Sharing the Fascinating Ice Age Floods Story Since 1995

GO PLACES! DO THINGS!

Along the ICE AGE FLOODS
NATIONAL GEOLOGIC TRAIL


The Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail covers some 16,000 square miles (41,440 km2) in present day Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. We have hand picked some of the best of the best places along the Trail and present them here for you enjoy and explore! Check back often, we will be adding new and wonderful destinations for your entire Family to enjoy!

MONTANA – IDAHO – WASHINGTON – OREGON

SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in MONTANA

Montana - Places to GO and Things to DO

Montana Natural History Center

August 13, 2022

Montana Natural History Center Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail  The mission of the Montana Natural History Center is to promote and cultivate the appreciation, understanding, and stewardship of nature through education. Founded in 1991, MNHC was the brainchild of a group of educators who were involved in various efforts to educate both kids and adults about the natural history of western Montana, and who decided to unite those efforts into one environmental education organization. MNHC provides nature education programming for people of all ages through summer camps, kids’ activities, Visiting Naturalist in the Schools, Master Naturalist certification courses and Field Days, evening programs, Field Notes on Montana Public Radio, museum tours, and more.  We have a variety of exhibits that focus on the flora, fauna, geology, and ecology of our beautiful state. Please stop by and visit! MNHC often partners with the Ice Age Floods Institute to share fields trips and lectures about the Ice Age Floods.   MNHC has exhibits that help visitors explore the Glacial Lake Missoula and Ice Age Floods. Learn more at:Explore Glacial Lake Missoula | Montana Natural History Center (montananaturalist.org) The Glacial Lake Missoula Chapeter of the Ice Age Floods Institue also produced a short movie about Glacial Lake Missoula. You can find a link here. Quick Facts Location:120 Hickory Street, Suite A, Missoula, Montana

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Little Money Creek Gulch Fill

May 1, 2023

Mounds of soil, sand, gravel, and other coarse materials covered with light vegetation can be seen in the side gulches all along the Flathead River where tributaries drained into what was Glacial Lake Missoula.  They were deposited by currents eddying into the slower water in these gulches and also by the drop in velocity of the streams carrying deposits from higher elevations on the far side of the river along the path of the escaping floodwaters.  The flow of floodwaters through this narrow valley was estimated by J.T. Pardee at between 8 and 10 cubic miles per hours – more than the combined flow of all modern rivers in the world.  Similar gulch fill can be seen in many locations along this beautiful stretch of the river, which today generally flows smoothly and looks completely flat. There are numerous pull-outs along MT 200 between Perma and Paradise; the view pictured here is at mile marker 91.

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Eddy Narrows

August 12, 2022

Eddy Narrows Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Eddy Narrows is a 10-mile long canyon between Plains and Thompson Fall along the Clark Fork River. Here all of the waters from the northern and eastern arms of Glacial Lake Missoula converged and picked up speed as they were forced through this restricted area. The steep valley walls are bare of talus and soils up to the level estimated to be the highest level of the lake (1000 ft), and there are polished grooves in the bedrock on a bench 340-400 feet above the Clark Fork River that run parallel to it. Since there is no evidence of glaciation in this area, the only explanation is the rapid draining of Glacial Lake Missoula. Using the dimensions of this flume-shaped area of the canyon, which controlled the rate of flow of water surging through it, in 1942 J.T. Pardee was able to calculate maximum speeds approaching 80 mph, emptying Glacial Lake Missoula in as little as three days. There are pullouts along MT-200 at either end of the narrowest part of this section marked for observing big horn sheep with Glacial Lake Missoula signage at the one between mileposts 59 and 60 at: 47.537940, -115.071654  Quick Facts Location:Between Plains and Thompson Falls, MT 

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SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in IDAHO

Idaho - Places to GO and Things to DO

Green Monarch Ridge

August 12, 2022

Green Monarch Ridge Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN! The Green Monarch Ridge viewpoint, just south of the Hope Fault, is positioned along the edge of the Purcell Trench Ice Lobe. Here it was responsible for damming the mouth of the Clark Fork drainage basin. This damming effect resulted in the formation of Glacial Lake Missoula, the source of the waters for much of  the PNW Pleistocene Ice Age Floods. The Purcell Trench Ice Lobe originated in Canada and flowed south into Idaho, guided by the structural control of the Purcell Trench. Following the path of least resistance into the basin now occupied by Lake Pend Oreille, it was impeded by the Green Monarch Ridge, located approximately 10 miles south of this viewpoint. Grinding and scraping, the Purcell Trench Ice Lobe backed up behind the Green Monarch Ridge, eventually building an ice plug up to 4,000 feet thick, and scouring out the deepest parts of Lake Pend Oreille. The Purcell Trench Ice Lobe divided into four sub-lobes: one went approximately west (US Highway 2), two went south (US Highway 95 and Lake Pend Oreille) and one went east (SR 200). All four sub-lobes contributed to blocking the Clark Fork drainageQuick Facts MANAGED BY:US Forest Service – Idaho Panhandle National Forest

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Celebration Park – Home of Melon Gravel

July 10, 2026

17,000 years ago, a massive Ice Age lake – now called Lake Bonneville – filled a large portion of present-day Utah. As temperatures changed, the influx of ice melt caused the lake level to rise. In addition, the Bear River, once a tributary of the Snake, was diverted by volcanic activity back into Lake Bonneville. These factors ultimately led to the breaching of a sedimentary rock dam at Red Rocks Pass, Idaho. There was only one ice-age Bonneville Flood because Lake Bonneville broke through a rock dam, unlike the Missoula Floods whose glacial ice dam repeatedly dammed Glacial Lake Missoula, then broke and rebuilt.  1,100 cubic miles of Lake Bonneville water rushed through the Snake River Canyon, and it took only six weeks for Lake Bonneville to empty the equivalent volume of modern-day Lake Michigan. The Great Salt Lake we know today is a remnant of Lake Bonneville, but at one tenth the size, it is a mere puddle compared to what the lake used to be.  The power of this catastrophic flood widened canyons as the force of the water pulled huge chunks of basalt off the cliffs and tumbled them around, smoothing their jagged edges along the way. As the canyon width narrowed, the force and velocity of the flood increased. Wherever the canyons widened, the flood lost force and velocity, the waters slowed and began dropping its bedload – in this case, giant tumbled basalt boulders instead of your typical river gravel.  These flood-rounded boulders, named melon gravel due to their distinct shape, are scattered over vast areas of land. The rocks’ unique outlines and smooth surfaces caught the eye of Native American tribes in the area, who have used them as canvases for petroglyphs for thousands of years. Visitors can see the medium sized flood deposits just outside the visitor center, or hike upriver to see gigantic melon gravel the size of heavy-duty trucks.  Celebration Park is located in the Snake River Canyon, approximately 23 miles south of Nampa, Idaho. It is home to an enormous melon gravel field deposited by the Bonneville Flood. 

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Lake Pend Oreille

August 12, 2022

Lake Pend Oreille Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail  The Purcell Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet repeatedly formed a 2000′ tall ice dam in this area, which backed up Glacial Lake Missoula and eventually burst catastrophically, releasing Ice Age Floods as often as about every ~10-60 years. Lake Pend Oreille is the largest lake in Idaho. The lake level is 2062 ft above sea level, with the surrounding terrain as high as 6002 ft. With a maximum depth of 1150 ft, this lake is the 5th deepest in the US. The location of the lake is probably related to an old river valley controlled by faults. The Lake Pend Oreille basin was carved by the repeated advances of Pleistocene ice and scoured by Ice Age Floods. With the waning of flood waters, the basin was filled with glacial out-wash and flood deposits. The lake is dammed at the south end by thick glacial and flood deposits that mark the beginning of the “Outburst Deposits”Quick Facts MANAGED BY:US Forest Service

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SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in WASHINGTON

Washington - Places to GO and Things to DO

Beacon Rock

August 12, 2022

Beacon Rock Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Outside Skamania, Washington is the 848 foot-tall Beacon Rock that overlooks a breathtaking section of the mighty Columbia River. Beacon Rock State Park is a 4,464-acre, year-round camping park sitting in

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Frenchman Coulee

July 14, 2022

Frenchman Coulee Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Frenchman Coulee is a short drive north and west from the Silica Road exit 123 off US-90, along the Old Vantage Road. It is one of the most beautiful features left behind by the great Ice Age

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The Reach Museum

August 12, 2022

The Reach Museum Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, Manhattan Project National Historical Park The REACH Museum shares the natural and human history of the Tri-Cities and the surrounding area. The museum takes its name from Hanford Reach, the longest free flowing (un-dammed), non-tidal section

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SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in OREGON

Oregon - Places to GO and Things to DO

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum

August 12, 2022

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, Oregon National Historic Trail The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum is located on a 54-acre point of land adjacent to the Columbia River and is the

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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

August 13, 2022

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon, was founded in 1944. OMSI is one of the nation’s leading science museums and a trusted educational resource for communities throughout Oregon

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MONTANA – IDAHO – WASHINGTON – OREGON

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