On the Palouse and Snake Rivers
Just before breakfast this morning, the Sea Lion entered the mouth of the Palouse River and dropped its anchor. Almost exactly 200 years ago, the Corps of Discovery passed this spot on its way to the Pacific Ocean and explored the river for a few miles. The Captains named this river for George Drouillard, the best hunter and chief interpreter in the Corps of Discovery. Later explorers named the river for the local tribe of Indians.
After breakfast, we left the ship by Zodiacs for adventures on the river. We marveled at the high cliffs of basalt, deposited by volcanoes 15-17 million years ago. Some of us paddled kayaks up the river and observed the plants and wildlife at close range. Others remained on the Zodiacs for exploration of the river and comments by naturalists about the geology, botany, and zoology of the area.
Many of us disembarked the Zodiacs on a small beach and boarded a bus to travel from river level to the top of the plateau on the north side of the Palouse. As we drove upward, we passed rocky outcrops that were progressively younger in time. On the plateau, we observed the landscape that remained after the catastrophic Ice Age floods swept through the area about 15,000 years ago. We walked along the edge of the Palouse River Valley, marveling at the 200-foot tall Palouse Falls and the immense power of the floods that gouged out the hundreds of feet of hard rock and left the pool at the foot of the Falls and the valley below it.
Although the morning weather was rainy, the sun emerged as we returned to the ship of a barbecue lunch and ice cream sundaes. After lunch, Sue Perrin presented a lecture on the biology of salmon in the Northwest.
Just before breakfast this morning, the Sea Lion entered the mouth of the Palouse River and dropped its anchor. Almost exactly 200 years ago, the Corps of Discovery passed this spot on its way to the Pacific Ocean and explored the river for a few miles. The Captains named this river for George Drouillard, the best hunter and chief interpreter in the Corps of Discovery. Later explorers named the river for the local tribe of Indians.
After breakfast, we left the ship by Zodiacs for adventures on the river. We marveled at the high cliffs of basalt, deposited by volcanoes 15-17 million years ago. Some of us paddled kayaks up the river and observed the plants and wildlife at close range. Others remained on the Zodiacs for exploration of the river and comments by naturalists about the geology, botany, and zoology of the area.
Many of us disembarked the Zodiacs on a small beach and boarded a bus to travel from river level to the top of the plateau on the north side of the Palouse. As we drove upward, we passed rocky outcrops that were progressively younger in time. On the plateau, we observed the landscape that remained after the catastrophic Ice Age floods swept through the area about 15,000 years ago. We walked along the edge of the Palouse River Valley, marveling at the 200-foot tall Palouse Falls and the immense power of the floods that gouged out the hundreds of feet of hard rock and left the pool at the foot of the Falls and the valley below it.
Although the morning weather was rainy, the sun emerged as we returned to the ship of a barbecue lunch and ice cream sundaes. After lunch, Sue Perrin presented a lecture on the biology of salmon in the Northwest.
