What caused the Scablands?

The Scablands: Nature’s Wildest Flood Story

Ever heard of the Channeled Scablands? Picture this: Eastern Washington State, but instead of rolling green hills, you’ve got this crazy, scarred landscape. It’s like Mother Nature had a serious tantrum and just ripped the place apart. Geologists call it the “Scablands,” a name coined by J Harlen Bretz way back in the 1920s. And let me tell you, this place is weird. It’s all dry channels, weirdly shaped hills, and these massive, empty waterfalls that just scream “something big happened here.”

For years, nobody could figure out what caused it. It was a real head-scratcher, challenging everything geologists thought they knew. The big question was: what in the world could have carved out such a bizarre landscape? The answer, as it turns out, is almost unbelievable: a series of absolutely massive Ice Age floods, mostly from this ancient lake called Lake Missoula.

Bretz’s Crazy Idea: A Flood of Biblical Proportions

Now, J Harlen Bretz, this University of Chicago geologist, he comes along in 1923 and says, “Hey, I think this was all caused by a giant flood!” Can you imagine? Back then, everyone thought geological changes happened slowly, over millions of years. Bretz was basically saying, “Nope, think again! This was one heck of a sudden event!” People thought he was nuts, plain and simple. They just couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea that a flood could be that huge.

But Bretz was stubborn. He walked all over those Scablands, taking notes, drawing diagrams, and collecting evidence. He saw these massive channels that went every which way, giant potholes you could park a car in, and gravel bars the size of small towns. Nothing like what you’d see from a regular river. It had to be a flood, he argued, a flood of epic proportions. He even called it the “Spokane Flood” at first.

Lake Missoula: The Source of the Fury

Okay, so Bretz had the “what,” but he was missing the “where.” Where did all this water come from? That’s where Joseph Pardee comes into the picture. Pardee had been studying this ancient lake in Montana, Glacial Lake Missoula. And what he found was mind-blowing.

During the Ice Age, a giant ice sheet blocked the Clark Fork River, creating this enormous lake. We’re talking bigger than Lake Erie and Lake Ontario combined. But here’s the kicker: the ice dam wasn’t stable. Every so often, it would break, unleashing a wall of water that roared across the landscape.

These weren’t your average floods. Imagine the flow of 85 Amazon Rivers all crammed into one massive surge. That’s how much water we’re talking about. The water tore across the land at 80 miles per hour, ripping up rock, carving channels, and moving boulders the size of houses. It was an absolutely insane spectacle of raw power.

The Scablands Tell the Tale: Proof in the Pudding

So, what did these floods actually do to the land? Well, the Scablands are basically a giant, open-air museum of flood damage.

• Coulees: Think massive canyons, but bone dry. Places like the Grand Coulee and Moses Coulee are just huge, empty reminders of the water that used to flow there.
• Dry Falls: Imagine Niagara Falls, but without the water. Dry Falls is a cliff three and a half miles wide and 400 feet high. It’s the ghost of a waterfall that was once one of the biggest on Earth.
• Loess Islands: The floodwaters sculpted the loess (that’s wind-blown silt) into these cool, streamlined hills. They look like islands in a river, even though there’s no river there now.
• Giant Potholes: These aren’t your garden-variety potholes. We’re talking huge, swirling pools that were carved into the bedrock by the force of the water.
• Gravel Bars and Ripple Marks: The floods left behind these massive piles of gravel and these giant ripple marks, way bigger than anything you’d see in a normal stream.
• Glacial Erratics: These are huge boulders that were carried by icebergs and then dropped in the middle of the Scablands. They’re often made of rock that’s completely different from the surrounding area, so you know they came from somewhere else.

From Ridicule to Recognition: Bretz’s Triumph

It took a long time, but eventually, people started to believe Bretz. The evidence was just too overwhelming to ignore. Geologists started visiting the Scablands and seeing the proof for themselves. And when aerial photography came along, it gave everyone a bird’s-eye view of the whole crazy landscape.

We now know that there weren’t just one or two floods, but dozens! They happened over and over again between 18,200 and 14,000 years ago, as Lake Missoula filled and drained repeatedly. It was this cycle of flooding that really shaped the Scablands into what they are today.

And Bretz? He finally got the recognition he deserved. In 1979, at the ripe old age of 96, he won the Penrose Medal, which is basically the Nobel Prize of geology. It was a long time coming, but he proved that sometimes, the “crazy” ideas are the ones that change the world.

The Channeled Scablands are more than just a weird landscape. They’re a reminder that nature can be incredibly powerful, and that sometimes, the most dramatic events are the ones that leave the biggest mark. They’re also a testament to the power of curiosity and the importance of not being afraid to challenge the status quo. So, next time you’re in eastern Washington, take a drive through the Scablands. It’s like stepping back in time to witness one of the most incredible floods in Earth’s history. You won’t regret it.