science

Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field

Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field rather than just read about it. In short: The Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field is a National Park Service–designated privately owned National Natural Landmark located in Douglas County, Washington state, United States. Withrow Moraine is the only Ice Age terminal moraine on the Waterville Plateau section of the Columbia Plateau.

Key takeaways

Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field is a National Park Service–designated privately owned National Natural Landmark located in Douglas County, Washington state, United States. Withrow Moraine is the only Ice Age terminal moraine on the Waterville Plateau section of the Columbia Plateau. The drumlin field includes excellent examples of glacially-formed elongated hills.

Geologic history

The plateau The Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field National Natural Landmark is located on the Waterville Plateau, which lies in the northwest corner of the Columbia River Plateau. The plateau is formed on top of the Columbia River Basalt Group a large igneous province that lies across parts of the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in the United States of America. During the middle to late Miocene epoch, one of the largest flood basalts ever to appear on the Earth's surface engulfed about 163,700 km2 (63,000 mile²) of the Pacific Northwest, forming a large igneous province with an estimated volume of 174,300 km3. Eruptions were most vigorous from 17 to 14 million years ago, when over 99% of the basalt was released. Less extensive eruptions continued from 14 to 6 million years ago. These lava flows have been extensively exposed by the erosion resulting from the Missoula Floods, which laid bare many layers of the basalt flows on the edges of the plateau at Grand Coulee and Moses Coulee.

The glacial history

Two million years ago the Pleistocene epoch began and Ice age glaciers invaded the area. They scoured the Columbia River Plateau, reaching as far south as the middle of the Waterville Plateau highlands above the Grand Coulee and south to the head of Moses Coulee. In some areas north of the Grand Coulee they were as much as 3 km (10000 feet) thick. Grooves in the exposed granite bedrock are still visible in the area from the movement of glaciers and numerous glacial erratics in the elevated to the Northwest of the coulee.

Progress of the Okanogan Lobe of the Cordilleran Glacier

The Okanogan lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet moved down the Okanogan River valley, covering 500 mi2 of the Waterville Plateau and blocked the ancient route of the Columbia River, backing up water to create Glacial Lake Columbia. Initially water discharged from Lake Columbia by running up through the head of Grand Coulee and down through Foster Coulee to rejoin the Columbia River. As the glacier moved further south, Foster Coulee was cut off and the Columbia River then discharged through Moses Coulee, which runs southward slightly to the east of the ancient and current course of the Columbia. As the Okanogan lobe grew, it blocked Moses Coulee as well; the Columbia found the next lowest route through the region which was eroded to become the modern Grand Coulee.

After the glacier As the Okanogan lobe melted, the northern half of the Waterville Plateau, including the upper portions of Moses Coulee, were littered with clear evidence of its passing. The glacier left behind a blanket of glacial till, up to 50 feet thick in places. This glacial till, composed of clay, silt, sand, gravel, cobblestones, and erratic boulders, covers most of the upper Moses Coulee. The melting glacier discharged both down Moses Coulee and into the Grand Coulee as is evident in the Sims Corner eskers and kames.

See also List of National Natural Landmarks Terminal moraine List of glacial moraines

References

External links U.S. National Park Service material on Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field

Photo gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field

In research: Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Glaciology of the United States, Landforms of Douglas County, Washington, Moraines of the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field in simple terms?

Why does Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field.