Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail
Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail
The 3.2-mile Escure Ranch trail leads to Towell Falls in the heart of the Cheney-Palouse scabland tract, one of the most intensely flood-eroded corridors in eastern Washington. The trail traverses classic scabland terrain: basalt outcrops stripped bare of soil, deep channels...
The 3.2-mile Escure Ranch trail leads to Towell Falls in the heart of the Cheney-Palouse scabland tract, one of the most intensely flood-eroded corridors in eastern Washington. The trail traverses classic scabland terrain: basalt outcrops stripped bare of soil, deep channels carved between rocky ridges, and scattered erratics dropped by melting icebergs. Towell Falls itself cascades over basalt ledges that were shaped by the Missoula Floods -- the same columnar basalt that forms the dramatic cliffs throughout the scablands, fractured and rearranged by hydraulic forces beyond anything seen in modern rivers. The Cheney-Palouse tract was one of the primary flood channels, carrying water southward from the Spokane area toward the Snake River in a braided network of streams that were miles wide during peak flood events. The trail is relatively uncrowded compared to more famous flood sites, offering a quiet immersion in scabland geology. Wildflowers bloom among the basalt outcrops in spring, and raptors circle overhead in this rugged terrain. It is one of the best places to experience the raw, unmanicured scablands on foot.
Escure Ranch is BLM-managed land south of Sprague, Washington, in the Cheney-Palouse scabland tract, straddling the Whitman/Adams county line. Access is via the Rock Creek Recreation Site trailhead; no entry fee. The hike to Towell Falls is roughly 3 miles each way on a two-track road open to foot, bike, and (seasonally) equestrian use. Year-round, though spring is best for flow at the falls.
The ranch sits within the Cheney-Palouse scabland tract — one of the three principal Missoula-flood pathways that carried floodwaters southwest from Spokane toward the Snake River. Rock Creek occupies one of the smaller anastomosing channels carved by flood overflow. Towell Falls is a small stair-stepping cascade where Rock Creek cuts across a basalt step. Of particular interest along the route is a flood gravel bar dissected by Rock Creek that exposes interior gravel-bar structure — foreset bedding, imbrication, and grain-size grading typical of high-energy megaflood deposition. The site is a teaching locality for scabland gravel-bar architecture.
No site-specific research published since 2017. No updates found since the Balbas et al. 2017 chronology.
The Cheney-Spokane chapter ran a public field trip to Escure Ranch / Towell Falls on March 30, 2024, and the site appears repeatedly in their itineraries.
March through May for water, wildflowers, and cool hiking. Allow a half day. The Rock Creek Recreation Site has primitive camping.
Every site along the trail will receive the full Terrain360 capture treatment: ground-level 360° panoramas, drone aerial imagery, and photogrammetry-based 3D models that visitors can spin in their browser. This page reserves the slots; the imagery flows in as field capture completes.
Ground-level 360° panorama, every step along the feature, captured by Terrain360 field crews.
Drone flyovers reveal the geometry of catastrophe — ripple marks, gravel bars, and scour patterns invisible from the ground.
Photogrammetry and Gaussian-splat models let visitors rotate, measure, and inspect features in detail-page WebGL viewers.