Geology of the Tri-Cities Field Trip
The Lake Lewis Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute is sponsoring an informal (carpool) field trip focus on the geology in and around Richland, Washington
10 events found.
Events
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Richland Community Center 500 Amon Park Dr, Richland, WA, United States
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Cheney-Spokane Chapter Hike – Palisades Park 2026
Palisades Park 2-198 S Rimrock Dr, Spokane, WA, United StatesThe 3-mile hike will be led by IAFICS board member geologist Michael Hamilton. It will take place along Rimrock Drive, which has spectacular views of Spokane and the Spokane Valley. The Glacial Outburst Flood Story will include a lot of "arm-waving," pointing out flood features both along the trail and with views to the east. The geology discussion will include details of another kind of flood that hit the Spokane area 14 million years ago. The hike will then cut to the west along one of the park's trails to find mysterious Mima mounds, and then loop back to the parking area.
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Lower Crab Creek Field Trip—Saturday 11 April—10am to ~3p
CMSP&P Bridge, Beverly, WA 46.83539588686751, -119.93816967222578, Beverly, WA, United StatesField Trip Leader: Karl Lillquist, Emeritus Professor, Geography Department, CWU What’s so cool about lower Crab Creek? Crab Creek is a perennial stream with headwaters not far from Spokane! It flows over 160 miles through semiarid eastern and central Washington to join the Columbia River just south of Beverly. Lower Crab Creek lies in a broad coulee adjacent to the towering faulted and folded Saddle Mountains. Ice Age floods from two directions scoured the coulee walls. More recent rockfall and landslide deposits veneer the coulee walls, and sand dunes and salt flats blanket the coulee floor. Native Americans have long frequented the river and shrub steppe environments of the area. In the past 150 years, the landscape has been altered by the coming of the railroad and by large scale irrigation. Currently, the area is a mecca for outdoor-minded folks included hunters, fishers, nature lovers, cyclists, and off road vehicle enthusiasts. Over the day, we will explore: 1) the tectonic origins of Crab Creek “Coulee” and the Saddle Mountains; 2) impacts of Ice Age flooding on the area; 3) formation of prominent rockfall and landslides from the Saddle Mountains; and 4) how geology, weather and climate, and human activity have shaped sand dunes and salt flats in the area. The trip will conclude around 3pm giving participants plenty of time to get back to Ellensburg for Nick Zentner’s lecture. What’s the plan for the day? 10:00am Stop 1—Beverly—geology and geography overview; Ice Age floods 11:00 Depart 11:15 Stop 2—Beverly Sand Dunes—weather, dunes, ORV’s, salt flats & Crab Creek 12:00 pm Depart 12:15 Stop 3—Smyrna Ice Cave—faulting, talus, cold air drainage & human uses of talus 1:00 Depart 1:15 Stop 4—West of Smyrna—landslides 2:00 Depart 2:15 Stop 5—Red Rock Coulee—Ice Age floods 3:00 Depart Where to meet and park? We will meet on the east end of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific railroad bridge in Beverly at 10:00am. The bridge and the old railroad right of way are now part of the Palouse to Cascades Trail. This trail forms the northern boundary of the town of Beverly and is our first stop. Beverly is located about 10 miles south of Vantage along the Columbia River. To get there from WA 243, take a left and head east on Lower Crab Creek Road for just under 0.2 mi. Turn left onto Seattle Street and drive north for ~0.2 mi to a trailhead just south of the Palouse to Cascade Trail. Park here or along Seattle Street, 1st Avenue SW, or Main Street. Make sure to pull off the streets as far as possible and don’t block resident’s driveways. What are the trip logistics and costs? All Ellensburg IAFI field trips are free of charge and involve participants driving their own vehicles to the various stops. Most trips involve several short walks or hikes. We may cross barbed wire fences, and walk over uneven terrain and through dryland vegetation. There are limited restrooms scattered along our route. There’s no need to reserve a place on the field trip—just show up! We provide a free digital copy of the field guide for you to download or print out (see “Field Guides” near the bottom of my CWU website => https://www.cwu.edu/academics/geography/_documents/karl-lillquist.php). I will post the Lower Crab Creek field guide on my website on about Monday 6 April. Due to budget constraints, hardcopies of the field guide will now only be available by prior request and subsequent donation (suggested $15). If you want a full color, hardcopy of the ~40 page field guide, email me at lillquis@cwu.edu to let me know how many copies you would like. I will place my order for hardcopies by 8:00am Monday 6 April so if you want a hardcopy, please get your request in before that day. Pick up your copy and make your donation to IAFI at Stop 1 on the field trip. Hope you can join us!
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29th Lakeside Gem & Mineral Show – April 18-19
Benton County Fairgounds 1500 S. Oak, Kennewick, WA, United StatesIt’s less than a month away! The members of the Lakeside Gem & Mineral Club invite all to our 29th Annual Gem and Mineral show April 18-19. Join us at the Benton County Fairgrounds Building #2 in Kennewick. The enlarged show features 19 dealers, 36 member displays, demonstrations, kid activities, door prizes, silent auctions, geode cracking, and much more. Come see precious gemstones, minerals, jewelry, fossils, meteorites, special exhibits, local collections, and of course, ROCKS! Adults $5.00; children under 14 are free. It’s a fun family event. We hope to see you there!
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Athol: Introduction to the Ice Age Floods and the National Geologic Trail
Athol Library 30399 3rd St, Athol, IDDetails to come. Presented by Don Chadbourne, geologist and board member of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI), Cheney-Spokane Chapter Registration is required. It will be linked here as soon as it has been posted to the library website. https://communitylibrary.net/library/athol/
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Harrison: Introduction to the Ice Age Floods and the National Geologic Trail
Harrison Library 111 S Coeur d’Alene Avenue, Harrison, IDDetails to come. Presented by Don Chadbourne, geologist and board member of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI), Cheney-Spokane Chapter Registration is required. It will be linked here as soon as it has been posted to the library website. https://communitylibrary.net/library/harrison/
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Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators – Richland, WA
The Reach Museum 1943 Columbia Park Trl , WA, Richland, WA, United StatesEvery student in the Northwest should experience the incredible science story of the megafloods that shaped our landscape and history. To help bring this story to life, the Ice Age Floods Institute, Engaging Every Student, and our partners are excited to invite K–12 educators to free special training events. Thanks to support from the Avista Foundation, we are offering free hybrid workshops where you will gain access to valuable resources designed to inspire students to investigate their local environment. New Curriculum Resources Participants will explore a new Ice Age Floods Detectives phenomena-based curriculum with supporting presentations targeted to 4th grade, as well as hands-on investigations from the National Park Service's Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum. Both explore the megafloods that shaped the Northwest and are adaptable for grades K–12 Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators Details (In-person with options to join us via Zoom): Location: Richland, WA: Mon., June 22, 2026 (register here: tinyurl.com/zbrhtpht) Featuring: Engaging classroom and field-based activities, including exciting ways to model Floods phenomena Stories of the megafloods that transformed the Northwest 18,000–12,000 years ago at the end of the Last Glacial Period Up to 7 Washington STEM Clock Hours and/or PDUs for license renewal in Oregon and other states Schedule: All workshops 9:00 am–4:00 pm (or half day) 9:00–12:00 | Interactive workshop featuring new Ice Age Floods Discovery curriculum: targeted to grade 4 and adaptable for K–12 12–12:30 | Working lunch (provided) 12:30–3:30 | Interactive workshop featuring Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum adaptable for grades K–12 3:00 or 3:30–4:00 | Nearby interpretive field studies with experts Cost: Free Ice Age Floods Institute mini-Grants available To cover materials, transportation, STEM clock hour fee, etc. Learn more: iafi.org/k-12grants. Help Spread the Word: We encourage you to share this informative Ice Age Floods Workshops flyer with other educators to let them know about this opportunity! For questions, comments, or ideas on where we might offer additional training, please contact Rick Reynolds, M.S.Ed., at rick@engagingeverystudent.com. Thanks for your interest and all you do to inspire our students to investigate our environment!
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Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators – Spokane, WA
Shadle Park Library Maker Studio 2111 W. Wellesley Ave., Spokane, WA, United StatesEvery student in the Northwest should experience the incredible science story of the megafloods that shaped our landscape and history. To help bring this story to life, the Ice Age Floods Institute, Engaging Every Student, and our partners are excited to invite K–12 educators to free special training events. Thanks to support from the Avista Foundation, we are offering free hybrid workshops where you will gain access to valuable resources designed to inspire students to investigate their local environment. New Curriculum Resources Participants will explore a new Ice Age Floods Detectives phenomena-based curriculum with supporting presentations targeted to 4th grade, as well as hands-on investigations from the National Park Service's Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum. Both explore the megafloods that shaped the Northwest and are adaptable for grades K–12 Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators Details (In-person with options to join us via Zoom): Location: Spokane, WA: Mon., June 24, 2026 (register here: tinyurl.com/y78vcde9) Featuring: Engaging classroom and field-based activities, including exciting ways to model Floods phenomena Stories of the megafloods that transformed the Northwest 18,000–12,000 years ago at the end of the Last Glacial Period Up to 7 Washington STEM Clock Hours and/or PDUs for license renewal in Oregon and other states Schedule: All workshops 9:00 am–4:00 pm (or half day) 9:00–12:00 | Interactive workshop featuring new Ice Age Floods Discovery curriculum: targeted to grade 4 and adaptable for K–12 12–12:30 | Working lunch (provided) 12:30–3:30 | Interactive workshop featuring Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum adaptable for grades K–12 3:00 or 3:30–4:00 | Nearby interpretive field studies with experts Cost: Free Ice Age Floods Institute mini-Grants available To cover materials, transportation, STEM clock hour fee, etc. Learn more: iafi.org/k-12grants. Help Spread the Word: We encourage you to share this informative Ice Age Floods Workshops flyer with other educators to let them know about this opportunity! For questions, comments, or ideas on where we might offer additional training, please contact Rick Reynolds, M.S.Ed., at rick@engagingeverystudent.com. Thanks for your interest and all you do to inspire our students to investigate our environment!
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Hayden: Dating Erratic Boulders: How Long Ago Were the Floods?
Hayden Library 8385 N Government Wy, Hayden Lake, IDHow do geologists know when the ice age floods actually occurred in the Spokane area? One method is to date the large flood-rafted erratic boulders. We explore the ages of the floods and the methods used to determine their dates and present newly gathered dates from the Spokane region revealing when the floods happened. Presented by Glenn Cruickshank, vice president of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI), Cheney-Spokane Chapter, and Dr. Jim O'Connor, USGS Registration is required. It will be linked here as soon as it has been posted to the library website.
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Rathdrum: Dating Erratic Boulders: How Long Ago Were the Floods?
Rathdrum Library 16320 ID-41, Rathdrum, IDHow do geologists know when the ice age floods actually occurred in the Spokane area? One method is to date the large flood-rafted erratic boulders. We explore the ages of the floods and the methods used to determine their dates and present newly gathered dates from the Spokane region revealing when the floods happened. Presented by Glenn Cruickshank, vice president of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI), Cheney-Spokane Chapter Registration is required. It will be linked here as soon as it has been posted to the library website.