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ENLARGE
Oxidized minerals in volcanic ash spewed across the Eastern Oregon landscape thousands of years ago created these spectacular hills at the Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds northwest of Dayville. The weathering of the ash caused this hill and others to take on reds, yellows, tans and flecks of black.
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Red Hill rises from the scrub brush and trees in the Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument outside Dayville. The vivid red color comes from oxidized minerals found in the ash that covered the landscape thousands of years ago.
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A rattlesnake formation caps a hilltop in the Sheep Rock unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Eastern Oregon. Soil and gravel from higher mountains that formed in the John Day valley eroded and were deposited in lower elevations; these eventually formed what became known as the rattlesnake formation.
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A basalt-capped hill rises above Highway 19 north of the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, northwest of Mitchell. The blue-green veins on the hillside represent volanic ash that turned into claystone over thousands of years.
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Cliffs known as The Palisades tower over Highway 218 east of Antelope in Eastern Oregon. The cliffs were formed when ash-laden mudflows poured into a forest.
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A sign warns visitors to the Painted Hills section of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument to stay on the trail.
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MITCHELL — Among the sagebrush and scrub trees that inhabit this portion of Eastern Oregon, it's easy to miss the aptly named Painted Hills.
Only a small sign directs travelers along Highway 26 west of here to head north several miles to the Painted Hills. There, hills infused with vertical stripes of reds, yellows, grays and specks of black rise from the plain. With the colors created from oxidized mineral deposits found in heavily eroded volcanic ash layers, the hills are unlike anything found elsewhere in Oregon.
The Painted Hills are one of three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. They spread out over 14,000 acres in sparsely populated Wheeler and Grant counties.
The Painted Hills and the Clarno unit, between Fossil and Antelope, are located in Wheeler County. The Sheep Rock unit is located just east of Wheeler County, at the western edge of Grant County, near Dayville.
The John Day Fossil Beds rank third in annual attendance out of the four national parks and monuments located in Oregon. Crater Lake attracts the most visitors, more than 400,000 a year, followed by the Lewis & Clark National Historic Park with more than 200,000 annual guests.
The Fossil Beds had 112,578 visitors last year, down from 124,704 the year before. So far this year, 101,040 guests have gone there, an increase of 19.5 percent.
Highway 26, which leads to John Day and Vale, has less traffic than Highway 20 heading to Vale through Burns. That and the relative remoteness of Eastern Oregon probably explains why more people don't visit the John Day Fossil Beds.
Thomas Condon, a self-trained scientist and pioneer Oregon minister, was the first person to understand the scientific significance of the fossil beds. The Irish native first visited the area in 1865 and made numerous trips there.
He was later appointed Oregon's first state geologist, during a period when he was teaching at Pacific University in Forest Grove. He was named the University of Oregon's first professor of geology at the school's founding in 1876 and continued there until 1907.
The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the Sheep Rock unit houses the monument's fossil collection. There are numerous displays recounting the area's history and showing plants and animals that lived there over time. More than 2,100 species have been identified.
Visitors can also watch scientists working on fossils from behind a window.
Across the road is the James Cant Ranch, where visitors can get a feel for a working ranch from the early 1900s.
The Northern Paiute tribe was the main occupant of the Sheep Rock unit, while the Painted Hills and the Clarno unit was inhabited by the Tenino tribe. Other Native American tribes that were also present include the Umatilla, Molalla, Wasco, Cayuse and Nez Perce, according to the National Park Service.
The drive north from the Condon Center to Kimberly — a distance of about 17 miles — is particularly stunning. There are several different jagged, basalt-topped peaks, including Cathedral Rock, which slid down from a nearby bluff and caused a rerouting of the John Day River. A mile-by-mile map is available at the Condon Center.
That section includes the Blue Basin, comprised of blue-green volcanic ash that over time turned into claystone. Two hiking trails provide stunning views of the rock formations.
The Palisades, cliffs formed 44 million years ago from a series of ash-filled mudflows, are the main attraction of the Clarno unit. The rock formations tower over Highway 218. It's hard to believe now, but the area once contained a near-tropical forest that received 100 inches of rain a year.
There is no admission charge to enter the John Day Fossil Beds or to hike around. Water is available at the visitors center at Sheep Rock and at picnic areas at the Painted Hills and at the Palisades, but extra water should be carried along while hiking.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
Only a small sign directs travelers along Highway 26 west of here to head north several miles to the Painted Hills. There, hills infused with vertical stripes of reds, yellows, grays and specks of black rise from the plain. With the colors created from oxidized mineral deposits found in heavily eroded volcanic ash layers, the hills are unlike anything found elsewhere in Oregon.
The Painted Hills are one of three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. They spread out over 14,000 acres in sparsely populated Wheeler and Grant counties.
The Painted Hills and the Clarno unit, between Fossil and Antelope, are located in Wheeler County. The Sheep Rock unit is located just east of Wheeler County, at the western edge of Grant County, near Dayville.
The John Day Fossil Beds rank third in annual attendance out of the four national parks and monuments located in Oregon. Crater Lake attracts the most visitors, more than 400,000 a year, followed by the Lewis & Clark National Historic Park with more than 200,000 annual guests.
The Fossil Beds had 112,578 visitors last year, down from 124,704 the year before. So far this year, 101,040 guests have gone there, an increase of 19.5 percent.
Highway 26, which leads to John Day and Vale, has less traffic than Highway 20 heading to Vale through Burns. That and the relative remoteness of Eastern Oregon probably explains why more people don't visit the John Day Fossil Beds.
Thomas Condon, a self-trained scientist and pioneer Oregon minister, was the first person to understand the scientific significance of the fossil beds. The Irish native first visited the area in 1865 and made numerous trips there.
He was later appointed Oregon's first state geologist, during a period when he was teaching at Pacific University in Forest Grove. He was named the University of Oregon's first professor of geology at the school's founding in 1876 and continued there until 1907.
The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the Sheep Rock unit houses the monument's fossil collection. There are numerous displays recounting the area's history and showing plants and animals that lived there over time. More than 2,100 species have been identified.
Visitors can also watch scientists working on fossils from behind a window.
Across the road is the James Cant Ranch, where visitors can get a feel for a working ranch from the early 1900s.
The Northern Paiute tribe was the main occupant of the Sheep Rock unit, while the Painted Hills and the Clarno unit was inhabited by the Tenino tribe. Other Native American tribes that were also present include the Umatilla, Molalla, Wasco, Cayuse and Nez Perce, according to the National Park Service.
The drive north from the Condon Center to Kimberly — a distance of about 17 miles — is particularly stunning. There are several different jagged, basalt-topped peaks, including Cathedral Rock, which slid down from a nearby bluff and caused a rerouting of the John Day River. A mile-by-mile map is available at the Condon Center.
That section includes the Blue Basin, comprised of blue-green volcanic ash that over time turned into claystone. Two hiking trails provide stunning views of the rock formations.
The Palisades, cliffs formed 44 million years ago from a series of ash-filled mudflows, are the main attraction of the Clarno unit. The rock formations tower over Highway 218. It's hard to believe now, but the area once contained a near-tropical forest that received 100 inches of rain a year.
There is no admission charge to enter the John Day Fossil Beds or to hike around. Water is available at the visitors center at Sheep Rock and at picnic areas at the Painted Hills and at the Palisades, but extra water should be carried along while hiking.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
