The term "Channeled Scabland" was introduced by the discoverer of the Missoula floods, J. H. Bretz. Since the word "valley" did not convey the morphological features of the dense network of dry channels cut into the Columbia Scabland, Bretz referred to these channels as "canals," and the entire region came to be known as "The Channeled Scabland."

In the last quarter of the 20th century, similar forms of diluvial relief were discovered in Altai (A. N. Rudoy, V. V. Butvilovsky). The term "scabland" then entered global usage as a general designation for areas in glacial and periglacial zones that have been or were previously subjected to multiple catastrophic super-floods (diluvial flows, floods, flood streams, mega-floods) from glacially-dammed lakes. As for the "Channeled Scabland" of J. H. Bretz, it remains a proper name for the region where it was first identified by American geologists. Currently, the scientific field studying the processes of catastrophic breaches of giant glacially-dammed lakes and the geological work of breaching super-flows has developed into the theory of diluvial morpholithogenesis, which is being developed in Russia by its author A. N. Rudoy, as well as G. G. Rusanov and other geologists.

This work has also actively involved well-known researchers of the North American Scabland, such as V. R. Baker, H. Komatsu, and others.