Steamboat Rock State Park is a
Washington state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
located near the north end of
Banks Lake in the
Grand Coulee. The park takes its name from the landscape's dominating feature, Steamboat Rock, a
basalt butte that rises above the lake which nearly completely surrounds it.
[ The butte's plateau covers more than and was used by nomadic Native American tribes and by early settlers.][ During the last ice age, the monolith stood as an island in the new bed of the ]Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
where it had been diverted by ice dams. Once the dams burst creating massive floods and the Scablands, the Columbia returned to its original course, leaving Steamboat Rock as a prominent feature of the dry Grand Coulee.[
]
Activities and amenities
The park has of shoreline and is open year-round for camping and day use. The park has trails for hiking, biking, and equestrian use as well as water activities including boating, swimming, waterskiing, and fishing. Winter activities include cross-country skiing, ice fishing, and ice climbing.[
]
References
External links
Steamboat Rock State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Steamboat Rock State Park Map
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
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Parks in Grant County, Washington
State parks of Washington (state)
Buttes of Washington (state)