Field Guides

field guides

Field Guides offer a way of going on a self-service Geological Adventure!
Our History is rich with excitement and waiting for you to discover!

Most of the field guides listed below have been prepared for non-geologists to help the general public recognize and better understand the Ice Age Floods. The information contained in those field guides has been contributed by the authors as a service to the public and may not be peer reviewed, so they should not be cited for scientific purposes.

Use these Field Guides to explore and better understand the Ice Age Floods

Field Guides

2023 IAFI Jubilee – Grand Coulee Field Trip Guide
A Self-Guided Tour of the Geology of the Columbia River Gorge - 2004; Norman; D.K.; and J.M. Roloff: Portland Airport to Skamania Lodge; Stevenson; Washington ; Open-File Report 2004-7; Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources; Washington State Department of Natural Resources; Olympia; Washington.
Beezley Hills Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Benton City Sediments Field Trip - October 16, 2020, George V. Last and Stephen P. Reidel, Prepared for Earth’s History and Evolution, School of the Environment (SOE) - 210 Washington State University Tri-Cities. Explore early, middle and late Pleistocene Touche Beds and cataclysmic Ice Age Flood deposits and local river flash floods. The field trip encompasses 20 miles, includes 4 stops and will take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Blewett Pass to Leavenworth Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Cameo Heights Quarry Field Trip - August 19, 2020, Stephen P. Reidel and George V. Last, Prepared for Earth’s History and Evolution, School of the Environment (SOE) - 210 Washington State University Tri-Cities. This field trip visits a single location to explore the Goose Creek member of the Columbia River Basalt, as well as a dike and a strike slip fault cutting through the outcrop. Please stay away from the quarry face as rocks often fall out unexpectedly.
Cheney Palouse Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Columbia Gorge Geology Field Trip Guide - DeKay, L. & Hurd, T., 2021; A guide book to accompany IAFI-Columbia Gorge Chapter semi-annual field trips through the Columbia River Gorge. The central Columbia River Gorge is like a storybook of the past 40-50 million years, and we open and read from several chapters of that book in a 10 hour bus/walking tour of a 40 mile section of the Gorge between Cascade Locks, OR to Columbia Hills State Park, WA. As we turn some of those pages and take a glimpse into the incredible geology and more of the Columbia River Gorge, we will reveal many secrets that are hidden right in plain sight.
Columnar Basalt Field Trip - Learn about columnar basalt as we explore outcrops at Frenchman Coulee and Drumheller Channels. Leader: Nick Zentner - CWU Geology. 4.7 Mb field trip guide
Coyote Canyon Mammoth Virtual Field Trip - 2020, George V. Last and Stephen P. Reidel - There are 3 main stops on this field trip to examine evidence of the Ice Age Floods that inundated the Tri-Cities area, and summarize the sequence of geological events as they occurred over the last 10.5 million years.
Drumheller Channels Field Trip Field trip led by Nick Zentner (CWU)
East of Moses Coulee Field Trip Field trip led by Dr. Karl Lillquist (CWU)
Ellensburg Area Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Fire; Faults; & Floods: A Road & Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin - 1997; Mueller; M.; and T. Mueller: University of Idaho Press; Moscow; Idaho. This road and trail guidebook introduces readers to outstanding geological features found in the Columbia River Basin. Available through IAFI Bookstore.
Fishtrap Lake Scablands Field Trip April, 2022 - The Fishtrap Lake Scablands are several miles east of Sprague lake and are part of the Cheney-Palouse Scabland tract. Glacial flood features that can be observed there include the scoured scabland channel, flood-related gravel bars, palouse ‘islands’ (erosional remnants left by the floods), and potholes. Fishtrap Lake is thought to be the remains of a recessional cataract & plunge pool channel carved into the Priest Rapids member of the Miocene Wanapum basalt flow.
Ginkgo Petrified Forest Virtual Field Trip - 2020, Stephen P. Reidel and George V. Last - Explore the settings and origins of the Ginkgo Petrified Forest in this virtual field trip to the Wanapum Recreation Area near Vantage, WA.
Glacial Lake Foster Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
HOODOO CHANNEL AND VALLEY: Remnants of the Ice Age Floods - When travelling north on Idaho State Hwy 95 out of Coeur d’Alene, you will be travelling on Ice Age Flood deposits that constitute the Rathdrum/Spokane Aquifer, the primary source of water for over 500K people living between Spokane, WA and Careywood, ID.
Ice Age Floods Influence on Yakima Valley Wine Country Terroirs, 2004 - George V. Last, Bruce N. Bjornstad, Alan J. Busacca, Ph.D. - Examines local geologic features created by cataclysmic Ice-Age floods of the Channeled Scabland system and the related soils underlying some of Washington's best vineyards and wineries within the Red Mountain and Walla Walla appellations.
Ice Age Floods Influence on Yakima Valley Wine Country Terroirs, 2008 - George V. Last, Bruce N. Bjornstad, Alan J. Busacca, Ph.D. - Examines local geologic features created by cataclysmic Ice Age floods and the related soils underlying some of Washington's best vineyards and wineries within the Red Mountain, Yakima Valley, and Rattlesnake Hills wine-growing regions.
Ice Age floods through the western Channeled Scabland in Gorges; Clays and Coulees - 2004; Bjornstad; B.N.: Field Trip Guide No. 1 and 3; Missoula Floods and the Channeled Scabland; PNNL-SA-41991; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Richland; Washington.
Ice Age Lakes in the Grand Coulee Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Ice Harbor Volcano Field Trip Guide - 2020, September 26; Stephen P. Reidel, George V. Last: Prepared for Earth’s History and Evolution, School of the Environment (SOE) - 210, Washington State University Tri-Cities
Landslides and Related Mass Wasting Features in the Yakima River Corridor Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Leavenworth to Wellington Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Lower Grand Coulee Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Missouola Floods in the Columbia River Gorge Jim O’Connor and Richard Waitt, August 25, 2007
Moses Coulee Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Moses Coulee to Chelan Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Naches River Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Old Blewett Pass Field Trip (Fall 2015) - Explore the geology of the Old Blewett Pass area with Leader Nick Zentner of CWU Geology, field guide
Old Columbia River Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods – Northern Reaches - 2012; Bruce Bjornstadt; Publisher: Keokee Co. Publishing Inc.; 480 pages. This remarkably detailed and authoritative guide leads you by trail; road and aerial tour to discover for yourself the amazing world of cataclysmic flood geology. Available through IAFI Boorkstore.
On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: A Geological Field Guide to the Mid Columbia Basin - 2006; Bjornstad; Bruce N.: Keokee Publishing Inc.; Sandpoint; Idaho; 307p. During the last great Ice Age that ended some 15;000 years ago; the Pacific Northwest was repeatedly decimated by cataclysmic floods unlike anything of modern times. Available through IAFI Bookstore.
Peshastin Creek Watershed Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Rattlesnake Ridge Facies Field Trip - 2020, August 28: George V. Last, Stephen P. Reidel; Prepared for Earth’s History and Evolution, School of the Environment (SOE) - 210, Washington State University Tri-Cities. There are three stops on this 50+ mile road trip. The trip starts at the Benton City river access area (Recreation Area and Boat Launch) and will take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Ringold Landslide Field Trip - 2020, September 14; George V. Last, Stephen P. Reidel; Prepared for Earth’s History and Evolution, School of the Environment (SOE) - 210, Washington State University Tri-Cities - This trip will take about a 30 minute drive from WSU-TC to the main parking area. There is also a 0.4 mile hike on a gravel road to the first stop at the Miocene-Pliocene Ringold Formation and landslide. The second stop will examine Pleistocene age Flood gravels.
Ritzville Outback Field Trip Ritzville area field trip led by Nick Zentner (CWU)
Saddle Mountain Field Trip Saddle Mountain field trip led by Nick Zentner (CWU)
Steamboat Rock & Northrup Canyon in the Upper Grand Coulee Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Teanaway Field Trip Guide 2013 field trip led by Dr. Karl Lillquist (CWU)
Tieton Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Upper Crab Creek Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Upper Grand Coulee Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Upper Yakima River Valley Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Washington’s Channeled Scabland - Bretz, J Harlen, 1959, "Washington’s Channeled Scabland," Bulletin No. 45, Washington Division of Mines and Geology, Olympia, Wash.
Washington’s Channeled Scablands Guide - 2012; John Soennichsen; Mountaineers Books; 224 Pages Explore Washington's canyons of Ice Age wonders -- great trails; stunning scenery; and amazing history with thsi comprehensive guide to a fascinating region rich with
Waterville Plateau Field Trip Karl Lillquist (CWU) Field Trip Guide
Webber Canyon Field Trip - 2020, August 25; Stephen P. Reidel, George V. Last, Prepared for Earth’s History and Evolution, School of the Environment (SOE) - 210, Washington State University Tri-Cities; We are going to look at some Touchet beds, ash layers and 3 lava flows.
Wenatchee Valley Ice Age Floods Geological Trail: Self Guided Driving Tours - Wenatchee Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau; 2005
Western Quincy Basin Field Trip We will examine the landforms and sediment evidence for late Ice Age catastrophic flood origins and evolution of the western flood outlets. Additionally, we will examine evidence of earlier Ice Age floods into the Quincy Basin from the Columbia River Valley - Karl Lillquist, Nick Zentner
Yakima Bluffs Virtual Field Trip - 2020, George V. Last and Stephen P. Reidel - This field trip is 9 miles (about a 15 minute drive) from WSU-TC. From there it involves about 0.9 miles on unimproved trail with some bushwhacking in sometimes steep, uneven terrain. There are 4 main stops to examine the geologic history over the last 8.5 million years - starting with the oldest rocks and proceeding upward to younger and younger geologic outcrops

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