Granite Erratic

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Granite Erratic – Rattlesnake Mountain, Washington

The Missoula Floods carried large icebergs from the glaciers that dammed Lake Missoula or from the Okanagan lobe glacier that dammed Lake Columbia along with them as they made their way to the Pacific.  As the icebergs melted or became “stranded” against ridges that formed Lake Lewis, they dropped the rocks that the glaciers picked up as they scoured their paths southward.  Granite is present in Montana as well as northern Washington.  But it is not present in central Washington.  The origin of this single granite erratic on Rattlesnake Mountain is therefore not definite. It could have come from either Montana or northern Washington.

This chunk of granite is approximately 6′ in length.  It is located at about 800 feet elevation (my estimate).

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A Day to Celebrate Life

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Wildflowers – Snow Mountain Ranch, Cowiche, WA

Today is a special day.  It is a day to celebrate the wonderful life Karen and I had together.  What a better way to celebrate than to take a nice walk and enjoy the wildflowers of early Spring. It was a beautiful day.  The hills were covered with brilliant wildflowers … yellow, pink, purple, blue and the lush green of spring grasses.  Peace surrounded me.  It was a wonderful time to reflect on our lives and what is right in this world.

It was a day to CELEBRATE !!!

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Columbia River Petroglyphs

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Petroglyph, Gynko Petrified Forest

This image was taken from below the Gynko Petrified Forest Visitor’s Center near Vantage Washington.  Seeing these brought back many happy memories of my youth.

As a young Boy Scout, I can remember hiking along the Columbia River north of Vantage, Washington.  Huge basalt cliffs rose above the free flowing river.  We could climb up along the rocks and see these funny drawings made by ancient Indians.  We did not think much of it back then.  When the Wanapum Dam was built, the backwaters flooded the area where many of these artifacts were located.  Luckily, someone had the foresight to carefully remove these petroglyphs before the water covered them up.  Today several of the saved petroglyphs are displayed below the Gynko Petrified Forest Visitors Center.

Note:  Notice the initials and heart above the man and woman.  Why would anyone deface such a piece of our history????

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Giant Ripples

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  • Giant Ripples on the West Bar – Columbia River

This image is a close-up of the giant ripples on the West Bar near Crescent City on the Columbia River as showed on my previous entry.  These giant ripples were created during the Ice Age Floods as the Columbia River flowed over the gravel bar.  They are 35 feet high, spaced at 150 -200 feet apart.  It is amazing what water can do!

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The Calm Columbia

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Columbia River – West Bar

How calm the Columbia River looks.  Fifteen thousand years ago, during the Ice Age Floods,  it wasn’t quite like this.  At that time the Columbia was flowing at the top of the basalt cliffs seen in the distance.  The West Bar shown in the middle of this image is comprised of gravel. rock, and other sediments.  It was part of the backwater created as the Columbia raged toward the left and then back down through the gorge. The surface of the bar is covered with giant ripples around thirty feet high.

This image was taken above Crescent Bar looking southwest.

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Sentinel Gap on Columbia River

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Sentinel Gap Looking South from Frenchman’s Spring Coulee

This image was taken from the bottom of Frenchman’s Spring Coulee near where it enters the Columbia River.  Sentinel Gap was cut across the Saddle Mountains by the Columbia River and the Ice Age Floods.  During the floods, the Columbia River was at a level near the top of the eastern slope of the Gap.  On the north side of the Gap, the Vantage Bridge and Wanapum Dam are faintly visible.  Through the Gap, Umatilla and Rattlesnake Ridges are visible.  And of course, the clouds make the image.

 

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Frenchman’s Spring Coulee

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Frenchman’s Spring Coulee – near Vantage, WA

This image is taken from the top of the Frenchman’s Spring Coulee looking down toward the Columbia River.  The mountains in the far background are the Cascade foothills. This coulee was created during the Ice Age Missoula Floods.  It is the farthest south water path from the Quincy Basin to the Columbia River.  The flood waters in the Quincy Basin were split by the Frenchman hills, just south of this coulee.  The water flowed east into the Drumheller Channels toward Othello and west into the Columbia River via several coulees including Frenchman Springs.

The wind was howling, so I did not feel like getting too close to the edge.  I bet this will make a good sunset or sunrise photo.  I will be back.

 

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Just Trying Something Different

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Grass Clump Abstract

Walking along I spotted this interesting clump of grass.  I immediately thought that it would make a great subject for a hand-held circular pan.  It did.  Sometimes things just pop out in front of me.  These usually turn out to be some of my favorite images.

For reference, below is the grass clump with out the pan.  I like the abstract better.

Just a Clump of Grass

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