The artefact in question is a large conveniently located boulder left by glaciers alongside the Columbia river at Kettle Falls ten to twelve thousand years ago. Kettle Falls was considered one of the very best salmon fishing spots on the river by the natives, who have fished at the falls for 9,000 years or more, making this one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in North America.
A non-local stone of amphibolite, the boulder was found to be an excellent stone on which to sharpen spears and knives in preparation for fishing. It may have been used by hundreds of generations of native fishermen. The long straight grooves left in the boulder by the action of drawing knives and spears over it are still clearly visible. It was quite serendipitous that the boulder should happen to have been deposited here, right next to the falls.
Just behind that interesting boulder, to the west, is this historical marker, relating a bit of the prehistory of the falls. The marker overlooks the lake at the spot where once the falls roared down 33 feet in a half mile leap.
Unfortunately, there is no longer a "Kettle Falls". When the
Grand Coulee Dam was built in the 1930s & '40s 100 miles or so downstream the river impounded behind it became
Roosevelt Lake, a 150 mile long lake stretching from the dam at Grand Coulee to the Canadian Border. The resultant lake now covers the falls.
Following is the text from the Kettle Falls historical marker near the Sharpening Stone. To find the marker, first get yourself to
St. Paul's Mission on the eastern bank of the Columbia, west of the town of Kettle Falls, then follow the walking trail northwest toward the river. You'll find this marker on the west side of the stone and its marker. A sign on the north side of Highway 20/395 points out the road/trail leading in to the mission. The Mission, incidentally, is a National Historic Site, established near the Fort Colville Hudson's Bay Trading Post in 1830. This was the first non-native settlement in this area.
Kettle Falls
Called Shonitkwu, "roaring or noisy waters," by resident Shwayip Indians, Kettle Falls was considered the second largest salmon fishery on the Columbia River. Falling 33 feet in less than a half-mile, its roar could be heard for miles. It has been estimated that a good day's catch during historic runs in late June and in August produced over 2000 salmon weighing sixteen pounds or more.
Recent archeological findings show that native populations have occupied the site for at least 9000 years, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in the northwest.
Low lake levels in the spring provide faint visions of the past as portions of the islands and channels of the falls appear.