Ice Age Floods Study of Alternatives National Significance

section g NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

1. National Significance

n examination of resources for their national significance is the first step in the Astudy process. The Criteria for Parklands, a National Park Service publication, lists the qualifications used for screening proposals for new park units to assure that only the most outstanding resources are added to the National Park System.

NPS applies ten specific standards to and interpret an extraordinary natural determine national significance. The Ice phenomenon. Age Floods study region meets four of these standards: 3. The region offers superlative opportunities for recreation, public use 1. The Floods features are an outstanding and enjoyment, and/or scientific study. example of a particular type of resource. The proposed Ice Age Floods region Identified sites within the Ice Age ties recreational and visitor use into a summary Floods study area possess comprehensive and coordinated he Floods region is reviewed to extraordinary features that exemplify interpretive program across a four- Tdetermine if it meets NPS requirements for catastrophic floods of the Ice Age. state area. It also provides additional “national significance,” and if the resources within opportunities for scientific study by the area are threatened in any way. Level of 2. The Floods region possesses identifying significant Floods resource National Significance is established in part by exceptional value or quality in areas. examining NPS “service themes,” which look at illustrating or interpreting the natural or both natural and historic themes. Based upon cultural themes of our nation’s heritage. 4. Many features in the Floods region these criteria, the Floods region exceeds the basic Existing Floods resources offer an retain a high degree of integrity as true, requirements for consideration. outstanding opportunity to illustrate accurate, and relatively unspoiled

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examples of the resource. Because of the and vegetation, spectacular vistas, or Awesome signs of its passage immense size and extent of the Floods other special landscape features. are still visible to this day. region, many features remain that have high degrees of integrity and are • A site that is an invaluable ecological Smithsonian Magazine, The Floods that relatively unspoiled. or geological benchmark due to an extensive and long-term record of Carved the West, April 1995. The Criteria for Parklands also includes research and scientific discovery. examples of the types of characteristics that would help define an area or region There are seven National Natural as being truly unique and worthy of Landmarks (NNLs) located within the consideration. Four resource evaluations Ice Age Floods region. A National examples listed apply directly to the Ice Natural Landmark is a nationally Age Floods region: significant area that has been designated by the Secretary of the Interior. To be • A landform or biotic area that has nationally significant, a site must be one always been extremely uncommon in of the best examples of a type of biotic the region or the nation. community or geologic feature in its physiographic province. The Floods- • A site that possesses exceptional diversity related NNLs are: or ecological components (species, communities, or habitats) or geological • , —Glacial features (landforms, observable outburst waters that crossed the manifestations of geological processes). during the Spokane floods were channeled • An area that has outstanding scenic through Wallula Gap. For several qualities such as dramatic topographic weeks, as much as 200 cubic miles of

NPS Photo features, unusual contrasts in landforms water per day was delivered to a gap

The floods carved out more than 50 cubic miles of earth from western Montana to the Pacific Ocean.

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that could discharge less than 50 cubic illustrates more gradual stream valley the . This miles per day. Ponded water filled the formation as downcutting kept pace catastrophic flood withdrawal was Pasco Basin and Yakima and Touchet with the rise of the Cascade Range. recognized by J. T. Pardee. He valleys to form temporary . The Gorge at Crown described various types of evidence Point passes from the steeper, more such as scouring, high eddy deposits • The Great Gravel Bar of Moses Coulee, rugged terrain of the western slopes of of flood debris, flood bars of boulders Washington—This bar is perhaps the the Cascade Range to rolling and coarse gravel, and a succession of largest example of bars created by cultivated plains. The promontory giant arcurate ripples or ridges of outburst floods on the Channeled provides a strategic vantage point for gravel resting on bedrock surfaces. Scabland. The bars are well-preserved observing this classic illustration of and have only sparse vegetation. riverine process. The finest examples of these giant flood ripples are found 12 miles north • Drumheller Channels, Washington— • Willamette Flood Plain, —The of Perma, Montana. The giant ripples The site is a spectacular tract of butte- site represents the largest remaining appear as ridges 15 to 50 feet high, and-basin scabland and provides native and unplowed example of 100 to 250 feet wide and from 100 excellent geomorphic evidence for late bottomland interior valley grasslands in yards to a half mile long. They catastrophic floods on the the North Pacific Border natural region. generally traverse the direction of the Columbia Plateau. current. The form, structure, and • Giant Flood Ripples, Montana— arrangement of these features are • , Washington—Grand During is maximum stages, Glacial similar to those of ordinary current Coulee is the largest coulee in the had a surface area of ripple marks, but the features are so Columbia Plateau and is probably the 2,900 square miles and contained large that the term “ripple mark” world’s finest example of a recessional more than 500 cubic miles of water. seems inappropriate. It is believed that cataract gorge. With the failure of the ice dam near the giant ripple marks could only have Cabinet Gorge, the lake drained in just been formed by water at least 800 feet • Crown Point, Oregon—The Crown a few days, releasing catastrophic deep, moving over Markle Pass at Point section of the Columbia Gorge floods of enormous magnitude across velocities up to 55 miles per hour.

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FloodsThe national significance of these seven Conclusion Highest Velocity of the Flood Waters NNLs has already been established, and Based upon the requirements with the addition of a multitude of other established in the NPS Criteria for Floods-related resources, combine to Parklands, the Ice Age Floods region Along the entire flood route between make the Ice Age Floods region a exceeds the basic requirements for Glacial Lake Missoula and the Pacific spectacular assemblage of Floods consideration under the criteria for resources that exceed the requirements national significance. These Floods are Ocean, the great floods spread out over for recognition of a nationally significant the greatest scientifically documented wide areas and then funneled through resource. floods known to have occurred in North America and are one of three constrictions. The narrowest constriction documented geologic areas in the world of all was near Crown Point in the that experienced catastrophic Ice Age floods of a similar magnitude. In , where all 500 addition, NASA intensely studied the cubic miles of water were forced between Channeled Scablands for comparisons to similar catastrophic flooding that tall cliffs only 1.5 miles apart. Like a jet scientists believe occurred on the planet of water exiting a nozzle, the flow Mars. accelerated from the narrow opening, probably reaching speeds of 80 miles an hour before slowing and spreading out over the Portland Basin.

Facts

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2. Integrity

he term “integrity” has two definitions, both of which are closely related. The first Trefers to a state or quality of being complete, and the second addresses the quality of being unimpaired or unmarred. One interesting feature of the Ice Age Floods resources is the fact that many Flood resources are still visible and have not been damaged by human development or natural processes over more than 13,000 years. The existing Floods resources captured the interest of Pardee and Bretz, who were able to develop their theories from the things that they could see. The huge scale of the Ice Age Floods region helps in preserving the integrity of the resource; most changes seem minor when considering the enormity of the region and the sheer size of individual features. The immensity of the ripple marks in Camas Prairie, Montana, the width of , and depth of the plunge pools, and 800-foot flood strandlines that are still visible all contribute to exceptional integrity of the Ice Age Floods resources. A

NPS Photo number of Floods resources are virtually untouched, and many are so resistant to State Park, Washington change that even large-scale mining operations have not had much impact.

The fact that several Floods features are Floods features can’t help but notice the within protective management on public evidence left behind. This evidence is lands helps ensure the integrity of the much the same as it was when Bretz and resources. Some private landowners also Pardee made their discoveries. protect Flood features on their property through voluntary stewardship. Some of these features are designated as National Conclusion Natural Landmark sites. The Ice Age Floods resources, the majority of which have been largely

NPS Photo Driving through the landscape, a motorist unchanged for thousands of years, Moses Coulee gravel bar, Douglas County, familiar with the story of the Floods and possess a very high degree of “integrity” Washington with a knowledge of specific types of and meet the requirements of PL 105-391.

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