DOCSLIB.ORG

2009 Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Atlas

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Atlas 2009 Update Contents Welcome! A Bi-State Aquifer Study Navigating the Atlas he Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Atlas In response to concerns about continued growth, water The pages are organized into four (4) theme Tpresents a comprehensive summary of the region’s management issues, and water availability, a bi-state categories with a unique color for each . most precious groundwater resource and is a basic aquifer study was initiated in 2004 by the Idaho Department reference of the geographic, geologic and hydrologic of Water Resources, the Washington Department of characteristics of this Aquifer . It is intended for broad Ecology, and the U .S . Geological Survey . The study was Shaded Relief Map . Front Cover community use in education, planning, and general funded by: Congressional appropriations through the Contents . 1 technical information . The preparation and publication U .S . Environmental Protection Agency, state funding from of the original Atlas were partially funded by a United both the Washington and Idaho legislatures and staff Introduction . 2 States Environmental Protection Agency aquifer support from both state agencies . The total study cost was The wellhead protection grant . approximately $3 .5 million . Aquifer Historic Aquifer . 3 The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer spans Building upon previous studies and new data from Aquifer Timeline . 4 two states (Washington and Idaho) and lies within four a coordinated ground and surface water monitoring counties (Kootenai, Bonner, Stevens and Spokane) . program conducted in 2004-2005, the study reassessed Aquifer from Space . 5 the hydrogeology and water budget of the Spokane Valley- Natural resources, such as the Aquifer, that cross Geography . 6 political boundaries are often subject to different, and Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (Aquifer) . The Aquifer boundary sometimes conflicting standards, protection and uses . has been redrawn to reflect recently available geologic Glacial Lake Missoula . 7 This Atlas is a joint effort by agencies in both states to information (see below), and the result is a new, detailed create a holistic representation of the Aquifer as both estimate of the shape of the basin . A key objective of the Aquifer Ice Age Floods . 8 a geologic feature and a natural resource used daily by study was to develop a ground-water flow model to serve as Formation more than 500,000 people . a tool for estimating Aquifer dynamics, and the model was Geology . 9 completed in 2007 . Results of this study were incorporated Political boundaries are absent on the front cover map . into this Atlas update . Geologic Map . 10 The authors intend the reader to first view the Aquifer Water Cycle . 11 as a continuous natural feature, then investigate the various aquifer elements presented in this Atlas . The Water Budget . 12 authors believe that factual information about the Aquifer will generate greater public understanding of the Aquifer Recharge . 13 region’s groundwater and lead to continued protection and wise use of this precious and finite resource . Aquifer-River Interchange . 14 Water The original Aquifer Atlas was published in 2000, Aquifer Extent Used Budget Aquifer Discharge . 15 and an Update was issued in 2004 . This document in 2000 & 2004 Atlases is an update of the 2004 publication that includes Human Uses . 16 information from the 2007 USGS Bi-State Aquifer Aquifer Model Maps . 17-18 Study . Aquifer Monitoring Sites . 19 Aquifer Study Results . 20 Water Quality . 21 Aquifer Extent Aquifer Issues . 22 The Aquifer extent designations differ somewhat between Aquifer Tour Map . 23 investigators and over time . The 2000 and 2004 Aquifer Aquifer Tour . 24 Atlases used a modified version of the original Sole Aquifer Extent Used General Source Aquifer boundary designated by the USEPA in in 2009 Atlas Regional Trends . 25 1978, as shown at upper right . The extent used in this Reference document is the same defined in 2005 by the USGS Glossary & Definitions . 26-27 in their Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5227, as shown at right and on page 19 . The Aquifer extent used Acknowledgements . 28 in the 2007 groundwater modeling (see page 17) is a modified version of the 2005 USGS extent . Ice Age Map . Back Cover 1 Spokane Valley-Rathdram Prairie Aquifer Atlas 2009 Update, see Page 28 for a list of contributors and authors, printed December 31, 2009, ©2009 - may be freely reproduced and copied with appropriate credit given. Introduction Groundwater Recharge per Capita SPOKANE’S WATER PUREST IN WORLD City Bacteriologist Frank Rose Reports Results No Colon Bacilli Found Showing the Spokane water supply purer than the average of American cities, Frank Rose, city bacteriologist, has made a report of tests from the city well made monthly since last October. The tests are simply counts of the number of bacteria found in a cu- bic centimeter of water. The average count shows only Groundwater Recharge seven or eight germs in that in cubic meter per person annually 0 250 500 1,000 1,500 3,000 10,000 amount of water. The test was made from water taken from the drinking fountain at Howard Earth’s Water street and Riverside avenue or from water from a faucet in the Of all the Earth’s water, only about 3% is fresh water . The majority of fresh water Rookery building. Speaking of is found in icecaps and glaciers (68 .7%) and groundwater (30 .1%) . A global view his tests, Dr. Rose said: of groundwater is provided in the map above . The remaining 1 .2% of freshwater is “It can be said that there is no The Aquifer contained in lakes, rivers, swamps, the atmosphere and the soil . Our Aquifer with its city in the world that has a bet- ample quantity of fresh, potable groundwater is a rare feature in the world . ter water supply than Spokane. The sole source of water for most people of gravels, cobbles, and boulders . Water Water which shows 100 germs in in Spokane County, Washington and from adjacent lakes, mountain streams, a cubic centimeter is considered Kootenai County, Idaho, is a large the Spokane River, and precipitation flows comparatively pure and drink- underground rocky formation containing through these flood deposits supplying the able. I made from four to eight high-quality water called the Spokane Aquifer . counts monthly since last Octo- Climate Change ber, and the counts in any one Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (Aquifer), month was 17 bacteria, while the In the 1970s area residents recognized and it is also commonly known as the The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) located at the tests last month showed 15 bac- that their unconfined aquifer could “Rathdrum-Spokane Aquifer .” Discovered University of Washington (Seattle) is studying the teria in eight tests, less than two easily become contaminated . The highly in 1895, this Aquifer has become one of the impacts of natural climate variability and global each. most important resources in the region, permeable flood deposits, together with climate change on the U .S . Pacific Northwest . “In April, 1908, I made tests of very thin topsoil layers in many locations, the river water from which Spo- supplying drinking water to more than The CIG used climate computer models to assess 500,000 people . The Aquifer has been make the Aquifer highly susceptible to probable impacts associated with projected 21st kane got its drinking supply at that time. I took water from the studied in considerable detail since 1977, pollution . The Environmental Protection century changes in climate that indicate three place where the Coeur d’Alene and the results of these investigations Agency (EPA) took the first important step major changes for the Inland Northwest . sewer emptied into it and anoth- have produced programs and regulations to protect the Aquifer by designating the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie a “Sole First, winter snow pack will be lower than normal . er sample from a place about 500 designed to ensure this aquifer will remain feet below the outlet of the sewer. Second, while total annual precipitation will a valued and protected resource for future Source Aquifer” in 1978 . It was the second In both cases the number of bac- generations . aquifer in the nation to receive this special remain about the same, extreme high precipitation teria was so great as to be practi- designation . The sole source designation events will increase . Third, temperatures are cally uncountable. The Spokane Valley and Rathdrum Prairie increased public awareness for Aquifer projected to increase across all seasons with the “In contrast to this is the practi- are ancient geologic features that have, protection and supported the development largest temperature increases cal purity of the water since last over millions of years, been formed by of special management practices (such as in summer . October. Special care was taken water flowing from the western slopes of eliminating septic tanks and pre-treating Aquifer Facts to make tests for colon bacilli, As these changes occur, the the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean . stormwater over the Aquifer) by local Our Aquifer underlies about 370 square miles which show the presence of sew- Inland Northwest will likely age, and in no case was there a During the last Glacial Age (18,000 to agencies . Presently, Aquifer protection in two states . It has one of the fastest flow rates experience peak stream flows single trace.” 12,000 years ago), and possibly in multiple efforts are managed cooperatively by in the United States, flowing as much as 60 feet earlier in the spring and with previous Ice Ages, cataclysmic floods Spokane County, local cities, agencies per day in some areas . In comparison, a typical greater variability . How the inundated North Idaho and Washington as and utilities in Washington and by the aquifer has a flow rate between 1/4-inch and five feet per day .
Recommended publications
  • Vegetation and Fire at the Last Glacial Maximum in Tropical South America

    Vegetation and Fire at the Last Glacial Maximum in Tropical South America

    Past Climate Variability in South America and Surrounding Regions Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research VOLUME 14 Aims and Scope: Paleoenvironmental research continues to enjoy tremendous interest and progress in the scientific community. The overall aims and scope of the Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research book series is to capture this excitement and doc- ument these developments. Volumes related to any aspect of paleoenvironmental research, encompassing any time period, are within the scope of the series. For example, relevant topics include studies focused on terrestrial, peatland, lacustrine, riverine, estuarine, and marine systems, ice cores, cave deposits, palynology, iso- topes, geochemistry, sedimentology, paleontology, etc. Methodological and taxo- nomic volumes relevant to paleoenvironmental research are also encouraged. The series will include edited volumes on a particular subject, geographic region, or time period, conference and workshop proceedings, as well as monographs. Prospective authors and/or editors should consult the series editor for more details. The series editor also welcomes any comments or suggestions for future volumes. EDITOR AND BOARD OF ADVISORS Series Editor: John P. Smol, Queen’s University, Canada Advisory Board: Keith Alverson, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), UNESCO, France H. John B. Birks, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway Raymond S. Bradley, University of Massachusetts, USA Glen M. MacDonald, University of California, USA For futher
  • Flood Basalts and Glacier Floods—Roadside Geology

    Flood Basalts and Glacier Floods—Roadside Geology

    u 0 by Robert J. Carson and Kevin R. Pogue WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES Information Circular 90 January 1996 WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENTOF Natural Resources Jennifer M. Belcher - Commissioner of Public Lands Kaleen Cottingham - Supervisor FLOOD BASALTS AND GLACIER FLOODS: Roadside Geology of Parts of Walla Walla, Franklin, and Columbia Counties, Washington by Robert J. Carson and Kevin R. Pogue WASHINGTON DIVISION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES Information Circular 90 January 1996 Kaleen Cottingham - Supervisor Division of Geology and Earth Resources WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Jennifer M. Belcher-Commissio11er of Public Lands Kaleeo Cottingham-Supervisor DMSION OF GEOLOGY AND EARTH RESOURCES Raymond Lasmanis-State Geologist J. Eric Schuster-Assistant State Geologist William S. Lingley, Jr.-Assistant State Geologist This report is available from: Publications Washington Department of Natural Resources Division of Geology and Earth Resources P.O. Box 47007 Olympia, WA 98504-7007 Price $ 3.24 Tax (WA residents only) ~ Total $ 3.50 Mail orders must be prepaid: please add $1.00 to each order for postage and handling. Make checks payable to the Department of Natural Resources. Front Cover: Palouse Falls (56 m high) in the canyon of the Palouse River. Printed oo recycled paper Printed io the United States of America Contents 1 General geology of southeastern Washington 1 Magnetic polarity 2 Geologic time 2 Columbia River Basalt Group 2 Tectonic features 5 Quaternary sedimentation 6 Road log 7 Further reading 7 Acknowledgments 8 Part 1 - Walla Walla to Palouse Falls (69.0 miles) 21 Part 2 - Palouse Falls to Lower Monumental Dam (27.0 miles) 26 Part 3 - Lower Monumental Dam to Ice Harbor Dam (38.7 miles) 33 Part 4 - Ice Harbor Dam to Wallula Gap (26.7 mi les) 38 Part 5 - Wallula Gap to Walla Walla (42.0 miles) 44 References cited ILLUSTRATIONS I Figure 1.
  • The Cordilleran Ice Sheet 3 4 Derek B

    The Cordilleran Ice Sheet 3 4 Derek B

    1 2 The cordilleran ice sheet 3 4 Derek B. Booth1, Kathy Goetz Troost1, John J. Clague2 and Richard B. Waitt3 5 6 1 Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Earth & Space Sciences, University of Washington, 7 Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98195, USA (206)543-7923 Fax (206)685-3836. 8 2 Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada 9 3 U.S. Geological Survey, Cascade Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, WA, USA 10 11 12 Introduction techniques yield crude but consistent chronologies of local 13 and regional sequences of alternating glacial and nonglacial 14 The Cordilleran ice sheet, the smaller of two great continental deposits. These dates secure correlations of many widely 15 ice sheets that covered North America during Quaternary scattered exposures of lithologically similar deposits and 16 glacial periods, extended from the mountains of coastal south show clear differences among others. 17 and southeast Alaska, along the Coast Mountains of British Besides improvements in geochronology and paleoenvi- 18 Columbia, and into northern Washington and northwestern ronmental reconstruction (i.e. glacial geology), glaciology 19 Montana (Fig. 1). To the west its extent would have been provides quantitative tools for reconstructing and analyzing 20 limited by declining topography and the Pacific Ocean; to the any ice sheet with geologic data to constrain its physical form 21 east, it likely coalesced at times with the western margin of and history. Parts of the Cordilleran ice sheet, especially 22 the Laurentide ice sheet to form a continuous ice sheet over its southwestern margin during the last glaciation, are well 23 4,000 km wide.
  • Bibliography of PHYSI~AL LIMNOLOGY

    Bibliography of PHYSI~AL LIMNOLOGY

    STATE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF SHORE EROSION DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS NO. 25 (CONTRIBUTION NO. 4 LAKE ERIE GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM) Bibliography Of PHYSI~AL LIMNOLOGY 1781 ••••1954 COLUMBUS 1955 STATE OF OHIO Frank J. Lausche, Governor DEPAR 1MENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES A. W. Marion, Director NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION George Wenger, Chairman John A. Slipher, Bryce Browning, Vice Chairman Secretary C. D. Blubaugh Dr. John L. Rich Dr. C. L. Dow Milton Ronsheim A. W. Marion Dean L. L. Rummell DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY John H. Melvin, Chief DIVIS ION OF SHORE EROSION F . 0 , Kugle , Chief STATE OF OHIO Frank J. Lausche, Governor DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES A. W. Marion, Director DIVISION OF SHORE EROSION F. 0. Kugel, Chief DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY John H. Melvin, Chief REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS NO. 2 5 (CONTRIBUTION NO. 4 LAKE ERIE GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM) BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHYSICAL LIMNOLOGY 1781 .... 1954 By James L. Verber This publication is a cooperative project of the Division of Shore Erosion and The Division of Geological Survey. The research upon which the publication is based has been sponsored chiefly by t the Division of Shore Erosion. i COLUMBUS, 1955 I Blank Page t:;ONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION •••••••••• v Organization of the Index • v Suggestions on using the Index vi ABBREVIATIONS • vii BmLIOGRAPHY 1 INDEX and ALPHABETICAL LIST OF LAKES CITED 45 ADDENDUM WITH INDEX . • . 54 iii Blank Page INTBODU~TION The Bibliography of Physical Limnology, 1781- their assistance in preparing the manuscript for publica- 1953, contains both a bibliography and subject index tion.
  • Pacific Northwest Geomorphology

    Pacific Northwest Geomorphology

    d:\wou\research\newrefs\nwgeomrf.wpd PNW General Geomorphology References Updated March 3, 2006 Drawer III:3 Allison, I.S., 1935, Glacial erratics in Willamette Valley, Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 46, p. 615- 632. Allison, I.S., 1979, Fluvial Fort Rock Lake, Lake County, Oregon, Oregon State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries Specail Paper No. 7. Allison, I.S., 1982, Geology of Fluvial Lake Chewaucan, Lake County, Oregon, Oregon State University Geologyic Study 11, Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon. Ambers, Rebecca K. R., 2001, Using the sediment record in a western Oregon flood-control reservoir to asses the influence of storm history and loggin on sediment yield: Journal of Hydrology, v. 244, p. 181-200. ON FLIE Appt, Jeremy, Skaugset, Arne, Pyles, Marvin, Wing, Michael G., 2003, Discrimination between landslides sites and potentially unstable terrain using topographic variables: Hydrological Science and Technology, v. 19, No. 1-4, p. 363-372. ON FILE Allen, John Eliot, 1984, Oregon lakes and their origins: Oregon Geology, v. 46, n. 12, p. 143-146. On File No PDF Allison, Ira S., 1979, Pluvial Fort Rock Lake, Lake County, Oregon: Special Paper - Oregon, Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, , n. 7, 72 p. Allison, I. S., 1978, Late Pleistocene sediments and floods in the Willamette Valley: The Ore Bin, v. 40, n. 12, p. 193-202. On File No PDF Alpha, T. R.; Hunter, R. E.; Richmond, B. M., 1980, Map showing landforms of the Umpqua South area, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area: Miscellaneous Field Studies Map - U. S. Geological Survey, MF- 1205 (2 sheets).
  • Geomorphic and Sedimentological History of the Central Lake Agassiz Basin

    Geomorphic and Sedimentological History of the Central Lake Agassiz Basin

    Electronic Capture, 2008 The PDF file from which this document was printed was generated by scanning an original copy of the publication. Because the capture method used was 'Searchable Image (Exact)', it was not possible to proofread the resulting file to remove errors resulting from the capture process. Users should therefore verify critical information in an original copy of the publication. Recommended citation: J.T. Teller, L.H. Thorleifson, G. Matile and W.C. Brisbin, 1996. Sedimentology, Geomorphology and History of the Central Lake Agassiz Basin Field Trip Guidebook B2; Geological Association of CanadalMineralogical Association of Canada Annual Meeting, Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 27-29, 1996. © 1996: This book, orportions ofit, may not be reproduced in any form without written permission ofthe Geological Association ofCanada, Winnipeg Section. Additional copies can be purchased from the Geological Association of Canada, Winnipeg Section. Details are given on the back cover. SEDIMENTOLOGY, GEOMORPHOLOGY, AND HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL LAKE AGASSIZ BASIN TABLE OF CONTENTS The Winnipeg Area 1 General Introduction to Lake Agassiz 4 DAY 1: Winnipeg to Delta Marsh Field Station 6 STOP 1: Delta Marsh Field Station. ...................... .. 10 DAY2: Delta Marsh Field Station to Brandon to Bruxelles, Return En Route to Next Stop 14 STOP 2: Campbell Beach Ridge at Arden 14 En Route to Next Stop 18 STOP 3: Distal Sediments of Assiniboine Fan-Delta 18 En Route to Next Stop 19 STOP 4: Flood Gravels at Head of Assiniboine Fan-Delta 24 En Route to Next Stop 24 STOP 5: Stott Buffalo Jump and Assiniboine Spillway - LUNCH 28 En Route to Next Stop 28 STOP 6: Spruce Woods 29 En Route to Next Stop 31 STOP 7: Bruxelles Glaciotectonic Cut 34 STOP 8: Pembina Spillway View 34 DAY 3: Delta Marsh Field Station to Latimer Gully to Winnipeg En Route to Next Stop 36 STOP 9: Distal Fan Sediment , 36 STOP 10: Valley Fill Sediments (Latimer Gully) 36 STOP 11: Deep Basin Landforms of Lake Agassiz 42 References Cited 49 Appendix "Review of Lake Agassiz history" (L.H.
  • The Missoula Flood

    The Missoula Flood

    THE MISSOULA FLOOD Dry Falls in Grand Coulee, Washington, was the largest waterfall in the world during the Missoula Flood. Height of falls is 385 ft [117 m]. Flood waters were actually about 260 ft deep [80 m] above the top of the falls, so a more appropriate name might be Dry Cataract. KEENAN LEE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES GOLDEN COLORADO 80401 2009 The Missoula Flood 2 CONTENTS Page OVERVIEW 2 THE GLACIAL DAM 3 LAKE MISSOULA 5 THE DAM FAILURE 6 THE MISSOULA FLOOD ABOVE THE ICE DAM 6 Catastrophic Flood Features in Eddy Narrows 6 Catastrophic Flood Features in Perma Narrows 7 Catastrophic Flood Features at Camas Prairie 9 THE MISSOULA FLOOD BELOW THE ICE DAM 13 Rathdrum Prairie and Spokane 13 Cheny – Palouse Scablands 14 Grand Coulee 15 Wallula Gap and Columbia River Gorge 15 Portland to the Pacific Ocean 16 MULTIPLE MISSOULA FLOODS 17 AGE OF MISSOULA FLOODS 18 SOME REFERENCES 19 OVERVIEW About 15 000 years ago in latest Pleistocene time, glaciers from the Cordilleran ice sheet in Canada advanced southward and dammed two rivers, the Columbia River and one of its major tributaries, the Clark Fork River [Fig. 1]. One lobe of the ice sheet dammed the Columbia River, creating Lake Columbia and diverting the Columbia River into the Grand Coulee. Another lobe of the ice sheet advanced southward down the Purcell Trench to the present Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho and dammed the Clark Fork River. This created an enormous Lake Missoula, with a volume of water greater than that of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario combined [530 mi3 or 2200 km3].
  • Article in Press

    Article in Press

    ARTICLE IN PRESS Quaternary Science Reviews 24 (2005) 1533–1541 Correspondence$ Fresh arguments against the Shaw megaflood hypothesis. that the Lake Agassiz flood was the ‘‘largest in the last A reply to comments by David Sharpe on ‘‘Paleohy- 100,000 years’’ refers to a different publication (Clarke draulics of the last outburst flood from glacial Lake et al., 2003). We agree that, in terms of peak discharge, Agassiz and the 8200 BP cold event’’ both the Missoula floods (e.g., Clarke et al., 1984; O’Connor and Baker, 1992) and the Altay event (Baker et al., 1993) were indeed larger (roughly 17 Sv for Missoula and 418 Sv for Altay) but the released water 1. The megaflood hypothesis volume was a small fraction of that released from glacial Lake Agassiz (Table 1). Furthermore, the focus of We disagree with the premise underlying most of Clarke et al. (2003) was on abrupt climate change David Sharpe’s comments, namely that the Shaw triggered by freshwater injection to the North Atlantic subglacial megaflood hypothesis enjoys sufficient main- Ocean at 8200 BP: Freshwater volume rather than peak streamacceptance that we were negligent in failing to flood discharge is the relevant measure of flood cite it. Although the literature on Shavian megafloods magnitude for activation of this climate switch. Sharpe’s has grown over the past decade, it is less clear that the comment that ‘‘improved knowledge of additional flood ideas have gained ground. As a recent datum, Benn and terrains is important in assessing the impact of specific Evans (2005) assert that ‘‘most Quaternary scientists outburst floods on rapid climate change’’ seems to miss give little or no credence to the [Shaw] megaflood the point that flood intensity, which controls the interpretation, and it conflicts with an overwhelming geomorphic imprint, is only a second-order influence body of modern research on past and present ice sheet on the climate impact.
  • 8-Ton Rock Centerpiece of New Museum Exhibit

    8-Ton Rock Centerpiece of New Museum Exhibit

    8-ton rock centerpiece of new museum exhibit • PERRY BACKUS [email protected] May 12, 2020 Ravalli County Museum Board member Dennis Moore helps Donaldson Brothers employees Vern Weidow and Mark Jessop set an 8-ton glacial rock into place on the museum grounds. By mid-June, the rock will become the centerpiece of a new permanent exhibit about Glacial Lake Missoula and its impact on the Bitterroot Valley. Ravalli County Museum Executive Director Tamar Stanley and museum board member Dennis Moore stand next to the newly delivered 8-ton boulder that will serve as the museum's new permanent exhibit that explains a portion of the natural history of the Bitterroot Valley. To fully understand the significance of Ravalli County Museum’s newest exhibit, visitors will need to come armed with imagination and a willingness to look skyward. The 8-ton rock that was carefully lowered into place on the museum’s lawn Monday is there to take them on a journey thousands of years back in time. The first thing they might do is look toward the towering Bitterroot Range just west of Hamilton. It was once home to the huge boulder that geologists call a glacial erratic. It found its way to the valley floor through the upheaval caused by glaciers more than 15,000 years ago. And then for thousands of years more, its home was the bottom of the massive Glacial Lake Missoula. To get an idea of the depth of the lake that would have covered Hamilton back then, visitors can lift their eyes to the top of the museum’s cupola and then imagine six of those buildings stacked upon each other.
  • Naturalistmontana Fall 2006

    Naturalistmontana Fall 2006

    NaturalistMONTANA Fall 2006 Ancient Ecosystem Ice Age Natural History The Last Best River Backyard Phenology see Get Outside Guide, page 9 TO PROMOTE AND CULTIVATE THE APPRECIATION, UNDERSTANDING AND STEWARDSHIP OF NATURE THROUGH EDUCATION inside Fall 2006 NaturalistMONTANA Features 4 Bear Gulch Fossils Impressions of an ancient ecosystem 4 6 Floods, Flora and Fauna What do we know about the area’s ice age natural history? Departments 3 Tidings 6 9 Get Outside Guide Observing climate change, making an insect collection, Special calendar of events Pull-Out Section 13 Community Focus Lessons from the land 14 Far Afield Discoveries from Montana’s last best river 9 16 Imprints An inspiring exhibit, RiverFest 2006, new evening series, auction info and more 18 Magpie Market 19 Reflections 13 “Woodpecker,” by Sandra Alcosser Cover photo – Female green darner dragonfly, taken by Jamesen Colley, www.rawcapturephotography.com. Taken with a Pentax MZ-S 35mm film camera with a Tamron 90mm 1:1 macro lens, a Pentax ring flash and Fuji Provia 100F slide film. The exposure was f\16 with a shutter speed of 1\90 of a second and a fill flash provided by the ring flash. Correction – The photo on page 3 of the Spring/Summer 2006 issue, showing bighorn sheep amid cars on a roadway, was incorrectly credited. The photograph was taken by Marcel P. Huijser. 14 16 No material appearing in Montana Naturalist may be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the publisher. All contents © 2006 The Montana Natural History Center. 2 MONTANA NATURALIST FALL 2006 tidings 120 Hickory Street Missoula, MT 59801 otice anything different about us? (406) 327-0405 We’ve undergone a gentle face lift [email protected] with a new streamlined logo, www.MontanaNaturalist.org Ndesigned by illustrator Nancy Seiler.
  • 1. Geologic Background

    1. Geologic Background

    Ice Age Floods Study of Alternatives Background section d BACKGROUND 1. Geologic Background n recent geological history, portions of the United States have been the site of several Imassive flooding events caused by the abrupt drainage of glacial lakes. The most dramatic of these are the Ice Age Floods, which covered parts of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. For a better understanding of the Floods, perhaps a good place to start is to first look at the geological and climatic changes that led up to these cataclysmic floods. NPS Photo Today’s travelers to the Northwest are witnesses Generally accepted scientific evidence extinct 65 million years ago, and about to a story that puzzled geologists for years. indicates that the earth is around 4.5 to 20 million years ago, in late Cenozoic 4.6 billion years old. Glaciation can be Era, the Pacific Northwest started to look traced all the way back to the Proterozoic much as it does today, with its Era, approximately 2.3 billion years ago, mountains, valleys, and shorelines. when the earth was covered with ice. Near the end of the Proterozoic Era, Ice Ages have occurred sporadically summary between 850 and 600 million years ago, throughout the earth’s history, although his section presents a brief overview of the rock records indicate another global they represent a relatively small part of TGlacial Lake Missoula Floods story, two of the glaciation period. geologic time. Many of the still visible key people involved with discovering the Floods effects of the great ice sheets that and the glacial lake from which the Floods About 200 million years ago the Atlantic periodically covered parts of North originated, and events that led up to the initiation Ocean began to open up and the America were produced during the last of the Ice Age Floods Alternatives Study.
  • 2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip—Quaternary Geology of the San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, September 7–9, 2007

    2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip—Quaternary Geology of the San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, September 7–9, 2007

    2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip—Quaternary Geology of the San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, September 7–9, 2007 Lake Alamosa and the Great Sand Dunes Open-File Report 2007–1193 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey 2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip— Quaternary Geology of the San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, September 7–9, 2007 By Michael N. Machette, Mary-Margaret Coates, and Margo L. Johnson Open-File Report 2007–1193 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark D. Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2007 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This publication has not been reviewed for stratigraphic nomenclature. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Machette, M.N., Coates, M-M., and Johnson, M.L., 2007, 2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip—Quaternary geology of the San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, September 7–9, 2007: U.S.