
Cataclysms on the Columbia tells two stories. One follows geological research that challenged the scientific paradigm of the early 20th century, and the other chronicles the result of that research: the discovery of powerful prehistoric floods that shaped the Pacific Northwest...


The formation of the Grand Coulee remained a mystery for many years, until J Harlen Bretz proved that the Columbia River basin was the site of huge floods 15,000 years ago that created the landscape we see today.