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Deschutes-Columbia Plateau Between 14 and 16 million years ago, "fissure" volcanic eruptions in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and western Idaho produced enormous volumes of molten Columbia River basalt that flowed like water west into the Deschutes-Columbia Plateau province in eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, with some lava continuing to flow as far west as the Pacific Ocean via the ancestral Columbia River valley. As the basalt cooled and congealed, it formed the columnar cliffs that dominate the landscape today. Erosions by the Columbia River has exposed a particularly spectacular sequence of these rocks in the Columbia River Gorge on Oregon’s northern boundary. Links: Oregon Outdoors John Day Fossil Beds Lake Billy Chinook and Cove Palisades State Park, Deschutes - Ochoco National Forests  Graphic by Elizabeth L. Orr, Geology of Oregon, |
Also, learn more about the Oregon Paleo Project |
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