Spokane Basalt Waterfalls EarthCache
Spokane Basalt Waterfalls
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Spokane Waterfalls….. or not.
Depending on the time of day and season of the year, the water is either flowing or not.
Visit late at night in the summer and nary a drop of water might be seen from this point, yet visit in spring when the snow run off is at full force and the lower portion of the rock could be covered.
This is a stunning example of water erosion on an ancient basalt lava flow. Note the chiseled rock, eroded by water and man.
The dark rock that encompasses the waterfalls below you is basalt. This is hardened lava that came from great fissures on what is now the southern part of the Idaho/Washington border. Beginning approximately 17 million years ago, lava flow after lava flow poured onto the landscape of what is now central Washington and northern Oregon. After 11 million years of flows, up to 150 separate lava flows with a combined depth of over 2 miles remain.
Most recently wind blown soil, called loess, from the glaciers was deposited on top of the lava flows. Massive floods which roared through central Washington washed away some of this loess (ironically named the Spokane Floods). Where the loess remains, the soil is extremely fertile, perfect for growing wheat, barley, canola and many other crops. The soil deposits found in the larger Spokane area are the result of sediments left from the gigantic Ice Age floods that came through this area 10,000 to 20,000 years ago.
In order to log this cache please do the following:
1) Log the DAY, DATE and TIME of your visit. 2) Log the weather at the time of your visit. 3) Look east and note the strange dark basalt rock formation in front of you. This rock has the general shape of a capital "L”. Make an ESTIMATE of the height of the water compared to the very top of the highest point of the rock structure. 4) Photograph yourself at the falls (not a requirement, but a request).
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)