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.
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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.
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.
