The Channeled Scablands | The Institute for Creation Research

The Channeled Scablands

Perhaps the most well-known triumph of catastrophic thinking over strict uniformity is that of Dr. J. Harlen Bretz and the “channeled scablands.” Beginning in the 1920s, Bretz studied the deep gorges of eastern Washington. He noted they were cut into hard basaltic rock and oriented in the same general direction. Small streams entering the gorges cascade over essentially dry waterfalls, accomplishing virtually no erosion.

Standard thinking insisted that moving water operating over long ages was the only agent known that could so deeply erode through hard rock. But responding to the data, Bretz felt that an unknown high-energy event of the past must have been responsible. Great boulders had also been tossed about and now lie in boulder fields and gravel bars. For decades, Bretz presented his findings and his conviction that a single but mysterious great volume of water had devastated this area rapidly. But how?

He speculated that the “scablands” must have resulted from a huge flood—not the biblical Flood (shudder), but one of biblical proportions. Eventually, evidence of a now empty lake comparable in size to today’s Lake Michigan was discovered near Missoula, Montana. An unusual deposit consisting of extensive glacial lake sediments confirmed that a huge lake had been at this spot during the Ice Age. Somehow the lake had drained away.

Bretz proposed that an enclosing dam of ice or glacial moraine had catastrophically failed, releasing torrents of water that flooded across Idaho and eastern Washington. It eroded the hard rock in its path and left deep canyons reminiscent of Grand Canyon, along with immense gravel ripples and boulder fields strewn across the landscape. When the waters were forced to temporarily pond behind ridges, they deposited extensive sedimentary layers of recently eroded material and then made their way quickly to the Pacific Ocean. Now the water is gone, with meager streams and “dry falls” entering the canyons—or “coulees,” as they are known—testifying to greater water volumes in the past.

Nothing like this happens today. No modern day “uniformitarian” counterpart can be observed on such a regional scale. Erosion happens, but it usually isn’t observed carving deeply into solid rock. However, scientists have discovered that water flowing over a rock surface at a rapid rate can erode even hard rock in a short amount of time. Water molecules moving quickly over rough surfaces form vacuum bubbles that actually “implode” with great force and fracture the adjacent rock, thereby accelerating erosion (a process called cavitation).

By 1960, Bretz had won the day and convinced geologists that, at least on this occasion, catastrophic processes had ruled. If this much damage resulted from a large but local failed lake flowing over a corner of the continent, what damage could be expected from the great Flood of Noah’s day?

Image credit: John Morris

* Dr. Morris is President of the Institute for Creation Research.

Cite this article: Morris, J. 2011. The Channeled Scablands. Acts & Facts. 40 (10): 15.

The Latest
NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...