slackwater

Basalt front yard

2008-05-15T07:26:30Z

The eastern side of Washington state features two prominent, and very different, landscapes. The northeast corner from Spokane northward is heavily forested with beautiful valleys and streams. The southwest side beyond the heavily basalted area is nearly treeless and composed of rolling hills. It is great wheat growing country known as the palouse. This shot shows the transition area which has outcroppings of basalt, but also flat farmland free of basalt. Those who build in and around the basalt simply make the best of unmovable rocky masses.

Holiday Inn Express

2008-05-14T06:31:49Z

Two pictures today continue the series on the terrain of eastern Washington (state). This huge 'loal,' outcropping, of lava was regarded as unusable for commercial purposes. Then this hotel chain decided to buy it and build a hotel regardless. This site is two blocks from downtown Spokane and overlooks the Spokane River. Another view of the nature of lava in this region can be seen in a previous post of the Bowl and Pitcher which is about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) downstream from Spokane.

Holiday Inn Express 2

2008-05-14T06:27:11Z

A side view of the lava 'loaf' which most people regarded as unusable.

Hole in the ground

2008-05-13T06:38:56Z

I'm starting a series of documentary shots showing the nature of the area where I live. This canyon (about 10 miles, 16 kilometers, from my home) illustrates the tremendous depth of the lava flows which swept across this region in the ancient past. The flows were further modified by gigantic floods following the ice age which created many narrow lakes and canyons with a north-south orientation. 'Hole in the ground,' is one of those north-south canyons. MORE: 'The Columbia Plateau province (including most of eastern Washington state) is enveloped by one of the worlds largest accumulations of lava. The topography here is dominated by geologically young lava flows that inundated the countryside with amazing speed, all within the last 17 million years. Over 170,000 cubic kilometers of basaltic lava, known as the Columbia River basalts, covers the western part of the province. These tremendous flows erupted between 17-6 million years ago. Most of the lava flooded out in the first 1.5 million years -- an extraordinarily short time for such an outpouring of molten rock. It is difficult to conceive of the enormity of these eruptions. Basaltic lava erupts at no less than about 1100 degrees C. Basalt is a very fluid lava; it is likely that tongues of lava advanced at an average of 5 kilometers/hour -- faster than most animals can run. Whatever topography was present prior to the Columbia River Basalt eruptions was buried and smoothed over by flow upon flow of lava. Over 300 high-volume individual lava flows have been identified, along with countless smaller flows.'

Wandermere fog

2008-05-12T06:32:54Z

The early morning fog near my coffee house is remarkably dense and highly localized. A few blocks away the fog disappears totally. It's hard to resist the sun breaking through the fog over the nearby strip mall.

Rusty Combine?

2008-05-11T05:30:00Z

An old combine found in the same junk yard where the discarded school buses were located. It looked like a combine to me, but one of you may have another opinion.

Morning Clouds

2008-05-10T06:37:58Z

At my early coffee with daughter, Debi, noticed this unusual cloud formation and suggested it might make a picture. Of course it would... I did, and here's the shot! :-)

Wide angle canyon

2008-05-09T05:25:07Z

Two shots today. I think this is my weakest canyon shot - one in which I wish the camera were aimed a bit lower! :-). The size of the Grand Canyon tempts the photographer to try for the all-inclusive shot, but this effort is much like trying to photograph a mountain range - the result is usually disappointing because the grandeur and immense size is reduced to tiny proportions. I think it is much better to shoot a smaller portion with something in the immediate foreground with detail. I like my second shot today much better than this all encompassing view. Note: Following several comments about the weak contrast I went back and made some correction (which may still be off the mark! :-). I'm working on my laptop which does not have the same calibration as my home unit.

Snow touched canyon

2008-05-09T05:22:54Z

The second canyon shot today. Have a great weekend.

School Buses - Cheap

2008-05-08T06:05:38Z

Lloyd and I were driving all around the area south of Spokane when we ran across this strange junkyard beside the road. It was not apparent whether the buses were to be recycled as scrap metal or what. I thought the row of school buses (busses) made an interesting sight.