All About Water In The Desert

We started off early, heading toward Hagerman to view the Hagerman Fossil Beds where the famous Hagerman Horse and other Holocene and Pliocene fossils have been discovered.  But, it seemed, today the main focus would be on water. 

We first stopped at the Malab Gorge State Park, where an exquisite narrow canyon has been carved by the torrents of a spring-fed creek.  A pedestrian bridge crosses the gorge revealing not only the gushing waterfalls cascading down a narrows, but also the turbulent flow of the Devils Washbowl just under the bridge.   

The sound of the cascading water is thunderous, and the canyon is truly beautiful--this spot was the highlight of the day, and not to be missed if you are passing through the area.

Trails and overlooks provide unique views of the canyon, birds, and habitat.

Restrooms are clean and the picnic area--wide and grassy with many shade trees--is lovely.

Below is a picture of the turbulent washbowl taken from the pedestrian bridge.

 

 

This canyon, like the snake, has also been dammed for power and irrigation of the desert lands around, where less than 10 inches of rain is received every year.  Still, below the surface, tremendous groundwater basins exist, and these pop out of the barren lava, cascading down into the canyons as lovely waterfalls.  Malab Creek winds its way to empty into the Snake River, where even larger and more powerful dams are administered by Idaho Water & Power.  Still, seeing placid reservoirs above the dam did not prepare us for the many natural ponds and creeks which crisscross the plateau. 

Our next stop was at the Hagerman Fossil Beds Visitor Center.  Having seen the John Day Fossil Beds visitor center, we were disappointed with the small size of Hagerman's, plus the dearth of informative stops within the Monument.  Since it is described as "temporary" perhaps plans for a more informative visitor center will one day become fact. The fossil Hagerman Horse is terrific and worth the stop.  Be sure to watch the short film.  The monument has an interesting overlook of the deep wagon wheel marks of the Emigrant Trail and it is easy to put yourself back into the footsteps of the early and mid 1800s as pioneers moved west.  The Hagerman Horse from Hagerman is the largest sample of this extinct species from one locality. Over two hundred individuals were explored and recovered by the Smithsonian Institute, including complete skeletons. They were about the size of the present day Arabian horse, and had a single toe (hoof). Despite the popular use of the name, the Hagerman Horse is actually more closely related to the zebras, apparently.

 

We explored the Monument, then continued on our way.  Waterfowl are plentiful, and every farm (which tend to be large with homes remote from neighbors) had a natural “water feature” gurgling through their yard.

The most amazing site was a series of springs cascading down the basalt cliffs of the Snake River Canyon in a horizontal plane at a place known as a 1000 Springs.  So much water coming out of the dark volcanic rock was surprising, and must be even more beautiful in the spring months.

 

On the more mundane level, we saw a balancing rock similar to that seen in Arches NP, but here is no red sandstone.  Here is dark volcanic basalt.  Yet the rock balances precariously at the top of the canyon.

 

We also stopped a a nice rest area for our picnic lunch, and all around the base of four dead trees were abundant white mushrooms.  The only place they grew were under the dead trees.  Later, we stopped back again to use the rest stop, and the maintenance crew had mowed the lawn.  Not a trace of the mushrooms, which had numbered in the hundreds, were left—not even a chopped white fragment which must have been sucked into the lawn mower bag.  

 

Reminder--if you are stopping at the Twin Falls Idaho KOA, be sure to select a site BEHIND the office, as it will be quieter--many trucks use HWY93.