Nick on the Rocks: How an ancient glacier carved coastal Anacortes

About 15,000 years ago, Washington was covered by a massive sheet of ice. As it melted, it helped shape the state into the landscapes we know today.

Adam Brown

Adam Brown Jun 11, 2025

Dec 6, 2024

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          <article>
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              <hgroup>
                <h1>Nick on the Rocks: How an ancient glacier carved coastal Anacortes</h1>
                <h2><p>About 15,000 years ago, Washington was covered by a massive sheet of ice. As it melted, it helped shape the state into the landscapes we know today.</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/adam/">Adam Brown</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Dec 6, 2024</time></p>
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            <p>Around 15,000 years ago, an enormous ice sheet from Canada covered much of present-day Washington. The 3,000-foot-tall wall of ice carved landscapes all over the state as it slowly retreated, and in Anacortes, its marks are still visible.</p><p>From small lines etched into 160-million-year-old bedrock to a mysterious rock wall in the woods that may have been shaped by high-pressure water, Anacortes is teeming with the scars of Washington’s not-so-distant glacial past, if you know where to look. Nick visits the coastal town to investigate the unique combination of ancient bedrock and more recent Ice Age geology.<br><br><em>Support for Nick on the Rocks is provided by Pacific Science Center.</em></p>
          </article>

Around 15,000 years ago, an enormous ice sheet from Canada covered much of present-day Washington. The 3,000-foot-tall wall of ice carved landscapes all over the state as it slowly retreated, and in Anacortes, its marks are still visible.

From small lines etched into 160-million-year-old bedrock to a mysterious rock wall in the woods that may have been shaped by high-pressure water, Anacortes is teeming with the scars of Washington’s not-so-distant glacial past, if you know where to look. Nick visits the coastal town to investigate the unique combination of ancient bedrock and more recent Ice Age geology.

Support for Nick on the Rocks is provided by Pacific Science Center.

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By Adam Brown

Adam Spiro Brown manages Original Productions at Cascade PBS. He previously ran Lucid Visual Media, an independent production company, creating award-winning documentaries, films and commercials.