Selah Cliffs Natural Area Preserve

Selah Cliffs Natural Area Preserve (NAP) was established in 1993 to protect the largest known population of basalt daisy (Erigeron basalticus), a state-listed threatened species known from only a 10-mile stretch of the Yakima River Canyon.

The basalt daisy makes its home on the basalt cliffs of the site where few other plants can grow, rooting into cracks and fissures on the rock faces. The daisies are typically in bloom May through October, with a peak in June. The cliffs, much of which are covered by colorful lichens, also provide nesting and roosting habitat for raptors including prairie falcons, red-tailed hawks and kestrels.