On this 81-acre site, dramatic basalt cliffs, canyons and tabletop mesas support unusually well preserved examples of eastern Washington's shrub speckled grasslands known as shrub-steppe.  A diversity in soil and habitats on the preserve provide sites for five distinct plant communities identified in the Heritage plan.  Three tip sage brush, big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, needle-and-threadgrass, and Idaho fescue are the main species represented in these habitats.  On top of the castle, alkali-tolerant wildflowers and grasses grow in bands around three shallow, seasonal (vernal) ponds which gradually dry up in summer.  (Grant County)