Lake Missoula

The Lake Missoula is a prehistoric lake, the sudden emptying after breaking of ice dams multiply the area formed in the northwest of present-day United States.

The Lake Missoula formed as a giant glacier lake, as a of advancing glacier dammed the Clark Fork. As a result, a lake with a spread of 7,700 square kilometers and a water depth of up to 610 meters resembled an inland sea was formed. About 15,000 years ago the ice dam, which dammed the water for the first time broke. Within a few hours, emptied the lake and spilled out at a speed of up to 105 km / h over the present-day Idaho, Washington ( Channeled Scablands ) and Oregon away to this Portland. This process was repeated after guesses of scientists 13,000 and 15,000 years ago over two millennia, about 40 times, each with about 55 years long intervals, where the Lake Missoula auffüllte again.

Thus, the landscape of Idaho, Washington and Oregon was largely formed. Even today, the traces of this eruption like Seeentleerungen are visible, leaving a scarred landscape with significant gravel deposits in its impact.