We left Spokane this morning to avoid doing the 9 hour trip to Bend, Oregon in one day.
Again, I was very surprised by the landscape, I was expecting lush green and lots of trees...not so much! Stu told me that this area was part of an ancient lava flow and the Eastern side of Washington and Oregon are drier because of the Cascade mountain range. He's a wealth of knowledge....
Flat as far as the eye can see!
Another history lesson: Between 14 and 16 million years ago, "fissure" volcanic eruptions in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and western Idaho produced enormous volumes of molten Columbia River basalt that flowed like water west into the Deschutes-Columbia Plateau province in eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, with some lava continuing to flow as far west as the Pacific Ocean via the ancestral Columbia River valley. Which explains the total lack of trees!
The Columbia River
We saw lots of windmills.
As the basalt cooled and congealed, it formed the columnar cliffs that dominate the landscape today.
Erosions by the Columbia River has exposed a particularly spectacular sequence of these rocks in the Columbia River Gorge on Oregon's northern boundary.
Once we turned onto Route 97, the landscape changed again, rolling farmland.
We saw more windmills in one place then we've ever seen!
Tomorrow we check into our hotel in Bend...we are really looking forward to checking out the area. Just checked the weather, it's supposed to snow everyday...Let the games begin!!
No comments:
Post a Comment