Exploring Dry Falls
Last month, I drove out to eastern Washington to spend a few days around Dry Falls and the surrounding coulees. I'd never been before but had heard about the “Scablands” and the ancient floods. The geographer in me was fascinated by the fact that during those ancient floods, these falls were five times the width of Niagara Falls and had ten times the flow of all the world’s rivers combined. It's one of those places that had lived in my imagination for some time since I moved to Washington, and finally exploring it in person was especially fulfilling.
Dry Falls is vast and strange, like the ghost of that incredible waterfall that still echoes today. You stand on the rim and try to picture it with water thundering over the cliffs, but the silence wins. What struck me most was the wind. It never stopped--rushing over the basalt, moving the sage, flattening the grass. It gave everything a restless kind of energy, even in the stillest light.
Dry Falls, Washington.
It was fascinating seeing the light move across the rock faces and illuminate the cliffs as the sun set.
Light plays across the massive cliff faces.
What I came away with wasn't just a set of images, but an appreciation for the scale and solitude of that part of the state. Places like this make you work slowly. They don't hand themselves over easily, and that's part of their beauty. I will return at some point as there is still a lot to explore.
Lewis
PS
Some other images from this trip are already included in my “Unknown Country” project.
Early morning light at Alkali Lake.
