Random Stories

By Samantha Foster
Though the landscape here is dry and dusty, beneath you is an amazingly extensive aquifer system. Where did it come from? A very long time ago, around 6 to 16 million years ago, the Columbia Basin was catastrophically filled by numerous basalt flows…

By Rachel Hill
At first glance it may not appear that the remote farming town of Starbuck, Washington, contains much geology. However, the unique slackwater deposits of the Tucannon Valley are perfectly exposed on the western side of town. The most notable feature…

By Cassandra Hennings
The same violent glacial floods which carved out the channeled scablands in eastern Washington helped to form the Devil’s Canyon coulee.  North of Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake River, Devil’s Canyon linearly extends five miles toward the town of…

By M. Christopher Jenkins
Standing at the overlook of Palouse Falls, visitors can see that the basaltic rocks that make up the canyon have some sort of story to tell. These black rocks are part of the continental flood basalt province known as the Columbia River Basalt Group…

By Angel L. Rios
Only a few brick building remain to recall what was once a prosperous commercial district in Starbuck. One red brick building that still stands has a painted sign on its brick front, informing passersby that it was once home to the Starbuck Drug…

By Ethan Ducken
Among the many geological wonders spread across Washington State lies a region whose morphology played a particularly significant role during one of the planets most cataclysmic floods; the Wallula Gap. Heading southeast through the Pasco Basin leads…

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Ice Age Floods Explorer

Ice Age Floods Explorer is a web and mobile platform for telling stories of the Missoula Floods and is an ongoing endevour focusing on student research. Ice Age Floods Explorer is a project of the Public History program and Department of Geology at Eastern Washington University. Most of the stories were created by EWU students. Co-editors are Drs. Chad Pritchard, Larry Cebula, and Paul Lindholdt from Eastern Washington University. Dr. Chad Pritchard is an Assistant Professor in the Geology Department. Dr. Larry Cebula is Editor of Spokane Historical. He is a Professor of History at Eastern Washington University and the Assistant Digital Archivist for the State of Washington. Dr. Paul Lindholdt is a Professor or English. Assistant Edit... Read more About Us