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Field Trip Recap
November 1, 2009

Thanks to the 57 folks who joined us on our Sentinel Gap field trip. We enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon along the mighty Columbia River with highs in the 50's, lots of sun, no wind.

We'll look for you in the field next April.










Rock hammer







Ellensburg Chapter
of the Ice Age Floods Institute


Ice Age Floods Sentinel Gap
The Ice Age Floods dumped many erratics along with thousands of basalt boulders below Sentinel Gap. Ellensburg Chapter President Nick Zentner led a field trip to the Sentinel Gap area in early November.

Dear Ice Age Floods Ellenburg folks -

Please mark your calendars. CWU Geography Professor Emeritus George Macinko will present 'The Columbia Basin Project: Expectations, Realizations and Implications' on Wednesday, December 2, 2009. The lecture will be delivered in Hebeler Hall room 121 at 7:00 pm. George has published numerous articles on land use, natural resource conservation, and population issues. Please join us for this special evening focused on a century of human impact in flood country!

The Ellensburg Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute offers evening lectures to the general public in CWU’s Hebeler Hall on the first Wednesday of every other month. In addition, Sunday afternoon field trips are offered to local areas of geologic distinction. The lectures and field trips are attended by a diverse group of people who share a common love for the natural history of central Washington. Rock hounds, bankers, teachers, mechanics, farmers, students, business owners, families, retired folks, etc. enthusiastically support the chapter – which began in February of 2007.

The Ellensburg Chapter emphasizes informality, optional membership dues, and a hearty welcome to anyone interested in the dramatic story of the Ice Age Floods and other geologic tales of central Washington.


A new year means perhaps renewing (or joining for the first time) your Ice Age Floods Institute membership. You can visit this link for more information: IAFI Membership Form

We are grateful for 2008 membership money that has come our way (the Ellensburg Chapter gets half of your membership dollars). Thanks to all who were 2008 members. Treasurers Tuck and Kay Forsythe report that we have roughly $1000 in our Yakima Federal Savings account. We will continue to pay travel costs for our speakers - and perhaps use some money in 2009 for special field trips.

As always, we welcome all who have interest in the Ice Age Floods. Membership is not required! However, if you would like to help support our activities with this local chapter of the IAFI, we would be appreciative.

Chapter meetings are held in Hebeler Hall room 121 (Click for map)





Image by Stev Ominski

November 2009 Sentinel Gap Field Trip
Nick Zentner (CWU)

October 2009 A Brief Overview of teh Geologic Evolution of the Columbia River System
Terry Tolan (USGS)

September 2009 Blewett Pass Field Trip
Karl Lillquist (CWU)

June 2009 Dry Falls Field Trip
Karl Lillquist (CWU)

June 2009 Ice Age Floods in the Cheney Area
Gen Kiver (EWU Emeritus)

April 2009 Drumheller Channels Field Trip
Karl Lillquist (CWU)

April 2009 The Secret Life of Water in the Yakima Basin
Tom Ring (Yakama Nation)

February 2009 Landform Change in Kittitas County
Marty Kaatz (CWU Emeritus)

December 2008 Floods, Floods and Megafloods! Geologic and Climatic Signatures of Paleofloods in the Western U.S.
Lisa Ely (CWU)

November 2008
Potholes Coulee Field Trip
Nick Zentner (CWU)
Potholes Coulee field trip
Potholes Coulee

October 2008 Landscapes of Eastern Washington
Don Ringe (CWU Emeritus)

August 2008
Cooper Lake Field Trip
Karl Lillquist (CWU) and Jack Powell (DNR)
Cooper Lake field trip
Cooper Lake field trip

August 2008
History of CWU Geology Dept. and the Ellensburg Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute.
Nick Zentner (CWU)

June 2008 An Iceberg Graveyard: Ice Age Flood Deposits of the Vantage Area.
Ryan Karlson (WA State Parks)

June 2008
Table Mountain Field Trip
Karl Lillquist (CWU) and Jack Powell (DNR)
Table Mountain Field Trip
Table Mountain
Photo by Nick Zentner

April 2008
Fire, Ice, & Floods: Iceland as a Contemporary Analog for Columbia Plateau Landscapes.
Karl Lillquist (CWU)

April 2008
Crab Creek Field Trip
Nick Zentner (CWU) and Karl Lillquist (CWU)
Sentinel Gap Erratic, Crab Creek field trip.
Sentinel Gap Erratic

Fegruary 2008
The Geologic Evolution of the Columbia River System.
Steve Reidel (WSU)

December 2007
Ice Age Floods Features Wenatchee and Moses Coulee.
Brent Cunderla (BLM)

October 2007
Excavations at the Wenas Creek Mammoth Site.
Patrick Lubinski (CWU)

April 2007
Yakima Canyon Field Trip
Nick Zentner (CWU) Jack Powell (DNR)
Nick Zentner describes Yakima Canyon Geology
Nick Zentner describes Yakima Canyon geology

June 2007
"Geology Exposed by the Ice Age Floods"
Jack Powell (DNR)

April 2007
Vantage and Frenchman Springs Coulee Field Trip
Jack Powell (DNR) and Karl Lillquist (CWU)
Jack Powell explains Frenchman Springs Coulee basalt.
Jack Powell explains Frenchman Springs Coulee basalt

April 2007
Exploring the Ice Age Floods
Bruce Bjornstad (PNNL)

February 2007
NW geology and the Glacial Lake Missoula floods.
Tom Foster (TCF), Nick Zentner (CWU) and Karl Lillquist (CWU)

Ellensburg, Washington sits at a geological crossroads – making it a perfect place to study an intoxicating variety of geology and physical geography. Within an hour’s drive from the CWU campus, students of all ages can learn hands-on lessons of the Columbia River Basalts, Cascades volcanism, Ice Age Floods landforms, plant fossils of the tropical Eocene, Ellensburg blue agates, the Yakima Fold Belt, among other local wonders.


Amazing geology surrounds Ellensburg

Clockwise from the Davidson tower:
  • West Bar giant current ripples-On display downstream from Wenatchee along the Columbia River, these photogenic ripples are well-known among Ice Age Floods experts around the world.
  • Ginkgo State Park-15 million-year-old petrified logs sit on basalt cliffs overlooking the Columbia River near the town of Vantage.
  • Columbia River Basalt-More than 300 basaltic lava flows flooded the Pacific Northwest time after time 7-15 million years ago - burying forests, changing river courses, and loading the crust of the region.
  • St. Helens-Awakening famously on May morning in 1980, the mountain woke again in 2004 building an impressive lava dome tucked inside its crater.
  • Rainier-Many geologists are concerned about Mt. Rainier-related natural hazards that threaten residents of the Puget Sound. Will there be volcanic mudflows flowing down river valleys in our lifetime?
  • Lahars (volcanic mudflows)-of the Ellensburg Formation perch above the Sunset Highway west of Ellensburg near the village of Thorp. Geologists continue to debate which extinct volcano is responsible for these deposits.
  • Central Cascades alpine peaks.(photo shows summit of Mt. Stuart)-93 million-year-old granodiorite dominates the geology of Mount Stuart - one of many peaks of the Central Cascades. Granodiorite forms when magma solidifies underground beneath volcanoes. So what happened to the volcano?

Yakima River Canyon
South of Ellensburg, the Yakima River has maintained its meandering course as the surrounding land uplifted and folded.

Karl Lillquist describes Columbia River Basalt and the Ice Age Floods in Frenchman Coulee.
 The Columbia River Basalt Group, Ice Age Floods and Channeled Scablands are explained by Ellensburg Chapter Vice President Karl Lillquist. With classroom locations such as Frenchman Coulee (left), the material covered during brief field trip lectures is easily understood.


Ellensburg IAFI Chapter President
Hosts Geology Program

"Central Rocks", a geology talk show hosted by CWU Geologist Nick Zentner, has been in production since October of 2006. Broadcast in central Washington on KCWU-TV, the show regularly features faculty and staff at the Department of Geological Sciences at Central Washington University. Special episodes have featured visits from noteworthy regional geologists including Ice Age Floods author Bruce Bjornstad, Tsunami expert Brian Atwater, and Mount Rainier geologist Tom Sisson.

NEW!!! ...Click to visit the "Central Rocks" page. Fifteen shows are available for viewing online.

Nick Zentner interviews geologist/author Bruce Bjornstad.
Nick Zentner interviews geologist/author Bruce Bjornstad


Click above to play CWU video of "Central Rocks" episode featuring Bruce Bjornstad

Ice Age Floods Institute Speakers
Ellensburg Chapter members interact with professionals of various specialties during field trips. A few shown above ... Zentner, Powell, Bjornstad (geologists) - Lillquist (geographer) - Mattocks (Ornithologist) - Smith (Archaeologist).



Ellensburg Ice Age Floods Institute members launch canoes and kayaks to explore Cooper Lake during a recent field trip.

Ellensburg Chapter members (and anyone else that wanted to tag along), launch watercraft to explore the Cooper Lake area. Field trip leaders Karl Lillquist (CWU) and Jack Powell (DNR) described general geology of the eastcentral Cascades, the glacial origins of the lake, impacts of global warming on present glaciers upstream of the lake, and recent modification of the lake by fire, flood, debris flow, and avalanche.



All photos by Tom Foster unless otherwise noted.

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