Sharing the Fascinating Ice Age Floods Story Since 1995
When the Ice Age Floods reached Wallula Gap there was far too much water to pass through that sole gap in the Horse Heaven Hills. The gap became a hydraulic dam that caused the flood waters to back up even as the floods poured through the gap. The backed up waters formed a huge temporary Lake Lewis that filled the upstream area before all the flood waters eventually passed through Wallula Gap in up to a couple of weeks time.
With each of the many Ice Age Floods, some of the sediment scoured off the upstream Channeled Scablands settled out of the relatively quiet lake waters and was deposited as rhythmites, thin stacked beds of sediment that now are recognized as a record of 40 of the floods that passed through the area.
The White Cliffs in the Hanford Reach National Monument tend to be much thicker beds of sand and silt laid down earlier by the Columbia River between 9 and 3 million years ago when the path of the river became blocked and forced eastward to Wallula Gap by the rise of Rattlesnake Mountain and the Horse Heaven Hills due to north-to-south compression of the Columbia Plateau.
Underlying both are the tabular layers of Columbia River Basalt that were mainly laid down 17 to 14 million years ago as flat lying layers that are over 2 miles thick near the Tri-Cities area.
The Lake Lewis Chapter is based in the Tri-Cities, WA, and represents south-central and southeastern Washington and adjacent areas in Idaho and Oregon.
The chapter is named for Lake Lewis, the large temporary lake that formed in the Pasco Basin when floodwaters were held back by the hydraulic dam caused by Wallula Gap.
Chapter Meetings
The Lake Lewis Chapter meets six times a year (Jan., Mar., May, July, Sept., Nov.) on the second Tuesday of the month, at the Battelle Auditorium (click here to display map), 900 Battelle Blvd., in Richland, or other alternate locations.
Meetings begin at 6:45 p.m. with a lecture presentation, followed by a business meeting.
Meetings are always free and open to the public.
To confirm meeting information, contact the chapter president.
Community Activities and Partners
The Lake Lewis Chapter is actively engaged in the community. Our speakers bureau gives lectures to educational institutions, Rotary and other community organizations, professional society meetings, and others. We have participated in a number of local and regional community events including the Coulee Corridor Big Event, the Sandhill Crane Festival, and the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau’s annual meetings, county fairs, gem and mineral shows, etc.
We have strong partnerships with several important community organizations, including the CREHST museum, the Hanford Reach National Monument, the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau, Friends of Badger Mountain, City of Richland, Battelle, the East Benton County Historical Society, the Franklin County Historical Society, the Hanford Reach National Monument, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bergstrom Aircraft, and the Mid-Columbia Library. The Mid-Columbia Library has been provided a list of recommended titles and some materials about the Ice Age Floods. The library has many related titles on the shelves and will continue to acquire more Floods material.
Please see the Upcoming Events or the General Events Calendar for a listing of all chapter meetings and events.
Bruce Bjornstad – (509) 373-6948
George Last – (509) 946-8050
Chris Murray – (509) 946-7217
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Upcoming IAFI Events
Chapter Location
Upcoming Chapter Events
The Lake Lewis Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI) got its start in late 2002, early 2003, officially adopting a set of Bylaws on March 12, 2003. Gary Kleinknecht was instrumental (and actually the driving force) for getting the chapter established and became the first president of the Chapter. Other officers during these early years (2003 to 2004), were Bruce Bjornstad, vice-president; Ivar Husa, secretary; George Last, interim secretary; and Brad Dell and Monte Nail, treasurers. Committee chairmen included: Gary Fetteroff, nominations; Chris Murray, Speakers’ Bureau; Brad Dell, publicity; Bruce Bjornstad, field activities; Connie Estep, Program, and Gary Kleinknecht, membership. Membership grew to 60 members. It was also during this time that the IAFI store was established with Lake Lewis member, Nancy Southam, becoming the store manager. Additionally, another Lake Lewis member, Scott Waichler, took on the duties as editor/manager of the IAFI Newsletter.
In July, 2004, George Last took on the duties as Chapter president, after Gary Kleinknecht resigned to take on the duties as president of the IAFI. George assumed this role for the next 10 years (2004-2014).
During this time, vice-presidents included Bruce Bjornstad, and Gary Kleinknecht. Secretaries included Signe Wurstner (acting), Ken and Donna Hoopingarner, Ivar Husa, Carma Kimball (acting), George Last (acting). Treasurers included Vickie Bergum and Monte Nail. Committee chairs included: George Last, membership; Bruce Bjornstad, field activities; Vickie Bergam, publicity; Chris Murray and Gary Kleinknecht, speaker’s bureau; Connie Estep, Charlotte Sullivan, and Gary Kleinknecht programs, and Carma Kimball, nominations. Membership continued to grow, mostly due to the increasing number of field trips, reaching a peak of about 120 in 2013.
The chapter was also very active in the community, and worked with the Friends of Badger Mountain, the City of Richland, and Benton County Parks to install a kiosk and highwater markers on Badger Mountain.
George resigned as president in August 2014, and Gary Kleinknecht stepped in as president for his second term. In September 2016, George Last once again took on the presidency, while Gary Kleinknecht stepped down to vice-president. The role of secretary continued to be vacant with a number of volunteers acting. Monte Nail continued as treasurer. Chairpersons included George Last, membership, publicity (acting), and nominating (acting); Gary Kleinknecht, Program and Speakers Bureau; Bruce Bjornstad, field activities. Membership hovered around 80 members.
In January 2018, Chris Barnes was elected president; George Last, vice-president; Launa Morash, Secretary; and Monte Nail stayed on as treasurer. Chairpersons remained constant. Membership dropped to about 70 members.
In 2019, Liz Kay took over as president, George Last stayed on as vice-president, Mary Keffer took on the role of secretary, while Monte Nail continued as treasurer. The officers and chairpersons remained essentially constant through 2021. COVID safeguards halted in person meetings and field trips for a significant portion of this time, and membership dropped into the 40s.
In January 2021, Chris Barnes once again resumed presidential duties (acting). Chris stepped down from the presidency in 2022 but continued as Publicity Chair. Gary Kleinknecht became de facto (acting) president and Program Chair at this time and continues into 2024. Gary has requested that others in the chapter step up to leadership positions for the chapter, but little success has been realized.
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