Oregon Badlands Wilderness
Encyclopedia
Oregon Badlands Wilderness is a 29301 acres (11,858 ha) 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 high desert terrain and is associated with a volcanic rootless shield. This broad 10–12 km volcanic shield issued lava
from a rootless vent. The lava flow dates to about 80,000 years old and comes from a main vent further up the slopes of Newberry Volcano
. This main vent was located near Lava Top Butte and the lava that came out of this vent travelled through the Arnold Lava Tube System
to arrive at the current location of the Badlands. An irregularly-shaped pit crater at the top of the shield marks the site where lava flowed in all directions to create the Badlands. Lava tubes acted as conduits for the lava in some instances and are evidenced on the surface by tumuli, also known as pressure ridges
. Soils in the Badlands were largely formed from ash associated with the eruption of Mount Mazama
some 2500 years ago.
It is the northwesternmost part of the Northern Basin and Range
ecoregion, described as Pluvial Lake Basin, and shares many characteristics of the Great Basin
. The land is BLM
-administered.
The area is known for igneous castle-like rock formations, harsh terrain, ancient Juniper
trees, sagebrush
, and extensive arid land. Desert wildflowers, dry river canyons, and Native American pictographs can be found.
The blind iditarod racer Rachel Scdoris trained in the area.
The Deschutes County commissioners disagreed over designating the area as wilderness since doing so would exclude vehicles.
Other common plants found in the Badlands wilderness include big sagebrush, rabbitbrush
, and various bunchgrasses, including Idaho fescue and bluebunch wheatgrass
. In the spring, the area blooms with a variety of wildflowers, including Oregon sunshine, dwarf monkeyflower, sulfur buckwheat
, indian paintbrush
, and mariposa lily.
, mule deer
, elk
, pronghorn antelope, cottontail rabbit
, coyote
, bat
s and six species of lizard
. More than 100 species of bird live in the area, including golden eagle
, sage grouse
, and prairie falcon
.
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...
in 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...
and Crook
Crook 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...
counties in the U.S. state
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...
. It was created by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which was signed into law by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
on March 30, 2009.
The wilderness is situated on high desert terrain and is associated with a volcanic rootless shield. This broad 10–12 km volcanic shield issued lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
from a rootless vent. The lava flow dates to about 80,000 years old and comes from a main vent further up the slopes of Newberry Volcano
Newberry Volcano
Newberry Volcano is a large potentially active shield volcano located east of the Cascade Range and about southeast of Bend, Oregon. It is not a typical shield volcano. In addition to erupting basaltic lavas, it also has erupted andesitic and even rhyolitic lava.The volcano is in diameter and...
. This main vent was located near Lava Top Butte and the lava that came out of this vent travelled through the Arnold Lava Tube System
Arnold Lava Tube System
The Arnold Lava Tube System is series of lava tubes within Deschutes County, Oregon, of the United States. It is located several miles southeast of the city of Bend. The system starts within the Deschutes National Forest on the northern flank of Newberry Volcano, heads northeast onto BLM land...
to arrive at the current location of the Badlands. An irregularly-shaped pit crater at the top of the shield marks the site where lava flowed in all directions to create the Badlands. Lava tubes acted as conduits for the lava in some instances and are evidenced on the surface by tumuli, also known as pressure ridges
Pressure ridge (lava)
A pressure ridge is created in an active lava flow. Formation occurs when the outer edges and surfaces of the lava flow begin to harden. If the advancing lava underneath becomes restricted it may push up on the hardened crust, tilting it outward...
. Soils in the Badlands were largely formed from ash associated with the eruption of Mount Mazama
Mount Mazama
Mount Mazama is a destroyed stratovolcano in the Oregon part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range. The volcano's collapsed caldera holds Crater Lake, and the entire mountain is located within Crater Lake National Park....
some 2500 years ago.
It is the northwesternmost part of the Northern Basin and Range
Northern Basin and Range (ecoregion)
The Northern Basin and Range ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. states of Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and California. It contains dissected lava plains, rolling hills, alluvial fans, valleys, and scattered mountain ranges...
ecoregion, described as Pluvial Lake Basin, and shares many characteristics 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 land is BLM
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...
-administered.
The area is known for igneous castle-like rock formations, harsh terrain, ancient Juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
trees, sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
, and extensive arid land. Desert wildflowers, dry river canyons, and Native American pictographs can be found.
The blind iditarod racer Rachel Scdoris trained in the area.
The Deschutes County commissioners disagreed over designating the area as wilderness since doing so would exclude vehicles.
Vegetation
Native vegetation in the Oregon Badlands Wilderness have adapted to the less than 12 inches (30 cm) of annual rainfall. Western juniper can live to be over 1,000 years old in the region. The oldest dated tree in Oregon - estimated to be over 1,600 years old - grows near the wilderness.Other common plants found in the Badlands wilderness include big sagebrush, rabbitbrush
Rabbitbrush
Rabbitbrush is a common name for plants in two related genera of the family Asteraceae:* Chrysothamnus — most species, including Green Rabbitbrush* Ericameria — Gray and Parry's Rabbitbrush...
, and various bunchgrasses, including Idaho fescue and 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...
. In the spring, the area blooms with a variety of wildflowers, including Oregon sunshine, dwarf monkeyflower, 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 lily.
Wildlife
Oregon Badlands Wilderness is home to a variety of wildlife, including black-tailed jackrabbitBlack-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...
, 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...
, 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:...
, pronghorn antelope, 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...
, 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...
, 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,...
s and six species of lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
. More than 100 species of bird live in the area, including 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...
, 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...
, 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...
.
External links
- hiking the Badlands
- Badlands petroglyphs page 1
- Badlands petroglyphs page 2
- BLM map
