Explore Massive Floodscapes!

Explore Massive Floodscapes!. . Raging Ice Age floodwaters carved spectacular features throughout eastern Washington, creating unique landscapes. Follow the path of the floods and discover more about this amazing story. , , Under Water , During the largest floods, water backed up behind constrictions, such as Wallula Gap, forming temporary lakes that flooded vast low-lying areas of eastern Washington. In these places, floodwater dumped huge amounts of sand and silt, helping to creat the rich agricultural soils we value today. , , Are You a Landscape Detective? , Rocks, plants, and landscape features provide us with many clues about the Ice Age floods and other stories of the area’s past. What do the large column-shaped rocks tell you? , , (Left Photo Caption) , Ice Age floods carved Frenchman Coulee and left this remarkable feature, called the Feathers. The coulee is located across the river, about 10 miles from here. , , (Center Photo Caption) , Created by Ice Age floods, the now-waterless Dry Falls would have dwarfed Niagara Falls. This amazing feature is located about 50 miles northeast of here. , , (Right Photo Caption) , As basalt lava cools and solidifies, it begins to shrink, causing the rock t crack. This causes some of the rock to form into long columns, called columnar basalt.