The Waldo Hills are a range of hills 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...

 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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Encompassing an area of around 50 square miles (129.5 km²), the hills are located east of Salem

Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

. The hills are named after pioneer Daniel Waldo

Daniel Waldo (Oregon pioneer)

Daniel Waldo was an American legislator in the Provisional Government of Oregon, the namesake for the Waldo Hills near Salem, Oregon, and the father of two prominent Oregon politicians. He was also a member of the Oregon Rangers militia and fought in the Cayuse War.-Early life:Waldo was born in...

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Geology

The hills stretch out from Mill Creek

Mill Creek (Marion County, Oregon)

Mill Creek is a tributary of the Willamette River whose watershed drains a area of Marion County, Oregon, United States. It passes through the cities of Aumsville, Stayton, Sublimity, and Turner before emptying into the Willamette in Salem...

 in a northeasterly direction. These hills were formed by a cuesta

Cuesta

In structural geology and geomorphology, a cuesta is a ridge formed by gently tilted sedimentary rock strata in a homoclinal structure. Cuestas have a steep slope, where the rock layers are exposed on their edges, called an escarpment or, if more steep, a cliff...

 of 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...

. Rocks of the hills include Tertiary volcanic bedrock, sedimentary bedrock, and Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary basin fill shaped by elongate domical folds. The Waldo Hills form part of the divider between the upper and lower Willamette Valley. Additionally, the Waldo Hills as part of a larger fault system of low-lying hills in the mid-valley, are the largest geological structure in the mid-Willamette Valley. Along with the Silverton Hills, these hills form the foothills to the Cascade Mountains to the east.

Settlement

Euro-American settlement of the Waldo Hills began in 1843 when Daniel Waldo settled a land claim there and began farming. Later settlers included Homer Davenport

Homer Davenport

Homer Calvin Davenport was a political cartoonist from the United States. He was known for his satirical drawings and support of Progressive Era politics. A native Oregonian, he worked for several West Coast newspapers before being hired by William Randolph Hearst and the New York Evening Journal...

 and Samuel L. Simpson, along with Waldo's sons John

John B. Waldo

John Breckenridge Waldo was an American politician and jurist from the state of Oregon. A native of Oregon, he grew up near Salem as part of a prominent pioneer political family that included father Daniel and brother William...

 and William

William Waldo (Oregon politician)

William Waldo was an American politician and attorney in Oregon. Born in Missouri, he came to the Oregon Country with his family that included father Daniel Waldo. He would serve in the Oregon State Senate, including as president of the body in 1885. Waldo was also a county judge, while his...

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In 1846, the hills were the site of the formation and drilling of the Oregon Rangers

Oregon Rangers

The Oregon Rangers were the first organized militia of settlers in the Willamette Valley of what became the U.S. state of Oregon, but at the time was the Oregon Country. Organized in 1844, the Provisional Government of Oregon never called the troops out to service...

, a militia formed by the Provisional Government of Oregon

Provisional Government of Oregon

The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...

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External links

• Winter scene in the Waldo Hills from Salem Public Library Historic Photographs Collection
• Geologic map of the area
• The Battle of the Abiqua