Typical images of the state of Washington are green vegetation, water, and mountains, or more specifically, evergreen trees, the Pacific Ocean, rain, and Mount Rainier. Out-of-state visitors are often surprised when they visit Central and Eastern Washington for the first time. There aren’t any evergreen trees, it hardly rains, and much of the area is desert with sagebrush, cliffs and mesas. It’s more like Arizona or parts of Southern California.

These photos are from Moses Coulee, a relatively unvisited area near the Columbia River in Central Washington. The coulee (coulee is a French Canadian word that means deep ravine) was created by ancient floods. Raging flood waters carved out the dramatic canyon, and other better-known geological features like nearby Grand Coulee. It’s not what you might expect less than three hours from Seattle!