Palouse River
We arrived this morning at the mouth of the Palouse River where two hundred years ago to the day, Lewis and Clark paddled. naming it Drewyer’s River for George Drewyer (Drouillard), one of the expedition’s most important interpreters and hunters. Seventeen million years ago, huge lava flows covering hundreds of square miles formed the landscape. Then, during the last ice age about 15,000 years ago, the landscape was drastically altered by a series of catastrophic floods that gouged out the current Palouse River Valley. The Palouse Falls now drops approximately 200 feet, pouring water into the ancient channel. Today, we walked around the high plateau, where we had an excellent vantage point over the falls and the dramatic scenery below.
Some of us also chose to explore the river by kayak and Zodiac. Surrounded by walls of columnar basalt, the aroma of sage transported us into another world, peaceful and serene. We could see the patterns of cliff swallow nests, vacated during the winter while the birds head elsewhere for better feeding grounds. Scattered throughout the river valley along the cliffs, you could see where large raptors perched while feasting on desert prey. The guano they leave behind creates prime habitat for particular lichen species that add to the pallet of colors in the Palouse valley.
We arrived this morning at the mouth of the Palouse River where two hundred years ago to the day, Lewis and Clark paddled. naming it Drewyer’s River for George Drewyer (Drouillard), one of the expedition’s most important interpreters and hunters. Seventeen million years ago, huge lava flows covering hundreds of square miles formed the landscape. Then, during the last ice age about 15,000 years ago, the landscape was drastically altered by a series of catastrophic floods that gouged out the current Palouse River Valley. The Palouse Falls now drops approximately 200 feet, pouring water into the ancient channel. Today, we walked around the high plateau, where we had an excellent vantage point over the falls and the dramatic scenery below.
Some of us also chose to explore the river by kayak and Zodiac. Surrounded by walls of columnar basalt, the aroma of sage transported us into another world, peaceful and serene. We could see the patterns of cliff swallow nests, vacated during the winter while the birds head elsewhere for better feeding grounds. Scattered throughout the river valley along the cliffs, you could see where large raptors perched while feasting on desert prey. The guano they leave behind creates prime habitat for particular lichen species that add to the pallet of colors in the Palouse valley.
