High Desert (Oregon)
Encyclopedia
The Oregon High Desert is a region of the U.S. state
of Oregon
, located east of the Cascade Range
and south of the Blue Mountains
, in the central
and eastern
parts of the state. Divided into a southern region and a northern region, the desert covers most of five Oregon counties and averages 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) above sea level. The southern region is part of the Great Basin
. The northern region is part of the Columbia Plateau
, where somewhat more rainfall allows the largest industry on private land to be the cultivation of alfalfa
and hay
. Public land within the region is owned primarily by the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), which manages more than 30000 mi2, including five rivers designated as Wild and Scenic.
While the High Desert is somewhat dry, it is only arid relative to Western Oregon
. The region averages 15 inches (381 mm) of annual rainfall; the Alvord Desert
, however, gets only 7 inches (177.8 mm) of rain each year. Contrary to its name, most of the High Desert is not dry enough to truly qualify as desert
, and biologically, most of the region is classified as scrubland or steppe
.
At an elevation of 9733 feet (2,966.6 m), the summit of Steens Mountain
is the highest point in the High Desert. This fault-block mountain
was created along with the plate tectonics
that formed the rest of the region. About 16 million years ago, during the early Miocene
epoch, lava flows from volcanic eruptions covered about half the surface area of Oregon. The Earth's crust then began stretching, giving way to further volcanic activity from 15 million to 2 million years ago. Several ice age
s over this time formed the large lakes in the High Desert.
The climate of the High Desert provides habitat for mammals such as pronghorn
, coyote
, mule deer
, black-tailed jackrabbit
, and cougar. Birds common in the region include Sage Grouse
, California Quail
, and Prairie Falcon
. The Western juniper
is the most common tree in the region, and big sagebrush
and Common Woolly Sunflower are the region's most widespread plants.
, Deschutes
, Harney
, Lake
, and Malheur
counties.
The High Desert gets its name from its generally high elevation, averaging about 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) across the region. It is bordered by the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains to the west. The Blue Mountains
are the geographical boundary to the north, marking the northern end of the High Desert's semi-arid plateau. The southern High Desert is part of North America
's Basin and Range Province, which extends south through Nevada
and Arizona
, into Mexico
. It contains large alkali
lakes and tall cliffs, some with a prominence of more than 2000 feet (609.6 m). Steens Mountain
, in Harney County, is the highest point within the region; its summit is 9733 feet (2,966.6 m) above sea level. To the east, the High Desert country of the Columbia Plateau extends across the Snake River
and into Idaho.
A number of rivers flow through the High Desert region. These include the Deschutes River and its tributary the Crooked River
, as well as the Malheur
, Owyhee
, and John Day
rivers, which are all within the Columbia River
watershed. Smaller rivers in the High Desert flow into closed basins. The Chewaucan River
, the Donner und Blitzen River
, and the Silvies River
each flow into some of the High Desert's salt lakes.
from deep beneath eastern Oregon rose to the Earth's surface, causing a period of significant volcanic activity. A series of lava floods erupted from fissures near the Oregon-Idaho-Washington border. The resulting lava flows traveled up to 400 miles (643.7 km) from their source. Some individual flows covered as much as 10000 square miles (25,899.9 km²) to a depth of 100 feet (30.5 m). Eventually, these lava flows covered half the state of Oregon, creating a formation known as the Columbia River Basalt Group
, the geologic foundation beneath much of the High Desert.
After the original eruptions subsided, the Earth's crust began to stretch and crack. Between 15 and 2 million years ago, this created hundreds of new volcanoes that added additional layers of lava on top of the Columbia River Basalt. These new flows blanketed the southeastern third of the state. Many of the volcanoes and smaller cinder cones from this period still exist in eastern Oregon. Afterwards, subsequent rifting produced large fault-block mountain
s throughout the region. The escarpment
-type mountains and high-elevation valleys created by these faults produced the basin and range landscape that makes up much of Oregon's High Desert country.
During the last two million years, a series of ice ages altered the landscape. As each ice sheet melted, runoff and increased rainfall filled many of the region's closed basins, forming large pluvial lake
s. The Goose Lake
, Harney
, and Klamath
basins were filled along with many other smaller basins. Some of the lakes covered as much as 1000 square miles (2,590 km²). However, as the climate became drier, these large lakes shrank away. Goose Lake
, Harney Lake
, Malheur Lake
, Summer Lake
, Lake Abert
, and the Warner Lakes
are remnants of ancient pluvial lakes.
throughout Oregon's High Desert region is relatively low, averaging less than 15 inches (381 mm) per year in most areas. Bend
, the region's largest city, only receives 12 inches (304.8 mm) of precipitation per year. Burns
receives about 11 inches (279.4 mm) of precipitation annually, while Rome
, in central Malheur County, and the official weather station at Whitehorse Ranch in southern Harney County receive only 8 inches (203.2 mm) in an average year. Some of the mountainous areas, however, receive significantly more precipitation in the form of snow. For example, the high-elevation city of Lakeview
has an average annual snowfall of nearly 68 inches (1,727.2 mm).
The majority of High Desert areas receive most precipitation in the winter months, decreasing steadily through late summer into the fall. Some areas in the eastern and southern parts of the region receive peak precipitation in the late spring and early summer. For example, at Hart Mountain
in Lake County, the wettest time of the year is March through June. The driest months throughout Oregon's High Desert are July through September; however, there are still isolated thunderstorms during that period.
were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who relied on nuts roots, seeds, berries, and eggs, and animals such as deer, pronghorn, geese, quail, rabbits, and bear, following their food to high and low elevations depending on the time of year. They made sandals, traps, and fishing nets, and wove baskets. Made out of sagebrush, willow, tule plant, Indian hemp, and sumac fibers, the baskets were tight enough to carry water. Archaeological evidence from near Fort Rock shows that people wove baskets in the area at least 9,000 years ago.
Throughout the 18th century and into the early 19th century, the Northern Paiute had numerous conflicts with tribes who lived to the northwest. The Wasco-Wishram
and other Chinook tribes oftentimes encroached on the High Desert landscape of the Northern Paiute territory. After one such incident in 1811, the Northern Paiute migrated north to the Columbia River
and attacked Wasco canoes. Around this time, the Northern Paiute numbered approximately 7,500. The Snake War
, a war between the natives and white settles in the region in the 1860s, killed roughly two thirds of the population of the Northern Paiute. The whites won the war and then set aside the Malheur Reservation
for the Northern Paiute and various other Oregon Native American tribes.
White settlers who had traveled to Oregon along the Oregon Trail
began to live in the High Desert region in the 1850s and the 1860s, after they had begun farming and logging in the Willamette Valley
and other lands in western Oregon. Thousands of these emigrants reached the area from the west, crossing the Cascade Range to make land claims in eastern Oregon. The High Desert area was settled by whites later than western Oregon in part because of Elijah White
's failure to find a pass east through the Cascades. Once they had claimed more land, pioneers and members of the American government negotiated treaties with natives in the High Desert and elsewhere in Oregon, oftentimes forcing them off their native lands and on to reservations.
In 1866, American soldiers established Camp Warner
, a military camp near the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in Lake County. They were sent from Boise, Idaho
, to build a military camp in the High Desert, and built it east of the Warner Lakes, because they doubted that they could cross the series of wetlands. Maj. Gen. George Crook
disapproved of the soldiers' decision. He built a road across the lakes and moved the camp to the western side of them.
Out of the four major cities in the High Desert, Prineville
was established earliest. Its post office originally opened under the name, "Prine", in 1871. It was named for Barney Prine, a whisky and metal merchant in the area. Lakeview
's post office was then established in 1876. At that time, Goose Lake was larger, and it was visible from the post office. The Burns
post office opened in 1884 and the city was established in 1891. It was named for the Scottish poet Robert Burns
. Bend
's name came from the location, "Farewell Bend," where pioneers traveling through the area got their last view of the Deschutes River. The Bend post office was established in 1904.
In 1878, the Bannock people and northern Shoshone tribes participated in the Bannock War
, a war against white settlers in the region over the destruction of camas root — a main source of food for the natives — by white settlers' hogs. The Bannock and the Northern Paiute suffered from this violence. When the white settlers won the war, natives were allotted into various reservations. The Northern Paiute were sent to the Yakama Indian Reservation
, and in later years were spread among several reservations in the western United States.
White settlers created the 13736 acres (5,558.8 ha) Burns Paiute Reservation, just north of Burns, in 1897. The reservation was established in 1972. It is home to the descendants of the Wada Tika band of Northern Paiutes. As of 1992, it had 356 members. As of 1980, there were 57 descendants of the Northen Paiute tribe living outside of the reservation.
, as there is very little sand in the region), the Rolling Sage Plain, and the Artemisia Desert. Over the years, the region has also been known as Oregon's Empty Quarter, the Great Wide Open, and Oregon's Cowboy Country. Today, many local residents call it the Oregon Outback
. However, the old names are occasionally still used. A 1996 National Geographic magazine "Map of the United States Physical Landscape" used the pioneer name, Great Sandy Desert, to identify the southeastern quarter of Oregon. However, the region is most commonly known as Oregon's "High Desert".
, 15 miles (24.1 km) east of Bend, has vegetation typical of the High Desert region. The native plants are adapted to survive on less than 12 inches (304.8 mm) of rain per year. The area is dominated by big sagebrush and rabbitbrush
. along with hardy grasses like Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass
, and bunchgrass. In the spring, there are native wildflowers such as Yellow Oregon sunshine, dwarf purple monkeyflower
, sulfur buckwheat
, Indian paintbrush
, and mariposa lilies
. Other High Desert wildflowers common throughout the region include buttercups, larkspur
, phlox
, primrose
s, and coral mallow
. The Oregon Badlands Wilderness also contains the oldest known tree in Oregon, a Western juniper estimated to be more than 1,600 years old.
Hundreds of animal species are found in Oregon's High Desert environment. In the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
alone, there are over 300, including 239 bird species and 42 mammals. Throughout the High Desert region, Mule deer
, pronghorn
, coyote
s, badger
s, and Black-tailed Jackrabbit
s are common. Elk
, bighorn sheep
, cougar, bobcat
, gray fox
, red fox
, porcupine
, and beaver
are also found in some parts of the High Desert.
Smaller mammals native to the area include Long-tailed Weasel
s, woodchucks, cottontail rabbit
s, pygmy rabbit
s, Golden-mantled ground squirrel
s, antelope squirrel
s, Townsend's ground squirrel
s, Yellow-pine Chipmunk
s, Ord's Kangaroo Rat
s, and Northern Pocket Gopher
s. Mice species include Great Basin Pocket Mouse
, northern grasshopper mouse, western harvest mouse
, deer mouse, meadow mouse, and Creeping Vole
. There are also numerous bat
species that live in Oregon's High Desert country.
Common High Desert birds include Sage Grouse
, quail
, chukar
, and Sage Thrasher
. Near High Desert lakes and in riparian areas, there are Dusky Flycatcher
s, Yellow Warbler
s, Orange-crowned Warbler
s, House Wren
s, Spotted Towhee
s, Brewer's Blackbird
s, Western Meadowlark
s, swallow
s, and nighthawk
s. Mountain Chickadee
s, Cassin's Finch
es, Black-headed Grosbeak
s, Green-tailed Towhee
s, Yellow-rumped Warbler
s, MacGillivray's Warbler
s, Mountain Bluebird
s, Common Raven
s, Northern Flicker
s, and White-headed Woodpecker
s are common in parts of the region. Birds of prey include owl
s, hawk
s, Prairie Falcon
s, Golden Eagle
s, and Bald Eagle
s.
. The Bureau of Land Management
administers over 13600000 acres (55,037.3 km²) in the bureau's Burns, Lakeview, Prineville, and Vale districts, most of which are in the state's High Desert country. In addition, Congress
has designated specific sections of the Crooked, Deschutes, Donner und Blitzen, Malheur, and Owyhee rivers as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Agriculture is the largest industry in the region. Livestock ranches utilize large tracts of private and government land for grazing. Ranchers raise cattle
and sheep in many parts of the region. Because of low rainfall, most crops require irrigation
. Agricultural crops include alfalfa
and other hay
crops, wheat
, oats
, barley
, potatoes, onions, sugar beets, and mint
.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, located east of the Cascade Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
and south of the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
, in the central
Central Oregon
Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the Columbia River, eastward towards Burns, or south...
and eastern
Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity, thus the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost counties in the state; in other contexts, it includes...
parts of the state. Divided into a southern region and a northern region, the desert covers most of five Oregon counties and averages 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) above sea level. The southern region is part of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
. The northern region is part of the Columbia Plateau
Columbia Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
, where somewhat more rainfall allows the largest industry on private land to be the cultivation of alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
and hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
. Public land within the region is owned primarily by the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
(BLM), which manages more than 30000 mi2, including five rivers designated as Wild and Scenic.
While the High Desert is somewhat dry, it is only arid relative to Western Oregon
Western Oregon
Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the part of Oregon within 120 miles of the Oregon Coast, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely however, and is sometimes taken to exclude the southwestern areas of the state,...
. The region averages 15 inches (381 mm) of annual rainfall; the Alvord Desert
Alvord Desert
The Alvord Desert is a desert located in Harney County, in southeastern Oregon in the western United States. It is roughly southeast of Steens Mountain. The Alvord Desert is a dry lake bed and averages of rain a year. Two mountain ranges separate it from the Pacific Ocean—the Coast Range, and...
, however, gets only 7 inches (177.8 mm) of rain each year. Contrary to its name, most of the High Desert is not dry enough to truly qualify as desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
, and biologically, most of the region is classified as scrubland or steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
.
At an elevation of 9733 feet (2,966.6 m), the summit of Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some and rises from an elevation of about above the Alvord Desert to its peak at...
is the highest point in the High Desert. This fault-block mountain
Fault-block mountain
Fault-block landforms are formed when large areas of bedrock are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements of continental crust....
was created along with the plate tectonics
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
that formed the rest of the region. About 16 million years ago, during the early Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
epoch, lava flows from volcanic eruptions covered about half the surface area of Oregon. The Earth's crust then began stretching, giving way to further volcanic activity from 15 million to 2 million years ago. Several ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s over this time formed the large lakes in the High Desert.
The climate of the High Desert provides habitat for mammals such as pronghorn
Pronghorn
The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
, mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, black-tailed jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
The black-tailed jackrabbit , also known as the american desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level to up to...
, and cougar. Birds common in the region include Sage Grouse
Sage Grouse
The Sage Grouse is the largest grouse in North America, where it is known as the Greater Sage-Grouse. Its range is sagebrush country in the western United States and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. A population of smaller birds, known in the U.S. as Gunnison Sage-Grouse, were recently...
, California Quail
California Quail
The California Quail, Callipepla californica, also known as the California Valley Quail or Valley Quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family...
, and Prairie Falcon
Prairie Falcon
The Prairie Falcon is a medium-sized falcon of western North America.It is about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm , wingspan of 1 metre , and weight of 720 g...
. The Western juniper
Juniperus occidentalis
Juniperus occidentalis is a shrub or tree native to the western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 800-3,000 m .-Description:...
is the most common tree in the region, and big sagebrush
Artemisia tridentata
Artemisia tridentata is a shrub or small tree from the family Asteraceae. Some botanists treat it in the segregate genus Seriphidium, as S. tridentatum W. A. Weber, but this is not widely followed...
and Common Woolly Sunflower are the region's most widespread plants.
Geography
The High Desert of Oregon is located in the central and southeastern part of the state. It covers approximately 24000 square miles (62,159.7 km²), extending approximately 200 miles (321.9 km) from central Oregon east to the Idaho border and 130 miles (209.2 km) from central Oregon to the Nevada border to the south. Most of the region is located in CrookCrook County, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,182 people, 7,354 households, and 5,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile . There were 8,264 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
, Deschutes
Deschutes County, Oregon
-National protected areas:* Deschutes National Forest * Newberry National Volcanic Monument-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 115,367 people, 45,595 households, and 31,962 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 54,583...
, Harney
Harney County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Malheur National Forest *Malheur National Wildlife Refuge*Ochoco National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,609 people, 3,036 households, and 2,094 families residing in the county. The population density was 1 people per square mile...
, Lake
Lake County, Oregon
Lake County is a county in the high desert south central region of the U.S. state of Oregon, so named for the many lakes found within its boundaries, including Lake Abert, Hart Lake Reservoir, and Goose Lake. While Lake is among Oregon's largest counties, it is sparsely populated with 7,895...
, and Malheur
Malheur County, Oregon
Malheur County is a county located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the eight-county definition of Eastern Oregon. Most of the county observes the Mountain Time Zone, although the southern quarter of the county observes the Pacific Time Zone along with the...
counties.
The High Desert gets its name from its generally high elevation, averaging about 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) across the region. It is bordered by the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains to the west. The Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
are the geographical boundary to the north, marking the northern end of the High Desert's semi-arid plateau. The southern High Desert is part of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's Basin and Range Province, which extends south through Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It contains large alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
lakes and tall cliffs, some with a prominence of more than 2000 feet (609.6 m). Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some and rises from an elevation of about above the Alvord Desert to its peak at...
, in Harney County, is the highest point within the region; its summit is 9733 feet (2,966.6 m) above sea level. To the east, the High Desert country of the Columbia Plateau extends across the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
and into Idaho.
A number of rivers flow through the High Desert region. These include the Deschutes River and its tributary the Crooked River
Crooked River (Oregon)
The Crooked River is a tributary, long, of the Deschutes River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river begins at the confluence of South Fork Crooked River and Beaver Creek. Of the two tributaries, the South Fork Crooked River is the larger and is sometimes considered part of the Crooked River proper...
, as well as the Malheur
Malheur River
The Malheur River is a tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon in the United States. It drains a high desert area, between the Harney Basin and the Blue Mountains and the Snake....
, Owyhee
Owyhee River
The Owyhee River is a tributary of the Snake River located in northern Nevada, southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon in the United States. It is long. The river's drainage basin is in area, one of the largest subbasins of the Columbia Basin...
, and John Day
John Day River
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the third longest free-flowing river in the conterminous United States. There is extensive use of its waters for irrigation. Its...
rivers, which are all within the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
watershed. Smaller rivers in the High Desert flow into closed basins. The Chewaucan River
Chewaucan River
The Chewaucan River is part of the Great Basin drainage. It flows through the Fremont–Winema National Forests, Bureau of Land Management land, and private property in southern Oregon. Its watershed consists of of conifer forest, marsh, and rural pasture land...
, the Donner und Blitzen River
Donner und Blitzen River
The Donner und Blitzen River is a river on the eastern Oregon high desert which drains a relatively arid basin, the southern portion of Harney Basin, from roughly 20 to 80 miles south-southeast of Burns including Malheur National Wildlife Refuge...
, and the Silvies River
Silvies River
The Silvies River flows for about through Grant and Harney counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river drains of the northern Harney Basin....
each flow into some of the High Desert's salt lakes.
Geology
Between 17 and 15 million years ago, magmaMagma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
from deep beneath eastern Oregon rose to the Earth's surface, causing a period of significant volcanic activity. A series of lava floods erupted from fissures near the Oregon-Idaho-Washington border. The resulting lava flows traveled up to 400 miles (643.7 km) from their source. Some individual flows covered as much as 10000 square miles (25,899.9 km²) to a depth of 100 feet (30.5 m). Eventually, these lava flows covered half the state of Oregon, creating a formation known as the Columbia River Basalt Group
Columbia River Basalt Group
The Columbia River Basalt Group is a large igneous province that lies across parts of the Western United States. It is found in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and California...
, the geologic foundation beneath much of the High Desert.
After the original eruptions subsided, the Earth's crust began to stretch and crack. Between 15 and 2 million years ago, this created hundreds of new volcanoes that added additional layers of lava on top of the Columbia River Basalt. These new flows blanketed the southeastern third of the state. Many of the volcanoes and smaller cinder cones from this period still exist in eastern Oregon. Afterwards, subsequent rifting produced large fault-block mountain
Fault-block mountain
Fault-block landforms are formed when large areas of bedrock are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements of continental crust....
s throughout the region. The escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
-type mountains and high-elevation valleys created by these faults produced the basin and range landscape that makes up much of Oregon's High Desert country.
During the last two million years, a series of ice ages altered the landscape. As each ice sheet melted, runoff and increased rainfall filled many of the region's closed basins, forming large pluvial lake
Pluvial lake
A pluvial lake is a landlocked basin which fills with rainwater during times of glaciation, when precipitation is higher. Pluvial lakes that have since evaporated and dried out may also be referred to as paleolakes.-Geology:...
s. The Goose Lake
Goose Lake Valley
The Goose Lake Valley is located in south-central Oregon and northeastern California, United States. It is a high valley at the northwestern corner of North America’s basin and range province. Much of the valley floor is covered by Goose Lake, a large endorheic lake that straddles the...
, Harney
Harney Basin
The Harney Basin is a structural basin in southeastern Oregon in the United States at the northwestern corner of the Great Basin. One of the least populated areas of the contiguous United States, it is located largely in northern Harney County, bounded on the north and east by the Columbia Plateau,...
, and Klamath
Klamath Basin
The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties in California. The drainage basin...
basins were filled along with many other smaller basins. Some of the lakes covered as much as 1000 square miles (2,590 km²). However, as the climate became drier, these large lakes shrank away. Goose Lake
Goose Lake (Oregon-California)
Goose Lake is a large alkaline glacial lake located in the Goose Lake Valley on the Oregon-California border. The north end of the lake is in Lake County, Oregon and the south end is in Modoc County, California. The mountains at the north end of the lake are part of the Fremont National Forest...
, Harney Lake
Harney Lake
Harney Lake is a shallow alkali lake basin located in southeast Oregon, United States, approximately thirty miles south of the town of Burns. The lake lies within the boundary of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and is the lowest point in the Blitzen Valley drainage.- History :The lake has been...
, Malheur Lake
Malheur Lake
Malheur Lake is a lake in an arid region of eastern Oregon, United States near Burns, Oregon. The lake is fed by Donner und Blitzen River from the south and the Silvies River from the north. Malheur Lake has no outlet, though water escapes through ground seepage and by evaporation; widespread...
, Summer Lake
Summer Lake (Oregon)
Summer Lake is a large, shallow, alkali lake in Lake County, Oregon, United States. It is approximately long and wide, and is located five miles south of the small, unincorporated community of Summer Lake, Oregon. The lake was named by explorer John C. Fremont on his expedition into Central...
, Lake Abert
Lake Abert
Lake Abert is a large, shallow, alkali lake in Lake County, Oregon, United States. It is approximately long and wide at its widest point. It is located northwest of the small, unincorporated community of Valley Falls, Oregon. The lake was named in honor of Colonel John James Abert by explorer...
, and the Warner Lakes
Warner Lakes
The Warner Lakes are a chain of shallow lakes and marshes in the Warner Valley of eastern Lake County, Oregon, United States. The lakes extend the length of the valley, covering approximately ....
are remnants of ancient pluvial lakes.
Climate
Annual precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
throughout Oregon's High Desert region is relatively low, averaging less than 15 inches (381 mm) per year in most areas. Bend
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
, the region's largest city, only receives 12 inches (304.8 mm) of precipitation per year. Burns
Burns, Oregon
Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,806.-History:Burns was established in the early 1880s and incorporated upon Harney county's creation in 1889...
receives about 11 inches (279.4 mm) of precipitation annually, while Rome
Rome, Oregon
Rome is an unincorporated community in Malheur County, Oregon, United States, part of the Ontario, OR–ID Micropolitan Statistical Area. In the sparsely populated high desert of southeastern Oregon, Rome is immediately west of the Owyhee River on US-95, approximately 12 miles northeast of...
, in central Malheur County, and the official weather station at Whitehorse Ranch in southern Harney County receive only 8 inches (203.2 mm) in an average year. Some of the mountainous areas, however, receive significantly more precipitation in the form of snow. For example, the high-elevation city of Lakeview
Lakeview, Oregon
Lakeview is a city in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,294 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. Although it is an incorporated city, the municipal government refers to the community as "The Town of Lakeview", and bills itself as "Tallest Town in Oregon"...
has an average annual snowfall of nearly 68 inches (1,727.2 mm).
The majority of High Desert areas receive most precipitation in the winter months, decreasing steadily through late summer into the fall. Some areas in the eastern and southern parts of the region receive peak precipitation in the late spring and early summer. For example, at Hart Mountain
Hart Mountain
Hart Mountain is a fault-block mountain, in Lake County, Oregon, USA. It lies about to the east of Lakeview.It is sometimes confused with a mountain range, but is more properly described as one mountain. The two highest peaks are Warner Peak and Hart Peak.The top of the mountain is part of the...
in Lake County, the wettest time of the year is March through June. The driest months throughout Oregon's High Desert are July through September; however, there are still isolated thunderstorms during that period.
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual Max/Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bend Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population... |
40/23 | 44/25 | 51/27 | 57/30 | 65/36 | 73/41 | 81/46 | 81/46 | 72/39 | 62/32 | 46/28 | 40/23 | 102 / -24 |
| Burns Burns, Oregon Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,806.-History:Burns was established in the early 1880s and incorporated upon Harney county's creation in 1889... |
35/14 | 40/19 | 49/25 | 57/29 | 66/36 | 75/41 | 85/46 | 84/44 | 75/35 | 62/26 | 45/21 | 35/15 | 102 / -28 |
| Lakeview Lakeview, Oregon Lakeview is a city in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,294 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. Although it is an incorporated city, the municipal government refers to the community as "The Town of Lakeview", and bills itself as "Tallest Town in Oregon"... |
39/21 | 42/24 | 48/28 | 56/32 | 65/38 | 74/44 | 84/55 | 83/48 | 75/42 | 63/33 | 46/26 | 39/21 | 102 / -20 |
| Prineville Prineville, Oregon Prineville is a city in and the county seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census.- History :... |
42/21 | 48/24 | 54/25 | 61/28 | 69/34 | 77/40 | 86/43 | 86/42 | 78/35 | 66/29 | 49/25 | 42/21 | 107 / -34 |
Native peoples and white settlement
The indigenous people of the High Desert region were the Northern Paiute people. These Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who relied on nuts roots, seeds, berries, and eggs, and animals such as deer, pronghorn, geese, quail, rabbits, and bear, following their food to high and low elevations depending on the time of year. They made sandals, traps, and fishing nets, and wove baskets. Made out of sagebrush, willow, tule plant, Indian hemp, and sumac fibers, the baskets were tight enough to carry water. Archaeological evidence from near Fort Rock shows that people wove baskets in the area at least 9,000 years ago.
Throughout the 18th century and into the early 19th century, the Northern Paiute had numerous conflicts with tribes who lived to the northwest. The Wasco-Wishram
Wasco-Wishram
Wasco-Wishram are two closely related Chinook Indian tribes from the Columbia River in Oregon. Today the tribes are part of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington.-History:...
and other Chinook tribes oftentimes encroached on the High Desert landscape of the Northern Paiute territory. After one such incident in 1811, the Northern Paiute migrated north to the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and attacked Wasco canoes. Around this time, the Northern Paiute numbered approximately 7,500. The Snake War
Snake War
The Snake War was a war fought by the United States of America against the "Snake Indians", the settlers' term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and western Shoshone bands who lived along the Snake River. Fighting took place in the states of Oregon, Nevada, and California, and in Idaho Territory...
, a war between the natives and white settles in the region in the 1860s, killed roughly two thirds of the population of the Northern Paiute. The whites won the war and then set aside the Malheur Reservation
Malheur Reservation
The Malheur Reservation was an Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon from 1872 to 1879.-Establishment:On September 12, 1872, a presidential order set aside the Malheur Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon for the Northern Paiute...
for the Northern Paiute and various other Oregon Native American tribes.
White settlers who had traveled to Oregon along the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
began to live in the High Desert region in the 1850s and the 1860s, after they had begun farming and logging in the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
and other lands in western Oregon. Thousands of these emigrants reached the area from the west, crossing the Cascade Range to make land claims in eastern Oregon. The High Desert area was settled by whites later than western Oregon in part because of Elijah White
Elijah White
Dr. Elijah White was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission in the Willamette Valley...
's failure to find a pass east through the Cascades. Once they had claimed more land, pioneers and members of the American government negotiated treaties with natives in the High Desert and elsewhere in Oregon, oftentimes forcing them off their native lands and on to reservations.
In 1866, American soldiers established Camp Warner
Camp Warner
Camp Warner was a United States Army outpost in south-central Oregon, United States. Camp Warner was located at two different sites approximately apart. The Army called both sites Camp Warner. However, the first site became known as Old Camp Warner. It was used as winter quarters in 1866–1867 and...
, a military camp near the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in Lake County. They were sent from Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
, to build a military camp in the High Desert, and built it east of the Warner Lakes, because they doubted that they could cross the series of wetlands. Maj. Gen. George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
disapproved of the soldiers' decision. He built a road across the lakes and moved the camp to the western side of them.
Out of the four major cities in the High Desert, Prineville
Prineville, Oregon
Prineville is a city in and the county seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census.- History :...
was established earliest. Its post office originally opened under the name, "Prine", in 1871. It was named for Barney Prine, a whisky and metal merchant in the area. Lakeview
Lakeview, Oregon
Lakeview is a city in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,294 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. Although it is an incorporated city, the municipal government refers to the community as "The Town of Lakeview", and bills itself as "Tallest Town in Oregon"...
's post office was then established in 1876. At that time, Goose Lake was larger, and it was visible from the post office. The Burns
Burns, Oregon
Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,806.-History:Burns was established in the early 1880s and incorporated upon Harney county's creation in 1889...
post office opened in 1884 and the city was established in 1891. It was named for the Scottish poet Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
. Bend
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
's name came from the location, "Farewell Bend," where pioneers traveling through the area got their last view of the Deschutes River. The Bend post office was established in 1904.
In 1878, the Bannock people and northern Shoshone tribes participated in the Bannock War
Bannock War
The Bannock War was a series of conflicts in 1878 between various Bannock, Northern Shoshone and Paiute tribes against the United States.- Background :...
, a war against white settlers in the region over the destruction of camas root — a main source of food for the natives — by white settlers' hogs. The Bannock and the Northern Paiute suffered from this violence. When the white settlers won the war, natives were allotted into various reservations. The Northern Paiute were sent to the Yakama Indian Reservation
Yakama Indian Reservation
The Yakama Indian Reservation is a United States Indian reservation located on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in southern Washington. It is the homeland of the Yakama tribe of Native Americans....
, and in later years were spread among several reservations in the western United States.
White settlers created the 13736 acres (5,558.8 ha) Burns Paiute Reservation, just north of Burns, in 1897. The reservation was established in 1972. It is home to the descendants of the Wada Tika band of Northern Paiutes. As of 1992, it had 356 members. As of 1980, there were 57 descendants of the Northen Paiute tribe living outside of the reservation.
Place names
In the 19th century, Oregon's High Desert area was called the Great Sandy Desert (a misnomerMisnomer
A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue. Such incorrect terms sometimes derive their names because of the form, action, or origin of the subject becoming named popularly or widely referenced—long before their true natures were known.- Sources of misnomers...
, as there is very little sand in the region), the Rolling Sage Plain, and the Artemisia Desert. Over the years, the region has also been known as Oregon's Empty Quarter, the Great Wide Open, and Oregon's Cowboy Country. Today, many local residents call it the Oregon Outback
Oregon Outback
Oregon Outback is an unofficial term generally used to reference the high desert Basin and Range country of the central southern portion of the U.S...
. However, the old names are occasionally still used. A 1996 National Geographic magazine "Map of the United States Physical Landscape" used the pioneer name, Great Sandy Desert, to identify the southeastern quarter of Oregon. However, the region is most commonly known as Oregon's "High Desert".
Flora and fauna
The Oregon Badlands WildernessOregon Badlands Wilderness
Oregon Badlands Wilderness is a wilderness area located east of Bend in Deschutes and Crook counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was created by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009.The wilderness is situated on...
, 15 miles (24.1 km) east of Bend, has vegetation typical of the High Desert region. The native plants are adapted to survive on less than 12 inches (304.8 mm) of rain per year. The area is dominated by big sagebrush and rabbitbrush
Chrysothamnus
Chrysothamnus is a member of the plant family Asteraceae. It is a semi-deciduous shrub, sometimes also called sagebrush. The native distribution is in the arid western United States and northern Mexico...
. along with hardy grasses like Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass
Bluebunch wheatgrass
Pseudoroegneria spicata is a species of grass known by the common name Bluebunch Wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is known by the scientific synonyms Elymus spicatus and Agropyron spicatum. The grass can be found from Alaska to Texas. It occurs in many types of...
, and bunchgrass. In the spring, there are native wildflowers such as Yellow Oregon sunshine, dwarf purple monkeyflower
Mimulus nanus
Mimulus nanus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name dwarf purple monkeyflower. It is native to the western United States from California to Montana, where it grows in moist habitat, often in bare or disturbed soils. It is a hairy annual herb growing at ground level or erect to 10...
, sulfur buckwheat
Eriogonum umbellatum
Eriogonum umbellatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower. It is native to western North America from California to Colorado to central Canada, where it is abundant and found in many habitats...
, Indian paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush most often refers to:* Castilleja spp.Indian Paintbrush may also refer to:* Butterfly weed* Hawkweed* Steven Rales' production company, whose productions include The Darjeeling Limited, Towelhead and Fantastic Mr. Fox...
, and mariposa lilies
Calochortus
Calochortus is a genus of bulbous plants that includes 70 species from British Columbia to Guatemala and east to Nebraska. Calochortus is the most widely dispersed genus of Liliaceae on the North American Pacific coast. Of these, 28 species are endemic to California...
. Other High Desert wildflowers common throughout the region include buttercups, larkspur
Delphinium
Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The common name, larkspur, is shared with the closely related genus Consolida...
, phlox
Phlox
Phlox is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants found mostly in North America in diverse habitats from alpine tundra to open woodland and prairie. Some flower in spring, others in summer and autumn....
, primrose
Primulaceae
Primulaceae is a family of flowering plants with about 24 genera, including some favorite garden plants and wildflowers. It is also known as the primrose family.- Genera :...
s, and coral mallow
Malva
Malva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of...
. The Oregon Badlands Wilderness also contains the oldest known tree in Oregon, a Western juniper estimated to be more than 1,600 years old.
Hundreds of animal species are found in Oregon's High Desert environment. In the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on Hart Mountain in southeastern Oregon, which protects more than and more than 300 species of wildlife, including pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mule deer, sage grouse, and redband trout...
alone, there are over 300, including 239 bird species and 42 mammals. Throughout the High Desert region, Mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, pronghorn
Pronghorn
The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s, badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
s, and Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
The black-tailed jackrabbit , also known as the american desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level to up to...
s are common. Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, bighorn sheep
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
, cougar, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, gray fox
Gray Fox
The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
, red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
, porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
, and beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
are also found in some parts of the High Desert.
Smaller mammals native to the area include Long-tailed Weasel
Long-tailed Weasel
The long-tailed weasel , also known as the bridled weasel or big stoat is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central America and into northern South America.-Evolution:The long-tailed weasel is the product of...
s, woodchucks, cottontail rabbit
Cottontail rabbit
The cottontail rabbits are among the 16 lagomorph species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas.In appearance, most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European Rabbit...
s, pygmy rabbit
Pygmy Rabbit
The Pygmy Rabbit is a North American rabbit, and is one of only two rabbit species in America to dig its own burrow...
s, Golden-mantled ground squirrel
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
The golden-mantled ground squirrel, Callospermophilus lateralis, is a type of ground squirrel found in mountainous areas of western North America. It eats seeds, nuts, berries, insects, and underground fungi. It is preyed upon by hawks, jays, weasels, foxes, bobcats, and coyotes. A typical adult...
s, antelope squirrel
Antelope squirrel
The antelope squirrels or antelope ground squirrels are the genus Ammospermophilus of sciurids found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico....
s, Townsend's ground squirrel
Townsend's Ground Squirrel
The Townsend's ground squirrel is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is found in high desert shrublands in several areas of the United States.-Distribution:...
s, Yellow-pine Chipmunk
Yellow-pine Chipmunk
The yellow-pine chipmunk is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is found in Canada and the United States....
s, Ord's Kangaroo Rat
Ord's Kangaroo Rat
Ord's Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys ordii, is a kangaroo rat that is native to Western North America, specifically the Great Plains and the Great Basin with its range extending from extreme southern Canada to central Mexico....
s, and Northern Pocket Gopher
Northern Pocket Gopher
The Northern Pocket Gopher, Thomomys talpoides, was first discovered by Lewis and Clark on April 9, 1805 at the mouth of the Knife River, North Dakota. These animals are often rich brown or yellowish brown, but also grayish or closely approaching local soil color and have white markings under chin...
s. Mice species include Great Basin Pocket Mouse
Great Basin Pocket Mouse
The Great Basin Pocket Mouse is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is found in British Columbia in Canada and the western United States.-Taxonomy:...
, northern grasshopper mouse, western harvest mouse
Western harvest mouse
The Western Harvest Mouse is a small neotomine mouse native to southwest British Columbia, most of the western United States extending continuously to west Texas, northeast Arkansas, northwest Indiana, southwest Wisconsin, the interior of Mexico to Oaxaca...
, deer mouse, meadow mouse, and Creeping Vole
Creeping Vole
The Creeping Vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found in British Columbia in Canada and in California, Oregon and Washington in the United States.-References:...
. There are also numerous bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
species that live in Oregon's High Desert country.
Common High Desert birds include Sage Grouse
Sage Grouse
The Sage Grouse is the largest grouse in North America, where it is known as the Greater Sage-Grouse. Its range is sagebrush country in the western United States and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. A population of smaller birds, known in the U.S. as Gunnison Sage-Grouse, were recently...
, quail
California Quail
The California Quail, Callipepla californica, also known as the California Valley Quail or Valley Quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family...
, chukar
Chukar
The Chukar Partridge or Chukar is a Eurasian upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the Rock Partridge, Philby's Partridge and Przevalski's Partridge and treated in the past as conspecific particularly with the first...
, and Sage Thrasher
Sage Thrasher
The Sage Thrasher is a medium-sized passerine bird from the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds, tremblers and New World catbirds. It is the only member of the genus Oreoscoptes. This seems less close to the Caribbean thrashers, but rather to the mockingbirds instead .O...
. Near High Desert lakes and in riparian areas, there are Dusky Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
The American Dusky Flycatcher, or simply Dusky Flycatcher, is a small, insectivorous passerine of the tyrant flycatcher family....
s, Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Dendroica petechia is a New World warbler species or superspecies; the subspecies group around D. aestiva is increasingly treated as good species Dendroica aestiva again. The name for the entire cryptic species complex is Mangrove Warbler, and another group of subspecies is known as Golden Warbler...
s, Orange-crowned Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
The Orange-crowned Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds are distinguished by their lack of wing bars, streaking on the underparts, strong face marking or bright colouring, resembling a fall Tennessee Warbler. The orange patch on the crown is usually not visible...
s, House Wren
House Wren
The House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren...
s, Spotted Towhee
Spotted Towhee
The Spotted Towhee is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the Eastern Towhee were considered a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee...
s, Brewer's Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
The Brewer's Blackbird is a medium-sized New World blackbird, named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer....
s, Western Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Not to be confused with Eastern MeadowlarkThe Western Meadowlark is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in long. It nests on the ground in open country in western and central North America. It feeds mostly on insects, but also seeds and berries...
s, swallow
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
s, and nighthawk
Nighthawk
A nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae. Nighthawks are medium-sized New World birds, with long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They usually nest on the ground. They feed on flying insects. The Least Nighthawk, at and ,...
s. Mountain Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
The Mountain Chickadee is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Often, it is still placed in the genus Parus with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data and morphology suggest that separating Poecile more adequately expresses these birds' relationships...
s, Cassin's Finch
Cassin's Finch
Cassin's Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch genus Carpodacus, but they likely belong in a distinct genus Burrica....
es, Black-headed Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak
The Black-headed Grosbeak, Pheucticus melanocephalus, is a medium-size seed-eating bird in the same family as the Northern Cardinal, the Cardinalidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, P...
s, Green-tailed Towhee
Green-tailed Towhee
The Green-tailed Towhee, Pipilo chlorurus, is the smallest towhee, but is still one of the larger members of the "American sparrow" family Emberizidae....
s, Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Four closely related North American bird forms—the eastern Myrtle Warbler , its western counterpart, Audubon's Warbler , the northwest Mexican Black-fronted Warbler , and the Guatemalan Goldman's Warbler —are periodically lumped as the Yellow-rumped Warbler .-Classification:Since...
s, MacGillivray's Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
The MacGillivray's Warbler, Oporornis tolmiei, is a small species of New World warbler. Like all members of the genus Oporornis, these birds are sluggish and heavy warblers with short tails, preferring to spend most of their time on, or near the ground, except when singing.The MacGillivray's...
s, Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
The Mountain Bluebird is a medium-sized bird weighing about 2-5 ounces, with a length from 15–20 cm . They have light underbellies and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter beneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast,...
s, Common Raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
s, Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker
The Northern Flicker is a medium-sized member of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. There are over 100 common names for the Northern Flicker...
s, and White-headed Woodpecker
White-headed Woodpecker
The White-headed Woodpecker is a non-migratory woodpecker that resides in pine forests of the mountains of western North America. It has a black body and white head. It has white primary feathers that form a crescent in flight...
s are common in parts of the region. Birds of prey include owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s, Prairie Falcon
Prairie Falcon
The Prairie Falcon is a medium-sized falcon of western North America.It is about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm , wingspan of 1 metre , and weight of 720 g...
s, Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s, and Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s.
Land use
The largest landowner in eastern Oregon is the U.S. governmentFederal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. The Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
administers over 13600000 acres (55,037.3 km²) in the bureau's Burns, Lakeview, Prineville, and Vale districts, most of which are in the state's High Desert country. In addition, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
has designated specific sections of the Crooked, Deschutes, Donner und Blitzen, Malheur, and Owyhee rivers as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Agriculture is the largest industry in the region. Livestock ranches utilize large tracts of private and government land for grazing. Ranchers raise cattle
Beef cattle
Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production . The meat of cattle is known as beef. When raised in a feedlot cattle are known as feeder cattle. Many such feeder cattle are born in cow-calf operations specifically designed to produce beef calves...
and sheep in many parts of the region. Because of low rainfall, most crops require irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
. Agricultural crops include alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
and other hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
crops, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, potatoes, onions, sugar beets, and mint
Mentha
Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...
.
Works cited
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