Palouse Falls, the only major year-round waterfall left from the Ice Age floods that carved this landscape thousands of years ago, plunges about 198 feet over exposed basalt in the Palouse River Canyon. In 2013, students at Washtucna School proposed that it should become Washington's official state waterfall after a classroom visit from Representative Joe Schmick, who challenged them to write a bill. The students researched the waterfall's geology, culture, and history, drafted legislation, and in December House Bill 2119 was introduced in the Washington State Legislature. In January 2014, the students traveled 275 miles to the State Capitol to testify for the bill, which then passed the House of Representatives 98-0 and the Senate 46-3. On March 18, 2014, Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 2119 at Palouse Falls, officially designating it as Washington's state waterfall.