The Palouse River drops 180 feet at Palouse Falls.
Washington State Magazine art director Jo Savage and WSU geologist Gary Webster at Palouse Falls
The walls of the canyon below Palouse Falls represent 12 million years of geologic history.
The seeds from which these Thelypodium sprouted were probably blown into the canyon walls by the fierce winds streaming through the Palouse River Canyon.
Plants grow where they can in the exposed basalt of the Scablands. (Photo Tim Steury)
Rich Old (right) imparts some of his botanical wisdom. Jo Savage (left) is Washington State Magazine’s art director. Mike Barenti (dark glasses) is a Spokane writer. Tim Steury is WSM’s editor.
One of the many species of Lomatium that grow in the Channeled Scablands.
Ponderosa pine is a dominant species in some of the less arid parts of the Scablands.
A trillium grows in a moist area near Rock Creek.
Rock Lake at its north end
The view from the north end of Rock Lake
A tributary flows into Rock Creek just before it enters Rock Lake
An unnamed falls on a tributary of Rock Creek
Rock Creek just above where it flows into Rock Lake
The area generally called “Hole in the Ground,” between Bonnie Lake and Rock Lake
Although there are different opinions of why the area above Rock Lake is called “Hole in the Ground,” this is most likely THE hole in the ground. It is a lava tube. Legend has it that it was once “bottomless,” but passersby would toss various things down.
“Hole in the Ground” from the inside looking out
Rock Creek, Escure Ranch
Less dramatic than Palouse Falls, but exquisitely beautiful, Towell Falls is a two-mile hike in from the entrance to the Escure Ranch.
