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Lake Owhyee
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Lake Owhyee Oregon
Lake Owyhee, Malheur County
(photo courtesy Oregon Department of Transportation)
Lake Owyhee, created by a dam on the Owyhee River, offers
boaters an extraordinary view of Miocene volcanism (about 15
million years ago). Ash from that time preserved plant and
animal fossils that show a much wetter climate. Rhinoceroses
lived next to ancestral horses, deer and antelope. The
off-white ash layers, pinkish-gray rhyolite, and dark colored
basalt create a colorful palette.
The Owyhee Uplands have been uplifted to more than 4,000 feet
above sea level, and the resulting stream erosion has produced
the deep, narrow, winding canyons seen in the area today. The
Owyhee volcanic field includes several calderas, such as at
Grassy Mountain and Mahogany Mountain, that are large collapse
features better recognized by the distribution of specific
types of volcanic rocks rather than by present day topography.
These same volcanic processes have been responsible for
numerous gold occurrences which have been prospecting targets
over the last few years. Typically, the gold occurs as
microscopic particles that have been deposited by hot-spring
systems. Portland State University graduate students often
learn geologic mapping in this area (several theses have been
written and abstracts published in Oregon Geology).
Access: From Interstate I–84 at Ontario south on State Highway
201 toward Adrian. Several roads branch off toward the west to
Lake Owyhee State Park, which offers camping sites. Boat
rentals are available in the area.
Information source: Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries