Nick on the Rocks: The volcanic birth of Vancouver’s Beacon Rock

Lewis and Clark were astounded by this 800-foot-tall basalt tower on their journey down the Columbia River, but didn’t know its fiery origin story.

Adam Brown

Adam Brown Jun 15, 2025

Jan 17, 2025

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                <h1>Nick on the Rocks: The volcanic birth of Vancouver’s Beacon Rock</h1>
                <h2><p>Lewis and Clark were astounded by this 800-foot-tall basalt tower on their journey down the Columbia River, but didn’t know its fiery origin story.</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/adam/">Adam Brown</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 17, 2025</time></p>
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            <p>As Lewis and Clark made their way down the Columbia River toward the end of their journey, they passed a massive rock shooting 800 feet straight up out of the Gorge.</p><p>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.<br><br>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.</p><p><em>Support for </em>Nick on the Rocks<em> is provided by the Pacific Science Center.</em></p>
          </article>

As Lewis and Clark made their way down the Columbia River toward the end of their journey, they passed a massive rock shooting 800 feet straight up out of the Gorge.

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.

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By Adam Brown

Adam Spiro Brown manages Original Productions at Cascade PBS. He previously ran Lucid Visual Media, an independent production company, creating award-winning documentaries, films and commercials.