On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: A Geological Field Guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin

by Bruce Bjornstad

During the last great Ice Age that ended some 15,000 years ago, the Pacific Northwest was repeatedly decimated by cataclysmic floods unlike anything of modern times. Giant ancient lakes such as Glacial Lake Missoula were created as lobes of the massive ice sheets blocked river valleys. These "ice dams" broke time and again over the millennia, sending walls of ice-laden water, miles wide and hundreds feet deep, racing over the land at speeds up to 80 mph – scouring a fantastic landscape and leaving a fascinating geologic record. Now geologist Bruce Bjornstad has written the most comprehensive guide book yet to the incredible landforms scoured out by the Ice Age floods in the Mid-Columbia Basin. His new book, On the Trail of the Ice Age A geological field guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin explores the origins, timing and frequency of the Ice Age floods and describes each of 19 geologic features they left behind. It is also an exciting field guide to features, trails and tours in the Mid-Columbia Basin where we may witness today the awesome power of the ancient floods. The guide • Explanations of landforms created by the floods, from hanging coulees and giant gravel bars to ice-rafted "erratics" such as boulders carried on huge ice bergs and deposited hundreds of miles from their places of origin.
• Detailed descriptions of 70 distinct flood-formed features scattered throughout the basin, with driving directions to observation points
• 30 off-road hiking and biking trails where adventurers can walk and ride amid the flood geology.
• 5 driving tours and 2 aerial tours for day trips to view the scope of the landscape carved by the great floods. Illustrated with more than 200 maps, schematics, photos and illustrations, including 16 pages of color plates, On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods provides a clear, concise and easily useable guide to the remarkable geologic record of the great Ice Age floods.

Genres: Science, Geology, Nonfiction, Reference

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been and will continue to be (along with its companion volume, Ice Age Floods: The Northern Reaches) a fantastic reference to the geology of Eastern Washington, the history of the floods that created it, a guide of places to hike and drive for in-depth exploration.

[Donald Shank · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the great ice damn that created Lake Missoula broke 12,000 years ago, it sent a huge cascade of water roaring to the sea, scouring the earth and creating the Palouse hills and the channeled scablands of eastern and central Washington.
"On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods" lets you follow the floods path, on the map and on the ground. This is a tour guide to delight anyone with an interest in geology or Washington history, telling the story that makes sense of the terrain you've grown up with. There's some fun stuff for fans of geocaching too.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fascinating to learn about the natural events that shaped the land in this area of the country. And after having read this book, it made our trip to the Oregon coast along the Columbia river an amazing trip, knowing how what I was looking at was formed.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for anyone interested in the ice age floods. Early sections teach about flood features. Then it is full of potential trips (hikes, drives) where you can go see them for yourself.

[Thequaminator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to read since we are located right in the middle of this area. Would love to have the time to visit all of the sites talked about. I think that every one in WA, especially Eastern WA (or planning to visit) should at least skim through this book.
We have visited many of these sites and now I would really like to go again with fresh eyes.

The book stated that the Missoula floods are some of the most researched geological events in ancient history. While I believe that to be true, I still am skeptical at the high levels of confidence presented stating that we know exactly how an event played out thousands of years ago, by just looking at the shape and make up of the rocks. I know that all of these geologists are way smarter and have spent way more time than I and yet it still seems like recreating the events could so easily draw the wrong conclusions.

I read this book in conjunction with cataclysms on the Columbia by Allen, which is more of a story and history. It was helpful and fun to read the two together, and I highly recommend it.

Little bit confusing in how it is organized. Before reading spend time flipping through to get the layout.

[Howard Frisk · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked about this book are the beautifully illustrated maps of the various regions that were inundated by the Missoula Floods, which happed repeatedly during the last ice age about 16,000 years ago. There is a lot of technical information about the floods and how they shaped the landforms that we can see today.

However, except for the color plates with the illustrated maps, there are no color photographs. All the photos are black & white, some are very small, and many are pretty low quality. This is the reason for 3 stars instead of 5.