Sharing the Fascinating Ice Age Floods Story Since 1995
A large number of important articles get buried over time as new articles are added to our website, so here’s a chance to review and relive some of our most important articles. We think you might enjoy reviewing these timeless features.
Williams Lake Cataract is an ancient, dry waterfall left behind along the Cheney-Palouse Scabland Tract in eastern Washington after Ice Age flooding recessionally ripped out underlying basalt to produce this massive cataract. Video produced by Bruce Bjornstad, Ice Age Floodscapes
Using detailed fossil comparison techniques, scientists have been able to identify a giant new saber-toothed cat species, Machairodus lahayishupup, which would have prowled around the open spaces of North America between 5 and 9 million years ago. One of the biggest cats ever discovered, M. lahayishupup is estimated in this new study to have a body mass of some 274 kilograms (604 pounds) or so, and possibly even bigger. It’s an ancient relative of the well-known Smilodon, the so-called saber-toothed tiger. A total of seven M. lahayishupup fossil specimens, including upper arms and teeth, were analyzed and compared with other species to identify the new felid, with the fossils collected from museum collections in Oregon, Idaho, Texas, and California. Upper arms are crucial in these cats for killing prey, and the largest upper arm or humerus fossil discovered in the study was about 1.4 times the size of the same bone in a modern-day lion. That gives you an idea of just how hefty and powerful M. lahayishupup would have been. “We believe these were animals that were routinely taking down bison-sized animals,” says paleontologist Jonathan Calede from Ohio State University. “This was by far the largest cat alive at that time.” Rhinoceroses would have been abundant at the same and may have been animals that M. lahayishupup preyed on, alongside camels and sloths significantly bigger than the ones we’re used to today. Peering back so many millions of years into the past isn’t easy, and the researchers say that a more detailed saber-tooth cat family tree is going to be needed to work out exactly where this species fits in. The findings also open up some interesting evolutionary questions about these giant cats. “It’s been known that there were giant cats in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and now we have our own giant saber-toothed cat in North America during this period as well,” says Calede. “There’s a very interesting pattern of either repeated independent evolution on every continent of this giant body size in what remains a pretty hyper-specialized way of hunting, or we have this ancestral giant saber-toothed cat that dispersed to all of those continents. It’s an interesting paleontological question.” Excerpted from SCIENCE ALERT article by DAVID NIELD8 MAY 2021
During the last ice age, which route was taken by the first humans to reach the Americas, and did they travel by foot, boat or both? Humans first arrived in North America at least 15,500 years ago. Exactly how they got there, however, constitutes one of the longest-standing debates in archaeology. For decades, scientists assumed that people first arrived in the Americas by walking south from the now-flooded land bridge in the Bering Strait that once connected Russia to Alaska when sea levels were lower during the last ice age. But recent evidence suggests that these people were not the first to set foot on the continent. According to the now-dominant “coastal route theory,” that distinction belongs to humans who boated down the Pacific coast several millennia earlier. A 2023 study(opens in new tab), for instance, found that coastal conditions were favorable during two time windows: from 24,500 to 22,000 years ago, and from 16,400 to 14,800 years ago. And while the science is far from settled, the evidence increasingly points to the first Americans arriving by sea or land along the coast. “The pendulum is swinging in support of the coastal corridor being the route taken by the first Americans,” Michael Waters(opens in new tab), director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A&M University, told Live Science in an email. “But we still need the smoking gun: an early site along the coast.” Until 20 years ago, the best available archaeological evidence(opens in new tab) suggested that humans first arrived in North America about 13,000 years ago. The rise of the Clovis people — whose 13,400-year-old remains were discovered in Clovis, New Mexico, in the early 1900s — coincided perfectly with the formation of an ice-free corridor along the Rocky Mountains. Scientists assumed that these humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge into what is now Alaska, and then turned south to march onward to New Mexico through that convenient corridor. This remains the prevailing theory as to how the Clovis people made it to the Americas. “It seems very likely that people did arrive from northeast Asia via the ice free corridor once this route was open and viable,” Todd Braje, chair of anthropology at San Diego State University, told Live Science in an email. But recent excavations suggest that the Clovis were not the first Americans. A 2011 paper in the journal Science presented evidence of tools crafted by humans in Texas from up to 15,500 years ago, and a 2021 paper in Science described 23,000-year-old footprints in New Mexico. (However, the footprint date is disputed by a 2022 study in the journal Quaternary Research, which posits that the plant seeds the original team used to radiocarbon-date the footprint layer are problematic.) These “pre-Clovis people” would have had to migrate to America long before the ice-free corridor opened up. “The earliest the inland corridor was open is 14,300 years ago,” Waters said. “It is impossible to have people in Texas and Idaho at 16,000 years ago, and Florida at 14,600 years ago, come through the corridor. They must have come a different way.” How the pre-Clovis people got to America without an inland corridor to take them south from the Bering Strait remains an open question. “With the breaking of the Clovis barrier in the 1990s, we know people were in the Americas prior to at least 14,000 years ago, but when people first arrived and by what route or routes remains unknown,” Braje said. “There are now lively debates on the topic but the bottom line is that no one knows definitely.” The prevailing theory is that the pre-Clovis people arrived by watercraft. “The route taken by the initial migrants was almost certainly along the coast,” said Matthew Des Lauriers(opens in new tab), director of the Applied Archaeology Program at California State University, San Bernardino. Des Lauriers described the pre-Clovis as sophisticated maritime hunter-gatherers, who would have cast off south from the Bering Land Bridge and subsisted on fish and game as they voyaged down the Pacific coast. Ultimately, Des Lauriers said, these intrepid seafarers parted ways. Some pre-Clovis people followed rivers inland, while others continued south as far as Chile. “The ocean would always have provided resources for skilled fishermen and hunters,” Des Lauriers told Live Science in an email. “The most likely scenario is one of coastal fisher-hunter-gatherers moving along the North Pacific Coast.” Recent work from geologists has lent support to the theory that the Clovis people arrived via an inland corridor, while the pre-Clovis people took a coastal route. Beryllium-10 dating of glacial boulders(opens in new tab) along the ice-free corridor suggests that the corridor opened about 13,800 years ago. And studies suggest that a strip of unglaciated land should have existed along the Pacific coast of Alaska and British Columbia 16,000 years ago — prime real estate for a coastal corridor. As the field of ancient genetics has blossomed, multiple studies(opens in new tab) have provided additional evidence that the first Americans arrived between 15,000 and 17,000 years ago. “It is gratifying to see the archaeological and genetic evidence converging to tell the same story,” Waters said. “Finally, we have a much better understanding of the chronology of the opening of the two corridors, and the evidence now supports a coastal migration route.” Nonetheless, physical evidence for both corridors is still lacking. Significant archaeological, genetic and geologic legwork will be necessary before we can firmly point to the lives and times of the first Americans and begin to describe, with confidence, how they arrived in America. “There are very few sites along the Pacific Coast that are pre-Clovis in age, and much work needs to be accomplished to find potential early coastal sites,” Braje said. “We have no definitive answers about when and how people first arrived in the Americas.” Reproduced from an article by Joshua A. Krisch, published in Live Science More on archaeological research into early human migration into the Americas: The Fertile Shore
I have always loved the ocean. I spent my growing-up years in, on or at least somewhere near the Atlantic Ocean and its various bays. The feel of ocean water, its movement, how it smells and all the amazing life that it supports – wonderful. And whenever I looked over the ocean’s horizon, it wasn’t scary, but rather full of potential for what was just beyond what I could see. When I moved to Spokane – clearly, no ocean, but lots and lots of freshwater lakes and rivers. I have spent I can’t tell you how many of my adulthood hours, swimming in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Lake Pend Oreille, Priest Lake, etc. And sailing. And walking along riverbanks. And tossing sticks into whatever body of water, fast moving or still, that was before me, for our dog to fetch. Water is wonderful. As a young bride, newly relocated to Eastern Washington, lo those many years ago, I took my first drive to Seattle with my husband. Heading up the Sunset Hill, passing Four Lakes, then Fishtrap, then … yikes. Where did the water go? There was a long stretch – broken up briefly by Sprague Lake and Moses Lake – of what was the thirstiest landscape I’d encountered. It wasn’t until we crossed the Columbia River and drove up and past the Vantage Grade did I begin to see deciduous trees and bigger leafy plants that suggested the rainfall amounts required to support them. It got lush and humid and wet as we drove west. We were heading to … water! I just endured that unappealing stretch of land between Fishtrap and the Columbia over a number of years driving back and forth to Seattle. Not only was it dry, it was essentially treeless. One friend of like mind said it was best just to drive through there at night because the view would be just as interesting. So much for being young and stupid. It was still kind of dry for my taste, but I began to appreciate how the sunlight hit the terrain at different times of year and in different weather conditions. It still wasn’t water, of course, but it kind of grew on me. It’s hard to live in this neck of the woods and not learn about the wonderful Columbia Basin Project that brought irrigation to east-central Washington (ah, water!), which produces amazing amounts of agricultural products for export and to feed us all. But what really sold me on that, to me, foreign scenery was back when I worked at Eastern Washington University and I met the terrific Bob Quinn, professor of geography, who loved the environs of the state’s east side with a zeal and passion I couldn’t possibly imagine. He gave me some information, and I began to read about this landscape I’d so easily dismissed – land that was scoured by massive floods some 18,000 to 13,000 years ago (the last Ice Age), floods from glacial Lake Missoula that carved out the canyons and created braided waterways now known as the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington. The floods were cataclysmic, with estimates indicating that 500 cubic miles of water that was 2,000 feet deep, burst forth at 386 million cubic feet per second – all headed this way, and beyond, in one darn big rushing, gushing explosion. And then it built up and did it over and over again. That’s a lot of water. I began looking at the landscape differently as I drove through, marveling at the magnificence of that creation, and saw that it has its own beauty – not to mention a heck of a back story. How ignorant of me to just have ignored all that geologic magnificence because it didn’t fit into my preferred norm. I thought about that again on our most recent drive to Seattle to visit our son. Clearly, I am no longer a young adult full of not-burdened-by-knowledge opinion and attitude, but an older person with a fair number of miles on her and, I hope, a greater realization that everything deserves a second look – and also, that a little research is also a good thing. Because I read a book and some supporting literature, I discovered things that gave me a different set of eyes with which to see a particular section of the world around me. I’m trying still, even in my old age, to keep doing that. Never too old to read a book and learn something. Or to change a mind. The Spokesman Voices correspondent Stefanie Pettit can be reached by email at upwindsailor@comcast.net
An interesting, 4 minute captioned video from UC Santa Cruz (ingomar200) of a satellite-view computer simulation illustrating flood paths and transient lakes of an Ice Age Flood. The video shows a physics-based computer simulation of the Great Flood from Glacial Lake Missoula about 15,000 years ago. At the time, an ice dam blocked the Clark Fork River near the Idaho-Montana border and backed up a lake about equal in volume to Lake Huron. When the ice dam broke a cataclysmic flood scoured much of central Washington State leaving a vast region covered with erosional remnants.
This year’s IAFI June Jamboree delved into the fascinating geological history of Spokane Valley, contrasting it with the iconic Grand Coulee and Dry Falls, explored during last year’s Jubilee. Challenging the Landscape: Unlike the open spaces of Dry Falls, Spokane Valley presented a unique challenge – showcasing evidence of Ice Age Floods within an urban environment. Our chapter tackled this brilliantly, organizing hikes and car caravans departing from convenient public parks and commercial areas. Evening Explorations: The program’s highlights included captivating lectures. Professor Emeritus Dean Kiefer shed light on J Harlen Bretz’s Spokane associates, while renowned naturalist Jack Nesbit brought the story of the first Columbian Mammoth discovered near Latah Creek in the 1800s to life. Celebrating Success: The Jamboree culminated in a relaxed gathering at Mirabeau Meadows. Registrants, leaders, and participants exchanged insights and experiences, with a resounding appreciation for the chapter’s efforts. Comparisons were drawn, highlighting how our Spokane Valley exploration continued the excellence of the Puget Lobe’s outing at Dry Falls last year. A Delicious Finale: The grand finale was a catered Longhorn Barbecue overflowing with delicious food. Everyone left satisfied, with many even taking home doggie bags to savor the flavors afterward. Check out more images from the event in this Google Photo Album. Meet the Masterminds: Linda & Mike McCollum: This dynamic professor emerita and a research geologist duo co-led tours and car caravans, sharing their latest research on the Spokane area’s Ice Age Floods, and shaping the Jamboree’s theme. Michael Hamilton: A gifted geologist, Michael led hikes and the bus trip, encouraging questions and offering honest answers. Don Chadbourne & Chris Sheeran: Don, the chapter treasurer, managed logistics with expertise, while Chris, our media and registration guru, ensured a smooth experience. Melanie Bell Gibbs: A past president and national board member, Melanie oversaw participant check-in and badge distribution. Dick Jensen: Dick handled bus transportation and provided crucial support throughout the Jamboree. Jim Fox: The chapter vice president secured speakers and offered his assistance wherever needed. We also owe a great deal to the participant volunteers who proved invaluable in assisting us in all our efforts. Through the combined efforts of many the IAFI June Jamboree was a resounding success, fostering exploration, education, and a deeper appreciation for the Spokane Valley’s unique geological heritage. Being present with so much information and conversation among such extensive expertise was to witness the scientific process in action. Meeting people from other chapters was particularly nice, putting faces with names we know. We all learned a lot.
Check out this video about the Washington 100, a cool new geotourism website by the Washington Geological Survey featuring 100 places to experience amazing geology in Washington State. Then explore the website itself at wa100.dnr.wa.gov
Lake Missoula filled many times and emptied catastrophically in many Missoula Floods. Rhythmite sequences [a series of repeated beds of similar origin] at numerous localities provide this evidence: slack-water rhythmites in backflooded tributary valleys below the dam indicate multiple floods, and varved rhythmites in Lake Missoula attest to multiple fillings of the lake. Below the dam, most slack-water rhythmites are graded beds deposited by flood bores surging up tributary streams. They grade upward from coarse sand and gravel to silt, with occasional ice-rafted erratics. The tops of some rhythmites are marked by thin paleosols, or buried soil horizons, which indicate a period of subaerial exposure. Thus, each rhythmite represents a separate flood event, and each deposit records multiple floods. The most complete record occurs at Sanpoil Valley, an embayment on the north side of Lake Columbia, where varved rhythmites document 89 flood events, with the period of time between floods initially increasing to a maximum of about 50 years and then decreasing to less than 10 years. Thousands of varves were deposited in Lake Missoula. At the best-known Ninemile locality near Missoula, about 40 rhythmites consist of varves overlain by a sand/silt layer. The varves were deposited on the floor of Lake Missoula, and the sand/silt layers represent subaerial exposure and deposition in a stream. The number of varves in each rhythmite varies from 9 to 40, decreasing regularly upward, and the total number of varves is just less than one thousand. An interpretation of these data would suggest: [1] Lake Missoula filled and emptied [in a catastrophic flood] about 40 times, [2] it took 9 to 40 years to fill the lake, each successive lake requiring less time, and [3] the process was repeated over a period of about one thousand years. Because Ninemile is about in the middle of the very long lake, the record here would not provide a complete history of the lake. Correlating Ninemile with the downstream record would suggest these events were in the latter half of the entire flood history.