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!

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SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in MONTANA

Glacial Lake Missoula National Natural Landmark

Glacial Lake Missoula National Natural Landmark Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Glacial Lake Missoula was the largest of several lakes impounded by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in the Northern Rocky Mountains during the Quaternary period. The lake was approximately 2,900 square miles in size and contained more than 500 cubic miles of water. It occupied the Mission, Jocko and Little Bitterroot valleys, drained by the Flathead River; and the Missoula, Ninemile and Bitterroot valleys, drained by the Clark Fork River. The lake was formed by an ice dam across the mouth of the Clark Fork River at Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, a result of successive advances of a lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. The site is located 12 miles north of Perma, Montana. At least three and possibly more than 100 separate collapses of the ice dam, possibly coincident with periods of ice retreat, caused the lake to drain, producing catastrophic floods across the Columbia Plateau and down the Columbia River Basin. It is estimated that the waters of Glacial Lake Missoula, 1,000 feet deep at Eddy Narrows, were withdrawn at a peak discharge rate of 10 cubic miles per hour. Approximately 550 cubic miles of water passed through those narrows during withdrawal. Evidence of this catastrophic withdrawal can be found in scourings, high eddy deposits of flood debris, flood bars of boulders and course gravel, and successions of giant arcuate ripples or ridges of gravel resting on bedrock surfaces. Ripples appear as ridges 15 to 50 feet high, 100 to 250 feet wide, and from 300 feet to a half-mile long. While the form, structure and arrangement of these features are similar to that of ordinary current ripple marks, they are termed giant flood ripples, due to their large size. The giant flood ripples at this site are unusual due to their being on the down-current side of notches in a ridge separating two basins that were both subsidiary to the main course of Lake Missoula in the Clark Fork Valley. The best examples of giant flood ripples are found in Camas Prairie. Quick Facts Designation:National Natural Landmark OPEN TO PUBLIC:Private Land, closed to the public, but features throughout the area are visible from many vantage points.

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Erratic in the Bitterroot

An 8 ton erratic left behind by Glacial Lake Missoula in the Bitterroot Valley on the property of a local rancher was relocated to serve as the focal point of an outdoor kiosk exhibit at the Ravalli County Museum at the former County Courthouse, 205 Bedford Street in Hamilton.  Unlike their counterparts at other location along the National Geologic Trail, erratics in this part of the Ice Age Floods did not come from Canada nor did they travel as far, but the action of the floodwaters and iceberg rafts is equally evident despite more shallow waters. There are similar erratics found elsewhere in Bitterroot, on the campus of the University of Montana, and at the Bison Range. The outdoor display tells the same story as other locations on the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail but also includes information on two other National Park Service trails that pass through this area – the Nez Perce and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trails.  The museum has other indoor exhibits of historical interest and about Glacial Lake Missoula.    

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SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in IDAHO

Glacial Dam at Green Monarch Ridge View Point

Glacial Lobe Dam at Green Monarch Ridge View Point Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail  As the Purcell Trench ice lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet advanced south from Canada, it was stopped by the Green Monarch Ridge, building an ice dam 4,000 feet (1219 m) tall and nearly 40 miles (64 km) wide that blocked the Clark Fork river, thus filling glacial Lake Missoula. View the Green Monarch Ridge and the Purcell Trench from a large pullout on Idaho State Route 200, about one mile (1.6 km) west of Hope, Idaho and 15 miles (24 km) east of Sandpoint, Idaho. Quick Facts Location: Idaho State Route 200, about one mile west of Hope, Idaho and 15 miles  east of Sandpoint, Idaho.

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Museum of North Idaho

Museum of North Idaho IceAgeFloods National GeologicTrail “The Museum of North Idaho collects, preserves and interprets the history of the Coeur d’Alene Region. to foster appreciation of the area’s heritage.” In the 1960s, the North Idaho Hoo Hoo Club, an organization of loggers, lumbermen and foresters, first entertained the idea of establishing a museum. They incorporated on May 1, 1968 for a museum focusing on the history of the Coeur d’Alene Region (Kootenai, Benewah and part of Shoshone counties). Through the efforts of volunteers and community support, the Museum opened its doors on the North Idaho College campus on July 28, 1973. In 1979, they remodeled a City-owned building and relocated to its current location. Quick Facts Location: 115 Northwest Blvd, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814Phone: (208) 664-3448 The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 am – 5 pm.

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Farragut State Park

Farragut State Park Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Farragut State Park is located at the “breakout” of Glacial Lake Missoula floods, where the ice dam in the Clark Fork valley and the 20-mile-long tongue of ice occupying the Lake Pend Oreille basin failed. From there, a torrent of water and ice burst from the south end of the lake. Farragut State Park is located at the “breakout” of Glacial Lake Missoula floods. Failure of the ice dam in the Clark Fork valley fractured and broke apart the 20-mile-long tongue of ice occupying the Lake Pend Oreille basin, and a torrent of water and ice burst from the south end of the lake. That churning slurry of flood waters, ice, boulders and other debris erupted from the south end of Lake Pend Oreille, flowing 2000 ft deep across Farragut State Park. Nearly all of the water escaping from Glacial Lake Missoula passed through this area. Discharge estimates range from 14 to 21 million cubic meters per second! Vic Baker’s definition of a megaflood is one which has a discharge of at least 1mil cubic m/s, so we are possibly looking at ground zero for the worst Pleistocene flood in the world. Farragut State Park includes many geologic features left by glaciation and megafoods.Hoodoo channel, an abandoned outlet of Lake Pend Oreille provided a pathway for late-glacial meltwater and for the last outbursts from Glacial Lake Missoula. The channel is marked with a number of closed depressions, probably the result of melting icebergs. One of the largest of these features have been proposed, including kettles, potholes, and sub-glacial meltwater. Some of that debris was deposited to form the Rathdrum Prairie Outburst Plain, an extensive, heterogeneous mix of flood deposits. Farragut State Park offers unique scenery, history and an abundance of recreational opportunities. Quick Facts Location:13550 E. Hwy 54 Athol, ID 83801 

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SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in WASHINGTON

Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center

Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail | Columbia Basin Project The Columbia Basin Project, which includes Grand Coulee Dam as its main feature, is the Bureau of Reclamation’s largest multipurpose project. Grand Coulee Dam includes three major hydroelectric power generating plants

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Moses Coulee: An Ice Age Enigma

Washington state is famous for its dramatic landscapes, many carved by the immense power of the Ice Age Floods. We know the stories of the Grand Coulee, Palouse Canyon, and the Potholes. But tucked away in north-central Washington, cutting a path from northeast to southwest

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Hanford Reach Interpretive Center and Museum

Hanford Reach Interpretive Center and Museum Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail – Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail At The REACH Museum in Richland, Washington, you can learn about the natural and human history of the Tri-Cities. It houses rotating and permanent exhibits, including

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SOME PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO DO in OREGON

Multnomah Falls and Lodge

Multnomah Falls and Lodge Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Oregon’s tallest waterfall (620 ft.) is just 30 minutes east of Portland and 30 minutes west of Hood River. Offering scenic splendor and a gateway to the Gorge’s Waterfall Corridor,

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Tualatin Public Library

Tualatin Public Library Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail The Tualatin Public Library, located just off Interstate 5 in Tualatin, Oregon, is home to a display of Ice Age Megafauna. The Library features a striking display of an articulated partial mastodon skeleton, which was discovered

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