Palouse and Snake Rivers
Geology is the foundation for all life. The geologic features of a landscape can and will change over time. The steep layered canyon of the Palouse river bore testament to the erosive powers of water and changing seasonal temperatures. Carved by catastrophic floods was a winding pathway for the ribbon of water to follow, heading down the trail of least resistance and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean.
Where erosive forces have plucked and broken away the vertical basalt columns, the over-hanging ledges become prime real estate for cliff swallows. We watched swallows fill their beaks with mud from along the banks of the river and return repeatedly to add and mold the growing gourd-shaped nests. A haven on a vertical cliff in which to raise a family.
Piles of bird droppings could be seen below previous years’ nests. Higher on the cliffs, guano stains gave testament to nests of raptors and ravens. The nitrogen rich guano acts as an erosive force on the geology as well, in an exceedingly slow process of chemical decomposition. This nitrogen is used by plants whose seeds have blown into crevices, germinated in small pockets of organic matter and now send roots into nooks and crannies, seeking out nutrients and moisture. Perhaps these roots may weaken fractures to the point where gravity takes over and the talus slope skirt at the base of the cliff grows a bit larger.
During the afternoon, we continued westward towards the Cascade Mountains with waterfalls and snow capped peaks. The setting sun sparkled off a muddy river full of sediments being carried downstream. The sediments are now the tiniest bits of geology swirling in eddies, dropping from the water column and depositing along the riverside, where a swallow may stop and gather a beak-full to add to its nest on the underside of a steep cliff face. While the cliff swallows will collect and stuff their growing chicks with beak-full after beak-full of juicy bugs in order to fledge them, they used the foundation of geology to provide a safe perch to raise their family.
Geology is the foundation for all life. The geologic features of a landscape can and will change over time. The steep layered canyon of the Palouse river bore testament to the erosive powers of water and changing seasonal temperatures. Carved by catastrophic floods was a winding pathway for the ribbon of water to follow, heading down the trail of least resistance and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean.
Where erosive forces have plucked and broken away the vertical basalt columns, the over-hanging ledges become prime real estate for cliff swallows. We watched swallows fill their beaks with mud from along the banks of the river and return repeatedly to add and mold the growing gourd-shaped nests. A haven on a vertical cliff in which to raise a family.
Piles of bird droppings could be seen below previous years’ nests. Higher on the cliffs, guano stains gave testament to nests of raptors and ravens. The nitrogen rich guano acts as an erosive force on the geology as well, in an exceedingly slow process of chemical decomposition. This nitrogen is used by plants whose seeds have blown into crevices, germinated in small pockets of organic matter and now send roots into nooks and crannies, seeking out nutrients and moisture. Perhaps these roots may weaken fractures to the point where gravity takes over and the talus slope skirt at the base of the cliff grows a bit larger.
During the afternoon, we continued westward towards the Cascade Mountains with waterfalls and snow capped peaks. The setting sun sparkled off a muddy river full of sediments being carried downstream. The sediments are now the tiniest bits of geology swirling in eddies, dropping from the water column and depositing along the riverside, where a swallow may stop and gather a beak-full to add to its nest on the underside of a steep cliff face. While the cliff swallows will collect and stuff their growing chicks with beak-full after beak-full of juicy bugs in order to fledge them, they used the foundation of geology to provide a safe perch to raise their family.
