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This was the higher viewpoint we hiked to. A little different view of the Falls area including the power plant on left.
The Bonneville Flood- An Ancient Lake Dies, A Canyon Grows
About a million years ago, a gigantic lake about the size of Lake Michigan, covered roughly 20,000 square miles of northern Utah, eastern Nevada and southern Idaho. Lake Bonneville was formed by a natural rock barrier at Red Rock Pass in eastern Idaho but had no river outlet to the sea.
Approximately 11,000 years ago-yesterday in geological terms-rainfall and snowmelt gradually raised the level of the lake until the natural dam collapsed. The entire lake came crashing through the Snake River Canyon, causing the Great Bonneville Flood.
The Bonneville Flood- An Ancient Lake Dies, A Canyon Grows
About a million years ago, a gigantic lake about the size of Lake Michigan, covered roughly 20,000 square miles of northern Utah, eastern Nevada and southern Idaho. Lake Bonneville was formed by a natural rock barrier at Red Rock Pass in eastern Idaho but had no river outlet to the sea.
Approximately 11,000 years ago-yesterday in geological terms-rainfall and snowmelt gradually raised the level of the lake until the natural dam collapsed. The entire lake came crashing through the Snake River Canyon, causing the Great Bonneville Flood.