On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: The Northern Reaches
A geological field guide to northern Idaho and the Channeled Scabland

by Bruce Bjornstad and Eugene Kiver
Nonfiction.
480 pages,
6" x 9" inches softcover,
400 black-and-white illustrations, maps and photos,
50 color plates, index

ISBN 978-1-879628-39-7
$26

An astonishing landscape, scoured by ancient floods

Ice Age cataclysms violently transformed the Northwest thousands of years ago, leaving behind scores of flood features, many found nowhere else on Earth. The sheer enormity of the Ice Age floods is mind-boggling. The floods helped gouge out Idaho’s largest and deepest lake, Pend Oreille, and sculpted the weird topography of eastern Washington.

Following up on his first volume, On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: A geological field guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin, geologist Bruce Bjornstad joined forces with colleague Eugene Kiver to guide readers upstream – northward into the Channeled Scabland and northern Idaho. The authors explore numerous flood features and present dozens of trails and tours directing readers to experience, firsthand, the striking aftermath of the Ice Age floods.

• Explanations of 19 types of landforms
• Guides to 65 flood-formed features
• Thirty-nine hiking and biking trails

• Five driving tours and two aerial tours

Both volumes of On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods make ideal companions when exploring the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, named one of “The 10 Most Spectacular Geologic Sites” in the continental United States by Smithsonian Magazine.

Illustrated with 400 maps, schematics, photos and illustrations, including 32 pages of color plates, On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods provides a clear, concise and easily useable guide to the remarkable geologic record of the great Ice Age floods.

Praise for On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: The Northern Reaches

This remarkably detailed and authoritative guide leads you by trail, road and aerial tour to discover for yourself the amazing world of cataclysmic flood geology. You cannot get a better-published source for your field excursions into this fascinating region.

–Victor R. Baker, Ph.D., Regents Professor, University of Arizona

After hiking and exploring the Channeled Scabland region for 35 years, I didn’t know what I was missing until I read this book. The authors rock.

–Rich Landers, Outdoors Editor, The Spokesman-Review

“The detail provided here is extremely valuable. As a regular field trip leader in the Channeled Scabland, I lean heavily on these On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods guidebooks. After decades of fieldwork, Bruce and Gene tip us off on the best sites to learn – secret spots until now.”

–Nick Zentner, Senior Lecturer of Geology, Central Washington University

“Together, (Bruce Bjornstad and Gene Kiver) offer a guided tour of significant sites within the northern reaches of the Channeled Scabland, revealing and interpreting the geologic stories.”

–John Soennichsen, author of Bretz’s Flood and Washington’s Channeled Scablands Guide

“An outstanding guide to the flood features of northern Idaho and central Washington, providing trail access information and difficulty; identification of features along the trail, including best observation points, with GPS references; and land manager information and any use restrictions. ... This guide will become the ultimate guidebook for all trail users wanting to explore the Ice Age Floods created landscapes of northern Idaho and central Washington.”

–Bill Fraser, Regional Park Planner, Washington State Parks

“Bruce Bjornstad and Gene Kiver are to be commended for capturing the immense significance and grandeur of these floods and resulting landforms. ... The guidebook is very well-written, easy to understand and supported by extensive illustrations … a great resource for the undergraduate student and researcher, as well as a wider community of those interested in the astonishing story of the Ice Age floods and the spectacular landscape.”

–Karl R. Fecht, retired geologist

About the authors

A resident of Richland, Washington, Bruce Bjornstad is a licensed geologist/hydrogeologist who has studied the Ice Age floods since 1980. Eugene Kiver is professor emeritus of geology at Eastern Washington University and still conducts research. Both are active members of the Ice Age Floods Institute and regularly lecture and lead field trips on the subject.

• Click to read more about this book
• Click to read an introduction
• Click to read reviews
• Table of Contents (.pdf)

Nonfiction. 480 pages, 6" x 9" inches softcover, 400 black-and-white illustrations, maps and photos, 50 color plates, index

ISBN 978-1-879628-39-7
$26
Purchase online at the General Store
Or by phone at 1-800-880-3573