Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park

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Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park
Sun Lakes State Park.jpg
location Grant County , Washington , USA
surface 15.27 km²
Geographical location 47 ° 36 '  N , 119 ° 22'  W Coordinates: 47 ° 35 '41 "  N , 119 ° 21' 55"  W
Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park (Washington)
Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park
Setup date 1933
administration Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
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The Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park (formerly Sun Lakes State Park) is a recreation area at the foot of Dry Falls , 3 mi (4.8 km) west of Coulee City in Grant County in the State of Washington . The state park occupies 3,774 acres (15 km²) along Washington State Route 17 at the top of the Lower Grand Coulee . A private golf course and an affiliated resort, Sun Lakes Park Resort, are located near park access and Park Lake.

history

The state bought land between 1933 and 1972 to create the park. Fifteen parcels have been acquired by the Bureau of Land Management , the Department of Natural Resources and private interests. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built stone walls and a lookout at Dry Falls, the Vista House, in 1938. The CCC workers also built a shelter and a pump house.

The Camp Delany Group retreat building became a park facility in 1956, the Sun Lakes Park Resort buildings were constructed in 1959, and the Interpretive Center , from which the Dry Falls can be viewed, was constructed in 1965.

particularities

The Dry Falls are a cliff of bare rock, 400 ft (122 m) high and 3.5 mi (5.6 km) wide. During the Missoula Floods , this was the site of a waterfall ten times the size of Niagara Falls . The cliff towers over an oasis in a desert equipped with small lakes, which is home to a diverse fauna. It is an outstanding example of a steppe shrub ecosystem.

The Umatilla Rock is a large basalt rock that withstood the erosive floods. It is located between the Dry Falls and the actual park with the resort. Nearby lakes include Dry Falls Lake, Perch Lake, Red Alkali Lake, Green Alkali Lake, and Meadow Lake.

tourism

The Umatilla Rock at sunrise

The park has 73,640 ft (22,445 m) of shoreline with opportunities for fishing, swimming, boating, hiking, and golfing. In the Interpretive Center there are exhibitions on the geology of the area.

The Umatilla Rock Trail is accessible from the main part of the park via a gravel road. The access point is near the southwest part of the rock. The 5 mi (8 km) loop trail follows the outer boundary of the rock. A side path shortens a little over a cut in the northeast of the rock.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park . Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  2. ^ A b Heron J. Brae: A Floristic Study of Sun Lakes State Park in Eastern Washington . Evergreen State College. January 21, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Camp Delany at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park . Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  4. ^ E. Kirsten Peters, Larry E. Davis: Geology from Experience: Hands-on Labs and Problems in Physical Geology . WH Freeman and Co., New York 2001, ISBN 0716731452 , p. 241.
  5. ^ Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park Map . Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  6. ^ Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park-Umatilla Rock via Monument Coulee . Washington Trails Association. Retrieved September 9, 2018.

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