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Columbia River: Geology Drama EarthCache

Hidden : 4/5/2010
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Rules of Earthcache

Email the answers to me. DON'T POST IN YOUR LOG OR IT WILL BE DELETED.

1. How deep was the water in the Wenatchee Valley during the ice age flood?
2. How many feet below this earthcache was the water's edge?
3.The flood waters reached the base of what local rock formation?
4. What is the name of the cresent bar located under East Wenatchee?
5. To your log attach photo of valley and Columbia River.


First volcanos, then the ice age shaped this area of our state. During the Ice Age large portions of Canada and the Northern United States were blanketed by the Continental Ice Sheet. East of the Cascade Range, the Okanogan Lobe extended southward as a broad lobe that dammed the Columbia River to form Glacial Lake Columbia. Lake Columbia's overflow -- the diverted Columbia River -- occupied Grand Coulee between Ice Age Floods events.

Periodically, the ice dam would fail. These failures were often catastrophic, resulting in a large flood of ice- and dirt-filled water that would rush down the Columbia River. This towering mass of water and ice literally shook the ground as it thundered towards the Pacific Ocean, stripping away thick soils and cutting deep canyons in the underlying bedrock. With flood waters roaring across the landscape at speeds approaching 65 miles per hour, the lake would have drained in as little as 48 hours. Many of the distinguishing features of the Ice Age Floods remain throughout our region today

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

[all answers are on the signs at coordinates]

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)