Steamboat Rock - Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway - WA
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 47° 51.057 W 119° 06.802
11T E 341902 N 5301895
Steamboat Rock is a massive basalt butte, several miles long and 800 ft. high. It was formed when the Columbia River was re-routed by ice dams during the last ice age.
Waymark Code: WM3WKV
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 05/26/2008
Views: 39
Steamboat Rock is a massive basalt butte, several miles long and 800 ft. high. It sits on the edge of Banks Lake, a resevoir of the Grand Coulee dam. Originally the rock was an island of the Columbia river.
The river was rerouted from its typical flow by ice dams formed during the last ice age. Torrents of water flowed through the area and over the years gouged away the softer stone and debris, leaving this towering mammoth chunk of basalt.
When the last of the ice dams broke during the Missoula flood the water rushed back into the original Columbia riverbed leaving deep coulees across eastern Washington state. This particular coulee, Grand Coulee, was seen as a great location for a dam/resevoir system to service the irrigation needs of the orchards and wheat fields of the dry eastern portion of the state.
A trail to the top of the rock starts at Steamboat Rock State Park. I've added a couple photos taken looking down at Banks Lake from the top of the butte.
Coordinates given are for a great viewpoint of the lake and surrounding area from at a pull of from the scenic byway.
Program: America's Byways
Website: [Web Link]
Official Name: Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway
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