The Chief Joseph Dam, a few miles downstream from the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington.
In late May I followed the Columbia River upstream from the little town of Brewster, just for fun and to see the rush of water following the high mountain snow melts. The first dam I encountered was this one, and I literally gasped at the mist thrown up possibly 40-50 feet by the water coming over the dam. An access road on the left was deserted and brought me within a few feet of the left side of the picture. Only a sturdy, high fence separated me from the rush of water drenching me with mist. I took photos impossible to do justice to the grandeur and noise of the water. As I said in my 5/27 blog, I would continue explanation of the unusual geology of this part of central Washington.
I continued to Grand Coulee and marveled at the width of the lake above it in spring, then went on southward through the coulee itself. It was a living natural painting of green on the stark cliffs. Even the rocks far above managed to host some small greenery. This led me to the Dry Falls area where the Missoula Flood had plunged over cliffs this high to dwarf Niagara Falls in depth and width at the time. Today those cliffs and the almost round depression into which the water fell are still there but little water falls, because of the Coulee containment. In the geologic past the Columbia had then ravaged onward to leave a few smaller lakes still functioning today, then continued all the way to today's Oregon border when it finally turned westward to the ocean, continuing to rip its way through ancient basalt and rock. I would like to have hovered above this floods (for they recurred a few times) to view this spectacle, wouldn't you?
The cliffs above the Columbia in places still retain a few bones and artifacts of evolutionary life, and several caves remain in the remote areas. One was used to keep their food and water cool by 19th century railroad construction crews.
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