BASIN & RANGE / COLUMBIA PLATEAU - Photo Ecosphere

Geographic Regions
BASIN & RANGE / COLUMBIA PLATEAU

GALLERY DESCRIPTION:

High desert and riparian landscapes in an intermountain zone supporting desert wildlife on grassland valleys, plateaus and basins, broken by rugged mountain ranges

U.S. STATES:

BASIN & RANGE [The Great Basin]: Nevada, Utah (northwest) / COLUMBIA PLATEAU: Idaho (southern), Oregon (eastern), Washington State (eastern)

A stream runs through a valley in an otherwise arid landscape where the Mojave Desert meets the Great Basin Desert, a point just north of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau

Joshua Trees and Red Sandstone rock

Joshua Trees dot the landscape on the eastern edge of the Mojave Desert

Creosote Bush dominate the parched landscape leading up to a mound of Red Sandstone rock

Desert vegetation surrounds hardened sand dunes turned red through iron oxidation

Bright Red Sandstone rocks dominate the landscape at Whitney Pockets along the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway

A bending Joshua Tree casts its shadow onto Red Sandstone rock

A small Barrel Catcus and Burrobush at the base of a Joshua Tree with the Whitney Pockets beyond

Colorful shades of red, orange, yellow, and tan streak a mound of Sandstone

Whitney Pockets along the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway

Whitney Pockets

Whitney Pockets along the Gold Butte Backcountry Byway

Pocket formations inside Red Sandstone

A unique formation of Red Sandstone at Whitney Pockets

Lichen grows on the side of Red Sandstone

Whitney Pockets sandstone

Inside a pocket of Sandstone with distinct sand lines etched onto its surface

Holes in Sandstone at Whitney Pockets

Aztec Sandstone outcrop along the Redstone Dune Trail

Red Sandstone sculpted and eroded by wind and water over time

Violet-Green Swallow

Tiger Whiptail lizard

Pallid-Winged Grasshopper

Western Fence Lizard

Southern Desert Horned Lizard

Southern Desert Horned Lizard

Southern Desert Horned Lizard

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

Lake Mead with a bath tub ring viewed from Hoover Dam will continue to rise with increased snow melt from the Rockies feeding the Colorado River upstream

Fish swimming in Lake Mead

The Memorial Bridge spans the gorge over the Colorado River next to Hoover Dam

Looking down the center of Hoover Dam with Memorial Bridge above

The Behives formation of Aztec Sandstone

The Behives cross-bedding standstone rock formation is comprised of silt layer deposits that record wind and water flow direction back in time

The domes of sandstone along the valley represent the transition from the layered rocks of the Colorado Plateau to the east to the Basin & Range broken and faulted limestone mountains rising in the distance to west and north

Sandstone rock formations at Rainbow Vista

A Golden Cholla cactus grows from the red sand at Rainbow Vista

Layered Aztec Sandstone fins along Rainbow Vista Trail

Red Sandstone in Fire Canyon

Common Sagebrush Lizard clinging to the side of red sandstone

White Domes

Aztec Sandstone at sunset

Aztec Sandstone at sunset

Red Sandstone rock formations lit up by the setting sun

Valley of Fire at sunset

Solidified sand dunes dating back to the Jurassic period has been colored red through iron oxidation

Valley of Fire at sunset

Fire Canyon at sunset

Full Moon and wisp of clouds over Fire Canyon at sunset

Fire Canyon at sunset

Full Moon over Fire Canyon at sunset

Red Sandstone rocks in the Calico Hills

Calico Hills

Layers of wavy sandstone leading up to the Calico Hills

Littleleaf Ratany wildflower

Wildflower buds

Palmer's Penstemon wildflower

Desert Marigold flowers

Flowering seeds of an Avens plant

Flowering seeds of an Avens plant

Western Patchnose Snake along the Keystone Thrust Trail

White Rock Hills

Sandstone rock hills along the edge of the La Madre Mountains

Pine Creek Canyon in the distance

Silver Cholla cactus and Mojave Yuccas growing in Red Rock Canyon

Badlands of Tule Springs with the Sheep Mountains rising beyond

Clay, silt, and sandstone deposits preserve Ice Age fauna and flora fossils with the upper Las Vegas Wash sedimentary formation

An opening in the highly erosive carbonate dolomite and limestone rocks within the Las Vegas Wash

A large Dolostone on the bed of the upper Las Vegas Wash is comprised of Dolomite, a carbonate mineral

Sheep Mountain Range above Las Vegas Valley

Looking up from the shrubs along the trails at Corn Creek, the Sheep Mountains extend across the arid landscape beyond

Honey Mesquite tree

A male, breeding Western Tanager

A male, breeding Western Tanager

Cedar Waxwing bird feeding on berries

Wildflower growing along Corn Creek Spring

Digger Bee on a Yellow Bee-Plant flower

Peregrine Falcon with a fresh kill

Tiger Whiptail lizard

Familiar Bluet damselfly

A Crayfish in a shallow, clear stream

Crayfish in a desert natural spring

White River Narrows

White River Narrows

White River Narrows volcanic rock cliffs

Volcanic rock cliffs of rhyolite in the White River Narrows area

White River Narrows ciff, consisting of volcanic tuff ash rock and rhyolite igneous rock deposits from past volcanic activity

Tuff volcanic rock deposited from ash flow along the White River Narrows

Desert Spiny Lizard

Desert Spiny Lizard

Seaman Range Mountains

Coal Valley and the Seaman Range to the northeast

In the Coal Valley with the Golden Gate Range to the west

Looking southwest from Water Gap towards the Worthington Mountain Wilderness over a wind-swept, high desert sagebrush landscape

Cow with a calf roaming through a sage-steppe landscape in Garden Valley

Three pronghorn stir up dust on the Great Basin as they gallop away

The broad valleys and rugged mountains of the Basin and Range geologic province

Pronghorn running through dry basin sagebrush

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

A pine tree growing between two large rock towers

Limber and Lodgepole pines blanket the lower slopes of the Grant Range mountains

Scrub-Sagebrush with Pinyon and Juniper trees growing below the Grant Range

The Grant Range in central Nevada

Dawn just at sunrise over the Great Basin desert

Sunrise over the 430-foot deep Lunar Crater

Giant Red Indian Paintbrush wildflower growing on the rim of Lunar Crater at sunrise

Volcanic rock boulders on the rim of a shallow broad crater called a maar, formed by a past explosive eruption

Cinder cone formed by past volcanic activity rising above the Great Basin desert

Volcanic ash cinder cones next to a sand field and surrounded by Sagebrush on the Great Basin desert

Great Basin Gopher Snake

Rhyolite ghost town just outside Death Valley in the Amargosa Desert

The Snake Range mountains rise from a high desert below up through shrub, sagebrush, Juniper, and montane life zones to an alpine environment at its peaks above 11,000 feet

A glimpse of Wheeler Peak through Aspen and pine trees along the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive

Aspen tree grove in the montane life zone around 9 feet in elevation

Uinta Chipmunk

Wheeler Peak (13,063 feet) rises above a cirque bowl glacier formation

Wheeler Peak (13,063 feet) reflects off of Stella Lake along Alpine Loop Trail

Stella Lake, an alpine lake above 10,000 feet in elevation, on a clear, calm morning with Wheeler Peak beyond

Teresa Lake (10,230 feet) below Wheeler Peak is a glacial tarn, a lake deposit left in a cirque carved out by a glacier

Along the Bristlecone-Glacier Trail in the Snake Range, Limber Pines grow near timberline

Bristlecone Pine trees along side Limber Pines

Fallen and standing Bristlecone Pine trees

Bristlecone Pine tree grow very slowly in the harsh alpine environment above 10,000 feet

Bristlecone Pine trees growing on a rocky hillside, a product of a glacial moraine

Bristlecone Pine trees have a unique ability to adapt to extreme environments and can live for thousands of years

The twisted branches of a dead, but still standing Bristlecone Pine tree

Bristlecone Pine trees are amongst the Earth's oldest living species often holding on to life for several thousands of years

The short, compact clusters of Bristlecone Pine tree needles

Drapery and Flowstone cave formation

Stalactite cave formations

Calcite Stalactites covered in Popcorn cave formations hang from a fracture along the cave ceiling and wall

A transluscent formation called Cave Bacon

Draperies, Stalactites, Helictites, Soda Staws, and Flowstone cave formations

Intricate cave formations develop over a long period of time as rainwater mixed with carbon dioxide percolated through cracks and joints in the porous, soluble limestone

Stalactites, Stalagmites, Soda Straws, and Flowstone cover a cave room

Stalactites, Stalagmites, Popcorn, Soda Straws, and Flowstone in a cave room

Stalactites, Stalagmites, Popcorn, Soda Straws, and Flowstone in a cave room

Stalagmites rise from the cave floor while Stalactites hang from the cave ceiling, forming a Column at center

Stalactites, Stalagmites, Popcorn, Soda Straws, and Flowstone in a cave room

Stalactite and Column cave formations

Hanging Stalactites meet rising Stalagmites to form Columns

Hanging Stalactites meet rising Stalagmites to form Columns

Popcorn cave formations cover Flowstone over a cave wall

Unique rounded formations of Stalactites hang from the cave ceiling

Well developed cave formations

Soda Straws and Stalactites hang from the cave ceiling, with a couple forming Columns down to the cave floor

Cave Popcorn covers the ceiling of a section of Lehman Cave

Calcite (dissolved limestone) cave formation pattern on the ceiling of Lehman Cave

Salt flats in the Great Salt Lake Desert Basin, shaped into a flat surface by a cyclical process of flooding winter waters and slow evaporation during hot, dry summers

Water collected over the flat salt plains either drains into the Great Salt Lake to the east or slowly evaporates in the desert heat

Bonneville Salt Flats are a part of the Great Salt Lake Desert Basin

A pool of briny water evaporates in the hot west Utah desert from salt flats, broken by rugged low-lying mountains in the distance

The Bonneville Salt Flats are a remnant of the ancient Lake Bonneville

Clumps of salt form over the West Desert Basin salt flats through a slow process of evaporation

Halite salt crystals form in a pool fed by water from a shallow brine acquifer just below the surface

A rock embedded in a salty crust of Gypsum and Halite minerals

Salt deposits consisting of Gypsum and Halite minerals, along with small concenrations of Potassium and Magnesium

A flat surface plain of salt continuously shaped by water and wind and the process of evaporation

The Great Salt Lake, extending 75 miles long from north to south and 28 miles wide east to west makes it the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River

From the southern shores of the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island sits to the north

With no outlet, the Great Salt Lake loses water only to evaporation, leaving behind mineral concentrations and owing to a salinity level five times greater than the Earth's Oceans

Wild grasses grow along a spit of sand in an inlet of the Great Salt Lake with the Oquirrh Mountains on the horizon

Willet in flight over the Great Salt Lake

Breeding American Avocets

American Avocet wading along the shores of the Great Salt Lake

Brine Flies feed on algae and bacteria in the briny waters along the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake

Brine Flies drawn to the salty inlet shores along the Great Salt Lake

Salty water tinted pink by bacteria and algae in the Great Basin

The southern edge of the Great Basin with the Stansbury Mountains beyond

Patches of snow still dot the Stansbury Mountains with a pink hued inlet at the southern edge of the Great Salt Lake below

Bacteria and algae in the saline water colors a shallow inlet pink

Bacteria and algae flourish in a briny inlet of the Great Salt Lake with the Stansbury Mountains rising above

A crust layer of Halite (table salt) mineral crystals coat the top of a shallow inlet

Common Ravens balance on a rock

American Avocet reflecting in the calm, still inlet of the Great Salt Lake

Black-Necked Stilts wading in a shallow inlet with the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains towering over Salt Lake City in the distance

Northern Rough-winged Swallows feed on insects

Northern Rough-winged Swallows dart around, feeding on insects

Franklin's Gull

Looking up towards Frary Peak (6,596 feet), the highest point on Antelope Island

Salt-marsh grass reeds line Farmington Bay in the Great Salt Lake

The Wasatch Range to the east of Antelope Island on the shores of the Great Salt Lake

American Bison with Seagulls flying over Farmington Bay

American Bison

American Bison herd on Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake

American Bison roam Antelope Island in the Basin and Range

American Bison grazing on a grassy slope with the Wasatch Range in the distance

American Bison herd with the Wasatch Range as a backdrop

American Bison

Bison cow with calf

American Bison calf

Sego-Lily wildflower

Great Basin Gopher Snake

Great Basin Gopher Snake

Great Basin Gopher Snake

Shorebirds wade along the shores of the Great Salt Lake at sunset

Sunset over the Great Salt Lake

From the west, road heading east towards Hart Mountain

Sagebrush-Grasslands and Silvery Lupine purple wildflowers surround a lake with the Abert Rim fault escarpment in the distance

Flagstaff Lake and Hart Mountain fault block

Hart Mountain cliffs

Along the edge of Hart Mountain, looking north with the Warner Valley Wetlands below

Bunchgrasses growing high up on the edge of Hart Mountain above Campbell Lake and Stone Coral Lake in the Warner Valley Wetlands

Gopher Snake

Gopher Snake

Pronghorn on the run

North America's faster land animal, Pronghorn race across an open plain

Rolling hills filled with grasses and sagebrush predominate the high desert habitat of Hart Mountain

Bunchgrasses and other wild grasses cover the broad sweeping landscape of Hart Mountain

A mesa with basalt rock covered in lichen rises above the desert grassland

Pronghorn feeding at sunset

Pronghorn feeding at sunset

High desert landscape of eastern Oregon

Hills of the Poker Jim Ridge in the distance

Clusters of yellow Marumleaf Buckwheat

The sun sets over the Warner Valley Wetlands below Hart Mountain

The Warner Valley Wetlands with the ridges of Abert Rim, a fault scarp, silhouetted on the horizon

From left to right, Flagstaff Lake, Upper Campbell Lake, and Campbell Lake in the Warner Valley Wetlands

Sunset over the Warner Valley Wetlands

Field of Canola Rapeseed plant crop in bloom in spring

Western Blue Flax and Western Blue Flag Iris grow in a field below Castle Rocks

Western Blue Flag Iris and yellow Montane Golden-Banner wildflowers growing in a field below Castle Rocks in the Albion Mountains

Western Blue Flag Iris (aka Rocky Mountain Iris) dot a green meadow

Lady Beetle, commonly known as a Ladybug

Western Blue Flax wildflower

Yellow Salsify

Tufted Evening Primrose

Sagebrush and Pinyon Pines along the Stines Creek Trail lead up to a crop of intrusive igneous plutonic rocks

Granite pluton along Stines Creek Trail

A granite pluton along Stines Creek Trail

Old stone house in the Circle Creek Basin

Granite rocks rise up over the Circle Creek Basin valley

Sagebrush valley littered with granite rock outcrops

Camp Rock along the California Trail, where emigrants heading west in the late 1800s during the gold rush made camp

Granite rock formation called Treasure Rock

Elephant Rock sits at an elevation over 6,000 feet

View of the city of rocks along Creekside Towers Trail

Rock formation along Creekside Towers Trail

Looking up from the side of Creekside Tower

Arrowleaf Balsamroot wildflower

Crab Spider on a pink petal of a wild Woods Rose flower

Western Wallflower

Long-leaf Phlox wildflowers

Showy Fleabane Daisy

Bath Rock (6,480 feet) viewed from Window Arch

Window Arch

Window Arch

Window Arch

A volcanic landscape known as the Great Rift crosses the Snake River Plain in south-central Idaho

Sparse vegetation, including Dwarf Buckwheat and small Limber Pine trees, pepper the hilly and rocky lava terrain

A Variable Checkerspot butterfly drawing nectar from Sulphur-Flower Wild-Buckwheat

Solidified Lava reveals numerous holes produced from gas bubble pockets

Volcanic Rock

Volcanic Rock

Volcanic Rock

A large chunk of dark Basaltic Rock

Lichen and the sinuous structure of basaltic lava rock is visible

Bright orange and yellow-green Lichen grows on volcanic rock

Lichen growing on black Basalt lava rock

Cushion Wild-Buckwheat (also known as Oval-Leaf Wild-Buckwheat)

A cluster of Cushion Wild-Buckwheat growing in and around lava rock

Inferno Cone

Devils Orchard Trail

The view from Inferno Cone looking north-east

On the top of Inferno Cone with Big Southern Butte visible on the horizon in the distance

Spatter Cones

A window formation in a rafted lava block

Sunlight floods in from an opening on the roof of Indian Tunnel, a solidified lava tube

Skylight in Indian Tunnel lava tube cave

Mountain Bluebird

A Pika living among the lava rock fissures of the Great Rift

Pahoehoe (pa-hoy-hoy) lava on the North Crater Flow

Large, wavy rope-like formations created from a Pahoehoe lava flow

A small Limber Pine (also called Rocky Mountain White Pine) grows in the Blue Dragon Flow

A view looking north towards the Pioneer Mountains

Water from the Snake River flows over Idaho Falls

Beneath the 115-foot high headwall of the ampitheater-headed Box Canyon, filtered water flows out from basaltic rock deposited from lava flows dating back 2 to 15 million years ago

The Niagara Springs flow at a rate of 250 cubic feet per second

Percolating from porous volcanic rock, filtered water emanates out amongst plant vegetation

Niagara Spings, a National Natural Landmark, feeds Crystal Lake, a "plunge pool" along side the Snake River

American White Pelicans

American White Pelican

Yellow-Bellied Marmot

Springs cascade from a basalt cliff down into the Snake River

Historic Owsley Bridge constructed in 1920 spans the Snake River

From Snake River Overlook, the 600-foot bluffs to the left exhibit sedimentary strata that preserved fossils dating back to the Pilocene Epoch (3-4 million years ago)

Sand, silt, and clay deposits along the steep banks of the Snake River Plain preserve fossils from a time when the climate was warmer and more humid

A volcanic rock boulder in the Haggerman Valley is a remnant of floods from an ancient lake over 15,000 years ago that carried and scattered the rocks

Prairie Junegrass

Shoshone Falls extends 950 feet across and drops 212 feet along the Snake River

Shoshone Falls, referred to as the "Niagara of the West"

Shoshone Falls drops 212 feet along the Snake River

Water pours over Shoshone Falls

Shoshone Falls along the Snake River

Looking west in late afternoon, the Snake River is partly masked by mist from Shoshone Falls

Mist from Shoshone Falls is lit up by the late afternoon sun beaming down over the Snake River

Shoshone Falls in the evening

Carroll Rim consist of yellow and tan deposits left from a period with a drier and cooler climate

Looking up at the sedimentary rock layers of Carroll Rim

Painted Hills

The Painted Hills - weathered by time and captured in times of differing climates

The older, bottom layer of lavender-gray soil represents a warmer, wetter climate while the upper layers of yellow-tan soil represent a more recent cooler, drier climate

Bands of brown, rust red, tan, and gray represent layers of time past with varying climates

View of the Painted Hills from the Painted Hills Overlook Trail

Black spots in the near hill represent manganese concentrations in the Painted Hills

Painted Hills and the Ochoco Mountains

Fluctuating climates layered in the Painted Hills with the Ochoco Mountains beyond

Painted Hills sedimentary rock deposits colored by lignite, a brownish coal deposit

Oxidized iron and magnesium in volcanic ash layers deposited from some 33 million years ago paint this hill rust red

Dry, cracked red clay hill along the Painted Cove Trail

Red soil hill along Painted Cove Trail

Painted Cove Trail

A Lark Sparrow balances on the branch of a Western Juniper

Purple Prairie Clover plants

Prairie Clover

Golden Bee Plant

Differential Grasshopper on a purple Prairie Clover

Sagebrush Mariposa-Lily

Young, juvenile Gray Jays

Great Basin Rattlesnake

Along Leaf Hill Trail, fragments of shale rock often encapsulate flora fossils from a period more than 33 million years ago

The soils along Red Scar Knoll Trail once supported deciduous hardwood forests when the climate was warmer and wetter

Fertile tropical forest soils rich in iron laden volcanic ash produce a dark rust-red bottom layer dating back from approximately 40 million years ago

Red Scar Knoll Trail exhibits soil deposit mounds capturing fossiized plant life from a former tropical jungle forest

Painted Hills at sunset

The Palisades rock formation rise above the Geologic Time Trail

The Palisades rock formation

The Carno Palisades rock deposits are the result of a lahar, mud and rock debris flow from past volcanic eruptions

Pyroclastic material deposit from ancient volcanic eruptions, eroded over time, has created the Clarno Palisades rock formation

Yellow Bumble Bee on thistle flower

Leaves from ancient plant life are preserved in volcanic rock

Plant leaf fossil imprint in volcanic rock along the Trail of Fossils

The Palisades rock formation

Looking up at The Palisades, a small arch window can be seen near the top

Overlook of the Mascall Formation with a high, flat-topped mesa in the distance, consisting of ash capped by a hard volcanic rock layer called ignimbrite

Overlook of the Mascall Formation, deposits of volcanic ash from eruptions occuring 12 to 15 million years ago

Mascall Formation, volcanic ash deposits

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Cattail reeds and grasses grow in the falt flood plain of the John Day River, leading out to Picture Gorge

Looking up at columns of Basalt volcanic rock near Picture Gorge

Basalt columnar rock formations feature six-sided vertical pillars of stone

Basalt volcanic rock columns line cliffs just north of Picture Gorge

Steps of basalt rock on a hill are a result of past volcanic activity in the area

Chukar mother with chicks on rock boulders

Chukar

John Day River carving its way through volcanic rock

Sheep Rock rises to an elevation of 3,360 feet at its pinnacle above the John Day River

Sheep Rock

John Day River in the Sheep Rock Unit

Sagebrush plants and wild grasses dominate the arid semi-desert climate of central and western Oregon

Western Kingbird

Nevada Bumble Bee on Mojave Thistle

Yellow Salsify wildflower

Moth Mullein wildflower

Yellow Toadflax is an Eurasian native wildflower

Chicory wildflower

Hunt Bumble Bee on a Chicory flower

Chicory wildflower

Nevada Bumble Bees on Mojave Thistle

Nevada Bumble Bee on a Mojave Thistle

Yellow Toadflax is an Eurasian native wildflower

Moth Mullein wildflower

Mojave Thistle growing below the blue-green Turtle Cove Member rock of the John Day Formation

John Day Formation rock, deposited by volcanic ash from ancestral Cascade volcano eruptions

The John Day Formation with blue-green Turtle Cove Member rock

Along the Blue Basin Trail, dry grasses, sagebrush, and Juniper trees grow on a hillside

From the Blue Basin Overlook Trail, the valley seen below is a collection of volcanic ash deposited on a landscape that once supported grazing animals in a warmer and wetter climate

Western Junipers growing high up on a hillside overlooking the Blue Basin valley below

Blue Basin with blue-green Turtle Cove Member rock directly ahead and red claystones of the Big Member rock to the right in the distance

Looking down to John Day River far below

Gopher Snake hiding in brush

Deerhorn Clarkia wildflower

Daisy Fleabane wildflowers

Sagebrush Mariposa-Lily

Yellow wildflower (possibly Tansy Ragwort)

Sagebrush Mariposa-Lily

Western Juniper tree with cones

A male Bullock's Oriole carrying lunch

Female Bullock's Oriole

Female Bullock's Oriole along the Island in Time Trail

Wild Turkey and chick

Imnaha River

Wallowa Mountains

Hells Canyon Overlook

A variety of wild flowers grow on a hillside at the Hells Canyon Overlook

Cream-colored Sulphur-Flower Wild-Buckwheat along side several flowering stems of possibly a variant of wild onion or wild garlic wildflowers

A fly on the flower of a wild onion or wild garlic type of wildflower

A grassy butte along a ridge

Overlooking a canyon carved by the Imnaha River

Hawk perched on tree branch (possibly a Northern Goshawk, Cooper's Hawk, or Swainson's Hawk?) at Granny View Vista

Looking out over Hells Canyon Wilderness from Hat Point

From Hat Point, the Snake River below carves the deepest gorge in North Amercia at near 8,000 feet deep through the 10 mile long Hells Canyon

Standing dead pine trees from the Summit Fire of 1989 at Hat Point

Nelson's Larkspur wildflowers growing on Hat Point with the Seven Devils Mountains rising high above Hells Canyon

Seven Devils Mountains in Idaho, viewed from Hat Point - peaks left to right: Devils Tooth, She Devil, He Devil, Devils Throne, Devils Farm

Patches of snow cover the high, rocky peaks of the Seven Devils Mountains to the east of Hells Canyon

Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel

Nelson's Larkspur wildflower

Anise Swallowtail on a Western Groundsel flower

Horse Creek Overlook

Ridge in Hells Canyon recreation area

Mule Deer on a grassy slope

Mule Deer

Crooked River (High) Bridge over the Crooked River

Mount Jefferson (10,497 feet)

Mount Jefferson viewed from the rain shadow east of the Cascade Range

Mount Hood (11,245 feet)

American White Pelicans in flight

An immature European Starling

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Bush with berries

Manroot and White-tip Clover flower

Showy Milkweed flowering plant growing along the banks where the Snake River meets the Columbia River

An arid desert landscape is intersected by the life-supporting waters of the Columbia River

The Vernita Bridge spans the Columbia River with barren bluffs rising above

From the eastern side of the Wahluke Unit, Rattlesnake Mountain is visible in the distance across a wide stretch of the Columbia River

A desert landscape of shrub-steppe grasslands leads up to the Rattlesnake Hills in the distance

Sagebrush and wild grasses fill an arid flat terrain below the Saddle Mountains to the north

Mormon Cricket

A juvenile Barn Swallow

A flowering Wild Honeysuckle Bush on the Columbia Plateau

At the banks of the Columbia River

Canal along the southern edge of the Saddle Mountain Unit

A sweeping dry shrub-steppe landscape under overcast skies

Steppe grassland with darkening storm clouds gathering in the distance

A storm passes over the Hanford Reach

In the Wahluke Unit, storm clouds threaten above

A yellow hue brightens up the atmosphere over Hanford Reach as the sun sets with storm clouds lingering above

Early evening in Hanford Reach

A stormy evening over the grasslands of Hanford Reach

Crab Creek in the Columbia River Basin flows between cliffs of Basalt rock

Channeled Scablands refer to this lands molded over time by a natural history of volcanic activity and Ice Age floods

A butte comprising of columnar Basalt rock formations, deposited from ancient volcanic activity

Light green algae (Lichen) growing on Basalt cliffs

Reeds of wild grass grow tall around a marsh below towering cliffs of Basalt

Sagebrush and Bunchgrasses growing over the Columbia Plateau

Wild grass

Orange lichen grows on the branches of a Sagebrush shrub

Rays of the setting sun light up a rugged, arid landscape

A basalt rock mesa lit up at sunset

A desert valley filled with Sagebrush and Bunchgrasses in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains

Basalt mesas and cliffs along a landscape shapped by past molten lava flows and sculpted by Ice Age floods

Mesa of basalt rock over clusters of Sagebrush at the end of Frog Lake Trail

The sun sets over the Columbia Plateau

A sunset paints the sky shades of orange, pink, and purple over the Columbia Plateau

A marsh along the Marsh Loop Trail at sunset

The Palouse River, running through Palouse River Canyon, was carved into the landscape over 13,000 years ago during Ice Age floods out of glacial Lake Missoula

Palouse Falls along Palouse River descends over towering basalt cliffs on its way towards the Snake River

Palouse Falls pours out over basalt rock cliffs into a bowl-shaped pool within the Palouse River Canyon

Washington State's state waterfall, Palouse Falls cascades into Palouse River Canyon

The treeless, rolling grass plains of western Washington State

Columbia River in western Washington State

Columbia River

Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River

Below the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River

Grand Coulee Dam holds back the Columbia River, creating Lake Roosevelt reservoir

Dalmatian Toadflax non-native wildflower species

Silvery Lupine wildflower

Columbia River

Columbia River

Mount Adams (12,307 feet) viewed from the east along the Klickitat Valley

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