The Yakima Valley landscape has been formed through dramatic geologic and climatic changes. This section will explore the area's formation, from the basalt flows of the Miocene era to the rise of the Cascades, and the effects of major catastrophes such as the Missoula Floods and the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Exhibits will also show the diversity of today's landscape, from the sub-alpine forests of the mountains to the shrub-steppe desert of the eastern ridges and valleys.