Sharing the Fascinating Ice Age Floods Story Since 1995
The Spokane Aquifer is a legacy from the giant Ice Age floods that roared through the Spokane Valley, leaving behind a porous, coarse gravel that hosts our communities' water supply. The Aquifer story includes tales of fascinating, unique geologic processes and community historical events that formed and harnessed this resource. Presented by Geologist Michael Hamilton from the Ice Age Floods Institute
During this presentation, we follow the path of the floods from western Montana across the Idaho Panhandle, through the Columbia Basin and Gorge, into the Willamette Valley and finally to the Pacific Ocean. We look at some of the major floods features found within the four-state area-features you can see out your windshield as you travel through the floods area. Presented by Dr. Gary Ford, president of the Ice Age Floods Institute Brochures prepared by the Ice Age Floods Institute and National Park Service will be available. Books, videos, and maps on the floods will be available for purchase from the Cheney- Spokane Chapter of the Ice Age Floods institute.
Follow along on this imaginative look at the period when Lake Missoula was carving out our shrub-steppe scablands. Paul Lindholdt writes environmentally inflected nonfiction and journalism. His 10 books include In Earshot of Water, an ecological memoir that won the Washington State Book Award, The Spokane River, and Interrogating Travel. Presented by Paul Lindholdt, of the Ice Age Floods Institute
Join the Palouse Falls Chapter for a leisurely, free 2-3 mile hike to visit Sacajawea Bar on the Snake River! Start time: 10:00a Meeting Place: Snake River Junction Trailhead (see Google Maps for further location information). Fees: This is a state park, so a Discovery Pass or a day pass is required for parking. What to bring: Lunch, drinks, snacks, appropriate clothing and footwear, camera, etc. Optional add-on: Juniper Dunes For those who want to carpool from Washtucna, meet at Java Bloom. We will leave at 9:00 am.
Join Outing Coordinators Curt and Gene of the Lower Grand Coulee Chapter on March 9th for a leisurely, free 2-1/2-mile hike to visit Ice Age Floods Features in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge at Upper Goose Lake! Date: Saturday March 9, 2024 Start time: 10:00 am Meeting Place: The GPS coordinates to the parking area at Upper Goose Lake are: 46.941040, -119.272415. DRIVING DIRECTIONS Traveling from the north, west or northwest, the entrance to the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is off of Highway 262 East, at the far East end of the Potholes Reservoir Dam (GPS coordinates are: 46.981656, -119.254667). From the east or northeast, that same entrance to the wildlife refuge is also from Highway 262, but coming from the West on 262 W, which connects with Highway 17. From that entrance to the wildlife refuge, travel 2.1 miles to a fork in the road and keep right, from the fork travel another 0.7 miles to the turnoff to Upper Goose Lake Road. Turn right and then drive 0.9 miles to the parking area (GPS coordinates: 46.941040, -119.272415). Traveling from the South or southeast, go through Othello traveling north on N Broadway Ave. Go past all the potato processing plants and then turn left on McManamon Road. Drive 4.6 miles to turn off to Morgan Lake Road (GPS coordinates: 46.889449, -119.230164). Turn right onto Morgan Lake Road, and drive 4.5 miles to turn off for Upper Goose Lake Road. Turn left, and then drive 0.9 miles to the parking area (GPS coordinates: 46.941040, -119.272415). Fees: This Wildlife Refuge does not require a Pass or a day pass is required for parking. What to bring: Lunch, drinks, snacks, appropriate clothing and footwear, camera, etc.
The 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.
Due to inclement weather and illnesses some missed out on the hike on the 2nd, so this is your second chance! Those who wish to carpool from northerly points can meet in the parking lot of Java Bloom for a 9AM departure time. Hike starts at the Snake River Junction Trailhead at 10AM. This is a state park, so a Discovery Pass is required (or you can pay for a day pass at the park site - $10 cash or check at their dropbox). Bring your own water, snacks, and lunch. Please have a waiver form filled out for each participant. If you have any questions or want to give Lloyd a heads up that you're coming, he can be reached at (509) 954-3927
(21Feb2024) We have invited Ralph Haugerud, USGS to give a talk in "wasting of the Southern Margins of the Cordilleran Ice sheet" on March 18,2024. Please note that this date has moved the Chapter Meeting to 18 March 2024. Or the third week of March. While we don't have the details yet, I bet it will be more than a review of the Mima Mounds.  Our new location is Bellevue College, Bldg R, Rm103, 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, Bellevue, WA 98007-6484. See our website for directions/parking. For this meeting only, there will be NO presentation by zoom,
Come join us for a moderate 6-mile hike to explore the Ice Age floods features in the Escure Ranch area south of Sprague, WA. The round trip hike follows a gravel road along the Rock Creek drainage and climbs about 100 feet over a small divide and back down to Towell Falls. On the way there you will drive past sculpted Palouse 'islands' downstream of Rock Lake, and on the hike near Towell Falls is an Ice Age Floods gravel bar that has been incised by a stream to show its interior structure. The hike will be led by IAFICS board members, geologists Donald Chadbourne and Chris Sheeran. After confirming your registration we will send you the hike details and keep you up-to-date on any changes that happen before the hike.
Thursday, April 4, 2024. 7:00 pm. What Happened to the Spokane Ice Sheet? Friday, April 5, 2024. 7:00 pm. The Missoula Floods versus Bretz's Spokane Flood Saturday, April 6, 2024. 7:00 pm. Was Moses Coulee Carved by Subglacial Floods? Doors open at 6:30 pm each night. 700 seats. Open seating. Free. Will be filmed for YouTube. Morgan Auditorium. 400 E 1st Ave. Ellensburg, Washington, USA.