Horse Heaven Hills
| Horse Heaven Hills | |
|---|---|
The Horse Heaven Hills along the Columbia River at Wallula Gap; note the dark areas of extensive flood basalts exposed by erosion.
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| Highest point | |
| Peak | Bickleton Ridge |
| Elevation | 4,327 ft (1,319 m) |
| Geography | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| Range coordinates | 46°08′N 119°52.05′W / 46.133°N 119.86750°WCoordinates: 46°08′N 119°52.05′W / 46.133°N 119.86750°W |
The Horse Heaven Hills are a long range of high, rolling hills in Klickitat, Yakima, and Benton counties in Washington located east of Satus Creek and west of the Columbia River between the Yakima River and the Wallula Gap. The hills are an anticline ridge in the Yakima Fold Belt formed by north–south compression of lava flows in the Columbia River Basalt Group. The highest point is Bickleton Ridge ( 45°59′27″N 120°29′16″W / 45.99083°N 120.48778°W ) which reaches 4,327 feet (1,319 m) high near the town of Bickleton at the southwest end of the range.
A small paleontological survey in Benton County identified numerous fossilized skeletal remains, proving prehistoric mammoths, bisons, early horses, and other animals once populated the hills. The majority of the skeletal fragments were found in canyons under fine silt and sand. They date from 7,000 to 12,000 years old, with some specimens found to be even older. The higher altitudes where the specimens were found indicate the now extinct animals survived massive flooding that followed the Ice Age.
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