Snake & Palouse Rivers
Life on a river is ever-changing. Some of these changes evolve over thousands of years, while other changes occur in a matter of minutes. Today we experienced both types of transformations. This morning was yet another clear, sunny day, allowing for great sightseeing on deck. We received excellent, if unexpectedly longer, views of the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam on the Snake River. Due to repairs in progress on the main gate of the lock, a temporary gate has been put into service. Captain Graves explained the involved process of emptying a temporary gate of water while we awaited the green light signaling our exit from the lock chamber. As we learned of our extended time in the lock, our original plan for the day quickly evolved into Plan B.
The next impressive sightseeing soon followed—giant ice flows! quaking earth! backwards flowing rivers! Well, we didn’t actually see all this, but David’s geology presentation was almost as good as seeing such cataclysmic events. Through his words, and pictures we learned just how the land around us had changed over the ages. His lecture transported us to thousands of years ago when a massive flood of ice and water surged across the land, many times over, carving out great gouges in the earth, leaving behind exposed columns of basalt and beds of granite, dramatically altering the landscape. Amazingly, the theory of these great floods, proposed by J. Harlen Bretz in this century, was only recently accepted as the explanation for the remarkable landscape.
As we cruised on, we continued our climb up-river via Lower Monumental Lock and Dam. Enjoying our ice cream sundaes on deck, we turned on to the Palouse River, where Plan B of the afternoon’s activities was put into action. Dividing into halves, we took turn viewing first hand the effects of the Bretz floods at the Palouse Falls, while others cruised up the Palouse River via Zodiacs. Several adventuresome guests launched kayaks in the late afternoon sun. A beaver was spotted, waterfowl decorated the shoreline, and we stopped our paddling and cruising to watch mule deer make their way from the hillside, some even crossing the river right in front of us! Whichever option one chose, the grandeur of the scenery coupled with the warm sun and enveloping quiet made for quite an enjoyable afternoon. As the day grew later, the light grew even more golden, and finally deepening into a brilliant pink sunset. As the sky in the east grew rapidly darker, we headed towards the twinkling lights of the MV Sea Lion.
Life on a river is ever-changing. Some of these changes evolve over thousands of years, while other changes occur in a matter of minutes. Today we experienced both types of transformations. This morning was yet another clear, sunny day, allowing for great sightseeing on deck. We received excellent, if unexpectedly longer, views of the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam on the Snake River. Due to repairs in progress on the main gate of the lock, a temporary gate has been put into service. Captain Graves explained the involved process of emptying a temporary gate of water while we awaited the green light signaling our exit from the lock chamber. As we learned of our extended time in the lock, our original plan for the day quickly evolved into Plan B.
The next impressive sightseeing soon followed—giant ice flows! quaking earth! backwards flowing rivers! Well, we didn’t actually see all this, but David’s geology presentation was almost as good as seeing such cataclysmic events. Through his words, and pictures we learned just how the land around us had changed over the ages. His lecture transported us to thousands of years ago when a massive flood of ice and water surged across the land, many times over, carving out great gouges in the earth, leaving behind exposed columns of basalt and beds of granite, dramatically altering the landscape. Amazingly, the theory of these great floods, proposed by J. Harlen Bretz in this century, was only recently accepted as the explanation for the remarkable landscape.
As we cruised on, we continued our climb up-river via Lower Monumental Lock and Dam. Enjoying our ice cream sundaes on deck, we turned on to the Palouse River, where Plan B of the afternoon’s activities was put into action. Dividing into halves, we took turn viewing first hand the effects of the Bretz floods at the Palouse Falls, while others cruised up the Palouse River via Zodiacs. Several adventuresome guests launched kayaks in the late afternoon sun. A beaver was spotted, waterfowl decorated the shoreline, and we stopped our paddling and cruising to watch mule deer make their way from the hillside, some even crossing the river right in front of us! Whichever option one chose, the grandeur of the scenery coupled with the warm sun and enveloping quiet made for quite an enjoyable afternoon. As the day grew later, the light grew even more golden, and finally deepening into a brilliant pink sunset. As the sky in the east grew rapidly darker, we headed towards the twinkling lights of the MV Sea Lion.
