Jump Off Joe (Washington)

Last updated
Jump off Joe
Jump Off Joe WA.jpeg
Jump off Joe from Thompson Hill in Kennewick.
Highest point
Elevation 2,203 ft (671 m)  NAVD 88 [1]
Prominence 720 ft (220 m) [1]
Isolation 27.61 mi (44.43 km) [1]
Coordinates 46°06′14″N119°07′48″W / 46.103816°N 119.129948°W / 46.103816; -119.129948 [1]
Geography
USA Washington relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Jump off Joe
Parent range Horse Heaven Hills
Topo map USGS Johnson Butte
Climbing
Easiest route Drive

Jump off Joe is a butte in the Horse Heaven Hills south of Kennewick in the U.S. state of Washington. Jump off Joe rises above the Tri-Cities and is visible throughout much of the region, including in parts of Umatilla and Morrow Counties in Oregon to the south. A gravel road approaches the summit from the south up a steep incline. On a clear day, visitors to the summit can see Mount Hood, Mount Adams and Mount Rainier. [2]

Contents

Jump off Joe's high elevation compared to the surrounding area makes it an ideal location to place towers for radio and television communications. Among these is an amateur radio repeater that provides coverage to much of the Columbia Basin. [3] Two major local television stations, NBC affiliate KNDU and ABC affiliate KVEW have their towers atop the butte. [4] [5] FM radio stations with transmitters on top of the butte include KUJ-FM and KORD-FM. [6] [7]

Geology

Jump off Joe and the greater Horse Heaven Hills are anticlines within the Yakima Fold Belt. The belt is a series of fault lines extending throughout south-central Washington which are part of the larger Olympic–Wallowa Lineament. The lineament runs from Port Angeles to the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon. [8]

Rocks in the area are predominantly basalt, part of the Columbia River Basalt Group. Lava flows believed to have originated from the Yellowstone hotspot approximately 10 to 15 million years ago when the hotspot was located in western Idaho. These lava flows covered large portions of Washington and Oregon all the way to the Pacific Ocean in basalt up to 5,900 feet (1,800 m) thick. [9]

During the Last Glacial Maximum, ice sheets extended into what is today the Idaho Panhandle, blocking the flow of the Clark Fork River creating Glacial Lake Missoula. Over a period of 2,000 years the weight of the water behind this ice dam caused it to break sending a surge of water toward the Pacific Ocean. This water would back up at the Horse Heaven Hills, flowing through and deepening Wallula Gap located a few miles southeast. [10]

Climate and ecology

Inversion and wind turbines as viewed from the top of Jump off Joe. Inversion from Jump Off Joe.jpg
Inversion and wind turbines as viewed from the top of Jump off Joe.

Jump off Joe lies in a semi-arid environment within the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Being nearly 2,000 feet (610 m) above the Columbia River, Jump off Joe receives more snow than the Tri-Cities and can remain snow covered for much of the winter season. High winds in the area provide an excellent setting for wind turbines to generate power. Like most of the Mid Columbia, the butte is treeless. Plant life includes native grasses and sagebrush. [11]

Annual rainfall at the nearest airport, the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco is 7.94 inches (20.2 cm). Afternoon temperatures in the summer can exceed 100 °F (38 °C). [12] Jump off Joe frequently lies above inversions that form in the Columbia Basin during high pressure systems in the winter months. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tri-Cities, Washington</span> Place in Washington

The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington. The cities border one another, making the Tri-Cities seem like one uninterrupted mid-sized city. The three cities function as the center of the Tri-Cities metropolitan area, which consists of Benton and Franklin counties. The Tri-Cities urban area consists of the city of West Richland, the census-designated places (CDP) of West Pasco and Finley, as well as the CDP of Burbank, despite the latter being located in Walla Walla County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benton County, Washington</span> County in Washington, United States

Benton County is a county in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 206,873. The county seat is Prosser, and its largest city is Kennewick. The Columbia River demarcates the county's north, south, and east boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennewick, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

Kennewick is a city in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers and across from the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities. The population was 83,921 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inland Northwest</span> Region

The Inland Northwest, historically and alternatively known as the Inland Empire, is a region of the American Northwest centered on the Greater Spokane, Washington Area, encompassing all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Under broader definitions, Northeastern Oregon and Western Montana may be included in the Inland Northwest. Alternatively, stricter definitions may exclude Central Washington and Idaho County, Idaho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVEW</span> ABC affiliate in Kennewick, Washington

KVEW is a television station licensed to Kennewick, Washington, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Tri-Cities area. Owned by Morgan Murphy Media, the station has studios on North Edison Street in Kennewick, and its transmitter is located on Jump Off Joe Butte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KEPR-TV</span> CBS/CW affiliate in Pasco, Washington

KEPR-TV is a television station licensed to Pasco, Washington, United States, serving the Tri-Cities area as an affiliate of CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios on West Lewis Street in Pasco and a transmitter on Johnson Butte near Kennewick.

KWSU-TV is a PBS member television station licensed to Pullman, Washington, United States. The station is owned by Washington State University. KWSU-TV's studios are located in the Murrow Communications Center on WSU's main campus in Pullman, and its transmitter is located on Kamiak Butte near Palouse, Washington.

KNDU is a television station licensed to Richland, Washington, United States, serving the Tri-Cities area as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by the Spokane-based Cowles Company as part of the KHQ Television Group. KNDU's studios are located on West Kennewick Avenue in Kennewick, and its transmitter is located on Jump Off Joe Butte.

KTNW is a PBS member television station in Richland, Washington, United States, serving the Tri-Cities area. The station is owned by Washington State University (WSU) and is part of its Northwest Public Broadcasting group of radio and television services. KTNW's studios are located on the WSU Tri-Cities campus in Richland, and its transmitter is located on Jump Off Joe Butte. Master control and most internal operations are based at the studios of sister station KWSU-TV in the Murrow Communications Center on WSU's main campus in Pullman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gesa Stadium</span> Baseball stadium in Pasco, Washington

Gesa Stadium is a Minor League Baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Pasco, Washington. Opened in 1995, it is the home field of the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUJ-FM</span> Radio station in Burbank (Tri-Cities), Washington

KUJ-FM(99.1 FM) is a Top 40 Mainstream station licensed to Burbank, Washington serving the Tri-Cities, Washington area. The Station is currently owned by Stephens Media Group. The New Northwest Broadcasters outlet broadcast at 99.1 MHz on the FM dial with an effective radiated power of 52,000 watts. The transmitter is located on Jump Off Joe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse Heaven Hills</span> Range of hills in Washington, U.S.

The Horse Heaven Hills are a long range of high, rolling hills in Klickitat, Yakima, and Benton counties in Washington. 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 in the west end of the hills. They lie within the rain shadow to the east of the Cascade Range, making them significantly drier and hotter than regions west of the Cascades.

KKSR is a radio station licensed to Walla Walla, Washington, serving the Tri-Cities area. The station is currently owned by SMG - Tri-Cities, LLC.

KORD-FM is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Richland, Washington, United States, the station serves the Tri-Cities area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media and features programming from Jones Radio Network. The transmitter is located on Jump Off Joe.

KALE is a radio station licensed to Richland, Washington, United States, the station serves the Tri-Cities, Washington area. The station is owned by Stephens Media Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUJ (AM)</span> Radio station in Walla Walla, Washington

KUJ is a radio station licensed to Walla Walla, Washington, United States. The station is currently owned by Alexandra Communications. It features a news/talk format. The station has obtained a construction permit from the FCC for a power increase to 10,000 watts during the day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic–Wallowa lineament</span> Linear physiographic feature of unknown origin in the state of Washington, United States

The Olympic-Wallowa lineament (OWL) – first reported by cartographer Erwin Raisz in 1945 on a relief map of the continental United States – is a physiographic feature of unknown origin in the state of Washington running approximately from the town of Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula to the Wallowa Mountains of eastern Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brothers Fault Zone</span> Northwest-trending fault zone in Oregon, United States

The Brothers Fault Zone (BFZ) is the most notable of a set of northwest-trending fault zones including the Eugene–Denio, McLoughlin, and Vale zones that dominate the geological structure of most of Oregon. These are also representative of a regional pattern of generally northwest-striking geological features ranging from Walker Lane on the California–Nevada border to the Olympic–Wallowa Lineament in Washington; these are generally associated with the regional extension and faulting of the Basin and Range Province, of which the BFZ is considered the northern boundary.

The Yakima Fold Belt of south-central Washington, also called the Yakima fold-and-thrust belt, is an area of topographical folds raised by tectonic compression. It is a 14,000 km2 (5,400 sq mi) structural-tectonic sub province of the western Columbia Plateau Province resulting from complex and poorly understood regional tectonics. The folds are associated with geological faults whose seismic risk is of particular concern to the nuclear facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and major dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badger Mountain (Benton County, Washington)</span> Mountain in Washington (state), United States

Badger Mountain is a small mountain in Richland, Washington. Badger rises above the Tri-Cities connected to the smaller Candy Mountain via Goose Gap, is visible throughout much of the area and is a popular hiking destination for a wide variety of climbers. There are a number of trails climbing the mountain with varying levels of difficulty. Most of Badger Mountain is protected by the Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve, but the radio towers at the peak are private property. There are two summits on Badger Mountain, named the East Summit and the West Summit. The West Summit is the highest.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Jump Off Joe, Washington". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Kennewick's Mountain". 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Kennewick, Jump Off Joe, Washington, 145.41, N7LZM Repeater". RepeaterBook. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  4. ↑ "KNDU-TV TV Query Results". Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  5. ↑ "KVEW-TV TV Query Results". Federal Communications Commission. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  6. ↑ "KUJ-FM Radio Coverage Map". Radio Locator. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  7. ↑ "KORD-FM Radio Coverage Map". Radio Locator. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  8. ↑ Field Trip Guide to the Columbia River Basalt Group Archived 2006-10-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Bishop, Ellen Morris (2003), In Search of Ancient Oregon: A Geological and Natural History, Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, ISBN   978-0-88192-789-4
  10. ↑ Allen, John Eliot; Burns, Marjorie and Sargent, Sam C. (c. 1986). Cataclysms on the Columbia : a layman's guide to the features produced by the catastrophic Bretz floods in the Pacific Northwest. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 104. ISBN   0-88192-067-3.
  11. ↑ "Jump off Joe trail hike to the communications towers". Hike Tri-Cities. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  12. ↑ Monthly Temperature Charts, Pasco, WA Archived 2018-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Above the Inversion of the Columbia Basin". Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.