Palouse Scenic Byway
Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington, WA

The Channeled Scablands of eastern Washington were created 13,000 years ago when catastrophic floods occurred in Lake Missoula. One of the main flood streams, the Cheney Palouse tract, was 20 miles wide in places, and up to 600 feet deep. The flood stripped 150-200 feet of loess soil, leaving many islands of bare black basalt. Along the main flood channel flows the Palouse River which cuts through the heart of the scablands and through most of the Palouse region.