Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail NPS

05/09/2024

In honor of , the National Park Service has launched a new virtual exhibit called "Home and Homelands".

This afternoon, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis joined White House officials, prominent historians, museum leaders, conservation leaders, Members of Congress, and others to highlight the recent Executive Order to strengthen the recognition of women’s history within the National Park Service.

During the event, Secretary Haaland announced that the National Park Service has launched a new women’s history virtual exhibition, “Home and Homelands,” that explores how women have made, claimed, and fought for their homes and shaped American history throughout the Pacific West. The exhibition was made possible, in part, by a Women in Parks grant from the National Park Foundation. Drawing from the museum collections and resources of over 30 national parks, the exhibit helps advance efforts by the National Park Service to tell a more complete account of American history.

Learn more at: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/womenshistory/womenshistoryinthepacificwest.htm

Image: Interior Secretary Haaland, National Park Service (NPS) Director Sams and NPS Advisory Board members celebrate the launch of the White House's Women's History initiative.

U.S. Department of the Interior

03/25/2024

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area and Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail NPS are excited to announce that both official park brochures are available in audio described versions.

Audio description of park brochures provides verbal description of key visual elements including photos, illustrations, and maps, allowing visitors with visual impairments to have a more inclusive experience. This process works to provide everyone equal access to the same content.

Lake Roosevelt's brochure description can be found at https://www.nps.gov/laro/planyourvisit/park-brochure.htm

Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail's brochure description can be found at https://www.nps.gov/iafl/planyourvisit/park-brochure.htm

These brochures and hundreds of other National Park Service audio described brochures are also available on the Unidiscription Project mobile app found in iOS and Android app stores.

The UniDescription Project is a collaboration between the University of Hawaii (UH) School of Communication and Information, UH Center on Disability Studies, and the National Park Service led by Dr. Brett Oppegaard. Their goal is simple and straightforward: Audio Describe the World!

NPS

Image: Two brochures rest on top of each other on worn concrete. Both are rectangular with a black band with white text stretching horizontally over a photo. The top brochure reads "Ice Age Floods" in white letters on the black band with three photos underneath: the first is of a large boulder in a bare field, the second of rolling green hills, and the third of a canyon wall made of reddish rock. The brochure beneath the first is mostly obscured, but the white text on the black band reads "Lake Roosevelt" with some grey and blue from the photo peeking out. They rest on the ground on grey mottled concrete surrounded by spots of lichen, moss, and grass.

01/30/2024

Thinking about visiting Astoria or Lewis and Clark National Historical Park this summer? Maybe you’re planning a weekend getaway in Portland or Vancouver? Did you know you’ll inadvertently be on the trail of cataclysmic floods?

Cape Disappointment marks the place where flood waters thundering down the Columbia River at the end of the last ice age finally dumped into the Pacific Ocean. This water had been released hundreds of miles away in Montana!

But there’s no need to travel hundreds of miles to get even a taste of the Ice Age Floods story. If you're planning a trip anywhere in the Pacific Northwest this year, you (yes, YOU!) might be travelling near an Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail site. It’s , so see what sights are near popular destinations here: nps.gov/iafl/planyourvisit/things2do.htm

Or why not route your summer road trip on our interactive map and see if you’re near any cool viewpoints, visitor centers or hikes: https://www.nps.gov/iafl/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Which site might you check out this year?

NPS

Image: A tan building with large windows sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking still water. Tall green conifer trees and shrubs cover the tops of the cliffs, with patches of bare grass visible below the trees, and exposed grey rock below that. In the foreground, a bare grassy knoll transitions into a berm covered in ferns and drops off beyond. In the distance stretches a far shoreline with green trees and shrubs. The sky is blue with a thin blanket of wispy white clouds. In the bottom right corner a brown box with white text reads: “Did you know?”

07/20/2023

This Saturday (7/22) rangers will be at the second annual Floodfest at Dry Falls State Park in Washington State!

Stop by to learn about all things Ice Age Floods! We’ll have our mobile visitor center out, alongside staff and volunteers from multiple state and federal agencies, as well as tribal members, historians, and archeologists.

Floodfest will take place at the Dry Falls Visitor Center from 10 am-3 pm, with additional evening programs from 8:30 pm-9:30 pm in the Sun Lakes-Dry Falls amphitheater.

NPS; WSP



Image 1: Two rangers in uniform sit at a long table covered by a green tablecloth. A smiling person in an orange shirt and jean shorts looks at booklets and brochures on the table. They are under a shade shelter and behind them are stand-up displays, a white truck, and a rock gazebo. Image 2: A poster with a white background and blue waves at the bottom. Text reads: “Floodfest Saturday July 22, 2023 10am-3pm. Dry Falls Visitor Center 35661 Hwy 17 North Coulee City, WA.”

03/24/2023

Why are we so excited here at ? Spring has sprung AND we’re going to be at the 25th Annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival this weekend!

The festival runs today, 3/24, through Sunday, 3/26, in Othello, WA. Our rangers will have our mobile visitor center set-up all day on Saturday. Look for us in the parking lot of the Othello Nazarene Church at 835 S 10th Ave, alongside a whole bunch of other cool vendors.

There’s lots more to see, with a variety of lectures, tours, and hikes over the weekend! For more information or to purchase tickets, please see the festival’s website: www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/.

Image: A park ranger sits under a blue canopy and behind a table with a green tablecloth reading “Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.” She holds her hat and hand out excitedly. In the background is a brightly colored trailer with an open door, cars in a parking lot, and trees.

03/03/2023

Is the aurora borealis heavy? No, it's pretty light.

Some locations along the were recently treated to a magnificent showing of the aurora borealis, or northern lights. Check out this view over Steamboat Rock State Park in eastern Washington!

Steamboat Rock is a prominent flood feature. It is over 1-mile long, 2/3 mile wide, and towers 800 feet over the lake below. The basalt-topped butte is situated in the middle of the coulee, almost completely surrounded by water. It was left behind as the Ice Age floods eroded away the surrounding rock. If you want to explore this distinct landmark, Steamboat Rock is part of Washington State Parks, and there are trails you can hike to reach the top of it!

Did anyone else catch this most recent northern lights show?

© Emilee Franklin

Image: Northern lights appear in shimmering bands and curtains in shades of green, pink, and purple. Underneath the north lights stretches a butte of dark rock. In the foreground is a tan field.

02/14/2023

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year wants to send some love to our National Park Service valentine: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve!

They are located in the southern part of West Virginia. You may think of this pairing as a long-distance relationship, and to be honest, although our love for each other is true, it has been a little erratic and rocky! Don’t fret or fault, this is the nature of our parks. We have a mammoth amount of things in common, including a landscape shaped by the most recent ice age.

Other things in common include:
🧊Past glacial ice dams that rerouted water and formed large prehistoric lakes
🌊Plenty of fast moving water...a past flood and a current river!
📸Endless photo opportunities

A few other neat facts about New River Gorge:
🧗It is considered one of the premier destinations east of the Mississippi river for both whitewater rafting and as well as rock climbing.
🌳The park is large with lots to explore—over 70,000 acres of land along the New River!
🤠They have four different visitor centers to visit.

So we just want to say this: New River Gorge, our love flows for you. If you think our valentine is as gorge-ous as we do check them out for yourself!

NPS; © Louise McLaughlin

Image Description: A red square valentine’s day card, with multiple hearts. One heart has an image of a misty, forested river valley, another heart is pink with the text “You Rock.” The last heart is red with the text “Like lava and gigantic floods, our love flows for you.” A light pink square gift tag is in the right bottom corner with black text that reads, “To New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, From: Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail.”

02/08/2023

The story of the Channeled Scabland is one of both ice and fire. 🧊🔥

It’s across the National Park Service! 🌋While the cuts across many diverse landscapes, the story of the distinct Channeled Scabland region is one that can’t be told without lava!

Before floodwaters raced across eastern Washington, carving the channels and wide coulees we know today, a canvas of rock had to exist first. This canvas was made out of a volcanic rock—and one that was well travelled! 17 million years ago cracks appeared in the earth near the present-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho border. Out of these cracks poured lava that flooded the land and consumed everything in its path. Over 350 individual lava flows covered the region over a period of 11 million years. This type of eruption is not as rare as it looks—similar formations can be found in the Amazon, India, Siberia, and even on the moon!

But the scablands aren’t the only volcanic region the trail passes through. Can anyone name another, more well-known chain of volcanoes that the trail cuts across?



NPS

Image: A cliff of layered dark rock is viewed through a rocky cave opening. A small lake sits at the base of the cliff and white clouds float in a light blue sky.

01/27/2023

Our mobile visitor center with exhibits on the Ice Age Floods (and Lake Roosevelt!) will be at the Spokane Boat Show this weekend. Feel free to stop by!

Can you guess the park’s most popular recreational activity? Boating! 🚤

So we decided to bring the lake to the boaters! Come explore the mobile visitor center at the Spokane Boat Show this weekend. We’ll be at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! 🤠

NPS

Image: Two rangers pose with a colorful trailer parked inside a convention center. One uniformed park ranger, with long blonde hair and big smile, gestures towards another uniformed ranger, with long brunette hair and big smile, who stands inside the trailer, waving and peeking through the door. Next to the trailer door is a stand-up banner reading “Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!” with a cartoon image of a river with informational blurbs. Black carpet lines the ground in front of the trailer. Behind the lowered back door of the trailer, people stand next to a green table and wooden counter in front of a windowed wall.

11/07/2022

Check out this Spokesman-Review column about the Ice Age Floods and learning to look at landscapes with different perspectives.

I have always loved the ocean.