I so enjoy a good geological formation and this formation of gigantic “current ripples” along the Columbia River in Eastern Washington near West Bar / Crescent Bar is absolutely wild!
There are ample parking locations on the river bank across from the formation that provide excellent vantage points.
As you look out across the river there is a large formation near the river bank that looks like a mega version of what happens in a sandy river bank or ocean shoreline where “ripples” in the sand form as water rushes over the surface.
What is peculiar is that is exactly what formed these only 1,000’s of times larger than what we experience in a normal river bed.
How much water is needed to cause this by the way? By measuring the wavelength and amplitude of the formations modern geology is able to provide a pretty accurate guess. These figures hover around 200-300’ deep and moving about 40 - 60 MPH.
YUUUGE amounts of water were flowing here!
As to where this water came from is a hot topic but it is definitely the substance that formed the land as such.
The prevailing theory was once that an ancient lake around Missoula, MT broke its dam and let a lot of water out all at once, perhaps even dozens of times.
However that amount of water from that lake, which was real, does not account for the flow described here and elsewhere in the Channeled Scablands.
A much larger amount of water would be needed and the leading theory for this is the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis.
This theory posits that meteorite impacted the earth approximately 12,800 years ago in the North American ice sheets which melted extremely fast. There are many other points of evidence for this claim and it is quite wild.
What led to this investigation at first was listening to the now famous podcasts with Joe Rogan, Randall Carlson, and Graham Hancock. These guys dive deep into the topic and connect it in all sorts of interesting way. I highly recommend listening to Podcasts #725, #872, and #1284.
Also check out these article for more in depth info on the topic. Article I.
