Mounds of soil, sand, gravel, and other coarse materials covered with light vegetation can be seen in the side gulches all along the Flathead River where tributaries drained into what was Glacial Lake Missoula. They were deposited by currents eddying into the slower water in these gulches and also by the drop in velocity of the streams carrying deposits from higher elevations on the far side of the river along the path of the escaping floodwaters. The flow of floodwaters through this narrow valley was estimated by J.T. Pardee at between 8 and 10 cubic miles per hours – more than the combined flow of all modern rivers in the world. Similar gulch fill can be seen in many locations along this beautiful stretch of the river, which today generally flows smoothly and looks completely flat.
There are numerous pull-outs along MT 200 between Perma and Paradise; the view pictured here is at mile marker 91.