The White Bluffs at Hanford Reach - Columbia River Free Flowing Stretch
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2013
- 2 Minute Geology visits the White Bluffs just north of Richland, WA on the Hanford Reach National Monument. The last free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River.
The White Bluffs are on the east side of the river. Three hundred feet of soft, sedimentary layers. And another two hundred feet of that sediment below river level. And below that, more than two miles of lava rock, the Columbia River Basalt flows.
On the other side of the river here is the Hanford Site. Back in 1943, restricted due to the top-secret Manhattan Project. Since 2000, this side of the river has been opened up and available for recreation. Here, on this side of the river, the White Bluffs are composed of the Ringold Formation. A series of sedimentary layers deposited between eight and three million years ago. This is back during a time when the ancestral Snake and Columbia Rivers were bringing sediment into this area. Sluggish streams eventually becoming broad lake deposits. And there's a rich fossil record in Ringold Formation. Prehistoric animals including horses and camel.
But, there is a small section of the White Bluffs that looks very different. These sediments are rhythmically deposited. They're Ice Age flood deposits that were deposited in a pre-existing channel that was cut into the Ringold. This is Lake Lewis time during the Ice Age floods. Just a few thousand years ago. Not millions of years ago.
On the surface of the White Bluffs, you'd probably be surprised at how many exotic rocks are littering the surface. Those are ice-rafted erratics. Even more evidence of the Ice Age floods sweeping down into Lake Lewis which existed in the Pasco Basin.
Visit the HUGEfloods.com CZcams Channel for more "Geology Videos": / hugefloods
Thank you nick!
You’re so cool, Nick.
Hi Nick - do you have any insight into waterfalls that once flowed in the Wahluke Slope and/or through the White Bluffs? I am looking for a connection between waterfalls and White Bluffs/Ringold Formation - any insight?
Kelsey Henry Thanks for the questions, Kelsey. The Ringold Formation is pre-Ice Age with no waterfall evidence to my knowledge. The White Bluff exposures tell us a low-energy lake scene with plenty of fossils preserved. Much of the Ringold was eroded away during the Ice Age due to high energy floods...plus uplift along folds and faults of the Yakima Fold Belt.
***** Thanks so much for responding Nick. Do you have any history on waterfalls in the Wahluke Slope - I believe there were seven of them known as Priest Rapids. Wondering if there's any connection between these waterfalls and their impact on the geology in the Wahluke Slope. Any insight? You seem to be an expert in this field/area. Look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks!
Okay, I think this answers my question I posted on your other video. The basalts came first, and then the floods?
Yes, I think the basalts are 40 to 15 million years old, whereas the floods are much more recent, from the last ice age, around 10 to 20 thousand years ago.
It's difficult to find more information regarding the ancient camels...google search wants to give results for the US army camels.
I'm only able to find camel toes
How do I get there?
Google Maps.
Nick Zentner can u send me coordinates I'm new to the area?!
Highway 24 about 20 miles southwest of Othello. It's out in the middle of nowhere, but all good road. It's an great hike with sand dunes and amazing views of the nuclear reservation - 2-3 miles each way - out and back trail. Totally worth the drive, but really hot in the summer.
Millions of years? Not. But wonderful little video with style. I wonder if he got any radiation contamination?
Still have my hair, vistacruiser70s!
why not? the mountain range there formed over 30 million years ago, the flood basalts happened 15-12 million years ago, and the ice age did not start untill 2.2 million years ago. this fits into the time scale.