Glacial Lake Missoula: Book Review of Glacial Lake Missoula and its Humongous Floods - Page 2
© Geoff Habiger
The controversy centers around the work of J Harlen Bretz, a geology professor from the University of Chicago, studied the scablands of Washington and Idaho. He was the first to propose that the scablands were the result of catastrophic floods in 1923. This earned him the derision and scorn of the majority of his colleagues who subscribed to the prevailing thought that there was never a geologic feature that could not be described in terms of slow and careful geologic processes. Catastrophic theory was never to be used as evidence in describing geologic features. Bretz was considered a heretic for many years for this outlandish theory, his critics asking Bretz for the source of all this water. Joseph T. Pardee, a geologist with the US Geological Survey had probably already located the source of Bretz's flood as he first described Lake Missoula in 1910. It took over 10 years for Pardee to connect Lake Missoula with Bretz's floods, but soon the evidence was in place.
Unfortunately, this is about the extent of the controversy covered by Alt. The rest of the book covers in very good detail the evidence for the lakes existence, and describes the scablands that were created by the floods. The information Alt provides is very detailed, but also reads like a travel log. In places I expected to see mile logs to help me find the locations described by Alt. Actually, mile logs and maps would have been helpful. The book is more appropriate as a travel log. Anyone familiar with the roads through Montana, Idaho, and Washington would be able to find these wonderful locations, but someone unfamiliar with the area would need a good map. The book provides some good maps showing the lake and scablands, but these are not as good for finding the locations.
Overall I found Glacial Lake Missoula and its Humongous Floods to be a good read, but it tried to fluctuate between providing a riveting tale of scientific controversy and a detailed guidebook and travel log for geologic features associated with Lake Missoula. As the former is seems to fall short as Alt spend most of the book describing the glacial lake and the evidence of its flood and very little time is given to the controversy sparked by J Harlen Bretz and other geologists. As the latter, the book is better, but could benefit from actual mile logs and more detailed maps.
