Part I - The Bonneville Flood and the Wasatch Fault

This paper provides new information on landforms in the areas of Sandy and Cottonwood Heights, Utah.
This is now Part I of a three part series leading to a conclusion which challenges long-standing assumptions related to Lake Bonneville.

[pauldavis]

I have been fascinated by the lake Bonneville story for decades. Appreciate your analysis. Thanks for sharing!

[coltonjackson]

i live right between big and little cottonwood canyons... i really enjoyed learning the local geology and bonneville history! please keep it up and give us more

[joecline]

I found this series of lectures about the Bonneville flood very interesting and informative! I live in Hagerman Valley, Idaho, and there are huge basalt boulders here, on top of the ground, that were deposited by the Bonneville flood! Thank you for presenting this Rick Speden!

[SJR_Media_Group]

Excellent use of old aerial photos and other graphics. Can easily 'see' what you are describing. I am most familiar with Missoula Floods. I live in Yakima, Central Washington. We have Columbia Flood Basalt, Yakima Folds uplift, Missoula Glacial Flooding, Lake Lewis backwater flooding, Volcanoes, and lava flows. I am educating myself on Bonneville Glacial Flooding. Thank you for great presentation.

[Baghoonti]

What a great video!!! I grew up in Draper and hiked in the area you described a lot - always wondering about the landmarks from Lake Bonneville and the glaciers of Little Cottonwood Canyon and Bells Canyon…I moved to the northwest and really got into the Missoula Floods and how they tell a big part of the story of where I live now. Then I heard about the “Bonneville Flood” yesterday, found your video, and now my mind is blown! Thank you for telling this story of the landscape - you’ve convinced me!!!

[rondye]

Class A detective work and analysis. An earthquake of this magnitude would have created, (as you stated) a massive tsunami heightened and compounded by the scarp features in the basin. Certainly makes sense this could have been the 'trigger' event for the Bonneville floods. Observing the geologic formations in the Portland Oregon area caused by the Missoula floods, can give a sense of the tremendous power water in this amplitude can alter geologic features.

[jasonbangerter]

Very well done, I really appreciate your understanding of the events. Your perspective all makes sense. I live near Quail Hollow Elementary and have tried to figure out our strange geography near the mouth of little cottonwood canyon. Thank you for sharing!

[solodad]

I've never heard of this before but it now fills in the things I've seen but confused me. Thanks for the info.

[patrickdwyer]

It's an absolute tragedy that channels like this get such few views... youtube and its unfair algorithms. Phenomenal work sir, 👍to you, Gilbert, and the entire human effort to map these late Pleistocene events. Bravo, sub and thumbs up well earned and duly given.

[Mster.Frsh]

WOW!!! I grew up about 5 min from the "Authors Home", on Sego Lily Dr with the gully (Dimple Dell Equestrian park) behind my house.

After watching this I'm wondering how much of the gully was formed by the reflective waves bouncing off the area described currently as Dry Creek island, and heading west to dig out the gully.

Crazy to think how the area I grew up in so peacefully was at one point extremely violent.

Really cool work, thank you for this research and video!

[FaithCrisisSurvivor]

Don’t know how I got here but this is a fascinating look at my neighborhood. Thank you!

[testbenchdude]

Neat! So instead of one cataclysmic event (the sudden dam failure and subsequent flood), it could have been an earthquake, then tsunami, THEN dam failure and massive flood? Pretty compelling evidence. Interesting day in the Wasatch for sure! Thanks for this; can't wait to see more research. :)

[RobertJl]

I very much enjoyed your video and information and thank you for putting it together. I do have a geology background and noticed that I needed to replay parts of the video numerous times to take in all the information. I suggest a slower and simpler version is needed for the layperson.

[rm]

Excellent presentation - Thank you for your work on this!!

[brettmuir]

Holy Cow!!!
Lake Bonneville mysteries are so present in my mind. I know these geographies well. Though your data is erudite I am glad to say I grasp it. A whole world of wonder is made clear and more ponderable
Thank you

[shabaldony]

I am actually using this for my report on bells canyon will make sure to reference this amazing video. thank you for the helpful information.

[AthenaSchroedinger]

WOW! I knew that there have been a lake Bonneville, but I knew nothing about all of this. I had no idea the the geology of this area was, so complex--at least to me it is. Thank you for posting this, I learned a lot today! I'm subscribing as I will not want to miss other videos.

[rogerdudra]

The issue I find confusing is weather or not the Missoula 'flood' and the Bonneville 'flood' were at the same time?

[Ryo_Dragon]

If the Lake Bonneville only went as high up as the foothills in the Salt Lake and Utah County. How do you explain the Water Level Shore Line, you find at the very top of the peaks, as seen from Alpine Canyon wrapping over to American Fork Canyon?

[dstolman]

Great video, thanks! Have you ever considered if a volcanic eruption in the Black Rock Desert may have contributed to surging water levels that led to Bonneville Flood?