Dry Falls, Washington - Scenic Roadside Look-Outs on Waymarking.com

After stripping away 200 feet of topsoil, the flood ripped away huge boulders from the underlying lava rock. These boulders were picked up and carried in the floods only to be stranded in fields and prairies when the floodwaters subsided. Some boulders, called glacial erratic, were rafted on icebergs and transported great distances from their source by the floods of Glacial Lake Missoula. As the floods in this vicinity raced southward, two major waterfalls formed along their course. The larger was that of the upper coulee, where the river roared over an 800-foot cliff. The eroding power of the water plucked pieces of basalt from the precipice, causing the falls to retreat 20 miles and self-destruct by cutting through to the Columbia River valley near what is now the Grand Coulee Dam.

The other major waterfall started near Soap Lake, where less resistant basalt layers gave way before the great erosive power of this tremendous torrent. As in the upper coulee, the raging river yanked chunks of rock from the face of the falls and the falls eventually retreated to their present location.
Here then is Dry Falls, the skeleton of one of the greatest waterfalls in geologic history. It is 3.5 miles wide, with a drop of more than 400 feet. By comparison, Niagara, 1 mile wide with a drop of only 165 feet, would be dwarfed by Dry Falls.

Describe - Highway or Road number: SR17 Closest town or city: Coulee City Number of parking spots available: 25 Name if a website describes this location.: [Web Link] Winter View: yes Summer View: yes Year around access ?: yes Comfort station on site: yes Is a photo of an "Information Sign"included?: Yes

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/28/2016 Sissyta visited it 05/01/2016 Go-pher-It visited it 09/20/2013 Cool Cow Cachers visited it 08/27/2013 gypsie2 visited it 04/24/2009 BigCarbonFootprint visited it

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