How the Ice Age Floods Story Came Together
This Ice Age Floods animation is the result of years of scientific research, collaboration, and careful design. Its goal is simple but ambitious: to help people see how repeated, massive floods once reshaped the Pacific Northwest—and how those processes connect the landscapes we can still visit today.
The animation focuses on the Missoula Floods, a series of cataclysmic ice-age floods that occurred near the end of the last Ice Age. As ice dams repeatedly formed and failed in what is now western Montana, floodwaters surged across Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, carving canyons, transporting house-sized boulders, and leaving behind the distinctive landforms that define much of the region.
Rather than telling this story at a single site, the animation was designed to show the floods as a connected, system-scale event, helping viewers understand how places separated by hundreds of miles are part of the same geologic story.
Built with Science, Collaboration, and Care
The animation was developed by the National Park Service in collaboration with scientists, educators, and regional partners across the Ice Age Floods landscape. Scientific advisors reviewed flood pathways, timing, scale, and landform development to ensure the animation reflects current understanding of Missoula Floods research.
Equally important was making the animation accessible. Visual clarity, pacing, and scale were carefully balanced so the story works for a wide range of audiences—from classroom settings and museum exhibits to visitors exploring flood-shaped landscapes on the ground.
This project builds on decades of work by researchers and interpreters who have helped bring the Ice Age Floods story into public view, and it reflects an ongoing commitment to presenting complex science in ways that are accurate, engaging, and easy to explore.
A Shared Story, Told Many Ways
The animation is intended to be free to use and share for education and interpretation. It can support:
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Park and museum exhibits
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Classroom and distance-learning settings
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Community programs and public talks
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Personal exploration before or after visiting flood-shaped landscapes
It is one part of a broader effort to connect science, place, and public understanding across the Ice Age Floods region.
To explore more about the project and its background, you can read:
Connecting the Animation to Places You Can Visit
Many of the landscapes shown in the animation are part of the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail—a network of sites where the evidence of these floods is visible today. Watching the animation before visiting can help orient what you see on the ground; watching it afterward can help connect individual places into a larger regional story.
To continue exploring, use the interactive map of Ice Age Floods sites, which highlights places across the region where flood features can be seen today:
👉 https://www.nps.gov/iafl/planyourvisit/maps.htm
Learn more about the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail and places to explore:
👉 Places To Go - Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail (U.S. National Park Service)
