Eric Clausen

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At present I am a professor emeritus having taught geology at Minot State University (North Dakota, USA) from 1968 until 1997. I was trained in geology at Columbia University and the University of Wyoming where my studies emphasized regional geomorphology. In 1995 I began part time work directing the National Geographic Society Education Foundation funded North Dakota Geographic Alliance, which I continued to do until early 2007. For many years I have pursued a research interest that involved the interpretation of detailed North American topographic map drainage system and erosional landform evidence that previous investigators had ignored. system. My book "The Topographic Map Mystery: Geology's Unrecognized Paradigm Problem" and many of my publications (since 2013) illustrate numerous examples of the ignored evidence and how I explain that ignored evidence. My book can be obtained in e-book, softcover, and hardcover editions from on-line booksellers and many of my published research articles are open access and are available on this academia.edu website. I will provide complimentary e-book links (from Amazon for Kindle) to any academic.edu reader who sends an email message to me which briefly describes their interest in reading the book. To receive a complimentary ebook or for private questions and discussions about my book or other publications I can be contacted at [email protected]
Address: Jenkintown, PA., USA

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Eric Scerri

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Catastrophic failure of the Northern Great Plains: A unifying hypothesis

Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), 1992

The Northern Great Plains, at peak Laurentide glaciation, was a 1,600 km thick barrier between me... more The Northern Great Plains, at peak Laurentide glaciation, was a 1,600 km thick barrier between meltwater sources and the lower Missouri Valley. Meltwater and floodwaters flowed along the ice margin, moved between the Black Hills and Laurentide ice. Water was trapped between ice to the N and E and mountains to the W and S. The Pine Ridge Escarpment began as the S wall of a W-trending headcut while other headcuts eroded N, parallel to the ice margin. Sheetflow from the west and northwest stripped the easily-eroded surface between major headcuts. The Cheyenne Valley headcut then captured sheetflow from the eastern Powder River Basin, both N and S of the Black Hills. Sheetflow moving through the western Powder River Basin, however, continued to spill over the southern wall of the initial headcut, carving the upper White River Valley. These floodwaters filled the lower White River Valley, including the Scenic and Sage Creek Basins, and breached divides by spilling over into the newly formed Cheyenne Valley. Another W-trending headcut next initiated the upper Little Missouri Valley by diverting sheetflow from the northeastern Powder River Basin. The Little Missouri Valley was extended northward by diversion of flow to a fourth major headcutmore » and then again by diversion to the Missouri Valley headcut. Sheetflow, moving SE into the Powder River Basin, was progressively captured and diverted as SW-trending headcuts formed the Yellowstone-Powder, Yellowstone-Tongue, and Yellowstone-Bighorn valleys. At the same time sheetflow was progressively captured and diverted by a northerly set of SW-trending headcuts which eroded the Redwater, Big Dry, and Musselshell valleys. Major spillways finally breached the 1,600 km thick barrier by cutting between the Highwood and Bearpaw Mountains and between Milk River Ridge and the Cypress Hills.« less

Use of Wyoming Southern Bighorn Mountains Topographic Map Evidence to Test a Recently Proposed Regional Geomorphology Paradigm: USA

Journal of Geography and Geology, Sep 30, 2019

Detailed topographic maps covering a high elevation Bighorn-Powder River drainage divide segment ... more Detailed topographic maps covering a high elevation Bighorn-Powder River drainage divide segment in the southern Bighorn Mountains are used to test a recently proposed regional geomorphology paradigm. Fundamentally different from the commonly accepted paradigm the new paradigm predicts immense south-oriented continental ice sheet melt water floods once flowed across what is now the entire Missouri River drainage basin, in which the high Bighorn Mountains are located. Such a possibility is incompatible with commonly accepted paradigm expectations and previous investigators have interpreted Bighorn Mountains geomorphic history quite differently. The paradigm test began in the high glaciated Bighorn Mountains core area where numerous passes, or divide crossings, indicate multiple and sometimes closely spaced streams of water once flowed across what is now the Bighorn-Powder River drainage divide. To the south of the glaciated area, but still in a Precambrian bedrock region, the test found the roughly adjacent and parallel south-oriented North Fork Powder River and Canyon Creek headwaters located on opposite sides of the Bighorn-Powder River drainage divide with North Fork Powder River headwaters closely linked to a 300-meter deep pass through which south-oriented water had probably flowed. Shallower divide crossings located further to the south suggest diverging and converging streams of water once flowed not only across the Bighorn-Powder River drainage divide, but also across Powder River and Bighorn River tributary drainage divides. The paradigm test also found published geologic maps and reports showing the presence of possible flood transported and deposited alluvium. While unable to determine the water source, the new paradigm test did find evidence that large south-oriented floods had crossed what was probably a rising Bighorn Mountains mountain range.

Eric Clausen

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