Snake River
As if the gates of hell, huge fissures rent the surface of the earth, and belched forth mile after mile of searingly hot lava. Many a stately forest vanished in flame; many an exotic beast was engulfed. Over eons, so much molten rock flooded the land that the earth actually sank under the weight of thousands of accumulated feet. As each layer of lava cooled, it shrank. Deep cracks split the rock into polygonal forms. Columnar basalt was the result. Ages later, new floods scoured the land. A huge lake broke its glacial dam, and hundreds of cubic miles of water sought the sea in unimaginable torrents. Basalt columns toppled. Cliffs and gorges ware carved.
Today we explored a landscape of disaster on the sweetest of days. The sun shown on the grassy flanks of Hell's Canyon as we shot upstream in powerful jetboats. Basalt columns lined the lower part of the canyon, and we admired the striking regularity of their forms. We saw shaggy ponderosa pines and sandpaper-leafed hackberry. We passed old Indian horse trails, abandoned mining towns, and ancient petroglyphs. Perhaps most exciting were wildlife sightings, which were exceptionally good. Pelicans wheeled overhead on their way south. A golden eagle leapt from crag to crag. Deer trotted into the brush. A handful of otters writhed on the beach and tumbled into the river. And bighorn sheep, the canyon's best-known mammals, were common. They eyed us placidly from rocky slopes, and posed by the riverside.
This rugged scenery, wild water, and abundant wildlife must have been similar to what Lewis and Clark found in this region. Today it was a particular pleasure to travel in their wake.
As if the gates of hell, huge fissures rent the surface of the earth, and belched forth mile after mile of searingly hot lava. Many a stately forest vanished in flame; many an exotic beast was engulfed. Over eons, so much molten rock flooded the land that the earth actually sank under the weight of thousands of accumulated feet. As each layer of lava cooled, it shrank. Deep cracks split the rock into polygonal forms. Columnar basalt was the result. Ages later, new floods scoured the land. A huge lake broke its glacial dam, and hundreds of cubic miles of water sought the sea in unimaginable torrents. Basalt columns toppled. Cliffs and gorges ware carved.
Today we explored a landscape of disaster on the sweetest of days. The sun shown on the grassy flanks of Hell's Canyon as we shot upstream in powerful jetboats. Basalt columns lined the lower part of the canyon, and we admired the striking regularity of their forms. We saw shaggy ponderosa pines and sandpaper-leafed hackberry. We passed old Indian horse trails, abandoned mining towns, and ancient petroglyphs. Perhaps most exciting were wildlife sightings, which were exceptionally good. Pelicans wheeled overhead on their way south. A golden eagle leapt from crag to crag. Deer trotted into the brush. A handful of otters writhed on the beach and tumbled into the river. And bighorn sheep, the canyon's best-known mammals, were common. They eyed us placidly from rocky slopes, and posed by the riverside.
This rugged scenery, wild water, and abundant wildlife must have been similar to what Lewis and Clark found in this region. Today it was a particular pleasure to travel in their wake.
