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Missoula in Missoula County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
 

Glacial Lake Missoula

 
 
Glacial Lake Missoula Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2016
1. Glacial Lake Missoula Marker
Inscription.
The parallel lines etched on the side of Mount Jumbo are testimony to a series of dramatic geologic events, the Lake Missoula Floods. Occurring as recently as 15,000 years ago, the floods resulted when the Clark Fork River, which had been dammed by glaciers near the entrance to Lake Pend d’Oreille near Sandpoint, Idaho, broke through its constraints. As the melting glacier dam failed, an estimated 200 to 400 cubic miles of escaping water created a river that contained ten times the water of all the rivers in the world. The torrent rocketed downstream with a force that tore through 3,000 square miles of Columbia Plateau, carving magnificent geologic formations in its wake.

The dramatic event repeated itself over the years as glaciers again moved into position to block the entrance to Lake Pend d’Oreille, refilling Lake Missoula to the combined volume of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. As the glaciers again melted, the violent flooding reoccurred, creating the “scablands,” some 2,000 miles of raw, peeled ground that stretches from Spokane west to the Cascades and south to the Snake River. Lake Missoula’s tremendous flooding represents one of the most significant geological events in the history of the world.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Natural FeaturesNotable Events.
 
Location.
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46° 51.979′ N, 113° 59.05′ W. Marker is in Missoula, Montana, in Missoula County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of South Van Buren Avenue and South 5th Street East when traveling north. Marker is located along the Kim Williams Trail, near the Riverfront Trail intersection, overlooking the Clark Fork River, just north of the parking lot at this intersection. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Missoula MT 59801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Rattlesnake Creek (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Central Heating Plant (approx. ¼ mile away); Reid Residence (approx. ¼ mile away); University Library 1922-1973 (approx. 0.3 miles away); Student Union (approx. 0.3 miles away); Natural Science Building (approx. 0.3 miles away); North Hall (approx. 0.4 miles away); Prescott House (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Missoula.
 
More about this marker. Marker is an embossed metal tablet, mounted horizontally on a waist-high stone and masonry pedestal.
 
Also see . . .  Glacial Lake Missoula and the Ice Age Floods. Glacial Lake Missoula formed as the Cordilleran Ice Sheet dammed the Clark Fork River just as it entered Idaho. The rising water behind the glacial dam weakened it until water burst
Glacial Lake Missoula Marker (<i>wide view; Clark Fork River in background</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2016
2. Glacial Lake Missoula Marker (wide view; Clark Fork River in background)
through in a catastrophic flood that raced across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington toward the Pacific Ocean. Thundering waves and chunks of ice tore away soils and mountainsides, deposited giant ripple marks, created the scablands of eastern Washington and carved the Columbia River Gorge. Over the course of centuries, Glacial Lake Missoula filled and emptied in repeated cycles, leaving its story embedded in the land. (Submitted on February 25, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 1, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 24, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 215 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on February 24, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.   2. submitted on February 25, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024