Lake Missoula Circle Route

Some of the features found in this area are thought to be the result of normal geologic processes of lakes, such as wave action on a beach or seasonal deposition of sediments.  Others were caused by the force of water as it raced downstream but was still largely constrained by the resistance of mountains of very hard metamorphic rock that lined the river valleys and the comparative lack of soil.
 
Major ice age floods features can be viewed by driving a Circle Route from Missoula.  These features include erratics, strandlines or shorelines, rhythmites, giant ripples or current dunes, high eddy gulch fill, kolks, and a lake.   A map and guide to those features is available in our brochure and can be printed or downloaded.

That map also includes several additional significant Other Points of Interest on or close to the Circle Route which can be visited to enhance your tour.  Exhibits that interpret the geologic history and impact of the floods in this area are located at the Montana Natural History Center in Missoula, Paradise Center, and the Bison Range.  Directions to the interpretive sites and the additional flood features sites can be viewed or downloaded here.
 
The entire printed brochure is available at many of the featured locations or by email request or on the IAFI website.

Video Links
Echoes on the Land by Inspired Classroom 
Lake Missoula by Nick Zentner and Tom Foster
Camas Prairie Ripples by Bruce Bjornstad

Follow the Flood Path 

Many of the most dramatic features created by the ice age floods were created by the sudden outburst of walls of water released when the ice dam failed.  These features have been combined with those found in the Glacial Lake Missoula area to create an officially recognized National Geologic Trail managed by the National Park Service, in collaboration with other public and private entities.  Some of the areas of interest are Dry Falls, Palouse Falls, the Drumheller Channels, and Grand Coulee. A brochure with a map of the Trail is available at many of these locations.  More detailed information can be found at the official National Park Service website.

Other chapters of the Ice Age Floods Institute have developed brochures with more detailed tours of their local regions. Links to all of these can be found on the Ice Age Floods Institute brochure pages.

The most comprehensive interpretive site downstream is located on Hwy 17 south of US2 at the Dry Falls Visitor Center, which also has a stunning overlook.