About 15 million years ago, huge outpourings of basaltic lava buried the Eastern Washington landscape under a sea of lava. Much later, during the Ice Age, some of the largest documented floods to ever occur raced across Eastern Washington, carving out a landscape of basalt buttes, basins and canyons. A volume of water comparable to some of today’s Great Lakes was unleashed when an ice dam in northern Idaho burst. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of flood events eroded the lava surface into the unique landscape known as the "Channeled Scabland." Trail visitors will see stark reminders of one of the world’s largest volcanic fields eroded by the cataclysmic Ice Age Floods.
A nearby wildlife refuge has many small lakes, ponds and sloughs. Waterfowl, marsh birds and land birds are attracted to this region because of its diverse landscape. Desert to forest and coniferous to deciduous, the land encourages diverse fowl and mammals. | | • Douglas Fir
• Ponderosa Pine
• Apple
• Birch
• Poplar
• Daisy
• Foxglove
• Lupines
• Orchids
• Paintbrush
• Rhododendron
• Rose
• Berries
• Carnivorous Plants
• Ferns
• Moss or Lichens
• Thistle
• Poison Oak
• Poison Ivy
|
|