Blessed with gorgeous sunny weather, we entered the Columbia River from its largest tributary, the Snake. Sailing south then west, we approached Wallula Gap where floodwaters from Pleistocene Lake Missoula backed up as they ran into the narrow gap in the Horse Heaven Hills. Water ponded east of the hills to form an ephemeral lake whose sedimentary record chronicles at least forty of these catastrophic floods.
We enjoyed the views as we continued west, passing through the McNary Dam Lock to descend roughly one-hundred feet deeper down-stream in the Columbia River. Zodiac rides to a small dock on Crow Butte allowed guests to explore the area on foot. Natural history hikes to the top of the hill provided beautiful 360-degree views of the Columbia basin with a peek-a-boo view of majestic Mount Hood seen on the western horizon.
