2023 Pacific Northwest Friends of the Pleistocene Field Conference.
When: September 7-10, 2023
Where: Saddle Mountains area, central Washington
Lodging: Motels in Othello or Moses Lake and camping options
Leaders: Skye Cooley, Jim O’Connor, Bruce Bjornstad, Scott Burns, Lydia Staisch, Richard Waitt & others
Difficulty Level: Rough roads, hiking over uneven terrain, hot weather, beautiful vistas, cool rocks.
Geology Overview: The Saddle Mountains provide the backdrop for this year’s trip – spectacular scenery and challenging geology await us. The Saddle Mountains are located at a geomorphic triple junction, where sediments of the Channeled Scablands, Yakima Fold Belt, and Palouse Hills interfinger. Visually-stunning calcrete paleosols span all three domains. The Stage III-V calcretes, hundreds of thousands of years old, formed in an alluvial lowland setting and on gently-sloping alluvial fans. They serve as a conspicuous marker unit that helps constrain the age of pre-Wisconsin
scabland flooding, local tectonism, and dramatic topographic changes that occurred in the area over the past ~7 million years – from a broad, low-relief floodplain to the high-relief escarpment we see today. A central question remains: where were the ancestral Snake and Columbia Rivers in Plio-Pleistocene time?
The trip will focus on the new outcrops and new insights on the interplay of tectonics, climate, and topography informed by field work completed in recent years. Little of what we will see and discuss is found in any guidebook. Join us for the adventure!
What’s next? Look for a pre-registration email from Skye Cooley. Respond if you are interested in attending so we can plan trip logistics. Pre-registration will be required.
Registration instructions will be emailed to all of those responding to this call. This will be the one and only general call.
Tell a Friend: Feel free to forward this announcement to potentially interested colleagues.
Questions: skyecooley@gmail.com
1.) REGISTER – Registration Fee Includes Guidebook
Please register ahead of conference. Two options:
– $20 via PayPal to skyecooley@gmail.com (GIS4Geomorphology.com)
– Personal check: Skye Cooley 33636 Bluebird Lane, Ronan, MT 59864
2.) LODGING – Reserve Your Campsite Now at Potholes State Park
How to Make Reservations Online: https://washington.goingtocamp.com
– Potholes > Choose Arrival and Departure Dates > Choose Party Size > Choose Equiment > Search.
– Scroll down to map > Click on map polygon “Site 1-60” > Click on Calendar button on left.
– Choose sites and dates.
– Create login and pay with credit card.
Other Lodging Options
Moses Lake Hotels – I like the Wingate. Othello Motels – Quality Inn is basic.
