Up the Columbia River to the Snake River
Just before breakfast, we entered the lock at John Day Dam. Sea Lion passed under the tall guillotine gate, and the deckhands tied her up to one of the floating cleats in the lock wall. Once the seven hundred ton gate dropped into place, the lock chamber filled with over forty five million gallons of water, and we rose one hundred five feet to the level of the river behind the dam. Continuing up river, we sailed through dry grasslands, punctuated by several lush orchards and vineyards irrigated with water from the river. Starting about seventeen million years ago the whole area of eastern Washington and Oregon and parts of Idaho were covered repeatedly by massive floods of basalt lava that flowed out of northeastern Oregon. This volcanic activity stopped somewhere around six million years ago, and the basalts now form the most striking feature of the landscape today. As we sailed by the high basalt cliffs, we could clearly see the layering of different ancient lava flows and columnar jointing in some of the outcrops that have been exposed by weathering and erosion since the volcanic activity ceased.
Also, this morning our presentation series began with an entertaining talk by our historian, Harry Fritz, about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Early in the afternoon, we locked through McNary Dam, and afterwards we made a short stop at Hat Rock State Park to get out and enjoy the warm, sunny afternoon. The park is named for a basalt outcropping that looked like a hat to Lewis and Clark when they passed this area in October of 1805. The crew lowered the Zodiacs, and we landed on a small dock in sight of the ‘hat.’ Walking up to the base of the ‘hat’ was popular, and there was time to join our naturalist, Sharon Grainger, to find out about some of the interesting plants in the area. Another group interested in a bit of exercise walked along a bluff overlooking the Columbia River. Back on board, Sharon gave a presentation about the botany along the Columbia River, and then we were treated to a wine tasting of several different regional wines that the ship carries. It was a beautiful evening and just before dinner, Sea Lion turned onto the Snake River on our way to Clarkston.
Just before breakfast, we entered the lock at John Day Dam. Sea Lion passed under the tall guillotine gate, and the deckhands tied her up to one of the floating cleats in the lock wall. Once the seven hundred ton gate dropped into place, the lock chamber filled with over forty five million gallons of water, and we rose one hundred five feet to the level of the river behind the dam. Continuing up river, we sailed through dry grasslands, punctuated by several lush orchards and vineyards irrigated with water from the river. Starting about seventeen million years ago the whole area of eastern Washington and Oregon and parts of Idaho were covered repeatedly by massive floods of basalt lava that flowed out of northeastern Oregon. This volcanic activity stopped somewhere around six million years ago, and the basalts now form the most striking feature of the landscape today. As we sailed by the high basalt cliffs, we could clearly see the layering of different ancient lava flows and columnar jointing in some of the outcrops that have been exposed by weathering and erosion since the volcanic activity ceased.
Also, this morning our presentation series began with an entertaining talk by our historian, Harry Fritz, about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Early in the afternoon, we locked through McNary Dam, and afterwards we made a short stop at Hat Rock State Park to get out and enjoy the warm, sunny afternoon. The park is named for a basalt outcropping that looked like a hat to Lewis and Clark when they passed this area in October of 1805. The crew lowered the Zodiacs, and we landed on a small dock in sight of the ‘hat.’ Walking up to the base of the ‘hat’ was popular, and there was time to join our naturalist, Sharon Grainger, to find out about some of the interesting plants in the area. Another group interested in a bit of exercise walked along a bluff overlooking the Columbia River. Back on board, Sharon gave a presentation about the botany along the Columbia River, and then we were treated to a wine tasting of several different regional wines that the ship carries. It was a beautiful evening and just before dinner, Sea Lion turned onto the Snake River on our way to Clarkston.
