It marked the first spot they observed Pacific Ocean tidewaters in the river, and they named it Beacon Rock. But they didn’t know that the towering basalt formation they saw was just the remnant of a much larger cinder cone volcano.
Beacon Rock is now a popular tourist location thanks to the iconic walkways cut into its sheer walls that take visitors all the way to its peak. Nick Zentner travels to the Gorge to learn more about the lesser-known history of this relatively young Northwest volcano.
Support for Nick on the Rocks is provided by the Pacific Science Center.