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The Scablands Research Paper

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The Scablands, 16,000 square miles of Washington State became a great mystery to many geologist and scientists over the years. The Scablands is a very unique area of land that consists of large potholes, tall canyons, huge dry waterfalls and just a strange landscape in general. No one understood how and what created all of these distinct features that were found in the middle of nowhere, therefore it became a mystery waiting to be discovered. Overtime, scientists began to notice the texture and the overall form of the small hills as well as the random boulders here and there which could have only been the result of a mass of water flushing through these plains. As many more thoughts and ideas were established such as the involvement of glaciers, …show more content…

The idea is presented as such, the dam was made up of “super cooled” water which means that this substance can remain in the form of liquid at several degrees below freezing, which forced its way into the cracks of the huge ice wall. Thus, the water created friction which not only melted the ice but caused the whole ice dam to collapse. Such a large amount of water had to have created the ripples that were left behind in that area. So this idea was put to the test by scientist by creating their own miniature model of the scablands and having a large amount of water flood the model in order to observe the result, and then prove their hypothesis correct. The results of this project was that the body of water did in fact create the ripples and the potholes produced by small tornadoes underwater, caused by the volume and speed that the water was traveling at. Scientists also came with the conclusion that the water caried bodies of ice containing big boulders that were left behind when the ice melted. Finally J. Harlen Brentz’s theory was proven true after so many years of research. The scabland were formed by mega floods that constantly hit these areas therefore creating all the unique details such as the layers of the canyons and shape of the landscape. Today the mystery of the megaflood is a huge part of our history today and the amazing and intricate scenery it

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