A glacier once filled the valley between this overlook and Martha Falls. About 9,000 years ago, lava flowed between the glacier in this canyon and the Tatoosh Range, molding the lava between rock and ice into the volcanic cliff face seen here today. Martha Falls cascades down that cliff. As the lava cooled, it formed columns that point toward older surfaces. At this location, the columns point almost horizontally toward the glacier that once filled the valley.