June 2007
Walla Walla Valley: a Photo Journal
Page:- 1 2 -next >>

Walla Walla Valley is located in southeastern Washington on the eastern edge of the Columbia and Snake River basins. Currently, Walla Walla County’s most important commercial crop is wheat, with other local crops including asparagus, spinach, potatoes, green peas, alfalfa hay, barley, corn, beans, and of course Walla Walla Sweet Onions. Obviously, this is one of the primary agriculture-producing regions in the State, but it is also fast becoming known for its distinctive wines.

In 1984, the region was federally recognized as a unique American Viticultural Area (AVA). It was the second Washington State AVA, and at the time it was home to only four wineries and 60 acres of vineyards. Today, more than 100 wineries are operating in the valley and more than 1,500 acres of vineyards have become part of the agricultural landscape.


Kevin Pogue, Professor of Geology at Whitman College led an educational tour of the geology, soils, geography, and climate of the Appellation. Highlight of the trip was a rare look into the Burlingame Canyon, a small-scale version of the Grand Canyon, formed when an irrigation canal got out of control in 1926 and carved a canyon is less than six days, exposing 39 graded beds. It measures 450 m (1,500 ft) long, up to 35 m (120 ft) deep, and again as wide, winding through a hillside.

Soils of varying combinations of loan, silt, loess, and cobbles delivered by a series of tremendous floods thousands of years ago, offer perfect drainage. Our position east of the Cascade mountain range limits the amount of rainfall allowing growers to control precisely the amount of water a plant receives through irrigation.

 
June 2007
Walla Walla Valley: a Photo Journal
Page:- 1 2 -next >>

 
 
 
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Last Update 9.19.07