Chronology of Missoula Flood Deposits at the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site, Washington State, USA

Bibliographic Data

ID15801686
AuthorsGeorge V Last (Washington State University Tri-Cities, corresponding author), Tammy M Rittenour (0000-0003-1925-0395, Utah State University)
Year2021
Volume4
Issue3
Pages20-20
Publication date2021-07-06
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuaternary (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2571-550X • E-ISSN: 2571-550X
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/quat4030020
OpenAlexW3182093411
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited6

Late Pleistocene outburst megafloods, mostly from glacial Lake Missoula, hydraulically ponded behind downstream constrictions in the Columbia River in southeastern Washington State, USA. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages for flood deposits from the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site, located in a high (315–320 m asl) distal portion of the transient lake, indicate that at least seven floods ponded high enough to inundate the area during the period 20.9 ± 2.6 ka to 16.3 ± 2.8 ka. This is consistent with a radiocarbon age of about 17.4 ± 0.2 ka cal BP from the middle of the flood sequence. OSL ages from loess deposits overlying a paleosol at the top of the flood sequence range from 14.0 ± 2.3 ka to 10.9 ± 2.0 ka, suggesting a hiatus of about 2.3 thousand years. These datasets are consistent with current understanding that multiple late Pleistocene megafloods occurred between 20 ka and 14 ka and that earlier floods produced higher flood stages than later ones. The lack of flood deposits in the Coyote Canyon area younger than 16 ka supports the hypothesis that younger megafloods did not hydraulically pond in the Pasco Basin above about 230 m asl

Archaeology · Canyon · Chronology · Flood myth · Floodplain · Geography · Geomorphology · Glacial period · Holocene · Loess · Mammoth · Pleistocene · Radiocarbon dating · Geological formations and processes · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Landslides and related hazards · Geology · Paleontology

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