Palouse Falls and Cruising the Snake River
The day dawned bright and clear as we anchored in a cove on the Snake. After breakfast we split into three groups: the kayakers, the sightseers to Palouse Falls by bus, and those planning a Zodiac excursion on the river. The latter two would change places midway through the morning.
The site is a perfect example of the devastation caused by ancient lava upwellings followed later by the catastrophic Missoula Floods. The Missoula Floods occurred about 13,000 years ago when the melting continental glaciers filled a depression near today’s Missoula, Montana, and burst through an ice dam to form a torrent perhaps 600 feet high that descended through and over eastern Washington to ream out the Columbia Gorge.
Outcroppings of lava still punctuate the rolling plains waving with dry-appearing but nutritious grass. From a precipitous basalt cliff the Palouse River falls into a round pool. The awesome canyon drew gasps of disbelief from passengers.
Meanwhile, the kayakers, paddling along quiet water, enjoyed solitude. Explorers by Zodiac were delighted to see a mule deer, a western grebe, and the nests of cliff swallows. Barn swallows swirling around the passengers seemed to enjoy their company. Naturalist’s Steve and Linda were surprised to find wapato growing in the river shallows, the farthest upstream on the Columbia that they have seen. Wapato was a staple of the Chinook Indians’ diets, described as a sort of swamp potato first seen by Lewis and Clark at Indian villages on Sauvie’s Island near today’s Portland.
After a very special presentation by VonDel Chamberlain about the relationship between early Indian tribal mores and symbols and the stars, historian JoAnn Roe completed her overview of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Chamberlain and interested passengers went on deck to see constellations in the clear skies above.
The day dawned bright and clear as we anchored in a cove on the Snake. After breakfast we split into three groups: the kayakers, the sightseers to Palouse Falls by bus, and those planning a Zodiac excursion on the river. The latter two would change places midway through the morning.
The site is a perfect example of the devastation caused by ancient lava upwellings followed later by the catastrophic Missoula Floods. The Missoula Floods occurred about 13,000 years ago when the melting continental glaciers filled a depression near today’s Missoula, Montana, and burst through an ice dam to form a torrent perhaps 600 feet high that descended through and over eastern Washington to ream out the Columbia Gorge.
Outcroppings of lava still punctuate the rolling plains waving with dry-appearing but nutritious grass. From a precipitous basalt cliff the Palouse River falls into a round pool. The awesome canyon drew gasps of disbelief from passengers.
Meanwhile, the kayakers, paddling along quiet water, enjoyed solitude. Explorers by Zodiac were delighted to see a mule deer, a western grebe, and the nests of cliff swallows. Barn swallows swirling around the passengers seemed to enjoy their company. Naturalist’s Steve and Linda were surprised to find wapato growing in the river shallows, the farthest upstream on the Columbia that they have seen. Wapato was a staple of the Chinook Indians’ diets, described as a sort of swamp potato first seen by Lewis and Clark at Indian villages on Sauvie’s Island near today’s Portland.
After a very special presentation by VonDel Chamberlain about the relationship between early Indian tribal mores and symbols and the stars, historian JoAnn Roe completed her overview of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Chamberlain and interested passengers went on deck to see constellations in the clear skies above.
