Tag Archives: geology

Drumheller Channels Pano

Drumheller Channels – Othello, Washington

This image is a hand-held pano taken above the Goose Lake trail head at the northern part of the Drumheller Channels reserve, just below O’Sullivan Dam.  This was our final stop on our Sandhill Crane photo shoot.  We took a leisurely hike (walk) to cap off a great trip.  Spring is a beautiful time to visit the Channels.  I was hoping for some big white puffy clouds.  But it just did not happen this trip.  I will return …

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More Ice Age Geology – Corfu Landslide

Corfu Landslide – Saddle Mountains, Central Washington

This image was taken from  Lower Crab Creek Road.  It is a small section of the Corfu Landslide. Lower Crab creek is in the foreground. This part of the landslide was probably post Missoula Floods.  It looked like the rocks at the base were not eroded, hence it probably occurred following the last floods.  The land slide extends upward to the Saddle Mountains crest.  A couple of weeks prior to taking this image,  I was at the crest of the Mountain looking down.  Refer to my post of 27 March.

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Drumheller Channels: Missing a Tooth

Drumheller Channels – Othello, WA

The first thing I thought of when I looked up and saw this section of columnar basalt was that it was missing a tooth.  Columnar basalt is very susceptible to water erosion because of its many fissures.  The raging water of the Missoula Floods easily plucked the columns from their path.

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Amazing What Water Can Do

Large Pothole – Drumheller Channels

Water did this!  During the Missoula Floods water rushed through Drumheller Channels at about 55 miles per hour.  The water level was about 200 feet above the mesa on the upper right  corner of the photo.  Through the Drumheller Channels the water followed multiple channels.  Turbulent circular, tornado like, flows cut potholes throughout the area.  This one is unique due to the outcropping in the “eye” of the swirl.

A short walk on the Upper Goose Lake trail will bring you to this amazing phenomenon.  The uniqueness of this area continues to amaze me.

 

 

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Missoula Floods: Sentinel Gap

Sentinel Gap, Washington

This image was taken looking north through Sentinel Gap.  This gap cuts through the Saddle Mountains which separate the Pasco and Othello basins in Eastern Washington.  The Columbia River runs through this gap on its way to the Oregon/Washington border.  At the time of the Missoula Floods, the water level going through the gap reached the top of the left ridge, flowing into Lake Lewis which covered the Pasco basin.

The erratics in the foreground most likely are from the gap, carved away by the raging wall of water that flowed through it.

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Missoula Floods: How Did This Get Here?

Granite Erratic in Pasco Basin, Washington

The Central Washington Basin is covered with layers of basalt, totaling as much as 2 miles thick, created by huge lava flows 8-15 million years ago.  The nearest source of granite rock is several hundred miles away.  This photo was taken near the Hanford site north of Richland.  The granite rock was about 1/4 mile from the road.  My lens combination was 560mm.  For reference, the actual height of the rock (above ground) is about 12 feet.  It is a big granite rock.  How did it get here???

The current theory is that it was brought here as part of the ice dam that broke loose during one of the Missoula floods around 15,000 years ago.  As the ice melted, embedded rocks were released.  The Pasco basin and its surround hills have many such erratics.

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Missoula Floods: This Was Once a Lake

Pasco Basin and Columbia River, Washington

This image was taken from the top of Saddle Mountain looking south toward the Pasco Basin. (Yesterday’s post was from the same location looking north toward the Othello Basin.)

Can you believe that this was once a 800 foot deep lake?  During the Missoula floods, water entered the Pasco Basin northeast from the Palouse, north from the Drumheller/Othello Channels and northwest from the Columbia River through Sentinel Gap.  Wallula Gap blocked the water from flowing freely through the Columbia Gorge to the Pacific Ocean.  The result was the temporary Ice Age Lake Lewis.  Today, the Columbia River meanders through the basin.  The Hanford Nuclear Research facility is located south and east of the river.  Rattlesnake Ridge is visible in the background.

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A Day in the Canyon: Vertical Basalt Columns

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.

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A Day in the Canyon: Tilted Basalt

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.

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Mountain or River, Which Came First

Yakima River Canyon, Washington

How did a river cut such a gorge through a basalt mountain.  Maybe it didn’t.  The Yakima River originates high in the Cascade Mountains. The upper end of the river was not part of the great Missoula floods that covered Eastern Washington.  The Yakima meanders through several Basalt Ridges.  The nature of a meandering steam is that it flows through a relatively flat plain.  If the mountains were there first, the river would have flowed around them.  So how did the Yakima get through the mountains.  Maybe the river was there first,  As the ridges slowly developed as part of the Yakima fold formations, the river could have gradually cut a channel through its original riverbed route.

I spent a day slowly driving through the Yakima River Canyon.  I stopped and photographed several interesting rocks and formations. During the next week or so, I will post several of my images.

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