Tag Archives: Eastern Washington

Missoula Floods: Facing Drumheller Channels

Leave a reply

Drumheller Channels in Distance from Top of Saddle Mountain

This image was taken from the top of Saddle Mountain (~1,300 ft elevation) looking north east over the Othello basin toward the Drumheller Channels.  Imagine a wall of water 200 – 300 feet high racing over an 8-11 mile stretch over the Drumheller Channels at over 60 miles per hour.  This was the amount of water that was released (multiple times) when the Lake Missoula glacier dam broke releasing the water over the Eastern Washington basin.  Saddle Mountain broke the onslaught of water.  Some flowed west through the Crab Creek Coulee to the Columbia River and Sentinal Gap.  The remainder rushed around the eastern edge of the Mountain and into the Pasco Basin and Lake Lewis.

Related Images:

A Day in the Canyon: Vertical Basalt Columns

Leave a reply

Vertical Basalt Columns – Yakima River Canyon

A couple of miles up the road from my last post, I saw these basalt columns protruding vertically upward.  They were located on a different ridge.  The forces driving the uplift were different than the ones from the first ridge.  I ask why, what caused the difference? Did this ridge lift at a different time or were the forces just different from the ridge in the first post.  My curiosity kills me.  I think I need to do more research on how these “Yakima Folds” evolved.

Related Images:

A Day in the Canyon: Tilted Basalt

Leave a reply

Tilted Basalt Columns – Yakima River Canyon

This tilted basalt was the result of a plate fold being pushed up from a diagonal force.  Throughout the Yakima River Canyon the basalt columns show displacement in various directions.  This illustrates that forces were lateral pushing toward each other creating a “fold”.

The basalt shown here is in a “columnar” formation.  Basalt formed like this cooled very slowly, creating a soother texture.

Related Images:

Welcome to the Palouse

1 Reply

160923_sunset-on-palouseCanon 5D MkII, EF 24-105 f/4 L @ 58mm, f/11, 1/15 sec, ISO 200

This is what greeted me as I drove up to the Palouse in SE Washington State for a week of exploring and photographing.  The brilliant pink and orange lasted for only a few minutes.  I rapidly looked for a place to pull off the highway.  By the time I got out and pulled out my camera, the magic was just about over  In less that a minute the glow was gone.  Too bad it is illegal to stop in the middle of a highway to capture a shot.

I was really excited about the clouds and what I expected to see during the next few days.  However, the clouds did not come back during my stay.  So I focused on the rolling hills, unique lines, and architectural elements.  This trip was for scouting anyway.

Related Images:

Old-Barn-1 Wheels Old-Barn-2 Red-Roof-Barn Curving-Road-Hill Steep-Hill-Fence Old-Grain-Elevator

Lonesome???

Leave a reply

130802_Windmill by Karl G. Graf. Lonesome??? … Not really, just beyond the ridge there were hundreds more.  I selected to isolate this single wind turbine to portray the landscape the way I remember it back 13 years ago when I moved from the Northwest to the East Coast.  Wind turbines now are abundant on the desolate Washington hills above the Columbia River gorge.  I roamed on these lonesome hills as a young boy scout so many years ago. It gives me a sad feeling to see the once beautiful open hill country covered with industrial mechanical giants.

This image was taken along the roadside coming down from the Oregon plateau to the Columbia River near Biggs Junction, OR.

Related Images: