Columbia River
The Sea Lion made good speed sailing upstream on the Columbia River last night and reached the confluence with the Snake River (where we planned to spend the next couple days) very early this morning. We could already tell even at sunrise that it was going to be a beautiful, clear, warm day – perfect for what we had in mind for later this afternoon. A spur of the moment decision to have lunch out on deck was appreciated by all, and it set the stage for our arrival at the mouth of the Palouse River, a small tributary of the Snake. The Palouse River, which is about 220 miles (350 km) long, has its headwaters in Idaho and flows westward into Washington where it enters the Snake River about 60 miles (100 km) upstream from the confluence with the Columbia River, between the Lower Monumental and Little Goose dams. There is irrigated farming in the Palouse basin, although we couldn't see any of it where we were, and it is worth noting that the region gives us “appaloosa” for a type of Indian horse with light-colored hindquarters covered with dark spots.
We spent the entire afternoon and evening exploring the Palouse River system and environs, including the Palouse Falls State Park. The water of these impressive falls pours over a wide semicircle of eroded basaltic rock and drops more than 200 feet (60 m) into an enormous plunge pool. Everyone also got the chance to explore the river by Zodiac, although a few opted to do it on their own by kayak. The riverine terrain is absolutely stunning, as the river flows through a very scenic gorge composed of heavily eroded terraces of ancient basaltic layers. One of the special aspects of this volcanic geology is the bizarre appearance of horizontal layers of columnar basalt (see the accompanying photograph). We learned that the basaltic formations were laid down between 17 and six million years ago, and the gorge was carved out by a succession of great floods of unimaginable size which occurred during the Late Pleistocene. The fun continued well into the evening as the Galley and Dining Room Staff organized a wonderful barbecue ashore at Lion’s Ferry State Park, complete with a nearly full moon for extra effect.
The Sea Lion made good speed sailing upstream on the Columbia River last night and reached the confluence with the Snake River (where we planned to spend the next couple days) very early this morning. We could already tell even at sunrise that it was going to be a beautiful, clear, warm day – perfect for what we had in mind for later this afternoon. A spur of the moment decision to have lunch out on deck was appreciated by all, and it set the stage for our arrival at the mouth of the Palouse River, a small tributary of the Snake. The Palouse River, which is about 220 miles (350 km) long, has its headwaters in Idaho and flows westward into Washington where it enters the Snake River about 60 miles (100 km) upstream from the confluence with the Columbia River, between the Lower Monumental and Little Goose dams. There is irrigated farming in the Palouse basin, although we couldn't see any of it where we were, and it is worth noting that the region gives us “appaloosa” for a type of Indian horse with light-colored hindquarters covered with dark spots.
We spent the entire afternoon and evening exploring the Palouse River system and environs, including the Palouse Falls State Park. The water of these impressive falls pours over a wide semicircle of eroded basaltic rock and drops more than 200 feet (60 m) into an enormous plunge pool. Everyone also got the chance to explore the river by Zodiac, although a few opted to do it on their own by kayak. The riverine terrain is absolutely stunning, as the river flows through a very scenic gorge composed of heavily eroded terraces of ancient basaltic layers. One of the special aspects of this volcanic geology is the bizarre appearance of horizontal layers of columnar basalt (see the accompanying photograph). We learned that the basaltic formations were laid down between 17 and six million years ago, and the gorge was carved out by a succession of great floods of unimaginable size which occurred during the Late Pleistocene. The fun continued well into the evening as the Galley and Dining Room Staff organized a wonderful barbecue ashore at Lion’s Ferry State Park, complete with a nearly full moon for extra effect.
