.All Trips / North America / Pacific Northwest / Washington

Steamboat Rock — Vistas and Wildflowers galore!

Steamboat Rock — Vistas and Wildflowers galore!

Like the black monolith sitting on the Serengeti plain in the film 2001:A Space Odyssey, the large basalt mass of Steamboat Rock is a distinct landmark in Central Washington state. Steamboat Rock State Park is a dozen miles southwest of the Columbia River’s massive Grand Coulee Dam. The Park is on a peninsula adjoining Banks Lake and is accessed by route 155. Steamboat Rock itself is a high wind-blown mesa above the lake, but the surrounding park is a popular recreational venue with campgrounds, a nice swimming beach, hiking trails, and boat launch providing access to the recreational fisheries of Banks Lake.

I have discussed …

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.All Trips / North America / Pacific Northwest / Washington

Dry Falls – Home of The World’s Largest Waterfall!

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Imagine a waterfall with a precipice over three and a half miles long and a drop of over 400 feet!  (By comparison, Niagara Falls is about 1/10th as wide).  Imagine millions of gallons of water pouring over it each second, draining the flooded plains of central Washington State.  When you gaze at the geologic skeleton of this event, try to envision what it was like here 10-15,000 years ago as snow and ice from the last great Ice Age began melting and shaping the landscape.

I’ve always had a general interest in science and find the geology of Dry Falls State Park to be fascinating.  To understand what you now see in this park a short review …

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