Eastern Washington Scabland/ Gods Hardscaping in NW

I thought I would start this one to make conversations for all of the Pac NW gardeners. My attempt is to show a garden of immense magnitude. It exists from the repeated floods from Montana's Glacial Lake Missoula. The Scablands are the eroded areas of immense floods that have followed the many retreats of the Cordilleran ice sheet. If no one is interested no big deal. I thought you in the Pac NW would be.
This is the familiar Dry Falls in the Grand Coulee that has been carved out by repeated massive floods

This is the West Bar on the Coumbia where we still can see the wave ripples that were carved out by the magestic currents from Glacial Lake Spokane and Missoula.
This is about 8 miles west of Quincy.

This is a view from North Babcock Bench looking across the Coulee of the existing Columbia river. Below Wenachee near Quincy. There are many glacial erratics all around that were deposited in the power of water flowing over the vast plains of Eastern Washington. This cliff drops about 730 feet to the river below. Who wouldn't want this rock formation in their garden.

Some spectacular scenery! Maybe we'll go through that area next time we head east.

This shows the dramatic edge of the rock wall carved out of Basalt formations. Below is the Crescent Bar where the development called Sunland Estates. It is right below Trinidad in the Lynch Creek coulee.

Hey Soferdig, nice to see you over here. I saw your Dan Hinkley thread over in Rocky Mtn Gardening. (I think it must have turned up in the "new posts" thing below my watched threads for me to find it.) One thing I like about living down here is that it's pretty painless to get over to the "dry side" when I can't stand the idea of another grey, rainy day. Love driving along hwy 14 and I-84 way east of here for a change of scene and looking up at all those cliffs.

I haven't been to the glacial erratic near the Tri cities that came from my home valley here in Kalispell. I hear that it is the size of a house. Does anyone have a picture of that?

Soferdig - that is spectacular. Great back garden you have there, and I am impressed with your use of scale and still retaining the human element. Sheesh, what an amazingly emotional impact the ripples have just in the photo, I can't imagine what it is like standing there looking at them. Wow - I find things like that so moving, it is something about actually seeing across generations/millenia/prehistory that just gives me goosebumps. Definately not a landscape we have here in England.

I know what you mean, Laurie. It's easy to see that the native peoples thought of this land as enchanted. There really is something very supernatural and awesome about it. It seems to capture aeons of time, doesn't it?

There is concert venue in Eastern Washington (referred to as The Gorge) that is a stage with a mostly natural amphitheater set against the backdrop of a gorge cut into this landscape. A concert with the music that moves you in that landscape is really an incredible thing to experience

I am trying to respond but cannot. Testing

Well I guess it is now working. What concerts did you go to Katie? I love the gorge at George. My pictures are just up the canyon.
You both need to read the book "On the trail of the Ice Age Floods" Bruce Bjornstad. It is great taking the driving trips described from the flathead to the Columbia River.
This is a view near the dry falls with a goat taking in the sights. Yes it would have been awsome to see the floods. But you would have had to have a helicopter to survive.

Dave Matthews and Counting Crows, to name a couple. And we had perfect weather for both of those.

I'll have to check out the book you recommend. One brother lived in Grand Coulee for a couple years 30 years ago (eek!!) and the other in Wenatchee for a couple of years right about the same time. They may have read it.

I LOVE that Mother Nature uses something as fluid as water and time to sculpt these beautiful shapes out of the rock. It's truly incredible.

Thanks for posting these pictures!!

Soferdig- Those photos are amazing. In reference to music inspired by such gorgeous scenery, it reminds me of the music of Lisa Gerrard. http://www.lisagerrard.com/ Anyone have a pic of The Gorge? I would like to see it! We have the Red Rocks Amphitheatre here. I haven't seen a show there yet. Here is a pic looking down from the stage. I can post pics of the two sides as well. It is difficult to get the whole picture.

Nice!! How beautiful.

I didn't even think to take pictures myself, but here are some images I found on the web of the Gorge at George

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=the+gorge+at+george&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Hi Pluto!

I've been to concerts at both The Gorge & Red Rocks. I think the acoustics are better at Red Rocks, but I know they've recontoured The Gorge since I saw ELP there in about 1992, and I think that improved things a lot. If you get a chance to go to Red Rocks, absolutely do it. It's wonderful place to go to a summer concert! The Gorge is much, much more rural-they have camping on site because there's not a whole lot more out there. The view is beautiful from both. The Gorge faces west and the view is spectacular. You get cliffs, sunset, and the Columbia River. Red Rocks faces east, so you get the city lights of Denver, and sometimes lightning over (where else?) Parker or DIA. Here's wikipedia's entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gorge_Amphitheatre


Forgot to add that I'm going to look for the Bjornstad book as well. Sounds really interesting!

This message was edited Dec 21, 2007 8:44 PM

Wow, Susy. You've been to both. That's cool.

Yeah, but I didn't see Dave Matthews at either.... :( And, I haven't been back to the gorge in ages... This past summer didn't seem that interesting to me as far as concerts, or weather to go to outdoor concerts. I hope next summer is better.

Sofer, I've just put Bjornstad's book on my list! Another wowser photo! This is breathtaking stuff - and the concert stadium's sound and look fabulous. I love the idea of music and lightning - wonderful idea. Almost as good as the combo of helicopter and primeval floods! That made me really chuckle. Goodness how we wish to combine ages - do you think Father Christmas could deliver on that wish?

Hey, good to 'see' you, Sofer! Our resident scientist! Beautiful photos. Makes me want to get off my behind and get outside. Except, I don't really want to do that here. I want to do that there!! LOL!

Gosh, Laurie, I think the idea of a concert overlooking landscaping done by nature's giants is a great example of combining the ages! Something about the power of that wind and water, and the power of those amps... Can't you just imagine laying down and feeling the vibration of the sound through the ground?

Okay. I need to go to bed. The solstice makes me giddy and just a bit crazy. It's the idea that the sun is returning. It makes me feel like dancing. Isn't that sad? Susybell, I'm going to get you to give me a tour of Vancouver.

I would love to see a concert at either of those venues. But I admit that the Red Rocks give me goosebumps. I just love them.

Hi Soferdig, Your post about the glacier erratic just sunk in. Where is the glacier erratic near the TriCities? Going out that way might make for a fun little adventure for me one of these days. What would I be looking for?

(Oh, and Pixy called you a scientist? What do you do? )

I've been looking for the Bjornstad book-that's not all that easy to track down. It's been out of stock most places so far.

Pixy, sure, if you want, anytime...Probably won't take too long, really. What sorts of things would you like to see? Actually, I've thought that maybe we could do a whole series of nursery tours like the Dragonfly one next year with one day down here-visiting Joy Creek and maybe Cistus, with Ferguson's Fragrant thrown in as well, if we could fit them all in...

Susy - I'm in!! And I've wanted to make a trip to Heirloom Roses down there, too. Don't know how many of the group likes roses, but I love to look and it's always nice to have a few for cuttings in the house. Oops, I've invited myself. Hope that's okay. I can bring the coffee and scones . . .

Hi Katie, fine with me, I don't necessarily think that my giving Pixy a tour of Vancouver and a day touring nurseries are necessarily the same day....The nursery trip could be anytime from March (things do tend to be a week or two ahead as far as spring down here) to October, Pixy's trip would be whenever it works out. I know we're all planning to go back to Dragonfly, and I'm determined to get to Little & Lewis. I just got to thinking that maybe doing at least one additional trip would be a lot of fun.

I haven't been to Heirloom Roses in a loooooong time. I ripped most of my roses out last year until I could put in a better bed for them and give them the space they needed. One of next year's projects....I miss my roses (well, except for the thorns and black spot and aphids...)

Soferdig - it looks like you've been hiking in the exact spot that I used to ride my horse when she used to be stabled at the King Ranch, the ranch a little to the south of where your photograph is taken, where the very large red barn is perched on the coulee wall. I used to ride back in there when I first moved here 5 years ago. Such a neat place. I never saw anyone else back in there, and occasionally when riding along with my two australian shepards I'd look back and half expect to see a lion following me .... part of the excitement that comes from still having some of these wild places .... I left a brief post back on the earlier thread before I followed the link to this one. To all of my fellow gardners - I am one of the lucky ones to be actually living out in within the walls of the coulee and I have found garden design to be challenging, being that I want to blend in to my surroundings to a certain extent .... I am surrounded by what used to be (and still is in places) former wheat fields. It can be very windy and very dry ....

It is good to see the interest in the massiff glacial erosions. When you fly over the scablands the book is even more helpfull. I bought it last year in that big bookstore in Spokane. I forget the name but I saw Bruce and got a signed book from him. It is the big book store down on the Spokane river. Near the Irish Pub. Everything is relative to a good pint of beer.
Susy the glacial erratic is near horse heaven hills just south of Kennewick, WA. A hundred ton bolder 15 Ft high. You will see it highlited in the book in the preface.

Just a last peek of bench. I would like to have a hang glider here. that first step would be a little tough. I am heading back to Seattle to visit some more areas in the 3rd week of Jan and will get some more photos. You might want to google earth and see the design.

You must be talking about Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane .... easy to forget names when you are in pursuit of a good Irish beer

Yes that is it. I love anyplace that sells used books. Thank you.

Merry Christmas to all in Pac NW. This is my Jade and it always flowers for me at Christmas. I love this little one. I always like to send a picture with every post. Sorry it doesn't have anything to do with scablands.

Nice Jade, Steve. How old is this one?
Thanks for the info on the scablands - it makes for some interesting studying.

A very Merry Christmas to you & your DW - hope you're warm & enjoying a little respite.
K

Beautiful jade plant!

Merry Christmas to you!

I am not sure of the age but it has been in my family for 3 generations. At least 50 years old. It loves the indirect sun of winter and the sunny summers. Everyone who knew this plant at its youth is no longer with us. This is the other 3+ generation plant.

It's Christmas Eve! How is everyone's weather? It has been a beautiful, sunny, still day here in the scablands. Its 4:30 and the sun has sunk below the coulee walls although a bit of light and color remain .... beautiful ! Merry Christmas to everyone !

Beautiful sunny day with snow last night for a white Christmas. The Alpen Glow was spectacular with the sunset! I was too busy coming home from Church to take pictures. Merry Christmas to all!
This is the headwaters of the Missouri River.

I just happened on this thread - awesome photos!!!!

A little of my own family history involves Grand Coulee Dam - a great uncle worked on it, and unfortunately lost his life when something heavy fell from way up.

This is the remainder of glacial Lake Missoula. Flathead lake remains because of a shelf of Granite that held the water back after the final retreat of ice and the big "Ice Cube" remained as the valley was filled in around with glacial deposits. The ice cube that formed Flathead Lake held back the silt, rocks and erratics that formed the valley floor. When it finally melted the lake was shaped in the form of the terminal morraine and Granite dam at the south end of the lake.

This is a view down from the Granite walls that form the west valley of the flathead. The lake is 40 miles long and up to 15 miles wide (at big arm).

This is the farthest north lake that remains from the glacial Ice cubes. Bowman and Kintla lake. These are located in Glacier Park. They form the upper extents of the Flathead River drainage. A good canoe trip is found here in the summer before the crowds arrive. Few go up to the far end and it is the most beautiful part of the lake.

This is Kintla lake. You can see the beautiful stone polishing that the glaciers and water have done over the years. Few people see this gem because it is a bumpy long 2 track to get to it.

Wonderful pictures, Thanks for taking the time to share them!

Wow, Steve, 3+ generation plants. And, by the look so fit, they'll be around for quite awhile longer yet.

Beautiful pictures of the lakes in Glacier Park.

Kathy