The Western Blues
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 44° 03.639 W 121° 16.991
10T E 637504 N 4880041
New history sign on summit of Pilot Butte, replaces the old “The Blue Mountains of Oregon” sign.
Waymark Code: WMT0JX
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 09/03/2016
Views: 1
This sign is located on northern edge of summit observation area.
Marker Name: The Western Blues
Marker Text: An Ancient Seaside
Out on the horizon to the east are Oregon’s western Blue Mountains, several ranges of eroded volcanoes with basement layers more than 145 million years old.
These fascinating mountains once basked in a semitropical climate near the Pacific Ocean. We know this because of the kinds of fossils paleontologists have found throughout the Blue Mountains. Among them are walnuts, palm leaves, horses, saber-toothed tigers, and rhinoceroses.
The sign contains several photos with additional information in their captions.
PHOTO of fossil skull - This saber-toothed tiger lived during the ice ages in North America. It was about the size of a present-day Siberian tiger.
PHOTO of fossil leaf - Many of the marine-based sedimentary rocks of the western Blue Mountains contain ancient leaves or bones.
PHOTO of Smith Rock - Look for Smith Rock in the distance to the north. Here, volcanic tuff and basalt from an explosive eruption more than 29 million years ago has eroded into spectacular vertical formations. (ERROR NOTE: Basalt was not part of the eruption 29 million years ago. The basalts at Smith Rock S.P. are from Newberry about 350,000 years ago. )
PHOTO of Painted Hills - John Day Formation. Responding to ancient warmth and humidity, the fossil-rich volcanic ash of the John Day Formation turned to clay and eroded into landscapes of great beauty and color called the Painted Hills. They are part of the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument, a rich source of ancient fossils from the “Age of Mammals,” beginning 65 million years ago.
Poor replacement for the 2006 sign it replaces, see WMABC - LEGACY - The Blue Mountains of Oregon.
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