Concentrations on bedrock and in gravels extent of the placer deposits waldemar lindgren february 14, 1860 november 3, 1939 was a swedishamerican the gold belt of the blue mountains of oregon extract from the 22nd annual report 19001901 part 2. New book explains why they call them the blue mountains. Blue basin is a beautiful, overlooked wonder at the john day. Although the beautiful blue mountains, ranging along to the west of the baker city area up and over i84 into the southeast corner of washington, offer an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities, from hikes and horseback rides to soaks at lehman hot springs and snowy slope action at anthony lakes mountain resort, they are also notable as what many oregon trail emigrants called the most. Mineral ages show blue mountain rocks related to klamath. Oregon is the top timber producer of the lower 48 states. The orrs have coauthored geology of the pacific northwest, second edition, oregon water. Jun 16, 2019 they are not the tallest mountains in the west, nor probably the prettiest, but for many people living in northeastern oregon and southeastern washington, the blue mountains are cherished as a.
She completed a ms and phd in structural geology in 1987 and 1992, respectively. A comprehensive treatment of the states geologic history, oregon geology moves through oregon s regions to closely examine the unique geologic features of each, from the blue mountains to the willamette valley, from the high lava plains to the coast range. A great variety of mineral deposits has been found in the blue mountains. Walker as far back as the 1970s, tracy vallier and howard brooks began to unravel the evolution of the blue mountains in accord with plate tectonics. This ridge, which stretches from clarno, oregon to clarkston, washington. This ridge, which stretches from clarno, oregon to clarkston, washington, is the northernmo. The landforms of oregon are so varied and complex in origin that the authors have divided the book into a series of chapters each addressing a particular geologic province topographic expression.
The name oregon sunstone is used for gemquality feldspars from oregon, with and without aventurescence. It is also contiguous with the world wildlife funds blue mountain forests ecoregion. The blue mountains are a mountain range in the western united states, located largely in northeastern oregon and stretching into southeastern washington. Then about 20 to 14 million years ago basalt lavas flooded across the landscape from multiple but unknown volcanoes. Oregon has some spectacular geology and for all the rockhounds out there, uo geologist marli b. More detailed than the former, this is recommended only for those with an interest in oregon s geology deeper than general interest. The flat topped mesas of the table rocks, with their own. The blues are a long anticlinal ridge composed mostly of basalt flows. Natural history of the blue mountains of northeastern oregon and southeastern washington gives a comprehensive look at the geology of the mountain range that dominates the viewshed in our corner of the northwest. New evidence, based on mineral dating, suggests that rocks of the blue mountains, the oldest geological formation in oregon, may have been derived from the klamath and sierra nevada mountain chains. Bob carson, of walla walla, captured the essence and mystique of the modest yet endearing mountain range in his new book the blues. Jun 28, 2019 bob carson of walla walla captured the essence and mystique of the modest yet endearing mountain range in his new book the blues. The geology of the blue mountains coxs road dreaming. Although the beautiful blue mountains, ranging along to the west of the baker city area up and over i84 into the southeast corner of washington, offer an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities, from hikes and horseback rides to soaks at lehman hot springs and snowy slope action at anthony lakes mountain resort, they are also notable as what many oregon trail.
Jun 01, 2015 combining her photos, map and book design skills and desire to share her journey with others has led to her first hiking book. Personalize funny, religious, or even talking cards free with your norisk trial. One, to the north, is the columbia plateau which consists of flat or gently tilted flows of basalt covering about 100,000 square miles. Hikes at the oregon coast, mount hood, columbia river gorge, smith rock, painted hills, crater lake and the wallowas. This extensively updated sixth edition of the geology of oregon provides a comprehensive treatment. The gold belt of the blue mountains of oregon by waldemar lindgren separator. This ridge, which stretches from clarno, oregon to clarkston, washington, is the northernmost portion of the blue mountains physiographic section, itself part of the columbia plateau physiographic province, which is characterized by young volcanics.
Its correlation with the northwestern boundaries of the klamath and blue mountain provinces suggests that these are continuous beneath the cascade volcanic. The range has an area of 4,060 square miles 10,500 km 2, stretching east and southeast of pendleton, oregon, to the snake river along the oregon idaho border. Most of oregon s highest peaks are in the blue and wallowa mountains in the northeast corner of the state, rather than in the more familiar cascade range. The types of ancient forests in oregon the mountaineers. Natural history of the blue mountains of northeastern oregon and southeastern washington gives a comprehensive look at the geology of the mountain range that. The 1902 book summarizes oregon s geology and draws conclusions about the geologic past. Millers newly updated roadside geology of oregon provides everything you need to know about pulling over on road trips to gawk at feldspar and fossils. Vallier 1995 petrology of pretertiary igneous rocks in the blue mountains region of oregon, idaho, and washington. The blue mountains province is located in the southeast corner of the state, south of the snake river. Named by early settlers for the blue hue of their pine and firlined ridges, they sprawl out southeast of pendleton, oregon, over to. Geology of southwest oregon southwest oregon has a rich, diverse, and complex geologic history. When the distribution of the veins and vein systems, as shown on the map, is examined in detail, it appears at once that there is no well. Ore bin oregon geology magazine journal oregon department.
The blue mountains, perhaps the most geologically diverse part of oregon, consist of a series of mountain ranges, rolling uplands, and valleys in the northeastern part of the state and extending into southeastern washington. Although named for its largest mountain range, the blue mountains ecoregion is a diverse complex of mountain ranges, valleys, and plateaus that extends beyond oregon into the states of idaho and washington. The majority of the blue mountains lie within oregon. The supleeizee area was investigated by bill dickinson as part of his ph. A comprehensive treatment of the states geologic history, oregon geology moves through oregons regions to closely examine the unique geologic features of each, from the blue mountains to the willamette valley, from the high lava plains to the coast range.
Statistics of mines and mining in the states and territories west of the rocky mountains by rossiter w. Oregon produces some of the best gemquality feldspar in the world. Back then, the implications of plate tectonic theory were only beginning to shape geologic research and discussion. Miller is a senior instructor and researcher in geology at the university of oregon. Natural history of the blue mountains of northeastern oregon. Miller when the first edition of roadside geology of oregon was published in 1978, it was revolutionarythe first book in a series designed to educate, inspire, and wow nongeologists. This volume reports on the geology of the blue mountains region, consists of six chapters having various individual authorship. The undiscovered blue mountains of washington and oregon.
The range has an area of 4,060 square miles 10,500 km 2, stretching east and southeast of pendleton, oregon, to the snake river along the oregonidaho border. Robert carson, professor of geology emeritus whitman college what are the blues. This book focuses on the stratigraphy, ages, structure, and chemical characteristics of terrestrial cenozoic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the region and on the relation of the cenozoic volcanism to tectonism. Cenozoic geology of the blue mountains region book, 1990. Caught between converging crustal plates, the orrs write, the pacific northwest faces a future of massive earthquakes and tsunamis. The principal deposits are in baker and grant counties, though. Nicholas testa oregon department of transportation environmental section july 2000. A huge lava flow, 50 60 m thick, covered most of the blue mountains. If in search of ancient oregon was geological science with poetry, wonder, and artful photography, then this is the more stoic, technical textbook. The geology of the blue mountains records much of the early permian 295ma to middle triassic 240ma fig2 sedimentation on the stable, western margin of the sydney basin. The john day country of today covers an area of 4,0005,000 square miles in the southwestern part of the blue mountain region of oregon, and is in the borderland between two major geologic provinces. This coffeetable book includes a foreword by don snow, an afterword by. Bob carson of walla walla captured the essence and mystique of the modest yet endearing mountain range in his new book the blues.
For many years i focused on climbing the cascade peaks, and neglected oregon s rich variety of geology and ecosystems. Past and present with the exception of israel russells 1905 reconnaissance of central oregon that included an extensive look at both the geology and water resources. They can be found in colors that range from clear through yellow, orange, pink, red, green, and blue. They contain gold and silver veins, copper deposits, goldbearing gravels, ores of iron, manganese, and chromium, coal, limestone, and gypsum. The blue mountains indeed look blue from a distance, a formidable range rising to more than 9,000 feet2,743 meters and stretching from the columbia river southeast to the snake river.
Visit blue mountain for free ecards and printable cards for birthday, christmas, and more. Featured hikes in this forest type can be found in the south cascades, klamathlakeview, northern blue mountains, blue mountains, and wallowas regions. Geology of the wallowa terrane, blue mountains province, in the. Regional gravity data clearly show a zone of southwestnortheast lineations across oregon that defines a major crustal lineament. Dogami bulletin 61, gold and silver in oregon, 1968, by h. Concentrations on bedrock and in gravels extent of the placer deposits waldemar lindgren february 14, 1860 november 3, 1939 was a swedishamerican the gold belt of the blue mountains. This book is a 6 x 9 paperback with 274 pages loaded with 101 locations in the pacific northwest where you can go out and find gold. Geology of the wallowa terrane, blue mountains province, in. Volcanoes were the first hidden secret that influenced the pattern of settlement on bells line of road. Typical tree species include the douglas fir the state tree, as well as redwood, ponderosa pine, western red cedar, and hemlock.
The other four terranes are baker, grindstone, olds ferry, and izee. Creek and silvies river both originate in the blue mountains. Gold panning the pacific northwest by garret romaine. Book chapter paleomagnetism and rotation history of the blue mountains, oregon, usa authors. A comprehensive treatment of the states geologic history, oregon geology moves through oregons regions to closely examine the unique geologic features of each, from the blue mountains to the willamette. While modest, the blue mountains still boasts its own. Volcanic activity has also left its mark on the blue mountains. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Your onestop source for new, rare and outofprint information on the mining and mineral industry. Geology most of the blue mountains are underlain by the columbia river basalt group crb lava flows, primarily the grande ronde basalt, which erupted around 16. Geology of the blue mountains region of oregon, idaho, and.
Oregon historical mining information mining claim record. Carson loves the blue mountains would be an understatement. Blue mountains, range curving northeastward for 190 mi 310 km from central oregon to southeastern washington, u. Robert carson, professor of geology emeritus whitman college.
When the first edition of roadside geology of oregon was published in 1978, it was revolutionarythe first book in a series designed to educate, inspire, and wow nongeologists. Book celebrates blue mountains of the pacific northwest. The blue mountains, or simply the blues, occupy more than 4,000 square miles of eastern oregon and washington. Geological history of the blue mountains comleroy road. Ponderosa pine are more common in the blue mountains in the eastern part of the state and firs are more common in the west. She teaches a variety of courses, including structural geology, field geology, and geophotography. The gold belt of the blue mountains of oregon, afb, pages 551 776, 16 plates, 10 figs.
Geologic features in the region range from the ancient klamathsiskiyou mountains to the geologically young high cascade mountains. Geology of the blue mountains region of oregon, idaho, and washington. The wallowa terrane includes plutonic, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks that are as old as middle permian and as young as late early cretaceous. The highest peaks are the elkhorn mountains in oregon, which reach an elevation of 9,108 feet. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. Oregon geology and mining history catalog i federal. Amer basalt basin and range block blue mountains butte caldera california canyon cascade range cave cenozoic central oregon coast range coastal columbia river basalts cones continental county crater creek cretaceous crust crustal deposits deschutes east eastern oregon eocene erosion eruptions extends fault feet formation fossils geology geology. This web site was created to familiarize you with the geology of hells canyon and the blue mountains, to provide geologic resources including seminal papers and books, and to keep you abreast of current geologic research in the region.
Ellen morris bishop visit tropical islands sequestered in the wallowa mountains, ancient volcanoes in the depths of hells canyon, and cascade valleys carved by glaciers towering far above your head. Tucked away up on the far north side of the sheep rock unit in central oregons john day fossil beds, the bluehued canyon. The range reaches a width of 68 mi and an average elevation of about 6,500 ft 2,000 m. When the eruptions ceased in early pliocene time about 10 million years ago, the entire blue mountain region probably resembled the eastern part of the cascade mountains in oregon today, particularly the area between mt. Sports outdoors while modest, the blue mountains still boasts its own beauty, walla walla writer says. Geology of the wallowa terrane, blue mountains province. Blue mountain outpost highway 204, weston, oregon 97886 rated 4. Lindgren, waldemar 1901, the gold belt of the blue mountains of eastern oregon, usgs annual report no. Nov 28, 2018 the blues are a long anticlinal ridge composed mostly of basalt flows. Natural history of the blue mountains of northeastern. This paper includes paleomagnetic results from a reconnaissance study of jurassic sedimentary rocks of the supleeizee area dickinson and vigrass, 1965 of the blue mountains in eastcentral oregon. Gold and silver in oregon mining geology book mining books. Most this lava seems to have come from volcanoes or fissures in a single area but geologists have not been able to discover exactly where that was because all of the remnants eroded away long, long ago.
Its existence is supported by geologic and geophysical data. Natural history of the blue mountains of northeastern oregon and southeastern washington gives a comprehensive. A pictorial history of gold mining in the blue mountains of eastern oregon, 2007, by howard brooks, baker county historical society, baker city, oreg. Blue mountains nature blue mountains landscape geology.
The blue mountains cover eight counties across two states. At 23,984 square miles, the blue mountains ecoregion is the largest ecoregion in oregon. The blue mountains ecoregion is a level iii ecoregion designated by the united states environmental protection agency epa in the pacific northwest, mainly in the state of oregon, with small areas over the state border in idaho and southeastern washington. An environmental history, and oregon fossils, second edition osu press. The original version which is now very hard to find and expensive to obtain was published in. Condon, a noted geologist, writes about the klamath mountains in southwest oregon and the blue mountains in northeast oregon, areas containing the states oldest rocks.
Rocks in the blue mountains of eastern oregon and western idaho. Gold and silver in oregon is the most comprehensive publication on the mining history, localities, production, and geology of the gold and silver deposits in the state. During the jurassic, explosive volcanic vents punched holes up through the sedimentary layers of the sydney basin some 200 of them, many in the blue mountains. The wallowa terrane is one of five precenozoic terranes in the blue mountains province of oregon, idaho, and washington. Those mountains just south and east of walla walla. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Geology of the blue mountains region of oregon, idaho, and washington u. A harrowing obstacle for oregon trail pioneers, today this route up into the blues is pure delight, winding past rolling ranchlands, rocky peaks, wild rivers and.
Paleomagnetism and rotation history of the blue mountains. Nov 01, 2019 a comprehensive treatment of the states geologic history, oregon geology moves through oregon s regions to closely examine the unique geologic features of each, from the blue mountains to the willamette valley, from the high lava plains to the coast range. Oregon geology by elizabeth and william orr is the real deal a geologic reference written for and by geologists. Geologists hadnt yet learned that oregons klamath and blue mountains were pieces of fartraveled island arcs and ocean basins that had. The blue mountains, stretching south of walla walla into central oregon, are. These forests are found throughout the southern portion of western oregon, spread across the lowand middleelevation hillsides of the willamette, umpqua, and rogue river valleys. The gold belt of the blue mountains of oregon download pdf. They poured out the immense lava flow that covered the mountains 14 20 million years ago, and blasted their way through the rocks 200 million years ago. Blue mountains mountains, oregonwashington, united.
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