J Harlan Bretz

When we were at Dry Falls, a saw a small plaque dedicated to J Harlan Bretz. Googled him and found a fascinating man. From Wikipedia:

J Harlen Bretz (September 2, 1882 � February 3, 1981) was an American geologist, best known for his research that led to the acceptance of the Missoula Floods, and also for his work on caves. He was born to Oliver Joseph Bretz and Rhoda Maria Howlett, farmers in Saranac, Michigan, the oldest of five children. He earned a degree in biology from Albion College in 1905, where he also met his wife Fanny Chalis. Thereafter, he became interested in the geology of Eastern Washington State.

One of the things that make Eastern Washington so interesting is the vast swath of really unusual landscape. Unlike no other place on the planet. Dr. Bretz was the first person to realize that it was carved by a fast gigantic flow of water and not through 'normal' geological evolution. He proposed this in the 1923 and the idea was not well received by other geologists. Sounds like quite the character -- from his entry at HistoryLink:

J Harlen Bretz was a geologist whose ideas about the origins of the "scablands" of Eastern Washington evoked ridicule when he first proposed them, in the 1920s, but eventually revolutionized the science of geology. Bretz argued that the deep canyons and pockmarked buttes of the scablands had been created by a sudden, catastrophic flood -- not, as most of his peers believed, by eons of gradual erosion. It was a bold challenge to the prevailing principle of "uniformitarianism," which held that the earth was shaped by processes that can be observed in the present. Since a flood of the almost Biblical proportions envisioned by Bretz had never been seen, it was dismissed as a throwback to the pre-scientific doctrine of "catastrophism." Not until the 1940s did other geologists begin to present new evidence supporting the flood theory. Satellite imagery in the 1970s provided the final vindication. Bretz had the satisfaction of living long enough to see his once heretical ideas become the new orthodoxy. In 1979, at age 96, he received the Penrose Medal, geology's highest honor. He later reportedly told his son: "All my enemies are dead, so I have no one to gloat over"

A bit more:

He has been described as "an odd mix of polish and roughness" (The Seattle Times, 2003). As a teacher, he pushed his students hard. Those turning in sloppy work could expect stinging rebukes. He had a ribald sense of humor, characterized by what he called "recurrent earthiness." He enjoyed making wine. He liked to challenge students to find the wine cellar hidden behind a bookcase in his basement. A practical joker, he would lock them in the basement after sending them on the quest. To get out, they had to find a secret lock and key. "He was one of the real characters in geology," says Victor R. Baker, a geologist at the University of Arizona. "He liked telling jokes. He liked going on family trips.

Talk about a kindred spirit...