Columbia River Plateau

The Washington towns of Spokane, Vantage, Yakima and Pasco, and the Oregon town of Pendleton, lie on the Columbia River Plateau.
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The Washington towns of Spokane, Vantage, Yakima and Pasco, and the Oregon town of Pendleton, lie on the Columbia River Plateau.

The Columbia River Plateau lies across parts of the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. During late Miocene and early Pliocene times, one of the largest flood basalts ever to appear on the earth's surface engulfed about 63,000 square miles (160,000 km²) of the Pacific Northwest, forming a large igneous province. Over a period of perhaps 10 to 15 million years lava flow after lava flow poured out, eventually accumulating to a thickness of more than 6,000 feet (1.8 km). As the molten rock came to the surface, the earth's crust gradually sank into the space left by the rising lava. The subsidence of the crust produced a large, slightly depressed lava plain now known as the Columbia Basin or Plateau. The ancient Columbia River was forced into its present course by the northwesterly advancing lava. The lava, as it flowed over the area, first filled the stream valleys, forming dams that in turn caused impoundments or lakes. In these ancient lake beds are found fossil leaf impressions, petrified wood, fossil insects, and bones of vertebrate animals.

Portions of this article adapted from works of the United States Government, which are in the public domain

See also

External links

USGS Page on Columbia Plateau (http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/ColumbiaPlateau/framework.html)

Regions of Idaho Flag of Idaho
Rocky Mountains | Columbia River Plateau | Inland Empire | Basin and Range Province
Boise metropolitan area | Treasure Valley | Idaho Panhandle | Magic Valley
Largest cities
Blackfoot | Boise | Burley | Caldwell | Chubbuck | Coeur D'Alene | Eagle | Garden City | Hayden | Idaho Falls | Lewiston | Meridian | Moscow | Mountain Home | Nampa | Pocatello | Post Falls | Rexburg | Twin Falls
Counties
Ada | Adams | Bannock | Bear Lake | Benewah | Bingham | Blaine | Boise | Bonner | Bonneville | Boundary | Butte | Camas | Canyon | Caribou | Cassia | Clark | Clearwater | Custer | Elmore | Franklin | Fremont | Gem | Gooding | Idaho | Jefferson | Jerome | Kootenai | Latah | Lemhi | Lewis | Lincoln | Madison | Minidoka | Nez Perce | Oneida | Owyhee | Payette | Power | Shoshone | Teton | Twin Falls | Valley | Washington |



State of
Oregon
    Flag of Oregon
Regions
Columbia River Gorge and Plateau | Eastern Oregon | Inland Empire | Mt. Hood Corridor | Oregon Coast | Western Oregon | Willamette Valley
Counties     Largest cities (full list)
Baker | Benton | Clackamas | Clatsop | Columbia | Coos | Crook | Curry | Deschutes | Douglas | Gilliam | Grant | Harney | Hood River | Jackson | Jefferson | Josephine | Klamath | Lake | Lane | Lincoln | Linn | Malheur | Marion | Morrow | Multnomah | Polk | Sherman | Tillamook | Umatilla | Union | Wallowa | Wasco | Washington | Wheeler | Yamhill     Albany | Beaverton | Bend | Corvallis | Eugene | Grants Pass | Gresham | Hillsboro | Keizer | Lake Oswego | McMinnville | Medford | Milwaukie | Oregon City | Portland | Salem | Springfield | Tigard | Tualatin | West Linn
Missing image
Washington_state_flag.png
Flag of Washington

State of Washington
Cities | Towns | Municipalities | Governors | Legislature | Initiatives | Congress | Symbols | Parks | Roads | Music

State capital:

Olympia

Regions:

Central Washington | Columbia River Plateau | Eastern Washington | Inland Empire | Kitsap Peninsula | Olympic Peninsula | Okanogan Country | Palouse | Puget Sound | San Juan Islands | Western Washington | Yakima Valley

Major cities:

Bellevue | Everett | Federal Way | Kent | Seattle | Spokane | Tacoma | Vancouver | Yakima

Smaller cities:

Auburn | Bellingham | Bremerton | Edmonds | Kennewick | Kirkland | Lakewood | Olympia | Pasco | Redmond | Renton | Richland | Shoreline

Counties:

Adams | Asotin | Benton | Chelan | Clallam | Clark | Columbia | Cowlitz | Douglas | Ferry | Franklin | Garfield | Grant | Grays Harbor | Island | Jefferson | King | Kitsap | Kittitas | Klickitat | Lewis | Lincoln | Mason | Okanogan | Pacific | Pend Oreille | Pierce | San Juan | Skagit | Skamania | Snohomish | Spokane | Stevens | Thurston | Wahkiakum | Walla Walla | Whatcom | Whitman | Yakima

fr:Plateau de la Columbia

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