MY WORLD OF TRUTH

The Cascade Mountains in the US state of Washington split the state into two wildly different climate zones. In the west, thick, mossy forests and snowcapped mountains extend from Canada to Oregon; this is where you’ll find Seattle and all three of Washington’s national parks. But east of the mountains is a land that many people don’t know, dominated by a massive, semi-desert environment of grassland and rocky formations called the Channeled Scablands. (Credit: Zack Frank)

Around 15,000 years ago, an enormous glacial dam held back a body of water known as Lake Missoula, which contained roughly half the volume of present-day Lake Michigan. As the ice age came to an end, the ice dam broke, releasing water that carved a 660ft deep, 60-mile-long canyon into solid basalt, one of the hardest forms of rock. The resulting earthen gash and the brown, rocky cliffs that remained at the canyon’s edge gave the Scablands their name. (Credit: Zack Frank)

The Missoula Floods, the name given to the deluge released from Lake Missoula after the ice dam collapsed, are responsible for the most recent major shift in the geological structure of the United States; signs of the water’s influence can be seen as far away as Portland, more than 200 miles south-west. (Credit: Zack Frank)

Dry Falls (pictured), the site of a former waterfall, is a horseshoe-shaped cliff that’s twice as high and three times as wide as Niagara Falls, making it the largest confirmed waterfall in the planet’s history. Today, the site is preserved as Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park, where visitors can see the impact of these relatively recent geologic events through overlooks, canyon trails and interpretative displays. (Credit: Zack Frank)

Geologists have discovered that when the glacier dam broke, a 300ft-high torrent of water travelling at 65mph tore through everything in its path and created the existing canyon in one week. Along with digging out Grand Coulee Canyon (pictured), the powerful waters swept away many layers of basalt that once filled the canyon. (Credit: Zack Frank)

Deposits of these rocks are now scattered across Washington and parts of Oregon, dotting the landscape with their otherworldly forms and leaving a legacy of beautiful devastation. Twin Sisters Rock (pictured) was carved from the same waters as Grand Coulee Canyon, but these basalt towers are located more than 100 miles south. (Credit: Zack Frank)

Around 100 years ago, humans began to flock into the Scablands, and even into the Grand Coulee Canyon itself, establishing several small towns, RV parks and campgrounds along the series of freshwater lakes that filled up the canyon floor. These lakes are some of the region’s largest sources for water and recreation, while the river valleys carved further downstream are often utilised by fisherman and boaters to escape the summer heat and harsh sun. (Credit: Zack Frank)

One of the most prominent features in the Scablands is Palouse Falls (pictured). Located within Palouse Falls State Park, this 198ft waterfall – and the 377ft canyon it plunges into – are prime examples of the erosive powers of the Missoula Floods. (Credit: Zack Frank)

The full length of the Palouse River flows 167 miles, but the waterfall and canyon make up only the last four miles before meeting with the Snake River as a tributary. The flood waters diverted the river at this point by tearing the impressive canyon into the land and establishing its current route. (Credit: Zack Frank)

The Scablands region covers more than 9.6 million acres, which is larger than the state of New Jersey, but fewer than 250,000 acres of that are protected in the form of federal and state parks (The largest preserved area, Hanford Ranch National Monument, protects almost 200,000 of those acres).

On 26 April 2017, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13792, launching a review on all national monuments created since 1996 that are more than 100,000 acres in size. Since these actions could leave the Scablands region at risk, it remains to be seen whether the US’ most recent natural wonder will get the recognition and protection it deserves. (Credit: Zack Frank)