Death Valley Closed

[Gary Beasley]

I watched a youtube video today by a person in a big 4wd that took the scenic route.
https://youtu.be/Vn4IJFERCRM

[mmerig]

When Lake Bonneville, the giant predecessor of Great Salt Lake, was breached, it created streambed ripples so huge that they are now know as the Palouse hills in eastern Washington. The first geologist who figured that out was called nuts and lost his job for awhile. It was only when observers got way up above in a hot air balloon and observed the conspicuous pattern that his theory was confirmed. My dad would take me as a kid on trips to see the Dry Falls in eastern OR and WA, and other features of those vast catastrophes.

Not quite correct. Lake Bonneville drained down the Portneuf and Snake Rivers in Idaho, and left large boulders in the canyon (and also deepened it).

For the northern Idaho-Washington state area, a lobe of the continental ice sheet that blocked the Clark Fork River would rise up and fail as dammed waters behind it lifted/floated the ice. This flood (more than one actually) created the channeled scablands in eastern Washington. The source of the flood waters was Lake Missoula. I used to live in the Palouse prairie as well as Missoula. The dunes on the Palouse are loess, (wind deposited silt) and are not from the Lake Missoula flood per se (or Lake Bonneville's). Bretz and Pardee worked out this story in the 1920's and 1930's. Bretz noted the erosion, but could not identify the source; Pardee found the source (Lake Missoula). There are still varved lacustrine deposits from Lake Missoula west of the city of Missoula, as well as other evidence. Fluvial deposits from the Missoula floods (the Hanford formation) over many thousands of years were a likely source for the loess, but the Palouse Hills themselves are secondary to the Missoula Lake flood deposits.

There is a lot written about this in the popular literature. Very fascinating.

[xkaes]

With the current state of the Great Salt Lake, I guess you don't have to worry about another flood of the Snake River Plain.

[domaz]

Canada will be fought over someday. It is currently mostly empty and will be a place of refuge when most of the world goes soylent green.

I'm not so sure. People initially thought that about Siberia, but it turns out global warming is opening sinkholes, melting permafrost and is becoming generally more uninhabitable.

[Vaughn]

Dry Falls in central WA is a fun place. Hiking around with the 8x10 in 105+F was interesting -- too hot for any rattlers, anyway.

Branches, with the cliffs of Dry Falls in the background. 4x10 carbon print.

[Drew Wiley]

The trick is how to start a war with Canada. The classic movie, "Canadian Bacon" with John Candy, gave the clue : a dispute over hockey.

[Michael R]

South Park "Blame Canada".

Unfortunately for us, unlike back in the first half of the 20th century, we don't have a significant military anymore, so it wouldn't be much of a war. We're basically reliant on NATO (ie the U.S.) for defense and since it would be the U.S. at war with Russia/China for dominion over Canada's land and resources, there wouldn't be a whole lot for Canadians to do about it.

And I for one welcome our new American overlords...

The trick is how to start a war with Canada. The classic movie, "Canadian Bacon" with John Candy, gave the clue : a dispute over hockey.