Frenchman
Coulee is one of the most beautiful features left behind by the great Ice-Age
floods. Frenchman Coulee is a dual coulee and cataract system. Like its neighbor
to the north, Potholes Coulee, Scabland floods created Frenchman Coulee. During
the first stages of flooding, the water levels between the flood-filled Quincy
Basin and the Columbia River immediately west of Evergreen Ridge approached 700
feet over just a few miles. This incredible difference in water levels caused
floodwaters to relentlessly eat away the underlying rock layers. Erosion
continued for at least as long as it took for the water level in the Columbia
Valley to rise to about 1200 feet, or until the floodwater supply was exhausted.
The Cache-Cadian Chapter of the WSGA has quite a few coulees
within its borders. The most famous one is the Grand Coulee for which the Grand
Coulee Dam is named after. The Frenchman Coulee is much more dramatic with its
location on the east side of the Columbia River Gorge. The amount of rushing
water that was flowing through this location would have been massive to see. A
huge amount of water would have been needed to carve out such a huge canyon in
the landscape!
The cache is downa bumpy
and somewhat rocky road that follows the north rim of the coulee. If your
georide is a Prius or a "GT500" DO NOT attempt to drive to this cache. Yes, you
can drive to the cache within about 50 feet of the cache. However, any low
profile vehicles could have a problem with the dirt road. Any SUV will not have
an issue. This is hard pack dirt, so an 4 X 4 is not needed to get to the cache.
Also, this cache is not child friendly. Leave little Johnny at home
or in the car. The cache is on the edge, but safe is a rock cave. The view from
GZ is well worth the effort to get to the cache. I have posted an image of the
view from the cache.
GEOTOUR UPDATE
The WSGA's 20th Anniversary GeoTour will end on December
31, 2024, at 11:59 PM PT.
You will only have until this date and time to find the
geocaches, post all of your logs for the digital souvenirs (if qualified), and
submit all of your passports of unique codes for the geocoins (if qualified).
There will be no exceptions.