Steamboat Rock State Park is a

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state park located near the north end of

Banks Lake Banks Lake is a long reservoir in central Washington in the United States. Part of the Columbia Basin Project, Banks Lake occupies the northern portion of the Grand Coulee, a formerly dry coulee near the Columbia River, formed by the Missoula Fl ...

in the

Grand Coulee Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. This National Natural Landmark stretches for about 60 miles (100 km) southwest from Grand Coulee Dam to Soap Lake, being bisected by Dry Falls into the Upper and Lower ...

. The park takes its name from the landscape's dominating feature, Steamboat Rock, a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

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 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 {{authority control Parks in Grant County, Washington State parks of Washington (state) Buttes of Washington (state)