Sharing the Fascinating Ice Age Floods Story Since 1995
(2 Dec 2024) Grace Sherwood Winer is a geologist and explorer who has done extensive studies on the melting of glacial ice in the Arctic. She will present present her work on the islands of Svalbard and Iceland at our meeting on 06Jan2025 at 7:00pm at Bellevue College, Building B, Room 104. Note room change! This will be an In-person lecture and livecast via Zoom. Click on Zoom link: https://us02web.Zoom.us/j/82985244730 Bellevue College, Bldg B, Rm 104
It’s that time of the year! Time to contemplate ice ages and glacial lakes. Time for the Glacial Lake Missoula Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute’s Cabin Fever Lecture! Warm up your curiosity about those iconic strandlines we can see from town with a lecture from renowned geologist James W. Sears. New “LiDAR ” mapping techniques may imply that the famous Lake Missoula strandlines on Mount Sentinel and Mount Jumbo record only one draining of the ice-age lake. The draining coincided with massive erosion at the bottom of the lake, but passive lowering of lake level at the top, marked by short-term strandlines cut a few inches into thin colluvial soil on the mountainsides. About the Instructor: Dr. James W. Sears received his PhD from Queen’s University, Canada, in 1979, and has taught at the University of Montana since 1982. This is a live event that will not be recorded or streamed.
Dr. Scott burns will talk about ancient glacial flooding that preceded the most recent Glacial Lake Missoula Floods in the Pacific Northwest
Lloyd Stoess “An Overview of the Middle and Lower Cheney-Palouse Tract of the Channel Scablands – Interesting Features and Recent Discoveries”. This lecture will include a speculative look at when and how many floods came through present day Lacrosse. Saturday June 28 at 1:00 pm at The Gathering Place in downtown Lacrosse, WA as is part of the Lacrosse Farmers Festival. Presented by Lloyd Stoess, Palouse Falls Chapter President.
This event is open to the public, but only IAFI Cheney-Spokane members can vote during the member meeting. It will be held at the beautiful new Doris Morrison Learning Center at 1330 S. Henry Road. Exit the freeway south on Barker Road, turn left at the roundabout at Sprague Road, then right at the three-way junction on Henry Road. Saltese Uplands Conservation Area hike: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM (Note: A completed liability form is required for this 3-mile hike. It is of moderate difficulty and consists of a dirt and rock trail with switchbacks, spanning about 700 vertical feet. Bring your own snacks & drinks, good hiking shoes, and dress appropriately for mid October weather conditions. Lunch is not provided. Meet the hike leader at the Saltese Flats Wetland trailhead at 11 AM.) Member meeting: 2:00-3:00 PM Speaker: USGS Geologist Jim O'Connor (beginning after the Member meeting) "A Century of Discovery: 102 Years of Studying the Ice Age Spokane Flood" Synopsis: For more than a century, geologists have investigated the massive Ice Age floods that swept through Spokane, reshaping the region’s terrain and sparking global scientific interest. USGS Geologist Jim O'Connor will review some of the discoveries made in our understanding of these cataclysmic events—from their origins and pathways to the dramatic landforms they left behind. He will also highlight some of the enduring questions that continue to drive new research, revealing how much there is still to learn about one of North America's most extraordinary geological phenomena. Note: At present, we have three openings on our chapter board. Our board meets the third Tuesday of each month from 3-5 PM at the Wren-Pierson Building in Cheney. Interested? Members with expertise in accounting or K-12 education or medical experience or any other expertise that would aid our chapter's mission should send a very brief vita to Dr. Linda McCollum, President, IAFI Cheney-Spokane Chapter, lmccollum@ewu.edu Please use the button below to sign up for the event and optional hike. Your registration helps us plan more smoothly and ensure a great experience for everyone.
Dr. Jeff Tepper The Cascade volcanic chain, the world’s youngest continental arc, was “born” shortly after accretion of the Siletzia oceanic terrane ~50 My ago. That collision, which led to formation of the Olympics, terminated the earlier subduction system and caused a portion of the subducting Farallon slab to break off. When Cascade magmatism began less than 5 My later, there was a new trench located outboard of Siletzia. In this talk I will present a new model, based on petrology, geochronology, plate motion reconstructions, and mantle tomography, that explains how subduction was initiated so quickly and in a setting where the slab was young and hot and in theory too buoyant to subduct.
Skye Cooley It’s that time of the year! Time to contemplate ice-ages and glacial lakes. Time for the Glacial Lake Missoula Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute’s Cabin Fever Lecture! Warm up your curiosity about glacial ice history in the Mission Valley with geologist Skye Cooley. About the Instructor: Skye Cooley is a Montana-based field geologist and geomorphologist specializing in quaternary geology, paleosols (ancient soils), and GIS mapping, currently focused on the Mission Valley. Based in Ronan, MT, he has a diverse background including contract mapping for the Idaho Geological Survey, teaching at Boise State, and serving as a soil scientist. Date: Friday, February 20 Time: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Location: Montana Natural History Center Cost: Free, but please register. Donations accepted to cover the time of the MNHC personnel and meeting room. REGISTER HERE!
XLentCOOL happenings…, a Rockstar , geologist, Nick Zentner, Nick on the Rocks | PBS, Science Outreach and Education Coordinator, Central Washington University, has announced a Pop-Up Geology program at 1pm on Sunday March 1st at Dry Falls Visitor Center. Folks are encouraged to bring a folding chair to enjoy a short lecture about Ice Age Flood Geology and learn about the unique features found at Dry Falls Heritage Area! Or watch it on YouTube - Pop-Up Geology this Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 1:00 pm! - YouTube The last time Nick Zentner did a Pop-Up Geology event was on Sunday December 31st, 2023 (New Year’s Eve). With only 48 hours’ notice, we spontaneously had over 80 people arrive and enjoy the afternoon! Some folks traveled as far as Portland, OR for a chance to see Nick in person. Nick on the Rocks | Dry Falls | Season 1 | Episode 6 | PBS The Dry Falls Visitor Center will be OPEN for the day. Interpretive Staff will be available for questions and information. We have been busy packing to move for the BIG renovation/rehabilitation project, starting this Spring 2026.
Dr. Joel Gombiner Joel Gombiner, Washington Geological Survey, "Getting a feel for ice sheet hydrology + Channeled Scabland geomorphology" This presentation connects modern observations of ice sheet hydrology, the geomorphology of the Channeled Scabland, and recent publications on Washington’s Ice Age floods. The presentation consists of three parts: (1) an explanation of a new lidar-based, semi-realistic oblique visualization and interpretive poster of Dry Falls (released 2025 by WGS); (2) an intuitive overview of ice sheet hydrology with visits to Greenland, Iceland, and Antarctica; (3) an update on recent Channeled Scabland science including evidence for subglacial tunnel channel floods from the Okanogan lobe and refined estimates of Missoula flood magnitudes. The in-person meeting will be held at Bellevue College T building Room 118 on Monday, March 2, 2026 at 7:00 PM. The live presentation will also be available on Zoom. Click this link shortly before the meeting begins: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82985244730
The Lake Lewis chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute will host a free Zoom lecture on March 3rd exploring the dramatic creation of the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer!