NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark

Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark showcases the Drumheller Channels, which are the most significant example in the Columbia Plateau of basalt butte-and-basin channeled scablands. This National Natural Landmark is an extensively eroded landscape, located in south central Washington state characterized by hundreds of isolated, steep-sided hills (buttes) surrounded by a braided network of numerous channels, all but one of which are currently dry. It is a classic example of the tremendous erosive powers of extremely large floods such as those that reformed the Columbia Plateau volcanic terrain during the late Pleistocene glacial Missoula Floods.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] DrumHeller Channels; East edge of the Royal Slope in the Columbia Valley south of the Pot Holes Resviour by 10 miles; the lake I believe is Black Lake. ... DrumHeller Channels; East edge of the Royal Slope in the Columbia Valley south of the Pot Holes Resviour by 10 miles; the lake I believe is Black Lake. ... The Washington towns of Spokane, Vantage, Yakima and Pasco, and the Oregon town of Pendleton, lie on the Columbia River Plateau. ... DrumHeller Channels The Channeled Scablands are unique geological erosion features in the U.S. state of Washington. ... Caverns of Sonora National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmark (NNL) program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the United States natural history. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area Ranked 18th - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 kmÂ²) - Width 240 miles (385 km) - Length 360 miles (580 km) - % water 6. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ... Glacial Lake Columbia (west) and Glacial Lake Missoula (east) are shown south of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. ...

In 1986, the U.S. National Park Service recognized the significance and natural beauty of Drumheller Channels by designating them a National Natural Landmark. The geologist who initially recognized and documented the evidence for the Ice-Age floods, J Harlen Bretz, wrote: Caverns of Sonora National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmark (NNL) program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the United States natural history. ...

Drumheller Channels connects the Quincy Basin, which lies to north, with the Othello Basin on the south. It can be reached most easily from Othello, Washington approximately 8 km (5 miles) northwest on McManamon Road, then north on Morgan Lake Road which passes through the Drumheller Channels region). The north/south Morgan Lake Road (gravel) passes through the heart of the channels following Crab Creek. Hikes can be taken, including an improved on from the wetlands along Crab Creek to the views from an isolated butte allow the hiker to gain a sense of this unique landscape. The Drumheller Channels can also be seen from the paved Washington State Highway 262 which runs to the north of the area along the top of the Potholes Reservoir dam (which has inundated part of the scablands) and from the west side from the heights of the Frenchman Hills.^[4]

Coordinates for the Drumheller channel area are: 46°58′30″N, 119°11′47″W

Route of the ancient Columbia River

The Okanogan lobe of the Cordilleran Glacier moved down the Okanogan River valley and blocked the ancient route of the Columbia River, backing up water to create Lake Spokane. Initially water discharged from Lake Spokane by running up through the head of Grand Coulee and down through Foster Coulee to rejoin the Columbia River. As the glacier moved further south, Foster Coulee was cut off and the Columbia River then discharged through Moses Coulee, which runs southward slightly to the east of the ancient and current course of the Columbia. As the Okanogan lobe grew, it blocked Moses Coulee as well; the Columbia found the next lowest route through the region which was eroded to become the modern Grand Coulee. Flowing across the current Grand Coulee & Dry Falls regions, the ice age Columbia then entered the Quincey Basin & joined Crab Creek, following Crab Creek’s course southward past the Frenchman Hills and turning west to run along the north face of the Saddle Mountains & rejoin the previous and modern course of the Columbia River just above the main water gap in the Saddle Mountains, Sentinel Gap.^[4] The Cordilleran ice sheet was a major ice sheet that covered, during glacial periods of the Quaternary, a large area of North America. ... The Okanogan River (called the Okanagan River in its upper reaches in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia in Canada and north central Washington in the United States. ... The Grand Coulee The Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. ...

Formation of the Drumheller Channels

The Missoula Floods discharged into Lake Spokane, through the Grand Coulee, greatly enlarging it, passed over Dry Falls and then ponded in and inundated the Quincy Basin, covering over 1500 km² (585 mi²) and creating the Ephrata Fan (a deposit of boulders, cobbles, and pebbles where the flood waters discharged into the basin). The discharge volume was so great that water overflowed Lake Spokane in multiple places & also reached the Quincy Basin via the Telford-Crab Creek scablands and Lind Coulee (both entering the basin from the east). When floodwaters encountered the Frenchman Hills, their level was high enough that, although the bulk of the water passed through the Crab Creek drainage, some water spilled west over the low points of three divides along Evergreen and Babcock ridges to reach the Columbia river channel at Frenchman Coulee to the southwest, Potholes Coulee to the north central and Crater Coulee to the northwest. The bulk of the floodwaters took the easiest path, straight south through the Drumheller Channels stretch of Crab Creek.^[5]^[4] Glacial Lake Columbia (west) and Glacial Lake Missoula (east) are shown south of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. ... The Grand Coulee The Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. ... In Central Washington at the opposite side of the Grand Coulee from the Columbia River resides a three and a half mile crescent shaped precipice known as Dry Falls. ...

The elevation drop of the floodwaters as they passed through the Drumheller Channels was greater than 50 meters (160 feet) over a distance of 20 km (12 miles) with gradiants locally ranging from 2-12 m/km). This hydraulic head combined with a flow depth of from 60 to 120 meters (200 - 400 feet) provided the energy to achieve flood flow velocities as high as 30 m/sec (65 mph), which eroded the topsoil and underlying basalt, gouging the complex network of channels, basins, potholes and buttes that are found there even today. Examples of scabland features, such as large kolk-excavated potholes provide evidence of the tremendous powers of the floods.^[5] A kolk (also known as colc) is an underwater vortex that is created when rapidly rushing water passes underwater obstacle in boundary areas of high shear. ...

There is a unique character to the Drumheller Channels; unlike most other Channeled Scabland zones, no single centralized channel or major cataracts were formed. In the Drumheller Channels the floodwaters passing through in a broad cascade of 13 - 20 km (8 to 12 miles) in width. Bretz recorded 150 distinct channels and over 180 rock basins in this region. Many of the low areas, including Upper Goose Lake, are filled by water seeping in through cracks in the basalt bedrock, which are connected with Potholes Reservoir to the north.^[5]

Impacts of early settlement

The impact of settlement was severe; overgrazing by depleted most of the few native grasses in the 1860s and the area become of limited value. Government surveys of the 1880s identified much of the region as badlands. ^[6]

Bureau of Reclamation actions

In 1934, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation initiated construction on the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River about 100 miles north of the Drumheller Channels. Grand Coulee was only one part of the Columbia Basin Project, which included four major storage reservoirs, hundreds of pumping plants, 2,300 miles of canals and laterals to irrigate the region. Irrigation began in 1951, raising the water table. By 1980, when the last stage of the project was completed, the acreage of wetlands in the Columbia Basin was at least 20 times larger than it had been earlier as a result of seepage and a raised water table. Migrating waterfowl were drawn to the region by the water and by greatly increased food supplies from the adjacent farmlands. ^[7] The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Formerly the United States Reclamation Service) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees water development projects in the western United States. ... Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington, built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. ... The Columbia Basin Irrigation Project The Columbia Basin Project is an irrigation project Central Washington State, USA. It provides water for over 600,000 acres (2,400 km of agriculture. ...

Columbia National Wildlife Refuge

The Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is collocated with the Drumheller Channels. Adjacent areas are included in the Seep Lakes State Wildlife Refuge. More than 200 species of mammals and birds can be found in the cliffs, marshes, grasslands, lakes, seeps, and other riparian areas. ^[4]^[8]

External links

References

Exploring Ice Age Floods in the Pacific Northwest

| Glacial Lake Missoula | Missoula Floods | Channeled scablands | Grand Coulee | Dry Falls | Drumheller Channels | Columbia River Plateau | Wallula Gap | Touchet Formation | Lake Lewis | Columbia River Gorge | Columbia River Basalt Group | Palouse Falls | Sims Corner Eskers and Kames | Moses Coulee | Withrow Moraine The Pacific Northwest from space This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the US. For the US only region, see Northwestern United States The Pacific Northwest (abbreviated PNW, or PacNW) or Cascadia is a region in the northwest of North America. ... Glacial Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. ... Glacial Lake Columbia (west) and Glacial Lake Missoula (east) are shown south of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. ... DrumHeller Channels The Channeled Scablands are unique geological erosion features in the U.S. state of Washington. ... The Grand Coulee The Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. ... In Central Washington at the opposite side of the Grand Coulee from the Columbia River resides a three and a half mile crescent shaped precipice known as Dry Falls. ... The Washington towns of Spokane, Vantage, Yakima and Pasco, and the Oregon town of Pendleton, lie on the Columbia River Plateau. ... The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ... The Columbia River Basalt Group encompasses portions of 3 states. ... A Glacial erratic called Yeager Rock, Waterville Plateau, Washington, USA The Sims Corner Eskers and Kames National Natural Landmark includes excellent examples of Pleistocene ice stagnation landforms including numerous Glacial erratics terminal moraines, eskers and kames. ... The Withrow Moraine erratic on glacial till at the terminus of the Okanogan lobe. ...