G ~ Glacier

Glacier


Much of Washington’s topography is due to the deformations made by glaciers of the Ice Age. These happened both directly and indirectly when a glacial dam burst in Montana several times over a millennium producing the Bretz Floods 13 - 15000 years ago.

Mt Rainier is home to 26 major glaciers. Nisqually, pictured here, is much diminished from 40 years ago when it was recorded advancing 29 inches in one day. I have been above this glacial valley and heard the booms and cracks of its movement. When the sound arises from a foggy misted landscape, you can believe in dragons.

E ~ Erratic

Erratic


Erratics are large boulders that were transported on and in glaciers and left deposited by the melting retreat. Erratics were also floated during the Bretz Floods. It is possible to find boulders that originated in the region of Northern Montana left high and dry in the open fields of eastern Washington and the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Some of these boulders are massively large, almost house sized.

Visit Huge Floods to see and learn about the floods and the interesting landscape they left.

http://hugefloods.com/

Ancent Lakes

Not really that old.


When I first got into birding I learned a lot about the natural history of the state by going on field trips. Eastern Washington was always a favored destination because it offered a complete change of environment , flora and fauna.


During one of these trips I met someone who was very knowledgeable about geology. He told me about the book "Fire, Floods and Faults" by Marge and Ted Mueller. This clever book is a combination of learning and field trips. The Muellers write about the Bretz Floods and describe road trips where you can see the actual effects of these floods on the landscape.



Recently I completed the book "Bretz's Flood, The Remarkable Story of a Rebel Geologist and the Worlds Greatest Flood" by John Soennichsen. The combination of both these books has allowed me to see and understand how the eastern half of our state was shaped ~12,000 years ago.



Another resource for understanding is the wonderful NOVA story about the Megaflood


www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/megaflood/


Approximately 12,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age a giant ice dam located in the far northwest corner of Montana / Idaho region broke loose and allowed the backed up waters of glacial Lake Missoula to flood out. The waters flowed across Western Washington and scoured the landscape all the way south to the Willamette River valley in Western Oregon. This happened multiple times over a span of ~2000. The exact number is not known. You can see evidence of the multiple water levels and layers of scouring in some of the hills. A type of shoreline effect.


I visited Ancient Lakes in Grant County, about 10 miles north of the I-90 bridge along the east shore of the Columbia River, in Potholes Coulee. It was a magnificent warm day and the sky could not have been more blue.


I had hoped to catch some wildflowers on this hike, which was written up in my guide book. To my disappointment most of the flowers have passed for the year, but I certainly enjoyed getting out.


I arrived very early and feel like I had the place to myself. There was a horse trailer that pulled in behind me, but I never saw the horses and their riders until late in my return loop. I loved being in this ancient feeling place with no other people about.



The coulee is about 4 miles deep and ends with an amazing waterfall. At the terminus of the coulee are three lakes which have no outlets. They are remnants of the massive flood that backed water in from the Columbia to the west and waters that flooded over from the east. The combination of forces dug out deep lakes, like a high pressure hose.



Today waterfalls from the plateau above spill over the basalt rock faces and disappear into the ground. The water does not form streams as you would expect but is soaked up into the ground.







Along the way a nose of coulee floor shows multiple layers which illustrate the shoreline effect. Water once lapped against this nose creating lines of erosion. I would guess this nose is about 300 feet high. The distant wall of the coulee is quite a bit further on.






The trail was pretty level until I got into the shorelines of the lakes. They don't have gentle shoreline on their east faces. The basalt boulders were part of the hike challenge and good training right now for future hikes. Recently I heard or read something about rock climbing. As I worked my way along some of these rocks I heard the quote "Trust your foot"


It helps!


A waterfall at the east end of the largest of the trio of lakes compelled me to scramble up to see what was up there. I did find a new flower to figure out , American Brooklime.

The shores of the lakes had Thelypodium still growing well. The bees loved it and it was fun trying to capture photos.

and had some wonderful views of the landscape. This is from the top of the falls.





Walking back I passed many people hiking in for camping. I am sure this must be a remarkable camping area in good weather. There is absolutely no shelter in bad weather but it must be gloriously dark and wonderful on a clear night.





The cliffs were alive with nesting birds, Cliff and Violet-green Swallows, rare White-throated and Black Swifts and a few Rock Wrens. The wrens are so very hard to see but I did spot one singing from his rock and later, while at the top of the waterfall, saw one come down to drink. I didn't even think to try and get a picture.



I stopped by the Quilomene WR I visited last month with on the Native Plant Field trip to see the Bitterroot in bloom. It was a great pleasure to find many in blood and all over I found buds still breaking through the dry hard soil.

These are surely one of the most beautiful flowers of Spring.

Another Experience to Tick Off

Monday I spent the day with three other members of the Native Plant Society. We left Issaquah at 8am and traveled to the Vantage area. The planned activity was to study the plants of the Sage steppe.

I am a rank beginner when it comes to this level of "botanizing" Plants are discussed but common names are not used. The taxonomy names are used. To my ear they sound incomprehensible, even though I know and use words like them daily. Having learned "buckwheat" "desert parsley" " Milk-vetch" it was difficult to be nimble with Eriogonium , Lomatium and Astragalus. Those are just the Genus names, each one has several species attached and in some places distinct sub-species.

But everyone one was nice and we each had our own area of interest. The leader of this trip was more welcoming and supportive than the previous trip I experienced. I think the smaller group was a huge plus.

The weather was perfect, overcast with almost no wind. The Columbia River and the areas surrounding it, particularly west towards the Cascades, are known for their persistent winds. Wind farms are springing up. This is the Wild Horse Project. One of the trip members told me that they have a nice visitors center. I asked her if they allowed people to ramble the property and visit the environment. She was not able to really answer that so I might have to pay a visit and find out for myself. I can imagine that they would not like people near their equipment but it does look like a way to get into this difficult area.

Our first stop was at the Quilomene Wildlife Refuge. I have never explored this area beyond the small patch we visited this day. The roads are usable only with a solid , high clearance 4WD vehicle. We climbed slope of this south facing canyon and slowly explored the plants along the way.


For me it is about appreciating the change of plants and their community in this small environment. The average plant community is dominated by rabbit brush , bitter brush and other sage plants. Hard woody and somewhat dangerous in a thorny way. Smaller plants and flowers often grow tucked inside, using shade and conserving evaporation.

When we reached a steeper bit of slope, the soil gave way to more rocky ground. The plants changed and it was here that the Snowball Cactus were everywhere. Many of them were in flower. Our leaders commented here that the flowers were more open on their previous visit, a windy sunny day. It was early and overcast so the full bloom was lacking, What I saw, however was perfectly wonderful.

At the very top of the hill we had a further change in the soil and there were more grasses and delicate greenery. Violets and Spring beauty could be found. We found a large slope of Large-headed clover. These were by far the largest blooms of this plant I have ever seen and certainly the largest numbers of them.

Three hours on this slope passed far too quickly. We drove to the end of the road at the Ginko SP Headquarters. I have not been here in some time and was thrilled to see that the facility has all new signs and everything has been cleaned up. This site is a great place to take a rest break on a long cross-state journey. You have a great look at the stunning walls above the Columbia River and learn a bit about the floods that formed the area.

The nearby Petrified Forest is another good place for a ramble. It is a large open slope and in the summer there is no shelter from the persistent sun, so arrive early. There were many very large petrified logs though none with identifying signs. I was struck by the beautiful blue streaks in this one.

We went south along the river to the foot of Sentinel Gap and explored the first of two sandy soil sites. There was an abundance of Larkspur and Brodiaea (the blue type) blooming here. There are several types of Asters as well as an abundance of Lupin. These are low growing and more unassuming than you see in the wet meadows around Mt Rainier. All perfectly understandable given the hard living conditions. High wind, low moisture a lot of sunlight and heat.

We crossed over the river and I knew that the potential highlight of the day was next. Sand and dune ecology is found here in the along the east side of the Columbia. The area I visited near Hanford, White Cliffs is a good example. I knew some of the valleys leading away from the river held dunes. All of these canyons and valleys were part of the great Bretz floods which formed the landscape of the majority of the eastern basin ~10000 years ago.

I did not expect that the stop would come so soon. We pulled over on the side of the road in a place I had passed many times. I always thought of this as a spot where truckers could have a safe place to pull off the road. I never realized that there was a "day use only" spot leading down slope nearer the river. We scrabbled through a barbed wire fence and had yet another different environment, sand on bare basalt rock.

There were many of the foundation plants but also some new delights. Here wild onion suffered to grow only three inches high. By the time they put out a bloom, their leaves were usually gone.

Narrow-leafed Phacelia grew in many places as a single stem and blossom, here I found several that produced wonderful bouquets.

The highlight of the trip, a Sand Dune Penstemon already starting to fade. The leader was at this site only five days previous and noted the flowers that were failing. A stunning bit of beauty in an area many might feel has nothing to offer.

I could have stayed out longer and kept rolling on but it was already 5:00 and we faced 2 1/2 hours drive home. It was nice to be able to watch the landscape go by, the luxury of someone else driving. I had a great talk with another member of the group and it felt like in no time we were back at REI in Issaquah. I grabbed the opportunity to go in, wearing my hiking shoes and my feet and their end of day condition to buy a new pair of hiking shoes.

I now own a pair of size 10 1/2 hiking shoes. Somehow that "1/2" makes me feel like I have REALLY big feet, not just big feet. That darned second toe on the left foot is the one to blame.

So home to post one quick photo for my 365 project. There was no way I could bring myself to puzzle over the photos and plant ID's nor to write a scintillating blog entry.

While working on my Flickr entry I felt something on my arm and there it was... A tick walking up my arm.

My first TICK. All these years of tromping about in the eastern Washington area I had never encountered a tick. Now, 48 hours later, my skin has almost stopped crawling and every wisp of hair or stray thread is not a voracious arachnid threatening to lock into a vein.

Catherine Creek, a beautiful blue day

Finding time to escape on the weekends seems to get waylaid by bad weather or the "needs of the many" at work.

Yesterday I escaped to a long delayed visit to Catherine Creek. This area first came to my attention via Flickr. A member had posted a photo of a wildflower the likes of which I have never seen.


Catherine Creek is located between the towns of Lyle and Bingen on the Columbia River. It is part of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

I hit the road super early. The drive is long and I knew I-5 was closed down to one lane at Olympia. The weather, however was spectacular. It was nice to see the sun rise and the weather was crystal clear all day.


Driving east on Hwy 14 is a bit of an adventure. Once I got outside of Vancouver, I experienced the winds the Gorge is famous for. The two lane highway is full of bends and twists and very soon you start climbing to the Cascades. While the mountains are not as high here owing to the effect of the river upon the geology, higher mountains are very near and snow is present in many bare areas. Across the river you can see waterfall after waterfall. The drive from Portland to Hood River is famous for the number of waterfalls. Unlike the Washington side, the Oregon side of the river supports and Interstate which is fast level and an easy option for those in a hurry.

At the highest point of the climb I pulled off at a place called "Cape Horn" to take in the view. Well named, the winds were howling and the trees whipping to the west.

Off in the distance I could see Beacon Rock , a basalt monolith that sits right in the river. It is a famous hike and climb site. There have been Peregrine Falcons nesting here in the past and sometimes the access to the climbs are restricted. You can see Beacon Rock just to the center below.

In a very short time you can tell you are in "eastern" Washington. Pine trees show up in the woods and balsamroot flowers dot the roadside. In Bingen the hills look nothing like one sees in western Washington.

Indeed the whole of this area is a geology wonder. The Columbia River, with its power and age as cut a typical river canyon. Much of this is lost now that the river impounds behind dams and runs much slower and deeper than when Lewis and Clark floated through. One can find evidence of the catastrophic Bretz Floods of 10000 years ago. These floods carved and formed the geography of eastern Washington. Notice how the rolling hill suddenly is lost to a carved out rock face.

Smoothly descending hills abruptly become cliffs. River valleys end and become sharp waterfalls. Hanging valleys were key in Bretz's evidence of catastrophic erosion of the gorge.

Catherine Creek has a paved trail system that allows visitors of all abilities a chance to experience the native plants. There are also wonderful benches that permit sitting and enjoyment of the sweeping views of the river,

and the small but stunning waterfalls of Catherine Creek. The basalt walls of the little mini-canyon were filled with flowers and plants that would be the envy of any rock gardener. A perfect picnic spot.

I will say however, for the best flowers one should climb and ramble in the area across the road. There were many groups of folks present. Hikers and photographers. A group of students from an Oregon college and many people with dogs.

The footing was a challenge as the soil is thin and basalt rock footing is sharp and often loose. Many areas were seeping wet rather than forming runoff channels or soaking in. There was a lot of grasses and mosses and often the moss growing directly over rock made for tricky footing.

The area supports a mix of pine trees and oak trees. Oak is a rare tree in the state and this area around Lyle supports some ( if not the only) Acorn Woodpeckers in Washington.

It was wonderful to be able to ramble the informal hiking trail and I had some great views of the geology of the river area. Mt Hood gradually appeared through burning off haze.

I didn't encounter many people once away from the parking lot. I had a chance encounter with a skunk, my first "live" viewing. It did not stick around for a photo-op. I also saw a Blue-tailed Skink who had the same opinion on having a photo taken.

But these bugs were very obliging. There is no better opportunity for bug photos than the balsamroot , buckwheats and agoseris of eastern Washington.

I did not have a map so without knowledge of the trail length or timing, decided to cut across country and follow a power line back down to the highway. Along this route I found two samples of the unique plant that brought me here ; Grand Hound's Tongue. It was another one of those lucky hits simply because I decided to ramble downhill where I did.

The clustered buds open to become this

Blue also dominated the landscape with fields of Camas. Shooting Stars were everywhere and they were mixed with Death Camas. Upland Larkspur were quite thick and in many places associated with the Oak trees.

I found some Brodiaea, a new flower to learn. I loved the detail of the pale blue stripe. This flower can be found in a dark blue form, depending on the quality of the soil it grows in.

I wish I could have had time for an overnight and a chance to fully explore this lovely area. Klickitat County is said to have the most diverse plant life in the state. It is easy to see that this is possible due to the meeting of east and west, wet and dry low and high altitude.

Rock and Road Trip , Part 2 - Saturday

Sunrise on the wheat farm. Grant County WA

Bright and early is the name of the game. I have always been an early bird. Not knowing what was on the road ahead compelled me to get going...but not until after breakfast at the local diner.

Inside there were two tables of "old friends" whom I imagine were perhaps bachelor farmers getting ready for a days work drinking medium strength diner coffee. They were discussing, amongst other things, who was going to wear what to that afternoons funeral. It felt like they spent most mornings here.

North on Hwy 21, a bee line to Republic. The sunrise was lovely and the rolling hills persisted north through the county.

Adams county gives way to Lincoln county and more wheat fields. Then BOOM, back into cuts of Channels and the effects of the Bretz Floods. It made coming over a rise at 60 mph quite exciting. Slowly the area continue through more dips and rises, less agriculture fields. A signpost announces ... slow, curves ahead next 4 miles 15 mph. I remembered seeing a convoluted bit of road on the map and here it was. A thrilling descent with hairpin turns down through a canyon to the shores of Lake Roosevelt (behind Grand Coulee Dam) to the Ferry crossing that takes you Ferry County.



The ferry crossing was free. It was a sweet little event. The Martha S.. holds about 6 to 9 vehicles. The lone deck hand carefully balances the load and a chock of wood goes behind each vehicles wheel. The wood was polished smooth with years of wear and weathering. I doubt it would stop a baby carriage from rolling




The motor home had the front and center. They were the first off and the bow of the ferry noticeably popped up as they did. Sweet! I was the last off. Immediately we are in the Colville Reservation and the geologic area known as the Okanogan lobe. You can see in the canyon picture above the sudden switch of geology from flat rolling hills to imposing mountains ( and trees!!). The Okanogan lobe was one of the areas that turned the Bretz floods southward. The Grand Coulee was dug by the floods, giving a natural spot to place the dam and the steep walls created the imposing Lake Roosevelt. As I drove north through the deep canyons surrounded by trees, I felt a loss for the open rolling vistas. There was a lot of evidence of forest fires which move through this region every summer. It is easy to see how the canyons make fighting fires difficult. The population density is tiny and Republic, population 1000 is the county seat. It was Fair Weekend, as it was in most of the counties I visited on this trip. A miscalculation on my part, making finding a motel room a particular challenge. I was lucky to find a room in Ritzville.

Republic seems like a nice little town. A former gold mining concern, it appears to support a fair number of nice shops and restaurants that seem to have a slight feel of 60s counter culture. The Stonerose Center is a huge attraction. There were several families from all over. Rock hounding is certainly popular and eastern / central Washington as well as eastern Oregon are meccas for all types of geology experiences.

Armed with a hammer and chisel and a quick lesson in technique I walked to the site 2 blocks away. It was like potato chips. Hard fought for potato chips but you just cannot stop. Several regulars mentioned that the digging was not particularly good that day. The stones were not breaking off well and there was a need to bring in some cleaning to clear off the reject rock to improve access to the fresh rock wall. There was one area roped off which was currently undergoing a researchers investigation.

The boys on the right are at my spot. I showed them the items I had found and they eagerly went to work. The woman and her daughter, on the left, were real pros. Mom was a surgical nurse and was making use of a bone chisel that had long outlived its surgical suite use. I was the plodder novice of this bunch. I am please with my discoveries. Without big tools, like long flat chisels for excavating large rock mass, you are left with palm size pieces to pry out. Any find is a lucky strike. My rocks tempt me with a second layer. I could try to uncover a bonus prize, but at the risk of crumbling the one I have.

Four Needle Pine, Pinus tetrafolia

A Witch-hazel family leaf, Langeria magnifica (extinct genus)

Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia

My Dawn Redwood broke during the final cut, but I was able to take my finds back to the center where a staff member told me what I found and did some repair on the split piece. This was, hands down, one of the best $9 experiences I ever had.

My next destination was Twisp with the intent to stay the night and drive up to a short hike at Harts Pass off Highway 20. The hike had a long drive in to the 7000 ft elevation. Along the road to the trail there are fossilized snails to be found. This area was once under the sea. As I neared Twisp the weather was changing and sketchy radio weather reports said the rain would continue through Sunday. I could not find a motel with a vacancy sign so decided that I best push off home. I decided Hwy 2 was a best choice. Going south from Chelan, it was interesting to note the contrast between the either side of the Columbia River . On the west, imposing rock face walls come down from mountains. On the east side of the river are soft rolling farm orchard and vineyard uplands hills. Further evidence of the flood waters effects. A plus to this route was stopping at one of the many fruit stands. While the one I chose did not have any hard ciders, they did have some novel apple varieties that will lend themselves to an awesome pie.

Arriving in western Washington to rain, which persists today, the weather report mentioned that snow was a possible with the freezing level dropping to 6000 feet and a possibility of one foot of snow. I knew I had made the correct choice. I doubt I will be able to get up to Harts Pass this year. Highway 20 is typically one of the first roads closed for snow and one of the last to open. My wildflower hike books promises that these are some of the best wildflower areas in the state.

I look forward to exploring next year. I will look for Professor Kruckbergs snails and return to Republic for some compelling digging.

Rock and Road Trip , Part 1 - Friday

I few months ago a co-worker told me about Stonerose Interpretive Center in Republic. http://www.stonerosefossil.org/

This site is the remains of an Eocene (50 million years ago) lake bed. For a very small fee you can enter the site, dig and retain 3 fossil specimens. All you need is a light hammer and a chisel tool. The center rents tools and gives an introduction on how to look for items, including the all important cracking open the stone layers.

It had my interest immediately and became the goal of my journey.

My trip got off to a great start and a smile with this poster at the filling pumps. What is not to love. A trip to Eastern Washington is sure to present plenty of bugs for splay analysis

A majority of eastern Washington was shaped by the massive event known as the Bretz Floods. These floods , forty events it is believed, occurred over a 2500 year span at the end of the last ice age. A massive ice dam in northwest Montana gave way and released water from the ancient Lake Missoula. Lake is a misnomer as at the time it was more a glacial sea. The massive volumes of water scoured out much of the eastern half of the state and punched its way to what is now the greater Portland area. Massive boulders, known as erratics can be found in the Willamette Valley from as far away as the north half of Idaho. The concept of the floods, established by J Harlen Bretz in the 1920's. He did not have the advantage of airborne observation but was able to map and observe and establish his theory of the catastrophic floods and how they shaped the landscape. He worked his lifetime to establish the details of these events. Today, photos from space clearly show the effect of these floods.

The floods scoured out much of the basalt and washed soils away, leaving the Channeled Scablands. The flood also punched paths through hills and mountains. Today's course of the Columbia River was largely determined by how the different rock foundations resisted or relented against these floods. The book "Fire, Faults and Floods" by Marge and Ted Mueller is a wonderful lesson in this history and presents road trips to actually see the geology. There are also NOVA and NATURE programs that have been done on the subject. Having a basic understanding of the forces that shaped the area, such as pictured below, has made being here a great lesson in natures force.

My first stop is at Vantage, where I-90 crosses the Columbia River. There is a wonderful sculpture there called Grandfather Cuts Loose The Ponies. Set high on a bench, this work depicts the release of horses by the Creator as a gift to the Native People. I had not visited this site in sometime and I am saddened to say that it has fallen prey to those who cannot resist graffiti and littering. It is a shame that art telling the story of creation in such an ancient place has fallen to such disrespect. I would love to show you detailed pictures of the artists work but I do not wish to present the art with its sad additions.


I love the trip east through Grant County. They proudly tell you, with signs , all about their agriculture. "Highest potato producing county in the US!" (take that Idaho) Along the freeway fences there are signs that tell you what crop is growing... garden beans, sweet corn!!!!! , wheat alfalfa, alfalfa, alfalfa, Timothy hay, green manure (???!?) Now I always thought green manure was a by-product of some of the preceding crops. but it turns out it is a term for a crops like pea and clover used to nitrogen fix the soil and/or suppress weeds. It is plowed under to enrich and increase water retention.

Moses Lake and the Potholes are the north end of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge. This complex is made up of many channeled scabland areas with a large number of lakes ponds and marshes. It is a year round bird refuge and a popular place for water recreation. You can meander the back roads finding pockets of life and surprises.

There are seeds everywhere. Grasses, shrubs and flowers. This beautiful Showy Milkweed caught my eye. Soft as can be, like goose down

Great Egret are currently the most noticeable bird. They should be on the move soon. Little pocket ponds are an oasis of green in this area

White Pelican also gather and make great use of the wet areas of eastern Washington.

South of Moses Lake , the Potholes are a maze of cut canyons with water pockets. They stretch south to Othello. Every Spring Othello has a Sandhill Crane Festival which celebrates these wonderful wetlands and the returning birds of Spring. To see a flock of thousands of Sandhills flying into a canyon is something to be seen and heard in person.

Continuing east the variety of crops give way to WHEAT. Rolling hills of wheat. I stayed in Ritzville, the county seat of Grant county. To be out in this area is to be solitary. The county population is ~17000. less than 10 people per square mile. Areas are large, distances pass quickly. It was full moon and even though clouds were rolling in, I jumped on a chance for a picture.

My camera does not do justice to the beauty but I hope it conveys the simple "loneness" of the area.