Today we explored the middle reach of the Columbia River. Deep in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, this portion of "the Evergreen State" was baked to a sandy brown. Contrary to many a notion, this part of Washington and Oregon is dry indeed, practically desert.
Bussing up from angular, stair-stepping, riverside cliffs, we traveled through a rounded, rolling country. This land is the legacy of the Ice Age. Fine rock powder, ground out by the crushing movement of a continent-sized glacier, was later carried away by frigid downdrafts flowing off the ice. Where dust settled, hills of rich soil were formed.
Huge herds of horses once roamed these hills, the property of proud Indian people. We visited the Tamastslikt Cultural Center that celebrates the culture of the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Nez Perce peoples. We admired their art and technology, walking into a tule mat lodge, and eyeing fine stone carving and beadwork. We also learned about the history of the native people of the Columbia Basin.
Returning to the Sea Lion, we again viewed a landscape molded by Ice Age forces. The ship was at anchor in a canyon impossibly huge, even for the Great River of the West. Amazingly, the walls of this canyon were carved not by the slow work of ages, but by floods of staggering proportions. Loosed by the breakage of a glacial dam, water raged 600 feet above today's water level!
Near the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers, we saw two basalt towers. Some say the towers were shaped by the erosive floods, others say they were formed in mythic times, the twin wives of Coyote. Most today call them "the Two Captains", after Lewis and Clark. Many layers of natural and cultural history overlap and intertwine, making this area a joy to view and consider.
Bussing up from angular, stair-stepping, riverside cliffs, we traveled through a rounded, rolling country. This land is the legacy of the Ice Age. Fine rock powder, ground out by the crushing movement of a continent-sized glacier, was later carried away by frigid downdrafts flowing off the ice. Where dust settled, hills of rich soil were formed.
Huge herds of horses once roamed these hills, the property of proud Indian people. We visited the Tamastslikt Cultural Center that celebrates the culture of the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Nez Perce peoples. We admired their art and technology, walking into a tule mat lodge, and eyeing fine stone carving and beadwork. We also learned about the history of the native people of the Columbia Basin.
Returning to the Sea Lion, we again viewed a landscape molded by Ice Age forces. The ship was at anchor in a canyon impossibly huge, even for the Great River of the West. Amazingly, the walls of this canyon were carved not by the slow work of ages, but by floods of staggering proportions. Loosed by the breakage of a glacial dam, water raged 600 feet above today's water level!
Near the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers, we saw two basalt towers. Some say the towers were shaped by the erosive floods, others say they were formed in mythic times, the twin wives of Coyote. Most today call them "the Two Captains", after Lewis and Clark. Many layers of natural and cultural history overlap and intertwine, making this area a joy to view and consider.
