Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve

Mima mounds are low, flattened, circular to oval, domelike, natural mounds that are composed of loose, unstratified, often gravelly sediment that is an overthickened A horizon. These mounds range in diameter from 3 to more than 50 m; in height 30 cm to greater than 2 m; and in density from several to greater than 50 mounds per hectare, at times forming conspicuous natural patterns. Mima mounds can be seen at the Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve in Washington state. "Mima" is a name derived from a Chinook Jargon term meaning "a little further along" or "downstream".Theories for the origin of Mima mounds include burrowing by pocket gophers; accumulation of wind-blown (aeolian) sediments around vegetation to form coppice dunes or nebkhas; seismic ground shaking by major earthquakes, though none have been observed to form Mima mounds; and shrinking and swelling of clays in hog-wallow or gilgai landforms. Though the definitive Mima mounds are common in North America, it has not been shown that all North American mounds result from the same causes. Superficially similar phenomena occur on all continents, and the proposed causal factors do not occur in all regions that have been studied. Nor is it clear that all such mounds really are the same, either physically or functionally; for example, the so-called fairy circles of Southern Africa tend to be less mound-like and occur in different climatic and ecological conditions from Mima mounds. Furthermore, it has been argued that the possibly distinct heuweltjies of the South Western Cape region of South Africa are of an origin far different from either.

Mima is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The area is located between Littlerock and Gate.

Waddell Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to the Black River.Waddell Creek was named after the family of Robert Waddell, which settled near its course in the 1850s.

Bordeaux is a ghost town in Thurston County, in the U.S. state of Washington.

Littlerock is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, Washington, United States. Littlerock is 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Olympia. The town is west of Interstate 5 and Maytown. Littlerock is located near several protected lands, such as the Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve and Capitol State Forest.

Mill Creek is a stream in Thurston County, Washington. It is a tributary of Mima Creek.Mill Creek was named for a sawmill along its course.

Mima Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to the Black River. The upper course of Mima Creek contains the Mima Falls, a waterfall."Mima" is a name derived from a Native American language meaning "a little further along" or "downstream".

Salmon Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to the Black River.Salmon Creek was so named on account of its stock of salmon.

Lake Lucinda is a lake in the U.S. state of Washington. It is impounded by the Lake Lucinda Dam.Lake Lucinda took its name from a nearby residential complex.

Rochester () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1852, and the 2020 census recorded its population at 6,064. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 square kilometers), all of it land. Rochester Schools had 2,105 students registered in 2021-22 School Year.

Logan Drew Schiendelman (born June 27, 1996—disappeared May 19, 2016) is an American man who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in Thurston County, Washington in May 2016. The son of a mixed-race mother and a Saudi Arabian father, Schiendelman was raised primarily by his grandmother in Tumwater, Washington, where he was a star athlete at Tumwater High School. After attending Washington State University for one year, he decided to drop out of college and return to Tumwater, where he worked several jobs and moved in with his grandmother and half-sister. Schiendelman was last seen by his grandmother on the morning of May 19, 2016, when the two talked in their kitchen before leaving for their respective jobs. On May 20, 2016, Schiendelman's Chrysler Sebring was discovered abandoned along the southbound lane of Interstate 5 in Rochester, approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of his residence in Tumwater, with his wallet, driver's license, and cell phone still inside. Around 2:00 p.m. a witness placed a 9-1-1 call after witnessing Schiendelman's vehicle swerving across three lanes of the interstate; after the vehicle crashed into the center median, the witness stated he saw a man, 6 ft tall and white, exit the vehicle from the passenger side and run into the woods along the interstate. A search was done with cadaver and tracking dogs in those woods for six hours but to no avail. Neither Schiendelman nor any trace of him was found. Some time later, after news of his disappearance began circulating, a witness called in to report seeing Schiendelman on the day his vehicle was found on the highway, though her claim differs from the only other eyewitness who reported seeing him that day. She reported seeing a man resembling Schiendelman standing outside the parked car on Interstate 5 earlier that morning, accompanied by two white men. A sketch was made of one of the unknown men but the identity still remains a mystery. As of 2023, Schiendelman's whereabouts remain unknown. His disappearance was profiled in 2018 on the Investigation Discovery series Disappeared, and in 2023 on Dateline NBC's podcast Missing in America.

Noski Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to Waddell Creek.A variant name is "Noschka Creek". The creek was named after a pioneer who settled near it in the 1880s.