THE DALLES — Geologist Lloyd DeKay will lead a Gorge field trip Saturday, June 1, co-sponsored by the Ice Age Floods Institute and the Original Wasco County Courthouse. The day begins with an 8:30 a.m. orientation at OWCC and proceeds with a 70-mile tour with 12-15 stops at sites of geological significance. The tour ends back at OWCC around 3:30 p.m.
Registrations are open until the bus is filled at $40 for OWCC members and $45 for non-members. Send name, address, phone number and email address to Original Courthouse Preservation Corp., P.O. Box 839, The Dalles or pick up and drop off registration at the Original Courthouse, 410 W. Second Place during open hours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. IAFI also requires a liability release form signed by those attending the field trip.
DeKay is a retired geologist and president of the Columbia River Gorge Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute. His career in international oil exploration took him to many parts of the world. He worked with the Corps of Engineers on the second powerhouse at Bonneville Dam in the 1970s, leading to his retirement to White Salmon in 2007.
Speaking about the geology field trips he leads, DeKay said, “The stunning and tranquil beauty of the Columbia River Gorge region belies a tumultuous geologic history. That history spans about 50 million years of massive volcanoes and fissure eruptions, huge forces bending and breaking the rock layers, catastrophic Ice Age Floods, landslides, and earthquakes.
“We’ll see forests, lakes and swamps that were buried by massive lava flows, look at huge faults and folds that deformed the landscape. We’ll imagine 1,000-foot deep mud-choked floods remaking that landscape. When we’re done you may never see the Gorge the same way again.”
Since retirement DeKay had to learn about a whole new geological realm as he led field trips and gave presentations about local geology on behalf of the Ice Age Floods Institute.
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