Ginkgo Petrified Forest S.P. - Part II

Ice-rafted erratic resting high above Columbia River at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park near Vantage, WA.

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Erratic: "A rock fragment carried by floating ice or the icesheet itself, deposited at some distance from the outcrop from which it was derived and generally composed of a different type of rock than the local bedrock"

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Most of eastern Washington has been covered by Columbia River Basalt Group lava flows. The floods of basaltic lava were followed by catastrophic outburst floods of water from Glacial Lake Missoula and other sources. One of the most interesting features left by these floods are out-of-place "erratic" boulders transported in icebergs from northeastern Washington, Idaho, Montana and even parts of Canada. Most of the erratic boulders contrast the black/brown basalt bedrock.

Part I of this post includes photos and information about Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park along with links to other related sites.

All but two photos in this post were taken during a hike on 6 December, 2008. The image of Ginkgo S.P. sign and shot of pillow basalt contributed by Nick Zentner were taken several years ago.


One of six panels recently placed near the Ginkgo Petrified Forest interpretive center to help visitors understand the Ice Age Floods that swept over the Vantage area. The park certainly is an "Iceberg Graveyard".

Washington State Parks made a great move when they teamed with artist Stev Ominski to develop new Ice Age Floods interpretive panels for many of the parks. His illustrations of the Ice Age Floods do so much to tell the story of the floods and help all of us to "see the water".


Westbound truck climbs Interstate 90 between Vantage and Ellensburg. Ice-rafted erratic in foreground.


The lichen and moss patterns on some of the erratics are interesting. I'm not quite ready to start reading about those guys.


Ice-rafted erratics and debris are scattered from one side of this image to the other. A large iceberg melted at this location.


The many smaller stones, gravel and sand that are found between erratics in clusters and bergmounds don't show up very well in most of my photos. Some of the material is very colorful and reminds me of river gravel I've admired in Idaho and Montana.


Erratics and iceberg debris between Ryegrass and Schnebly coulees at a location known as Iceberg Pass.


Schnebly Coulee Erratics. Large erratic near the top of this image is featured in the next shot.


Schnebly Coulee erratic.


Arrow notes erratic boulder. Small group of mule deer is also shown.


Arrow points to Interstate 90 bridge at Vantage, Wa.

Nice table-top erratic above area known as Hell's Kitchen. View looking east over Columbia River channel.


Another shot showing smaller stones that accompanied larger erratics on their journey.

Looking north from ridge between Schnebly Coulee and Hell's Kitchen. The Cayuse Creek drainage (Last week's hike in Part I of this blog) is on the other side of high point in the distance.

Road to the original town of Vantage.
The town was moved to its present location during construction of Wanapum Dam in the early 60's. This photo shows part of the original highway that crossed river. Prior to dam construction, the bridge that currently spans the Snake River at Lyons Ferry was in place at this crossing. On the east side of the bridge the road followed the river's edge north to Frenchman Coulee. "Part I" of this post shows two images of the highway in Frenchman Coulee.


Ash layer from 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption along Old Vantage Highway.


So many ice-rafted rocks are laying around this park that some have been put to work. Arrow points to erratic being used to hold a sign post. Inset image shows erratic that's been tossed into rock crib anchoring section of park boundary fence.


Nice morning to visit the Clastic Dikes along Wanapum Lake..

I parked at sunrise in the Wanapum State Park swimming beach lot (no problem finding a space on December morning). A short walk down the trail shown in image leads to the Clastic Dikes found in a large deposit of plane-laminated sand. Note erratic in foreground and Sentinel Gap in the distance. Arrow marks one of the Clastic Dikes.

The Ice Age Floods Institute's Glossary of Technical Terms Related to the Ice Age Floods defines a Clastic Dike as:

"A feature that cuts across bedding structures and is composed of the sedimentary material it transects. Believed to be the result of fracturing and sediment movement due to earthquake shaking during or soon after cataclysmic flooding."

The face of this deposit seems fairly stable but please use caution if you visit.


Clastic Dike at left (Vertical light-colored band).

The unusual clastic dikes in central and southeastern Washington State appear in slackwater deposits left by the Ice Age Floods. Geologists believe these features are produced by seismic disturbance of saturated sediments.

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"They probably formed as a result of ground shaking, which caused the wet sediments to flow down into or up along vertical earthquake-generated cracks in the flood deposits."

Bjornstad

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Clastic dikes found in the Mid-Columbia Basin reach to the top of flood deposits, leading geologists to believe that an earthquake occurred during or soon after the last Ice Age Flood event.

In his book "On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods" Bruce Bjornstad describes Clastic Dikes and gives driving directions to some amazing exposures in the Mid-Columbia Basin. Two locations Bruce describes that I especially enjoyed visiting are: The clastic dikes found in the Touchet Valley and those near Starbuck.


Maybe not the best example. This wild looking thing is probably the most unusual clastic dike I've photographed. A clastic dike just a few yards from this one is as straight as any vertical line I could draw.

Note from Tom: I wouldn't recommend a special trip to visit clastic dikes but they are an interesting feature to enjoy if you're in the Vantage, Touchet or Starbuck area.


The fissures are filled with sand, silt, clay, and coarser debris. Thin clay and silt linings separate the margins and internal layers. -Fecht

The lack of slackwater silt in the material adjacent to these Clastic Dikes tell geologists the water was moving too fast to allow the fines to settle out before all the water escaped.


Find this stuff and you've found an ancient lake or river location. Where lava flowed into water, pillow basalt and palagonite were created.


Pillow basalt and palagonite in Schnebly Coulee.
Photo by Nick Zentner, President of the Ellensburg Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute. The cowboy hat is a nice touch Nick!


I've tried not to post too many shots taken around the Interpretive Center. I hope you'll explore the exhibits in person. Large petrified logs surround the building and the petrified wood collection on display inside is amazing.

Be sure to inquire about Interpretive Center hours of operation before traveling to visit. I would like to mention that long hikes in the summer at this park are probably not a great idea. Spring and fall are the best times to hike in this part of the state. If you're not familiar with the area, please take time to visit with a Park Ranger prior to hiking in the park.


Petrified knot on large log.

One more Kittitas County erratic.

Ginkgo Petrified Forest S.P. - Part I

Ice-rafted erratic boulder stranded above Columbia River
(Cayuse Creek drainage, eastern Kittitas County)

NEW VIDEO: Petrified Tree

Each time I visit Frenchman Coulee I find myself looking to the west side of the Columbia River. The Cayuse Creek and Whiskey Dick Creek areas appear to have been blasted by violent Ice Age Floodwaters that swept over the Columbia Basin near the end of the last Ice Age.

Last Sunday I decided to take a loop hike across Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park to Whiskey Dick Creek then west for several miles before walking back to my starting point. The wildlife, petrified wood and numerous Ice Age Flood features kept me entertained all day.


Most of the images will enlarge if you click them.


Looking west from Frenchman Coulee


Note: Cayuse Creek on the other side of Columbia River. If you're familiar with "The Feathers" in Frenchman Coulee, the feature is identified in photo.


In his book "On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods", geologist Bruce Bjornstad points out:

Of special interest is a high, sculpted-out area in the steep wall of basalt visible on the opposite side of the Columbia River from Frenchman Coulee. Like a giant fire hose, a forceful jet of floodwater hit this rock wall head on after cascading through Frenchman Coulee.

Many pieces of petrified wood in the park are only partially exposed.

Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park is an amazing place. Start with Columbia River Basalt Group lava flowing into the area from the southeast, building layer upon layer. About 15.5 million years ago some of the basalt in the Vantage area was covered by debris (ash, dirt, rocks, trees) carried by at least one lahar (volcanic mudflow) flowing from the west or northwest. The course of the Columbia River was obstructed and a large shallow lake formed in the Vantage area. The lake held a mixture of water logged trees, some from the Vantage area but many other species carried by the river and lahar(s).

When the basalt flows resumed, water and mud provided protection for some of the trees and prevented them from burning. The lake disappeared under the basalt and the logs were entombed. Water draining through the cooling basalt slowly petrified the logs.

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"Ginkgo logs are so well preserved because they were rapidly buried and sealed off from exposure to air. If the logs had come to rest on the surface they would have rotted and decomposed to nothing. But being deeply buried there was no oxygen or animals/microbes for decomposition."

Bruce Bjornstad

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So ... We started with basalt flows, then lahars, cover that mess with more basalt, let things cool off for a few million years ... Don't get too relaxed Vantage because here come the Ice Age Floods!


One of my first stops on the hike was a quick visit to the "Karlson Erratic". This is the largest ice-rafted erratic I know of in Kittitas County. It sits right where the iceberg left it at 1,105' in Rocky Coulee. Ryan Karlson measured it 10' x 8.5'.

There could be bigger ones out there. I just need to find the time to search Tarpiscan, Tekison, Brushy, Quilomene, Box, Skookumchuck and Jackknife canyons along with Dry Gulch and all their tributaries.


Petrified red gum log exposed by the Ice Age Floods.


I always enjoy walking up to lone erratics and small clusters of erratics in the Channeled Scablands of eastern Washington but it's really cool to walk up to these bergmounds where a large iceberg has grounded and melted out leaving a large pile of debris. I'll post other images of this bergmound in the future. The view looking south is scenic with Sentinel Gap in the distance. In this shot I'm looking NE.


Aerial view looking north over the Interstate 90 bridge at Vantage.


A. Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park
B. Cayuse Creek
C. Mouth of Frenchman Coulee
D. Babcock Bench

When crossing the bridge, try to imagine floodwaters 700 feet above the Columbia River surface (Wanapum Reservoir normal pool elevation 570 ft).


Hiking SE out of the upper Cayuse Creek drainage.


In 1975 the Washington State Legislature adopted petrified wood as the official "state gem". The Wanapums and other Native Americans used pieces of the petrified wood for arrowheads.


The petrified growth rings are interesting.

Looking east towards the Columbia River. One of the highest Ice Age Flood markers I found.


I felt like I was being watched all day.


Seems to be a healthy cactus population in both the Cayuse and Whiskey Dick Creek drainage. This area receives 8 inches of precipitation annually.


Visit the Mid-Columbia Basin in the spring and check out Hedgehog Cactus blooms.


Another shot from the spring. When visiting Ginkgo State Park in late November, it's hard to remember how beautiful the spring wildflowers are in Schnebly Coulee.


During warmer months I've seen a few of these guys around the park. They always seem to be working hard to get out of the way, but it's a good idea to try and watch where you step.

Warning posted by the State Parks Department:
WESTERN RATTLESNAKE
Rattlesnakes are inhabitants of this area. Although largely active in the evening and cooler hours of the day, they can be found anytime from early Spring through late Autumn.
Rattlesnakes are important predators of birds, mice, rabbits and other rodents. Because the kill their prey by using a deadly venom they can be dangerous to man. Exercise caution in this area.

Vantage area petroglyphs on display at the Ginkgo Interpretive Center.

Humans have used the Vantage area for at least 6,600 years. This part of the Mid-Columbia was known to the Wanapum Indians as pank'ú.


Lichen covered erratic

Erratics have been found at a distance of more than three miles from and nearly 700 feet above the Columbia River at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. Ryan Karlson (Washington State Parks), completed an incredibly thorough inventory of Ice Age Floods erosional and depositional features within the park. During this study he found the highest frequency of ice-rafted erratics above 1,100 feet. The highest erratic discovered in the study was sitting at 1,263 feet.


Another traveler found in the upper Cayuse Creek drainage. Resting here 15,000 years and still thought of as an out-of-state visitor.


Here's a shot taken in the spring of 2006, during an Ellensburg Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute field trip. Chapter President Nick Zentner (tan vest - left) tells a story about the Trees of Stone. Note Cayuse Creek drainage identified in the distance.

THE HISTORY of GINKGO PETRIFIED FOREST STATE PARK

In 1931, geologist George F. Beck of Central Washington College of Education in Ellensburg noticed highway construction workers removing petrified wood from a jobsite near Vantage. Beck and his students eventually identified dozens of species of trees at the site, including petrified ginkgo.

The State purchased 10 acres of the fossil bed and created the State Park in 1935. Today Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park personnel manage more than 7,000 acres.


It sure is depressing to think about the amount of petrified wood removed from this park over the years.

Three miles west of the Interpretive Center the State Park maintains a trail constructed by CCC workers that leads visitors to 22 pits containing various species of petrified wood. In their book "Fire, Faults, and Floods", Marge and Ted Mueller state:

"It's a sad commentary on the ethics of visitors that each display must be enshrouded in concrete walls secured with a locked steel rebar gate to prevent vandalism or theft. Even this doesn't prevent garbage from being tossed into the pits by thoughtless oafs!"


"THOUGHTLESS OAFS"? ... You're very kind Marge & Ted. I had two other words in mind.

On a positive note: The National Park Service identified Ginkgo as a place of "Interpretive value" in the "Ice Age Floods Study of Alternatives and Environmental Assessment" for Congress.

A study completed for the Washington State Parks Commission in 2006 found: Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park to be a "Primary Gateway" to the Ice Age Floods region and one of the six "Highest priority" locations in its system for Ice Age Floods interpretation.

Washington State Parks Master Plan for the Ice Age Floods
Highest priority parks:

• Dry Falls Interpretive Center


• Sun Lakes State Park


• Steamboat Rock State Park


• Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park


• Columbia Hills State Park


• Beacon Rock State Park

Undated photograph showing a petrified log partially exposed by the Ice Age Floods. Note Echo Basin and Frenchman Coulee on opposite side of river.

The next time you travel between Vantage and Ellensburg: Monitor the elevation display on your GPS. When you reach 1,270 feet, notice how high above and how far away you are from the Columbia River. I hope the State will soon install signs that identify the point Interstate-90 bisects the Ice Age Floods high-water line. Thousands of vehicles cross this line each day with drivers unaware of the amazing story of the Ice Age Floods.

Click to view: Ginkgo Petrified Forest S.P. - Part II