Palouse Falls on the Palouse River.

In the Palouse River Canyon just downstream of Palouse Falls, the Sentinel Bluffs flows of the Grand Ronde Formation can be seen on the bottom, covered by the Ginkgo Flow of the Wanapum Basalt.

The Palouse Falls lies on the Palouse River, about 4 miles upstream of the confluence with the Snake River in southeast Washington. The falls are 56 meters in height. The canyon at the falls is 115 meters (377 feet) deep, exposing a large cross-section of the Columbia River Basalt Group. These falls and the canyon downstream comprise an important feature of the channeled scablands created by the great Missoula Floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and across the Columbia River Plateau during the Pleistocene epoch.^[1][2][3] (Coordinates: 46°44′30″N, 118°14′00″W). A river that runs from Northwest Idaho to the Snake River in southest Washington. ... A river that runs from Northwest Idaho to the Snake River in southest Washington. ... Perrine Bridge spanning the Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho The Snake River is a river in the western part of the United States. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... The Columbia River Basalt Group encompasses portions of 3 states. ... DrumHeller Channels The Channeled Scablands are unique geological erosion features in the U.S. state of Washington. ... Glacial Lake Columbia (west) and Glacial Lake Missoula (east) are shown south of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. ... The Washington towns of Spokane, Vantage, Yakima and Pasco, and the Oregon town of Pendleton, lie on the Columbia River Plateau. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ...

The ancesteral Palouse river flowed through the currently dry Washtucna Coulee to the Columbia River The Palouse Falls and surrounding canyons were created when the Missoula Floods overtopped the south valley wall of the ancesteral Palouse River, diverting it to the current course to the Snake River by erosion of a new channel.^[1][4] Columbia River Gorge, Washington or North side The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river situated in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ... Glacial Lake Columbia (west) and Glacial Lake Missoula (east) are shown south of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. ... Perrine Bridge spanning the Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho The Snake River is a river in the western part of the United States. ...

The area is characterized by interconnected and hanging flood-created coulees, cataracts, plunge pools, kolk created potholes, rock benches, buttes and pinacles typical of scablands. As a result a state park, Palouse Falls State Park, is located at the falls, protecting part of the uniquely scenic area.^[3] A kolk (also known as colc) is an underwater vortex that is created when rapidly rushing water passes underwater obstacle in boundary areas of high shear. ...

In 1984 the Franklin County Public Utilities District proposed a 30 meters high dam be constructed upstream of the falls, allowing for a significant hydraulic head for hydro-electricity power generation. This would have provided over 1/3 of the counties power and would have reduced ratepayer charges substantially. However the majority of the ratepayers declined to approve the investment, preserving this geologically significant feature.^[1]

External links

• Palouse Falls State Park page
• Excellent photo of the falls by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a one of nine United States Department of Energy multiprogram national laboratories. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Carson, Robert J. and Pogue, Kevin R. (1996). Flood Basalts and Glacier Floods:Roadside Geology of Parts of Walla Walla, Franklin, and Columbia Counties, Washington. Washington State Department of Natural Resources (Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources Information Circular 90). ISBN none.
2. ^ Alt, David. Glacial Lake Missoula & its Humongous Floods. Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87842-415-6.
3. ^ ^{a b} Bjornstad, Bruce (2006). On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: A Geological Guide to the Mid-Columbia Basin. Keokee Books; Sand Point, Idaho. ISBN 978-1-879628-27-4.
4. ^ Alt, David and Hyndman, Donald (1984). Roadside Geology of Washington. Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87842-160-2.

Exploring Ice Age Floods in the Pacific Northwest

| Glacial Lake Missoula | Missoula Floods | Channeled scablands | Grand Coulee | Dry Falls | Drumheller Channels | Columbia River Plateau | Wallula Gap | Touchet Formation | Lake Lewis | Columbia River Gorge | Columbia River Basalt Group | Palouse Falls | Sims Corner Eskers and Kames | Moses Coulee | Withrow Moraine Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1339x1786, 716 KB) Wallula Gap, Washington state, USA. The Sisters: a scab residual of the Missoula Floods on the east bank of the Columbia Rivenr in the Wallula Gap. ... The Pacific Northwest from space This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the US. For the US only region, see Northwestern United States The Pacific Northwest (abbreviated PNW, or PacNW) or Cascadia is a region in the northwest of North America. ... Glacial Lake Missoula was a prehistoric proglacial lake in western Montana that existed periodically at the end of the last ice age between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. ... Glacial Lake Columbia (west) and Glacial Lake Missoula (east) are shown south of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. ... DrumHeller Channels The Channeled Scablands are unique geological erosion features in the U.S. state of Washington. ... The Grand Coulee The Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. ... In Central Washington at the opposite side of the Grand Coulee from the Columbia River resides a three and a half mile crescent shaped precipice known as Dry Falls. ... Drumheller Channels Drumheller Channels National Natural Landmark showcases the Drumheller Channels, which are the most significant example in the Columbia Plateau of basalt butte-and-basin channeled scablands. ... The Washington towns of Spokane, Vantage, Yakima and Pasco, and the Oregon town of Pendleton, lie on the Columbia River Plateau. ... // Lake Lewis formed as a result of the restricted flow of waters[1] from cataclysmic floods from Glacial Lake Missoula, pluvial Lake Bonneville, and perhaps from subglacial outbursts through the constriction of the Wallula Gap in the Horse Heaven Hills (southern Washington state). ... The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ... The Columbia River Basalt Group encompasses portions of 3 states. ... A Glacial erratic called Yeager Rock, Waterville Plateau, Washington, USA The Sims Corner Eskers and Kames National Natural Landmark includes excellent examples of Pleistocene ice stagnation landforms including numerous Glacial erratics terminal moraines, eskers and kames. ... Three Devils grade in Moses Coulee, Washington. ... The Withrow Moraine erratic on glacial till at the terminus of the Okanogan lobe. ...