The Great Gravel Bar of Moses Coulee National Natural Landmark
Moses Coulee NNL – Great Gravel Bar Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail At the time of one of the first floods to be released from Glacial Lake Missoula, the Okanogan Lobe of the continental ice sheet had spread across the Columbia Valley and onto the Columbia Plateau to a position about 24 kilometers (14 miles) north of the site and so had caused the diversion of the glacial Columbia River into the former channel of Moses Coulee. When the outburst flood occurred, violently erosive torrents rushing down the Columbia River drainage were diverted into the Moses Coulee channel, causing in a single flood event the formation of a long, deep coulee second only to the Grand Coulee in size (see Grand Coulee NNL). Powerful eddies in the turbulent waters formed behind protrusions in the coulee walls along the inside of channel meanders (i.e. especially Armour Draw and the draw 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) north of Armour) and further enlarged the embayments behind those protrusions. As the sediment-laden flood currents waned, a 61 meter (200 feet) sheet of gravel was deposited along the coulee floor and a giant teardrop-shaped gravel bar, the so-called “Great Gravel Bar”, formed where flow velocities were lower behind one such prominent bedrock protrusion in the coulee wall. Although many other flood-related bars occur throughout the Channeled Scabland, the Great Gravel Bar is 5.2 kilometers (3.2 miles) long and as much as 74 meters (240 feet) high and so is perhaps the largest of all. It is known as a “pendant” bar because of its teardrop shape and sheltered position in the coulee which is about 180 meters (590 feet) deep and 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) wide at that location. The bar is composed mainly of pebble-cobble gravel and many large boulders occur on its surface. Most boulders are basaltic, derived from erosion of the coulee walls farther upstream, but a few granitic and other non-basaltic boulders probably were ice- rafted from afar on giant bergs caught in the flood before deposition in the coulee. One feature providing convincing evidence for the bar’s constructional formation is an elongate depression about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long on the bar’s west side, caused by eddy circulation in the water- filled coulee during deposition of the bar. After the flood the ice sheet advanced another 17 kilometers (10 miles) to its southern-most limit at the head of Moses Coulee. Melt-water streams coursing across the flood gravels in the coulee superimposed an out-wash channel network still visible along the valley floor. Since retreat of the glacier, the site has been little modified even by the intermittent stream now occupying the coulee. Alluvial fans built by tributary streams and talus derived from extensive rockfall now lie along the base of the coulee walls. In addition, patchy deposits of wind-deposited silt and volcanic ash (i.e. primarily from the Glacier Peak and Mazama eruptions 12,000 and 6,600 years ago respectively) cover portion of the bar and coulee floor. Quick Facts Location: The North Entrance to this area is 20 Miles west of Coulee City on State Route 2. Turn south on Moses Coulee Road. Property Privately Owned Stay on public roads, no access allowed at this time.
The Reach Museum
The Reach Museum Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, Manhattan Project National Historical Park The REACH Museum shares the natural and human history of the Tri-Cities and the surrounding area. The museum takes its name from Hanford Reach, the longest free flowing (un-dammed), non-tidal section of the Columbia River. The 51mile (82 kilometer) Reach marks the northern and eastern boundary of today’s Hanford Site. Its waters were critical to the site’s plutonium production mission during the Manhattan Project and Cold War. The Hanford Reach’s wild and untamed nature is a direct legacy of the Manhattan Project and the Cold War. Manhattan Project officials removed pre-war agricultural operations and prohibited further development. This formed a large security buffer surrounding the project and inadvertently preserved the shrub steppe ecosystem. When plutonium production stopped, the reduced size of the Hanford Site opened the opportunity for creation of the Hanford Reach National Monument, the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s first national monument. The REACH Museum features rotating and permanent exhibits, including robust presentations on the Manhattan Project, Cold War, indigenous peoples, and cataclysmic ice age floods. An outdoor learning area displays a sampling of the shrub steppe and riparian ecosystems and provides hands-on, interactive activities that are fun while teaching important themes including irrigated agriculture, hops cultivation, local animals, native plants, and land formation. Visit the Reach Museum website for hours of operation and current activities. Continue Your Journey The Hanford Reach National Monument offers hiking at places such as the White Bluffs Overlook, Hanford High School Overlook, and Saddle Mountain, where you may enjoy expansive views of the Hanford Site and the beauty of the shrub steppe ecosystem. Quick Facts Location:Richland, WA MANAGED BY:REACH Museum
Wallula Gap National Natural Landmark
Wallula Gap National Natural Landmark Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail The Horse Heaven Hills are the southern border of the Central Basin area of the Columbia Basin and the Wallula Gap is the opening through which all of the Columbia and Snake River waters escape the basin. Wallula Gap is the largest, the most spectacular and the most significant of the several large water gaps through basalt anticlines in the Columbia Basin. During the Pliocene and early Pleistocene the thick basalt flows of what is now southern Washington were wrinkled and uplifted into a long northeast-southwest trending anticlinal ridge which we call the Horse Heaven Hills. The uplift of this structure was more rapid than the ability of the ancestral Columbia River to down-cut, thus a great lake, Lake Lewis, was impounded in the Pasco Basin area. The remains of the lake beds formed in this lake are the Ringold Formation. Once Lake Lewis was filled to overflowing, it established an outlet over the lowest saddle in the ridge at the location of Wallula Gap. The Columbia then poured down the steep south flank of the Horse Heaven Hills anticline in cascades and waterfalls which eroded slowly downward and head-ward until the ridge was completely breached, Wallula Gap was formed and the waters of Lake Lewis, along with considerable quantities of the Ringold sediments, drained down the Columbia Gorge into the sea. During the late Pleistocene the greatly increased melt-waters from the ice sheets and Cascade glaciers caused floods, perhaps annually, which also encountered the constriction of Wallula Gap. The gap may have also been dammed by jammed icebergs and ice cakes, causing the temporary and intermittent rebirth of Lake Lewis. This ephemeral lake left bottom deposits called the Touchet Beds. These giant floods filled the basin with a great temporary lake, which rapidly drained out through Wallula Gap. At the height of the Ice Age Floods the water flow through Wallula Gap has been estimated at 166 cubic kilometers (40 cubic miles) per day, a rate nearly twice the combined flow of all the present rivers on earth! This outlet of Wallula Gap, constricted in a relative sense only, (i.e. since it is more than 1.6 kilometers [1 mile] from rim to rim) controlled the discharge from the Pasco Basin and is dramatic and illustrative evidence of the magnitude of these flood waters. Quick Facts Significance:All of the flood waters that cut the channeled scablands of southeastern Washington from the Bonneville and Spokane floods were channeled through Wallula Gap. Designation:National Natural Landmark OPEN TO PUBLIC:No
Yakima Sportsman State Park
Yakima Sportsman State Park Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Yakima Sportsman State Park is, literally, an oasis in the desert. Located near the urban amenities of Yakima in arid eastern Washington, this park attracts local picnickers, out-of-town visitors and road-trippers passing through. Birds flock to Yakima Sportsman, and so do birders, their binoculars and field guides in hand. The Yakima River flood plain sustains a natural wetland of marshes, grasses and ponds, welcoming habitat for 140 bird species. Wood ducks are the stars of the show, but dramatic red-winged blackbirds, herons and hawks make their home near the park’s juvenile fishing pond, which is stocked with rainbow trout and open to young anglers. The gentle trails come alive in season. The trees turn red, orange and yellow in fall, and spring brings a riot of lilies, chokecherry, dogwood and blossoming catalpa trees. Green lawns and tree shade make this a lovely camping or picnic spot in summer. PARK FEATURES Yakima Sportsman State Park is a 266-acre camping park originally created by the Yakima Sportsman’s Association to promote game management and the preservation of natural resources. The park is an irrigated green zone in an otherwise desert area and has a variety of deciduous trees in the camping and picnic areas. More than 130 species of bird make wildlife watching a delight. The campground is a stay-over place for events at the Yakima Sun-Dome and fairgrounds. Discover Pass: A Discover Pass is required for vehicle access to state parks for day use. For more information about the Discover Pass and exemptions, please visit the Discover Pass web page. Quick Facts Location:904 University Parkway Yakima, WA 98901 MANAGED BY:Washington State Parks A Discover Pass is required for vehicle access to state parks for day use. For more information about the Discover Pass and exemptions, please visit the Discover Pass web page.
Frenchman Coulee
Frenchman Coulee Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Frenchman Coulee is a short drive north and west from the Silica Road exit 123 off US-90, along the Old Vantage Road. It is one of the most beautiful features left behind by the great Ice Age Floods. Several of those massive floods, up to 700 ft (213 m) deep, created Frenchman Coulee, its Potholes Coulee neighbor to the north, and scoured the bizarrely eroded surface of Babcock Bench, preferentially eroding weaker rock out of the top of the Grand Ronde Member of Columbia River Basalt. Frenchman Coulee is actually a dual coulee and cataract system, Frenchman Coulee and Echo Basin, separated by a remnant rock blade that sports tall basalt columns attracting rock climbers like bees to flowers. The Feathers is probably the most popular climbing area in the region. Hiking trails, some barely discernible, lead along and atop the rock blade, affording spectacular views of both coulees. Frenchman Coulee also has a waterfall in the eastern section of the Coulee that is accessible by foot. Other hiking and biking trails explore the floor of the coulee and continue over 15 miles north along Babcock Bench, perched high above and adjacent to the Columbia River, past Potholes Coulee and on to Crescent Bar. Quick Facts Location: Old Vantage Highway, Quincy, WA 98848 A primarily destination for hikers, mountain bikers and rock climbers with the fascinating rock formations of the Gorge making for a great challenge
Hiking Drumheller Channels
Hiking Drumheller Channels Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail There are scads of hiking trails all through Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark. On a cloudy day in early June we took off on a couple of exploratory hikes that were simply amazing. We first proceeded south from the parking lot at Lower Goose Lake, running through late Spring wildflowers, eventually looking for one of Bruce Bjornstad’s geocaches. We wandered over hills and down into deeper valleys, always surrounded by the towering walls of basalt defining that section of Drumheller Channels. Along the way we found an area of apparent Kolk depressions with odd spires of basalt poking up out of the middle of a central mound. Soon we passed through a reedy area that bounded the southern edge of Lower Goose Lake. We continued on south to the edge of Black Lake where the geocache was supposed to be, but after 20 minutes with 4 of us looking in the area of the GPS coordinates, we finally decided the cache was no longer there and headed back. The hike was easy, very pleasant, and mercifully cool due to the cloudy morning. We then drove north across the O’Sullivan Dam, and back south through Columbia National Wildlife Refuge to the W. McManamon Road entrance to Crab Creek Marsh Unit #3 and the Basalt Columns at Drumheller Trailhead, the kickoff point to go to the top of “Nick’s Columns”. Nick Zentner’s videos about the columns are great, but the blooper where his rock hammer falls down between columns is priceless. We just had to see those columns for ourselves, and we weren’t disappointed. It’s interesting how only the columns along the edge are free standing, while those inboard are packed around with sediment. The little rain the area gets probably washed the sediment out of the spaces between the bordering columns. After walking around for a while we made our way back to the car and drove to the Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark overlook for a final sweeping viewpoint. The entire area is huge and worth several days of exploring, but it’s also pretty easy to have a great time in just a few hours. This is a place you just have to experience. Quick Facts Location: Adams County, Washington 99371
Dry Falls Kayaking
Dry Falls Kayaking Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Most Pacific Northwesterners know how awesomely majestic and stunningly beautiful Dry Falls is, if only from the pictures that seem to show up everywhere. If you haven’t been there in person yet you definitely need to make that trek into central Washington. The drive through the lower Grand Coulee, as awesome as it is, is only the teaser for the view from the Dry Falls Visitor Center. But if you really want to get into the majesty, consider taking a kayak down to Dry Falls Lake or Deep Lake, at the base of those monstrous cataracts. The dirt road to Dry Falls Lake isn’t for the faint of heart, and a good, high clearance SUV is recommended. But paddling the lake near the base of those 400 foot high cliffs is worth the effort. Bordered by reeds and accompanied by waterfowl, an hour-long paddle around the lake is leisurely, relaxing, and totally absorbing. And who knows, you might end up in someone else’s fantastic photo of Dry Falls from the Visitor Center. The road to Deep Lake is paved, so it is a much easier place to get to. And the ramp at the lake makes getting in and out pretty easy… just be careful of the slippery algae on the ramp. Once you’re on the lake an hour’s paddle will take you from an area bordered by rolling hills to a section bounded by high vertical walls. Don’t fall out in this area because there’s nowhere to climb out or beach your boat to climb back in. Still, it’s astoundingly interesting to get up close and see the variety of textures in the basalt walls. Of course, you can also do some great hiking in both areas, though climbing the blade takes quite a bit of effort and confidence, but the view is pretty spectacular. Unfortunately, the way back down isn’t any easier than the way up. Choose your route carefully. Quick Facts Location: Grant County, Washington, United States 99371 MANAGED BY:Washington State ParksWebsite: https://iafi.org/go-do/washington/ Dry Falls is a 3.5-mile-long scalloped precipice with four major alcoves, in central Washington scablands. A Discover Pass is required for vehicle access to state parks for day use. For more information about the Discover Pass and exemptions, please visit the Discover Pass web page.
Ginkgo Petrified Forest
Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park Interpretive Center Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park is a registered National Natural Landmark, lyng just north of US-90 at exit 136, and west of the Wanapum Lake portion of the Columbia River at Vantage, WA. Established in 1935, it is home to a rare and vast collection of petrified trees. The park covers 7,124 acres, including an interpretive trail, on which visitors can hike and see protected displays of several of the petrified tree species. The abundance of tree species discovered here make it one of the most diverse collections of petrified trees in North America. The trees are thought to have been carried down the flanks of ancient volcanoes from various ecological zones by floods and lahars., and then deposited and buried in an ancient lakebed. Slowly, cell-by-cell, the tree cells were replaced by dissolved minerals in the groundwater, resulting in exact rock replicas of the trees. The park comprises three primary locations. Drive a couple of miles up the Old Vantage Highway to the Ginkgo “Trailside Museum”, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and recently updated with a new interpretive exhibit. From here, 1.25 miles of the Trees of Stone Interpretive Trail wind past more than 20 petrified logs protected in their original settings with signage about the petrified wood. Birders look for golden eagles, sage thrashers, Say’s phoebes and many other species. Elk and bighorn sheep also frequent this area. A total of 3 miles of hiking trails are at this site. Perched on a cliff face carved out by Ice Age floods, Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Center overlooks the Wanapum Lake portion of the beautiful Columbia River. The access road is marked by a small sign on Main St. just north of the small town of Vantage. The interpretive center was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression and was later expanded in 1951.The air-conditioned Center museum features a beautiful collection of more than 30 varieties of petrified wood, videos and park volunteers to inform visitors about the history behind this unique and unusual petrified forest. They can also tell about the powerful Ice Age Floods, responsible for the visually captivating surrounding landscape. Outside the Center, visitors can enjoy the day-use/picnic area, view the scenic river, touch petrified wood and learn more about the Ice Age Floods. Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park is also home to the Wanapum Recreation Area about 3 miles south of US-90, which features 27,000 feet of freshwater shoreline and hosts a 50 site, full hook-up campground, a day use area with a swim beach, and a boat launch. Quick Facts On the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Location: 4511 Huntzinger Rd, Vantage, WA 98950 99371 MANAGED BY: Washington State Parks A Discover Pass is required for vehicle access to state parks for day use. For more information about the Discover Pass and exemptions, please visit the Discover Pass web page.