Bretz's Flood: The Remarkable Story of a Rebel Geologist and the World's Greatest Flood

by John Soennichsen

Channeled Scablands, between Idaho and the Cascades, is a unique landscape of basalt cliffs, dry waterfalls, canyons, and coulees. Legendary geologist J Harlen Bretz was the first to explore the area, starting in the 1920s. This dramatic book tells the story of this scientific maverick — how he came to study the region, his radical theory that a flood of biblical proportions created it, and how a campaign by the mainstream geologic community tried to derail him for pursuing an idea that satellite photos would confirm decades later.

Genres: Science, Biography, History, Nonfiction, Geology, Nature, Geography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

J Harlan Bretz, like Alfred Wegener, was a scientist with a correct theory at a time when the establishment was hard set against it. This book details his biography and his efforts to gather data proving his work.

First and foremost, Bretz was a teacher. His methods of investigation resemble examples of his teaching cited in the book - given the facts, what conclusions can be drawn? The early work he did was based on the prevailing glacial theories, but those just couldn't produce the volume of water needed.

I grew up in the area, and encountered Bretz's work through articles and science books. Only this book covers the complete history of the theories and the biography of the man. I read this when it first came out in 2008, but wasn't writing reviews at that time. A reread almost 15 years later has allowed me to collect and express my thoughts.

Why not 5 stars? More detail on some of the competing theories would have been interesting, more maps, and of course some color in those maps. I've seen the color in both the dry falls and the rolling fields, but it would be nice for the reader to do so also. Finally, while Bretz did not do much with the flood, a chapter detailing what we knew (in 2008) would have been welcome.

A quick read nonetheless, and still recommended.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written and interesting biography of pioneering geologist, Harlen Bretz. He challenged the scientific consensus of his time when he proposed that the peculiar geology of eastern Washington state was formed by a massive, catastrophic flood. At first, he was derided by the geological community, but eventually they came around. While this may not sound interesting, the author does a great job of bringing Bretz's explorations and research to life. He also brings out an intriguing point, which was that one reason that the geological community was slow to adopt Bretz's hypothesis, despite all of the evidence supporting it, was because the idea of a massive ancient flood sounded, well, biblical. Apparently, it's still a sensitive issue, as the author takes pains to distance himself and Bretz from any sort of religious belief.

Anyone familiar with the eastern Washington landscape will appreciate this book. I recommend Cataclysms on the Columbia: The Great Missoula Floods for helpful photographs and more description of the actual topography.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a guy. A great story, and a pretty good book though it kind of dribbled away at the end. But the author took enough time to set the story up, to make it clear what Bretz was about. This did not require hardly any real geology background. But then again I already knew about the floods, what I didn't know was about the man. But this explained the scablands and the the discovery better than anything I've seen.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reality of the scablands versus the palouse really strikes you when you have a child at WA State and drive back and forth to Pullman regularly! This book really filled in the geological details. I dragged through the first section about Bretz's life; get me to the geology! But, there's a generic sub-theme in the book about scientists' own human perspectives and foibles that impact the introduction of new ideas and discoveries. Could Bretz have done a better job of introducing his theories? Another very human scientist who creatively identified a natural wonder.

[Jane Ginter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I now want to explore the glacial floods and scablands.

[Gerald Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live just on the edge of these Scablands and this book helps to identify the geologic history of the unique area in Idaho and Washington. The book is well written and I gave it a 4 star rating.
In my opinion this area would be a great place for historical/geologic park for the National Park Service. Read the book and see if you don't agree. Thank you for reading my blog.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this book had started on page 77 (the point at which the discussion of Bretz's fieldwork begins and Bretz's early life story eases up), I would have given this a straight up 5 star rating.

Having lived most of my life in eastern Washington and garnered only the faintest sketches of how the Channeled Scablands came to be, I found this book to be uber-fascinating. As I come off the South Hill on my daily walk to work in downtown Spokane, it is fun to imagine the wall(s) of water rolling down the Spokane River valley and scrubbing the basalt clean...

The only quibbles that I have with the book (aside from the heavy focus on Bretz's early life) are that there is no index (gasp!) and as such I couldn't easily look to see if there was a discussion of the formation of Moses Coulee that I had somehow missed. According to the sketched map at the beginning of the book, Moses Coulee is located too high on the Waterville Plateau to have been formed by the flood waters described... so, Mr. Bretz, where did it come from?

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this biography of geologist j Harlan Bretz and how his contemporaries refused to accept his theory for the creation of eastern Washington's scablands until he was a ripe old age.

The first half of the book is an account of Bretz's early life and education, I found it a little plodding. The middle part of the book is the meat and that's the most interesting part. The end is predictably about his final years and kind of an anticlimax.

Overall very informative and nice portrait of the man, his theory, and the state of geography during the first half of the 20th century. Kudos to the author for doing his research and presenting geologic features, activities and theories in an interesting manner to a non-technical, popular audience.

Pet peeve: I generally disapprove of using adjectives in book titles to tell the reader what to think. I would remove these adjectives from the subtitle: 'remarkable', 'rebel' and 'world's greatest'. This kind of sensationalizing turns me off. But I forgive the author and/or publisher somewhat, given the subject matter here.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know that during the last ice age, a glacial lake in Montana drained in a series of cataclysmic floods that unleashed a torrent of water (the largest had 13 times the flow of the Amazon) all the way to the Pacific? True story. I'm not sure how interesting this book would be if you haven't seen the wild, wild landscape of central Washington (look at the Google images for "dry falls washington" to get an idea of the scarred landscape the floods left behind), but if you have, it's a nice meld of geology, biography, and a bit of scientific history. Bretz was the geologist who traversed much of this landscape on foot, and was rewarded for his hard work, careful observations, and good hypothesizing with criticism and contempt from his peers. The personal narrative drags a bit at times (I'll be honest - I was reading this for the flood details, which I found astounding), but Soennichsen has a friendly, conversational tone, and I'm glad he shed light on how this particular bit of our geological history was discovered.

[Bob Schmitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the early part of the 20th Century an American Geologist, J. Harlan Bretz, began making surveys of the scablands, an unusual area of dry coulees, (deep ravines), canyons, desert and odd rock formations east of the Cascades and west of the Idaho border. It had always been thought that gradual erosion over millennia from glacier melt had carved these features. In fact, there was an established principle in geology at the time that geological phenomena always occurred over millennia. Sudden changes were not possible.

The ultimate get dirty, make the measurements, collect the rocks, climb over every hill and into every ravine and follow methodically the path the evidence shows to you, geologist, Bretz determined that the scablands were formed by massive, sudden floods during the last ice age. He was met with derision and ridicule from his more esteemed colleagues who preferred to wear suits and fine clothing and reading books to getting dirty at digs. At the time geology was a new science thought to be of lesser quality than physics, chemistry etc., and the geology establishment felt the need to be fancy and formal.

Bretz persisted over the next decades and finally his conclusions began to be accepted. The source of these huge periodic flood was found. Apparently, ice dams formed and backed up hundreds of meters of ice melt into a huge lake which when it over flowed the ice dam broke it down and flooded the Columbia River gorge to 800 meters even backing up the Snake River causing a reverse flow.

Bretz was an interesting guy. When he presented a major paper to the US Geological Society he was roundly criticized, lynched was the word used. Instead of curling up and hiding he wrote to every geologist at the meeting and asked them if they had made a specific criticism (that he knew they had made.) Many denied any memory of the alleged matter. He then collected all of the criticisms, answered them with specific rebuttals based on his precise measurements and published it. He got many calls and letters of support from 2nd tier geologists around the country.

His theories are now the standard explanation in geology textbooks.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in Moses Coulee and who has spent my life in Eastern Washington, this was pivotal to my understanding of the geology of the area. In addition. the realization that Bretz first proposed his theory less than a century ago emphasizes the magnitude of research and distribution of knowledge in very recent history. Fascinating.

[Jerre Mcquinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of the scablands of eastern Washington state and the geologist who figured out how they came to be...who persisted in the face of continued scepticism. Now I want to plan a rambling tour of the Ice Age Floods Geologic Trail to see for myself with a new perspective. Oh, and maybe but some good wines along the way.

[Robert M. Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story. As a geologist I can relate to the politics, shortsightedness and intransience of the establishment This is a wonderful story about a great man who did incredible work and ultimately succeeded using good science. A delight to read about in this day when "Science" is being so abused in the media.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read for geology buffs and anyone who has spent time in central/northeastern Washington. Not so much for folks who aren't in those two groups. The writing wasn't made for a best seller but gives a good description of the life and times of a true scientist.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account of geological process, geological discovery and academic politics. Growing up in Washington, I never appreciated what caused all those strange formations in the "desert" part of the state. I really want to be a geologist in my next life.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 15,000 year old mystery, solved by maverick geologist, disputed as ludicrous by his peers and finally vindicated by satellite images of Mars! Sounds like a sci-fi thriller, except is all true.
Can you get a more enthralling plot?

[Walter Porembski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating Account of an Extraordinary Geology and Geologist

Learn about little-known & often overlooked regions of North America related to some of the best known national treasures such as The Columbia Gorge, Grand Coulee dam and more.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book about a steadfast man who advanced our understanding of geography despite heavy opposition.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting. There are a surprising number of people who make great breakthroughs in their fields just to be shunned by the rest. This is mostly a biography of Bretz.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best geology book I've read. The author spent a lot of time talking about the actual geological observations in a clear way. I'm planning on visiting lots of the sites mentioned in this book.

[Keith W. Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to those who like earth science.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the scablands in Washington State, and about the geologist who persisted in his study of the scablands, in spite of his close-minded colleagues. I highly recommend Bretz's Flood to anyone who is intrigued by geology or by scientific discoveries.

[Quinndara · Rating 5 out of 5]

J Harlen Bretz's remarkable efforts to understand how the scablands originated is an excellent story and one I had the pleasure to read aloud to my husband. Both enjoyed the description of Bretz's thorough examination of the area, his extensive field work and how his observations and study led him to conjecture that only a flood of great volume and velocity could account for his findings. I was especially taken by his ability in the early 1900 to make an outstanding map of the region by walking the area and using an altimeter. It is impressive. In 1972 & 1975 when the Landsat satellites were launched the pictures from space were nearly identical to his map!
His findings were not accepted at the time because his ideas which indicated a "Catastrophic" (a sudden catastrophe) event to account for the scablands, opposed the prevailing belief in "Uniformitarianism" that things develop slowly, over the ages.
As I have lived in Spokane and traveled across the state multiple times, I am familiar with much of the area Bretz described. It is wonderful to have a geologist tell me how things came to be that I can see for myself.
Vic R. Baker, summed it up: "Considering the nature and vehemence of the opposition to this outrageous hypothesis, the eventual triumph of that idea constitutes one of the most fascinating episodes in the history of modern geomorphology." 1978

[Peter Heinrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting account of J Bretz's geological research in Eastern Washington. I appreciated the direct, journalistic style and enjoyed learning how Bretz came to form his then-controversial theory. His conclusions point to a truly awe-inspiring cataclysm, but the book (mostly) avoids sensationalism.

Bretz's portrayal as a "rebel geologist" gets equal play with his Scablands research, but the drama is a shade paler than the title suggests. The author does a great job explaining Uniformitarianism, Catastrophism, and how they were significant to the debate, but the philosophical clash still feels esoteric and decidedly not riveting. Unlike, say, plate tectonics, there was no decisive discovery that completely validated Bretz's theory; opposition to his ideas just decreased until most people accepted his explanation of things.

[Karry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book about an interesting man who first hypothesized about the scablands in Eastern Washington. Bretz was an early American geologist who spent many years saying that there was a cataclysmic event that caused the topography of Eastern Washington. He did not propose the reason for the topography initially so was not the first one to explain the phenomenon of the Missoula flood but eventually agreed that might have been the cause. He spent many years arguing with other geologists about his findings and eventually his focus on field work became the norm of the science. The author explained the beginnings of geologic science and the political infighting that went on, but his over support of Bretz's egotistical behavior put a bit of a damper on the little book. It was generally a good read that could have been improved with a little less bias.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great biography of Bretz. I love the scablands of Eastern Washington because they are such a fascinating geological landscape, but also because of the fascinating human story behind it. Bretz was lucky enough to live to see his theories proved right and accepted by the scientific community. The book does a wonderful job of presenting the details as Bretz found them so that you can see exactly how he unraveled the mystery.

Soennichsen does more than just explain Bretz's brilliant and controversial career. By the end of the book you have a great sense of his quirky and cranky (but ultimately kind) personality. Geologists, former students, and family members all weigh in.

Definitely an enjoyable read.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Eastern Washington and driving, hiking, and fishing through many of the amazing features created by these floods, I have come to love learning all I can about this geological event. I find it amazing that through simple fieldwork and observations, Bretz could envision such a cataclysmic event. What I find most admirable about Bretz was his steadfastness in sticking with what he believed was demonstrated by the evidences he found, even when it was rejected by the majority of the experts in his field. He was not swayed and was eventually vindicated, when, after decades of ridicule from these experts, his ideas, observations, and theories became largely accepted.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

J Harlen Bretz was the geologist who figured out just why the Scablands in Washington and Northern Oregon are so weird: they were created by an unprecedented phenomenon, a massive flood caused when what's now known as Glacial Lake Missoula burst its barriers and washed toward the ocean. It's a mind-boggling concept, and the fact that Bretz's conclusions were not initially accepted by his fellow geologists is not all that shocking.
I loved reading this little book and learning more about geology, philosophies amongst geologists, and of course, about the colorful character of J Harlen Bretz himself.

[Christina Dudley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part geologic history of Eastern Washington, part biography of geologist J Harlen Bretz, this book succeeds most when it sticks to the effects of the prehistoric megaflood that carved the "Scablands." We make the drive twice a year to the Tri-Cities from Western Washington, and I've long wondered about the distinctive terrain across the Columbia River at Vantage. Wonder no more! Now we'll have to add a couple hours to the road trip for me to wander up and down the borders of the ancient flood, checking out the coulees and shipwrecked fragments of Palouse, and I've learned enough facts to bore visitors from Multnomah Falls to Lake Coeur d'Alene. Recommended.

[KennyO · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd read many citations of J Harlan Bretz's work and even read some of his published science but this was my first comprehensive look at the man in view of that work. This is a fairly short book that does a particularly good job of biography in light of that brevity. Like several other biographies of people in the sciences, Soennichsen's is a story of Bretz swimming upstream against a current of tenured, ossified, don't-have-to-study-because-we-already-know-the-truth intellectuals. It's worth a read and a reread.