Basalt cliffs near Lake Lenore
View looking west across Lake Lenore toward the west wall of Grand Coulee. Parts of the cliff consist of massive columns of basalt that formed as the molten rock shrank as it crystallized and cooled. The pattern in the cliff shows that the lava flows probably had channels and subsurface passages that resulted in variable characteristics in each of the flows. Also note the massive talus slopes along the upper cliff wall and the ring of alkali salts deposited along the lakeshore.
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Last modified: 1/5/2011