LEGACY - The Blue Mountains of Oregon - Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This sign was located on northern edge of summit observation area.



Marker Name: The Blue Mountains of Oregon
Marker Text: Old mountains, weathered and eroded, hold ancient plant and animal fossils.
         On the horizon to the northeast loom Oregon’s Blue Mountains. The Blues are an uplifted cluster of smaller mountain ranges that stretch 250 miles (402 km) to the northeast corner of the state. Only the closest one, the Ochoco Mountains, can be seen from here. The western Blues are eroded volcanoes that erupted 15 to 45 million years ago. They are famous worldwide for their fossils of walnuts, palm leaves, horses, rhinoceroses, and much more. In their heyday, the western Blues basked in a semi-tropical climate, and the Pacific Ocean was much closer. Even though Pilot Butte did not exist then, the ocean may have been visible from where you are standing.
         Southeast of Prineville near Bowman Dam, the Crooked River has cut a remarkable canyon into 15 million-year-old lava flows. These thick flows once buried the land all the way to Portland.
         In the ancient warmth and humidity of eastern Oregon, fossil-rich volcanic ash of the John Day Formation turned to clay and eroded into landscapes of great beauty and color.
         Today, Smith Rock State Park near Terrebonne is a rock climber’s paradise. The craggy feature can be seen to the north, in the distance. There, a 30 million-year-old volcanic center has eroded into spectacular vertical formations.

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