Our Fabulous Floods of Fire and Ice Book List
Floods of lava, followed by floods of glacial lake water, formed some of the most intriguing landscapes in the American West. The books herein explore the remarkable geologic events involved. Whether you’re looking for cool summer reading (Southern Hemisphere) or some hawt winter stories (Northern Hemisphere), I’ve got you covered. Here’s your all-ages pass to the stories behind some of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth!
Books for Kids
There are, unfortunately, no children’s books dedicated to either topic. But they’re covered at least a little in the following book, and you’ll learn a lot about other awesome geological processes at work in the Pacific Northwest, too.
(Mostly) Easy, (Fairly) Breezy Books for Adults
Alas, no one’s written a really good book on the Columbia River Flood Basalt Province for laypeople, but there are a ton of great non-technical books about the Missoula Floods, and most of them talk a bit about the eruptions that created the enormous expanses of basalt the floods later carved into the coulees of the Channeled Scablands. All of these are great resources for understanding how those baffling landscapes came to be.
Glacial Lake Missoula and Its Humongous Floods by David Alt
Field Guides
Here are a few absolutely marvelous guides to the Channeled Scablands, and some more guides that include features on the Washington and Oregon coasts that were formed when enormous floods of molten basalt reached the Pacific Ocean. These are indispensable for anyone who’s going to be traveling through these areas and wants to know more about what they’re seeing.
Geologic Road Trips in Grant County, Washington by Mark S. Amara and George E. Neff
On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: a Geological Field Guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin
On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods – Northern Reaches
General Guides to the Region
Roadside Geology of Washington
Ready to Get Technical?
For those of you who aren’t afraid to handle the super hard stuff, here are some books written for advanced audiences. They’re difficult, but keep in mind that geology is a very friendly science, and these might prove easier to grasp than you think!
There’s also an ebook version through Google Books for $9.99.
Large Igneous Provinces by Richard Ernst
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