The Joy of Rocks

Hike: Gingko Petrified Forest
By Arlene

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“To each his (or her) own” is true for hikers. Today I went out on the trails with my husband who finds the views and flowers tolerable, but his real passion is for the rocks on the trail and the fascinating stories they tell.

Norge lecturing on fracture Lines in basalt

This weekend we traveled to Vantage, Washington, on the dry side of the state (annual rainfall is only 8”) and experienced one of their few rainy days. However, the light rain proved advantageous; the air was clean and fresh with a lovely hint of sage, and the trails were clear of people and rattlesnakes who might have come out to sun themselves on the warm hillside. The flowers were brilliant in the overcast gray-green landscape.

Balsamroot

We hiked on a trail at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. Fifteen million years ago there was a very diverse forest here that was buried in volcanic activity and petrified by the minerals in the groundwater. The rock forest was originally exposed in 15,000 BC by the Missoula Flood and then more recently by the Civilian Conversation Corps in the 1930s. I was amazed at the number of species of tress; we saw petrified logs of Spruce, Douglas Fir, Red Gum, Walnut, Maple, Sequoia, Elm, and Ginkgo The Interpretive Center down the road from the trail has 25 different species that have been found in this area.

Petrified log at the Interpretive Center

We took along our favorite book for the long drive.. The Roadside Geology of Washington State turns the mountains, valleys, and plateaus that we can see from the car into stories of docking continents, cataclysmic glacial dam breaks, and immense lava flows. It adds a whole new dimension to the scenic views.

Columbia River from the Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Center

I really should be paying more attention to rocks.

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