Tag: geology

Flathead Valley Hydrology Presentation

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

This is a recreation of a presentation given to the Flathead Audubon Society in April 2024 during the Warbler Weekend at Tally Lake. I had several goals for the presentation. One was to lay out in a very basic way the geological history of our valley–how we got here and why things are the way they are. Another was to look at some basic hydrology issues in our valley–streams, lakes, and other resources–in the context of the constant geological and developmental changes that we are experiencing, both natural and human caused. Finally, I wanted to put all of these issues into a context that might help us think about what the future holds for us in terms of our access to water, wildlife, and recreation in the valley.

This presentation intentionally raises more questions than it provides answers. I would welcome comments, suggestions, criticisms, and other points of discussion.

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West Valley Geology Tour

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Welcome to a virtual tour of some of the Flathead Valley’s prominent (and some not so prominent) geological features, courtesy of Google Earth.

This tour is a companion piece to several articles that have appeared elsewhere on our website:

This inspiration for this project came largely from the work of Dr. Lex Blood, professor emeritus, Flathead Valley Community College, for his extensive (and clearly heartfelt) efforts to make the geological history of the valley accessible to everyone. Thank you, Lex.

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Water Water Everywhere?

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here.

It’s easy to take water for granted here in the valley. We’re surrounded by water, with numerous streams and rivers, lakes and ponds of various sizes, and seasonal runoff from snow and rain that typically replenish the surface water that we see.

The water we drink and irrigate with here in the West Valley comes from underground aquifers–layers of permeable rocks or sediments that are saturated with water. Our shallower surface aquifers are fed by groundwater that enters the aquifers mostly through seasonal precipitation or snowmelt.

The Flathead Valley also sits directly atop a large, deep aquifer referred to in studies, appropriately enough, as The Deep Aquifer. It’s from this aquifer that our municipal water is drawn. Farms and homes also tap into the Deep Aquifer via wells for irrigation or daily use. (The city of Whitefish does not draw water from the Deep Aquifer. They draw their municipal water from Whitefish Lake and surrounding streams. See Editor’s Note, below, for clarification.)

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Glaciers, Faults, and Tectonics

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleyaturalists.org

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here

Here in the Flathead Valley, we’re fortunate to be able to enjoy a richly varied landscape—craggy mountains, rolling hills, swift rivers and meandering streams lined with brightly colored stones, a sprawling valley floor punctuated with the occasional boulder or with massive rock outcroppings displaying multiple bands of colors and textures, clearwater lakes fed by springs or seasonal precipitation, wetlands that provide shelter and food for our avian residents. It’s a rare day that I’m not struck by the immense beauty of our valley.

But do you ever wonder how it got this way?

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Geology Field Trip

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by Dr. Lex Blood, Community Activist, Conservationist, Professor Emeritus/Flathead Valley Community College

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here

The West Valley Naturalists sponsored a geology field trip in May 2014.  Dr. Lex Blood led this field trip; for more than 40 years Lex Blood has served as Flathead Valley geologist, geographer, educator, conservationist. After a brief introduction we car-pooled and explained the “story behind the landscape” as we traveled through the West Valley area.  For background information on the geology of the Flathead Valley please visit: http://www.flatheadwatershed.org/natural_history/geology.shtml

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Flathead Valley Water Resources

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here

Mike Koopal, Executive Director of the Whitefish Lake Institute, pointed us to some exceptional resources for learning more about the Flathead Valley watershed and the numerous lakes and streams that make up some of the most beautiful areas of the west valley area and the rest of Montana.

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All About Argillite

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here

You see it everywhere in the valley–lining the bottom of creek beds, along hiking trails, layered throughout road cuts, on the shores surrounding Tally Lake, in the cliffs around Flathead Lake, piled at the corners of plowed fields, covering fireplace hearths and floors, in the pavement of many area roads and parking lots, and often in your yard when you are trying to dig a new garden bed (especially if you live on a glacial drumlin, as I do). It’s the predominant rock in Glacier National Park a few miles to our east, as shown in this Google Earth image, below:

It’s argillite, the colorful rocks and tiered strata that were formed during the Precambrian period well over 500 million years ago–and western Montana is one of the best places in the world to see it.

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