地球的力量 第3集 冰川(17)密苏拉湖

It's a land of gorges, canyons and barren rock

那里到处是峡谷，溪谷和废石

covering thousands of square miles.

大概四千平方公里的区域

It's known as the Scablands.

这里是著名的火山地带

Vic Baker is a geologist who has spent 40 years

维克贝克是一位地质学家他花了四十年时间

trying to discover exactly what took place here.

探索这里发生了什么

The landscape creates this impression of something fantastic that happened,

这里的地貌不禁让我们产生这样的想法：这里发生了什么奇妙的事情

and as you drive through it, you can have a sense

你开车经过这里，你就会感觉到

that you're following the path of that great catastrophe.

你正开在发生过可怕的大灾难的地方

Around 16,000 years ago, a giant lake formed, Lake Missoula

,一万六千年前，一个巨大的湖泊--密苏拉湖形成了

that was held back by nothing more than a wall of ice,

那时候当地只有如围墙般的冰层

a part of what's known as the Cordilleran ice sheet.

它是著名的北部大冰原的一部分

Behind me would be the ice dam

我的背后便是冰坝

that was holding in glacial Lake Missoula

那是冰河时期的密苏拉湖

and it was holding back a phenomenal amount of water.

它含有相当大量的水资源

As the huge mass of water built up behind the dam year after year,the dam began toweaken.

一年接着一年，大量的水资源成为水坝的一部分 水坝开始变得脆弱

Until the ice gave way in a catastrophic failure.

而后冰层灾难性的塌陷

A mass of water larger than lakes Eerie and Ontario combined.

爱尔兰海大量的海水

The force of water rushing forward was like releasing a bomb.

无所阻挡的奔腾水流的冲击力如同炸弹般

It generated a Shockwave of air.

产生一种空气冲击波