“Fire and Ice” Lecture
“Washington’s landscape was carved by fire and ice. There is not a single mile of
this state of ours that has not been affected by either volcanic activity or glacier
movement. Eastern Washington has been formed specifically by glacier formation that
originated in Canada and slowly crept south, creating the landscape of the area. Western
Washington has been affected by both volcanoes and glaciers.”
Fire- “By ‘fire’ in mean heat; heat from magma (insert Dr. Evil voice here  )
coursing beneath the surface of the state and heat that is created when plates converge
(meet). In our state, the mountain ranges were created by the North American Plate
slowly moving west and the Juan de Fuca Plate slowly moving east and underneath the
North American Plate (show graphic 1-3 on page 4). The result of this meeting has, most
notably, formed the Cascade Mountain Range, which naturally divides Western and
Eastern Washington. In addition to plate tectonics, don’t forget about the magma flowing
and boiling through these mountains/volcanoes. Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt.
Rainier, and our own Mt. Baker are all volcanoes that currently lie dormant but are not
projected to be dormant forever.” (Show you tube of Mt. Saint Helens erupting in 1980.)
All you should need to do is type in helens, 1:22 minutes)
Ice- “Glaciers get the credit for forming the coastline of Western Washington. As
glacier lobes (type of glacier) forced their way down the coast and then gradually melted,
they left in their wake, islands, our hills, and the very deep waterways just off the coast
that make for excellent shipping harbors. In Eastern Washington, glaciers created the
Channeled Scablands, the Dry Falls, many valleys, and the very fertile soil of the
Columbia River basin and plateau, which is where the bulk of the produce (fruits,
vegetables, grain) for the state of Washington is grown.” (Show you tube of Glacier
Lake Missoula Flood if you find a good one worth the time. I did not.)
Activity- In partners, have the students locate key features on a WA state map
(either from the textbook or the laminated ‘placemat’ maps).
Fire
Cascade Mountain Range
Mt. St. Helens
Mt. Adams
Mt. Rainier
Mt. Baker
Olympic Mountains
San Juan Islands
Ice
Columbia Basin
Channeled Scablands
Dry Falls
Columbia River
Grand Coulee (valley)
Palouse Hills
Puget Sound