Group 4: Site 2 – Umatilla Rock Field Notes

Day 2: The Butte 

Plant Species:  

Base of Saddle: Sage, Cheap Grass, Bear Grass, Bent Grass, Monkey Flowers, Thistle Trees,  Sagebrush Stickseed, Mules Ear, Rabbits Foot

On Saddle: Lichens (on rocks), Thistle Trees, Cheap Grass, Bear Grass, Moss

Lichens- Orange, Green, White, Black, Yellow

Rock: 

The Butte is mainly pure basalt, some of the walls on the over hangs are in pillars. There was a minority presence with rock of a different compound. It was a round, smaller, and smoother rock. Lighter in color, and no more than three inches in length. No granite is on the Butte that we can see.

Animals: 

Sparrows, Red Tail Hawk, Bees, Hornets, Ducks, Spiders

There was owl scat, with small rodent bones in it, but there were no living rodents seen. Many snake holes were also present, but no snakes were seen either.

Notes:

 The Butte was about 1300 ft. in height, the saddle was not that high up. We were standing around 1260 ft. from the highest point on the saddle. The saddle was a weak point in the rock where water broke through, and carved the shape. From the Wast side you look out and see Dry Falls Lake, with the cataract and the falls. One half of the lake is mud, while the other is still deep enough for small boats. From the East; Green Lake, Red Alkali Lake, Big Plateau, Channels, Pillars are visible. Green lake had turned brown, from its chalky white color the day before. Foot prints were still visible from all the travelers (us) the day before.

 

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