2024 Dry Falls Flood Fest

What is Floodfest?

Presenters and Booths will share their knowledge and their appreciation of Ice Age Floods Geology, the Channeled Scablands, Shrub Steppe Ecosystems, Wildlife, Anthropology, Archeology, History, and Photography.  

Where: Dry Falls Visitor Center – Sun Lakes Dry Falls State Park, 35661 HWY 17 North, Coulee City, WA
When: Saturday July 20^th 10 AM – 3 PM on the campus of Dry Falls Visitor Center.

Field Trip Hike: 8:30 AM – 10 AM
Where: Lake Lenore Caves Heritage Area: Sarah Overby, Washington State Parks Interpretive Specialist, and Kaley Wisher, Columbia Basin Conservation District Biologist, will lead an educational hike from the Lake Lenore Caves trailhead. The park is situated above Lake Lenore, and it offers stunning views of the valley. The caves themselves are shallow basalt formations created during the Great Missoula flood.

Dry Falls Visitor Center – Inside Presentations:

10am – 11am
Interpretive Specialist, David McWalter, will present an overview of Washington’s Ice Age Floods, introduce the rugged terrain of eastern Washington that was shaped by floods of unimaginable power during the last ice age, and share how the scientific views of the landscape have changed over the last century.

11:30am – 12:30pm
Justin Radford, Program Manager, NPS, Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, will present an overview of this unique geologic trail starting in Montana, through Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

1pm – 2pm
Learn about the fragile yet resilient landscape of the Shrub Steppe and its role in our lives with Interpretive Specialist, Sarah Overby. This short presentation will get you familiar with the Shrub Steppe ecosystem and the complex and beautiful parts that make it into a whole.

2:30pm – 3:30pm
Viewing of Bruce Bjornstad’ s – Ice Age Floodscapes
 Bretz’ Great Cataract Group
 Primordial Potholes Coulee
 Grand Coulee – NW Exposures
 Dry Falls
 Deep Lake Potholes

Outdoor Booths:
10 AM – 3 PM on the campus of Dry Falls Visitor Center
Including representatives of Federal, State, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Nonprofits, Historians, Authors, & Volunteers

 Ice Age Floods Institute: Lower Grand Coulee Chapter and other Ice Age Flood Institute chapters from Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington.
 Lucy Luevano: An enrolled member and Historian of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Lucy will have historic photographs telling the story and the history of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. She will also share the legends of the beautiful landscape of the Dry Falls area and surrounding landscape.
 Dr. Karen Capuder: Anthropologist and Senior Archaeologist Colville Tribes, will share some of the cultural and political history of the Colville Tribes, from time immemorial to the present day.
 Grant County Historians/authors: Dan Bolyard & John M. Kemble – Dan Bolyard has been a lifelong Grant County Big Bend area resident and railroad historian. John M. Kemble is a local historian and explorer highlighting Dry Falls, Sun Lakes, Steamboat Rock, The Grand Coulee, and Banks Lake.
 North Central Regional Library –April Harward, learn about the NCW Summer Library programs – captivating storytelling to engaging workshops and fun activities, everyone can unleash their unique voice and explore their passions.
 National Park Service – Interpretive Rangers with a Mobile Interpretive Center showcasing the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, and The Grand Coulee: a National Natural Landmark.
 Foster Creek & Columbia Basin Conservation Districts – programs on Shrub Steppe ecology, water resources, wildlife, and native vegetation.
 Washington Department of Wildlife – wildlife found in Eastern Washington as well as the enhancement and preservation work that is done in the Columbia Basin.
 Archeologists – Mark Amara, Kim Lancaster, and Kellie Green; representing the Cascadia Conservation District, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Their booth will highlight the importance of historical artifacts, tools of the trade, and hands-on activity too.
 Bureau of Reclamation – Ben White and Brandon Heintz Reclamation Guides – will have an overview of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, and the Grand Coulee Dam.

Join us Saturday, July 20, 2024, for Ice Age Floodfest 2024