeastern margin of the Oregon Coast Range and its tectonic boundary with Mesozoic terranes of the Klamath Mountains (see figures 1 and 2 in pamphlet, also shown on map sheet). The geologic framework of the Roseburg area was established by the pioneering work of Diller (1898), Wells and Peck, (1961) and Ewart Baldwin (1974) and his students (see figuAuthorsRay E. Wells, A. S. Jayko, A. R. Niem, G. Black, T. Wiley, E. Baldwin, K. M. Molenaar, K. L. Wheeler, C. B. DuRoss, R. W. GivlerReconnaissance geologic map of the Dixonville 7.5' quadrangle, Oregon
The Dixonville 7.5 minute quadrangle is situated near the edge of two major geologic and tectonic provinces the northernmost Klamath Mountains and the southeastern part of the Oregon Coast Ranges (Figure 1). Rocks of the Klamath Mountains province that lie within the study area include ultramafic, mafic, intermediate and siliceous igneous types (Diller, 1898, Ramp, 1972, Ryberg, 1984). Similar rocAuthorsAngela S. Jayko, Ray E. Wells, R. W. Givler, J.S. Fenton, M. SinorNorthward migration of the Cascadia forearc in the northwestern U.S. and implications for subduction deformation
Geologic and paleomagnetic data from the Cascadia forearc indicate long-term northward migration and clockwise rotation of an Oregon coastal block with respect to North America. Paleomagnetic rotation of coastal Oregon is linked by a Klamath Mountains pole to geodetically and geologically determined motion of the Sierra Nevada block to derive a new Oregon Coast—North America (OC-NA) pole of rotatiAuthorsR. E. Wells, R. W. SimpsonShaded-relief and color shaded-relief maps of the Willamette Valley, Oregon
This Open-File Report is released as a digital map database. It includes PostScript plot files that contain images of the map sheets; the images also contain a brief explanation describing the geology and physiography of the study area. The digital map database is a compilation of newly published 10-m digital-elevation-model (DEM) data for western Oregon and represents the physiography of the WillAuthorsR. W. Givler, Ray E. Wells - News
*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