Customer Reviews

Cataclysms on the Columbia (Scenic Trips to the)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd like to give this book a higher rating, but I can't. Great subject, should be brought to the attention of everyone even vaguely interested in the forces that shape our landscapes, and a fascinating account of the Bretz "saga". Like Wegener, Bretz was ridiculed in his time for his outlandish theories; unlike Wegener, he lived long enough to see his theories dramatically confirmed. On a recent trip to the US I had the opportunity to drive across WA, ID, and MT, and was entranced by the coulees, Dry Falls, the scablands, and the stranded lake shores above Missoula.

So what's my gripe? Simply that, while the authors have done a commendable job of making the whole story accessible to lay readers, they haven't really done their subject the treatment it so richly deserves. The writing (shared by three authors) is uneven, tends to be repetitious, and would have benefited from tighter editing. The chapters describing Bretz and his battles with the geological establishment are the best and most readable; those describing the details of the post-flood geomorphology (sensibly ordered from Lake Missoula to the sea) are more ponderous. The photos are also a big disappointment - I would happily have paid extra for a book with up to date and well-produced colour photos, rather than the grainy monochromes which have been used throughout. Buy the book, marvel at the story, and imagine what it would have been like to watch the floods from a secure piece of high ground, but keep your eyes open for the day when the authors (or someone else) produce a livelier and more readable update.

This fascinating book, written in language easily understood by non-geologist, yet full of scientific facts that a geologist can appreciate reads like a detective story; describing in detail how the geologic history and formation of the Columbia River was finally understood. It can be used as a road guide and has many maps and photographs showing exact locations of features discussed in the book. A MUST READ FOR ANYONE TRAVELING THROUGH THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE IN OREGON!

This book is one that has provided geologist with many of the keys and clues that are presently being used to understand the large flood features seen on Mars.

I've lived in the Walla Walla River Basin for a little over a year. After reading this book, the surrounding area became more alive. This book tells of fascinating events that took place several thousand years ago that created many of the local landmarks. It makes my travels more interesting and personal as I recognize features described in this book. If your a highly educated geologists searching for some real meat, this book is not for you. For the rest of us, this book is written in easy to understand terms. If you live in the Northwest, it's a must read.

Picked up this book in a book store because I though it looked good. It was. I have to admit that I was already in the thrall of the scablands of eastern Washington but this book really brought it together. There is an interesting biographical drama as a separate story. The basin by basin description of the columbia valley that follows can be skipped over, used as a tour guide, or cherry picked. Or, like me, you can read every page. First go see the dry falls and the excellent interpretive center there with its satellite photographs and topographic maps. Then read this book and marvel at what Harlan Bretz was able see from eye level. You will never look at Eastern Washinton the same way again. A steal at ten bucks!

This is the story of the largest floods ever described by modern science (they happened about 40 times, between 15,000 and 12,800 years ago) originating from an ice-impounded lake in Montana that formed when a glacial lobe blocked the west end of the Clark Fork River. The lake covered thousands of square miles and impounded about 500 cubic miles of water. As the water in the lake rose, it eventually got high enough to float the ice dam, breaking it and unleashing hundreds of cubic miles of water that rushed out through eastern Washington creating what we call the channeled scablands.

The flow was enormous. It left giant ripple marks that are clearly visible from the air, but hard to discern from the ground. It left gravel beds sloping upstream in tributary rivers on the Columbia. It tore out chucks of rock and stripped away loess. It carved interlinking channels, waterfalls, and deep canyons - all of which can be seen today, and which are particularly striking when viewed from the air, or space.

The book is filled with photographs and maps showing the evidence for the flood, but older folk (like me) may need a magnifying glass to make them out.

The book's written in several parts. Parts 1 and II, written by Marjorie Burns, consist of introductory material with historical background about Bretz, his early field work, and his effort to construct a complete and coherent theory of the Ice Age floods. Part III was written mostly by John Allen, who presents some of the scientific detail that describes and supports the Bretz Flood theory. Part IV, also by Allen, follows a typical flood from the point of failure in the ice dam until it emptied into the Pacific Ocean.

Allen's sections are my favorites. I also enjoyed much of what Burns wrote, except for her frequent personal attacks against early skeptics who rejected Bretz's initial hypothesis. Burns leaves the reader with the impression that skepticism is bad, and that early scientists should have rushed to embrace Bretz's hypothesis before all the evidence, especially the source of the flood, had been discovered

For example, on page 52 Burns quotes Meinzer, who said (in 1927)

"Before a theory that requires a seemingly impossible quantity of water is fully accepted, every effort should be made to account for the existing features without employing so violent an assumption."

This seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to say, particularly since Bretz, in spite of the evidence for a massive flood, had been unable to identify the source of the water. Burns, though, calls Meinzer's comment a "splendidly revealing passage," and "remarkably close to overt hostility."

When Bretz presented his hypothesis in 1927 he didn't know the source of the flood, and without being able to point to a clear source, he knew his hypothesis was lacking. W.C. Alden responded to Bretz' hypothesis by suggesting the need for more research; again, this seems like a perfectly reasonable response. But Burns taunts Alden's position by mentioning other geologists who said "Cautious" was Alden's middle name. And, with dripping sarcasm, she quotes Alden as having used phrases like "it would seem," "perhaps," and "not yet well enough understood."

Burns lambastes skeptical and/or cautious scientists who disagreed with Bretz. She describes them as closed minded, unwilling to accept new ideas, and stuck in their ways. She describes Bretz's hypothesis as an "unthinkable heresy," while twisting legitimate scientific caution into claims of "overt hostility." Yet, when Bretz exhibited similar caution she lauds it as a high "standard." Consider this quote from page 58:

"By 1932 Bretz was again saying `the cause of the flood is not yet known.' He had, at this point, virtually finished his field research on the Channeled Scablands, and in his final studies he mostly ignored the Lake Missoula possibility. It was an intriguing hypothesis but too questionable to meet Bretz's standards."

Burns seems to have a genuine grudge against skeptics in the scientific community. For example, on page 72 she complains that Wegener's "theory" leading to "plate tectonics" was "maligned." The problem is that Wegner didn't have a theory; he had a hypothesis based on incomplete data, with an incorrectly proposed mechanism for how the continents moved. In retrospect, his larger hypothesis (like Bretz's) proved correct, but it wasn't a scientific theory until it was completed with a verifiable mechanism for continental drift - something that's part of the theory of plate tectonics. The fact that hypotheses such as Wegner's are/were debated is a necessary and healthy part of the way science works, and yet Burns castigates those critics who later turned out to be wrong - as if they should have been "believers' without all the evidence.

Bretz should be highly regarded for correctly hypothesizing (on the basis of a huge amount of original field work, I might add) that the scablands were created by a great flood. But in spite of the many evidences he presented, he couldn't explain where the water came from, and how it was unleashed. Without that key bit of evidence he didn't have a scientific theory; he had a scientific hypothesis that was still under intense investigation. The scientific community did pretty much what it should have done; they went out and found the source of the flood.

It was Pardee, who did it with his description of humungous ripple marks in Lake Missoula in 1942. With the source of the flood identified, Bretz's hypothesis was quickly accepted. While Burns sees the episode as a sham, I see it as one of the best examples of why and how science works so well.

Once you get through Burns' personal attacks on Bretz's critics, the book becomes a pleasure to read. It is one of the best scientific descriptions of the Bretz floods and has some very helpful references. In spite of Parts 1 and II, the rest of the book makes it definitely worth reading.

In the early twentieth century, J. Harlen Bretz was a geologist who walked around what were believed to be glacial formations carved through mountains and valleys in the states of Oregon and Washington. He took detailed notes and observed rock patterns from Spokane to Portland, Oregon...and came to the conclusion that a huge prehistoric flood created the canyon called the Scablands. This was completely at odds with the beliefs of established geologists of the time, and he knew this, but he stood up for truth anyway. This book proves to be not only a scientific study but also a riveting drama.

Most Geology books put the casual observer to sleep before even reading them. This book covers an area so vast and one that had such a dynamic impact across states that it keeps you awake just thinking about what took place.

Great reading....and not at all hard to understand. Read it slowly, as it contains a lot of information. A map of the area would help as you are reading the text.

Contrary to the "editorial review" [see above], Bretz WAS alive to be vindicated!!

Please see this link: [...]

"By the mid-1950s Bretz's interpretations could no longer be ignored. Increasingly, geologists decided to visit the scablands region to see for themselves. Astonished by the sheer magnitude of the flood features at places such as Palouse Falls, Wash., long-time critic James Gilluly commented: 'How could anyone have been so wrong.' The report of a 1965 geologists' tour concluded that Bretz had been right."

and:

"In 1979 Bretz was awarded the Penrose Medal of the Geological Society of America, the most prestigious award in the field of geology. He was 96 years old at the time. After receiving the award, he reportedly told his son: 'All my enemies are dead, so I have no one to gloat over.' Bretz died in 1981."

I found this a fascinating book. It would be a significant improvements if the photos had arrows noting the features noted in the photo title blocks. It would similarly be a significant improvement if the geological terms were defined in a glossary.