What effect does volcanic activity have on the
past and present of Nespelem, Washington?
by Sabrina Womer
In the past there was a lot of volcanic activity happening around Nespelem, Washington. One of the events was when there were fissures by the southeastern part of Washington and those fissures created the basalt that formed the fifty-five layers that is now the Columbia Plateau. When the fissures were emptied, the ground collapsed because of the weight of the basalt and caused a tilt towards Oregon. If those fissures were not formed there would not be the Columbia Plateau. With out the Columbia Plateau, all would be just a valley and maybe an easy target for tornadoes.
The Cascade Mountains were formed by mud flows, lava flows, and ash deposits from the volcanoes that had erupted around the area. But the most important is the tilting, faulting, uplifting, and folding of the land that had then formed several volcanic cones that are now the Cascade Mountains. The Cascade Mountains effected Nespelem because without them Nespelem would have more rain than is usual now.