 The Deschutes valley just to the south of the falls provided a route for rail access to the south, and ultimately to California.Wishram lies toward the upper end of the Columbia River Gorge, which began forming as far back as the Miocene (roughly 12 - 17 million years ago), depositing thick layers of Columbia River Basalt, and continued to take shape through the Pleistocene (700,000 - 2 million years ago).During this period the Cascade Range was forming, slowly moving the Columbia River's course north to its current location.