Hanford Reach Pillow Basalt
by Charles Robinson
Title
Hanford Reach Pillow Basalt
Artist
Charles Robinson
Medium
Photograph - Landscape Photograph
Description
The stretch of the Columbia River lying west of Lake Wallula that was impounded McNary Dam at Umatilla, Oregon, and east of Priest Rapids Dam is the only free-flowing stretch of the river that has not been altered by the Columbia River dams. This 51-mile stretch of the river is known as the Hanford Reach as it flows along the north boundary of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and is included in the Hanford Reach Natural Monument. Highway 24 crosses the Hanford Reach via the Vernita Bridge. From the Vernita Bridge, Highway 243 follows Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.
The massive cliffs cut by the Ice Age Flood as it flowed down the Columbia River are visible along the west side of the river. Hanford Reach, the site of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and the cliffs along the river were flooded by the massive Glacial Lake Lewis that was backed up by Wallula Gap. During the flood the water level of Glacial Lake Lewis at this point would have been approximately 750 feet above the current water level of the river. The cliffs along west side of the river are distinctive because of the presence of pillow basalt flows. The pillow basalts would have been formed by volcanic eruptions while the area was still beneath the waters of Glacial Lake Lewis. I think that these basalt flows are most likely Cascade Mountain flows rather than Columbia Basin flows.
Uploaded
July 23rd, 2022
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