Humans Resilence and Geologic Processes in the Islands of Four Mountains

Summary

This project explores how the rates of geomorphic process and climate may influence the timing of human settlement in the Islands of Four Mountains, IFM. Subsequent to deglaciation, the steep slopes of the IFM were over steepened due to glacial erosion and deposition, which primed the island for large debris flow events. These paraglacial processes increase sedimentation on flat geomorphic surfaces including alluvial fans and valley bottoms. Additional landscape instability, caused by hydrothermal alteration of rock, exacerbates the high rates of erosion and sedimentation. This project supported senior theses for three Whitman students.