From Lake Umatilla to Lake Walula….locks and dams along the Columbia River
The sun rose in clear skies as the Sea Lion made her way east along the Columbia River. We were on approach to John Day Lock and dam. During the previous night, our vessel had pierced through the Cascade Mountain range and entered the channeled scab lands of eastern Washington and Oregon.
Approximately 17 million years ago, fractures in the earth’s crust near the southern end of the Wallowa Mountains and along the Oregon-Idaho border began to pour forth huge flows of basaltic lavas. Up until 6 million years ago, a series of many more basalt flows made their way west towards the Pacific Ocean. The Grande Ronde Basalt flow, accounting for 85 percent of the Columbia River Basalt flows, covered nearly 58,000 square miles and filled the area with nearly 36,000 cubic miles of basalt, in some places nearly a mile deep! Later flows comprised by the Saddle Mountain basalts, issued from dikes ranging from Western Idaho to Central Washington; smaller than their predecessors, these basalt flows followed and filled channels that had been cut in the previous Columbia River Basalts flows by tributaries of the Columbia River, in many cases redirecting this river toward its current location.
As the Sea Lion continued through Lake Umatilla behind the upstream side of John Day lock, the hills on either side were clocked in the golden colors of fall. A splash of yellow from big sagebrush and rabbit brush stood out against blue skies and the parched grasses growing on the thin soils covering the basalt cliffs that surround the Columbia River.
We were making good time coming up river, so our expedition leader decided to make a short excursion for a hike in Hat Rock state park. The park gets its name from a volcanic plug, left after the Bretz floods carved out the Columbia River valley roughly 12,000 years ago. Lewis and Clark named the formation during the westward journey in 1805.
“14 miles to a rock in a Lard. Resembling a hat just below a rapid at the lower Point of an in the Middle of the river” - Captain Clark, October 19, 1805
Once Zodiacs had delivered our group ashore, we walked through this small oasis in the dry basalt hills. Irrigation and a local spring provided a lovely green park located just at the base of Hat Rock. Wandering along the trails, we found the last flowers of late summer, many water birds, and tucked away at the east end of the park was one of the sources of water; a spring of cool, clear water leading under a bridge and entering eventually into the Columbia River.
Soon it was time to return to the Sea Lion and continue our easterly course heading for Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington. Our afternoon of cruising included a local wine and food extravaganza! Continuing our cruise east through basalt cliffs heading for the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers, the sun was setting and a full moon began a slow rise in the east as our natural history staff began our first recapitulation. Stories from Lewis and Clark to the horse heaven hills and the first horses on the Columbia River Plateau added insight to a day full of visual delights…..as the full moon continued its course through the early night sky.
The sun rose in clear skies as the Sea Lion made her way east along the Columbia River. We were on approach to John Day Lock and dam. During the previous night, our vessel had pierced through the Cascade Mountain range and entered the channeled scab lands of eastern Washington and Oregon.
Approximately 17 million years ago, fractures in the earth’s crust near the southern end of the Wallowa Mountains and along the Oregon-Idaho border began to pour forth huge flows of basaltic lavas. Up until 6 million years ago, a series of many more basalt flows made their way west towards the Pacific Ocean. The Grande Ronde Basalt flow, accounting for 85 percent of the Columbia River Basalt flows, covered nearly 58,000 square miles and filled the area with nearly 36,000 cubic miles of basalt, in some places nearly a mile deep! Later flows comprised by the Saddle Mountain basalts, issued from dikes ranging from Western Idaho to Central Washington; smaller than their predecessors, these basalt flows followed and filled channels that had been cut in the previous Columbia River Basalts flows by tributaries of the Columbia River, in many cases redirecting this river toward its current location.
As the Sea Lion continued through Lake Umatilla behind the upstream side of John Day lock, the hills on either side were clocked in the golden colors of fall. A splash of yellow from big sagebrush and rabbit brush stood out against blue skies and the parched grasses growing on the thin soils covering the basalt cliffs that surround the Columbia River.
We were making good time coming up river, so our expedition leader decided to make a short excursion for a hike in Hat Rock state park. The park gets its name from a volcanic plug, left after the Bretz floods carved out the Columbia River valley roughly 12,000 years ago. Lewis and Clark named the formation during the westward journey in 1805.
“14 miles to a rock in a Lard. Resembling a hat just below a rapid at the lower Point of an in the Middle of the river” - Captain Clark, October 19, 1805
Once Zodiacs had delivered our group ashore, we walked through this small oasis in the dry basalt hills. Irrigation and a local spring provided a lovely green park located just at the base of Hat Rock. Wandering along the trails, we found the last flowers of late summer, many water birds, and tucked away at the east end of the park was one of the sources of water; a spring of cool, clear water leading under a bridge and entering eventually into the Columbia River.
Soon it was time to return to the Sea Lion and continue our easterly course heading for Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington. Our afternoon of cruising included a local wine and food extravaganza! Continuing our cruise east through basalt cliffs heading for the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers, the sun was setting and a full moon began a slow rise in the east as our natural history staff began our first recapitulation. Stories from Lewis and Clark to the horse heaven hills and the first horses on the Columbia River Plateau added insight to a day full of visual delights…..as the full moon continued its course through the early night sky.
