At www.physorg.com/print191683663.html April 28th … a paper that can be accessed in full (or abstract) at http://bit.ly/9VKpln on research that shows part of Alaska was inundated by a massive flooding event – 17,000 years ago. I am assuming this coincides with the end of the Ice Age but the dating differs from other studies. It is being described as a mega-flood event which formed dunes in the ground over 110 feet high and spread half a mile apart
The event was part of a series of mega-floods in North America as water that built up during the last glacial collected in basins and formed lakes. In this instance, as in the Scab Lands event somewhat to the south, the release of the water was sudden and dramatic. In this case it released 1400 cubic km of water, enough to cover an area the size of Washington DC to a depth of 5 miles. It drained from the lake within a week – possibly in a much shorter space of time.