Palouse River and the Lower Monumental Dam
We awoke this morning at sunrise as the Sea Lion was leaving the lock at Little Goose Dam on the Snake River. The beautiful, clear morning was a preview of the gorgeous, summer-like day that was to come. Soon after breakfast, we were at the mouth of the Palouse River, a small river that seems dwarfed by the wide valley and towering basalt rock formations. If we had been here 12,000 years ago, however, we would have been witness to the massive Bretz Floods that carved the Palouse River Canyon and the eastern Washington scablands. J. Harlan Bretz noticed the landscape size flood markings in the 1920's, but it was not until 1979 (and aerial photography) that the rest of the geologic community believed his assessment. The sunshine and blue skies made the Zodiac cruises, trip to the falls, and sea kayaking especially pleasant. A highlight for many of us was the aerial disputes and dives we witnessed between a pair of golden eagles and a pair of red-tailed hawks.
We were back on board by lunchtime and treated to a delicious barbecue on the bridge deck. This gave us the perfect excuse to stay outside and relax while we enjoyed the scenery and cruised downstream to Lower Monumental Dam. In late afternoon, we gathered outside once again to watch our downstream passage through the massive lock chamber. At 675 feet long and 86 feet wide, the Sea Lion has more space than she would ever need. But the locks are designed for the barges that fill up nearly all that space and go inland to Lewiston, Idaho. Less than 20 minutes after tying up, we had "locked down". When the guillotine gate opened, we were another 100 feet closer to sea level on our way downstream.
In the late afternoon, we settled in to the lounge to learn more about the salmon, and how they manage the changes that these rivers have seen since the days of Lewis and Clark. The changes that have made this river system easier for us to navigate now make it much harder for the salmon to do the same.
We awoke this morning at sunrise as the Sea Lion was leaving the lock at Little Goose Dam on the Snake River. The beautiful, clear morning was a preview of the gorgeous, summer-like day that was to come. Soon after breakfast, we were at the mouth of the Palouse River, a small river that seems dwarfed by the wide valley and towering basalt rock formations. If we had been here 12,000 years ago, however, we would have been witness to the massive Bretz Floods that carved the Palouse River Canyon and the eastern Washington scablands. J. Harlan Bretz noticed the landscape size flood markings in the 1920's, but it was not until 1979 (and aerial photography) that the rest of the geologic community believed his assessment. The sunshine and blue skies made the Zodiac cruises, trip to the falls, and sea kayaking especially pleasant. A highlight for many of us was the aerial disputes and dives we witnessed between a pair of golden eagles and a pair of red-tailed hawks.
We were back on board by lunchtime and treated to a delicious barbecue on the bridge deck. This gave us the perfect excuse to stay outside and relax while we enjoyed the scenery and cruised downstream to Lower Monumental Dam. In late afternoon, we gathered outside once again to watch our downstream passage through the massive lock chamber. At 675 feet long and 86 feet wide, the Sea Lion has more space than she would ever need. But the locks are designed for the barges that fill up nearly all that space and go inland to Lewiston, Idaho. Less than 20 minutes after tying up, we had "locked down". When the guillotine gate opened, we were another 100 feet closer to sea level on our way downstream.
In the late afternoon, we settled in to the lounge to learn more about the salmon, and how they manage the changes that these rivers have seen since the days of Lewis and Clark. The changes that have made this river system easier for us to navigate now make it much harder for the salmon to do the same.
