Swalalahos Peaks

We call the peaks that surround the Columbia River Estuary the Swalalahos Floristic Province to celebrate the unique character of the plants and animals that can be found here.

Between 6 and 17.5 million years ago a series of massive volcanic eruptions originating in Idaho and Eastern Washington produced a river of lava that flowed west to the Pacific Ocean along what is now the Columbia River. The basalts formed by these Miocene eruptions have a very different character than the Eocene basalt found to the north and south.

Uplifting from interactions between the North American and Juan de Fuca plates has created the peaks that line the Lower Columbia River today. This has, in turn, created a series of habitat islands that are home to ice-age remnant species and endemics found nowhere else in the Coast Range.

We hope to document these rarities with this project. menos ↑