Cheney-Spokane

Enhanced LIDAR images (WA-DNR) Glaciers have shaped much of the Pacific Northwest’s landscape over the past 15,000 years. The Cordilleran ice sheet, repeated ice age floods, and expansive alpine glaciation have left their distinctive fingerprints on the topography of our region. Geologists and cartographers have been mapping and interpreting glacial landforms since the late 19th century. In the past decade, the Washington Geological Survey has created new maps that build upon this rich cartographic history by fusing older datasets and techniques with modern insights and technology, such as lidar. Using both historical and modern maps, this presentation by Daniel Coe, Washington Geologic Survey, Seattle, will be a visual journey through the Pacific Northwest’s glacial past and present. Presented in partnership with Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI) This event will be live via Zoom. Watch at the library or from anywhere you have an internet connection. Register in-person at the library to view the online presentation at Cheney Library. Register online to view the online presentation from home or anywhere. Note: as of April 2 at 9 PM there are still 33 in-person seats available and 93 online seats available! Registration is required.

Palouse Falls - Photo Glenn Traver Before the Ice Age Floods, the Palouse River would have flowed through present day Washtucna, Kahlotus, Connell, Mesa, and Eltopia before entering the Columbia River near the Pasco Airport. Today, it takes a fifty-mile shortcut to the Snake River at Lyons Ferry via the Palouse Canyon and Palouse Falls. In this presentation by Lloyd Stoess, President, Palouse Falls Chapter, IAFI, we look at the two factors that caused this dramatic shift—either one by itself would not have been enough. To examine when this happened, we look at some possibilities and clues recently discovered by scientists. Presented in partnership with Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI) (Registration required on SCLD website. Registration opens at 6:30 PM Monday, March 31, 2025.)

  Maps Have you ever been watching a science program and wondered “How do they know that?” Dr. Gary L. Ford, President, IAFI, will briefly discuss the how and who “figured it out” regarding aspects of the Ice Age Floods, looking at five questions. These include: how we know there was a huge glacial lake in western Montana thousands of years ago, how we know it drained rapidly perhaps a hundred times, about how many floods there were and when they occurred, where the floodwater came from, and about how long it took the floodwater to get to the ocean. We also go over which answers to these questions are still being debated by researchers. Presented in partnership with Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI)