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The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the northwestern United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into extreme southeastern
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. The range has an area of about , stretching east and southeast of Pendleton, Oregon, to the Snake River along the Oregon–
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
border. The Blue Mountains cover ten counties across two states; they are
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
, Umatilla,
Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...
,
Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...
, Wallowa and Harney counties in Oregon, and Walla Walla,
Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
,
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the t ...
and Asotin counties in Washington. The mountains are unique as the home of the world's largest living organism, a subterranean colonial mycelial mat of the fungus ''
Armillaria ostoyae ''Armillaria ostoyae'' (synonym ''Armillaria solidipes'') is a species of fungus (mushroom), pathogenic to trees, in the family Physalacriaceae. In the western United States, it is the most common variant of the group of species under the na ...
''. The Blue Mountains were named after the color of the mountains when seen from a distance.


Geology

The Blues are
uplift mountains Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...
cbgwma.or
The Columbia River Basalt Group , Continental flood basalt flows , cbgwma.org
accessdate: February 8, 2017
and contain some of the oldest rocks in Oregon. Rocks as old as 400 million years protrude through surrounding Columbia River Basalt flows of 52 million to 6 million years ago.
Geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...
, the Blue Mountains were created as an island arc in the Pacific Ocean and accreted onto the North American plate. Within these terranes are
igneous intrusions Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
which may have intruded before or after accretion. They are made up of several mountain ranges, from the
Ochoco Mountains The Ochoco Mountains are a mountain range in central Oregon in the United States, located at the western end of the Blue Mountains. They were formed when Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic rocks were slowly uplifted by volcanic eruptions to form ...
and
Maury Mountains The Maury Mountains are a mountain range in Crook County, Oregon. Much of the range is within the Ochoco National Forest The Ochoco National Forest is located in the Ochoco Mountains in Central Oregon in the United States, north and east of ...
in the west near
Prineville, Oregon Prineville is a city in and the seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census. History Prineville was founded in 18 ...
, through the
Greenhorn Mountains The Greenhorn Mountains are a mountain range of the Southern Sierra Nevada, in California. They are protected within the Sequoia National Forest. Geography The range is located in eastern Kern County and Tulare County. They are east of the San ...
, the
Aldrich Mountains The Aldrich Mountains are a mountain range in Grant County, Oregon, United States. An east–west range rising south of the John Day River valley, the mountains are bounded on the west by the South Fork John Day River, on the south by Murderers C ...
, and the Strawberry Range, to the
Elkhorn Mountains The Elkhorn Mountains are a mountain range in southwestern Montana, part of the Rocky Mountains and are roughly 300,000 acres (1200 km²) in size. It is an inactive volcanic mountain range with the highest point being Crow Peak at , right n ...
. The tallest peaks are Rock Creek Butte at in the Elkhorn Mountains, and Strawberry Mountain at in the Strawberry Range.


History


Habitation by Native Americans

The river valleys and lower levels of the range were occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Historic tribes of the region included the Walla Walla,
Cayuse people The Cayuse are a Native American tribe in what is now the state of Oregon in the United States. The Cayuse tribe shares a reservation and government in northeastern Oregon with the Umatilla and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the Conf ...
and Umatilla, now acting together as the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are the federally recognized confederations of three Sahaptin-speaking Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited the Columbia River Plateau region: the Cayuse, Umatilla, and ...
, located mostly in Umatilla County, Oregon. The southern portion of the Blue Mountains were inhabited by several different bands of the
Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...
, a
Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
culture. Native American tribes originally migrated to the Blue Mountains for hunting and salmon runs. The Natives used to purposefully burn small parts of the forest in order to create pastures to attract game for hunting.


During westward expansion of the United States

In the mid-1800s, the Blue Mountains were a formidable obstacle to settlers traveling on the Oregon Trail and were often the last mountain range American pioneers had to cross before either reaching southeast Washington near Walla Walla or passing down the
Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...
to the end of the Oregon Trail in the Willamette Valley near Oregon City.


Modern travel

The range is currently traversed by Interstate 84, which crosses the crest of the range at a summit, from south-southeast to north-northwest between La Grande and Pendleton. The community of
Baker City Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census. History ...
is located along the south-eastern flank of the range. U.S. Route 26 crosses the southern portion of the range, traversing the Blue Mountain Summit and reaching an elevation of . It is also crossed by the Union Pacific Railroad's mainline between Portland, Oregon, and Pocatello, Idaho, which crests the summit at
Kamela, Oregon Kamela is an unincorporated community in Union County, Oregon, United States.(no longer supported) It is located west of Interstate 84 about 20 miles northwest of La Grande. There are several stories about how the community got its name. Among ...
. The summit lies on Union Pacific's La Grande Subdivision, which runs between La Grande and Hinkle, the latter of which is the site of a major UP yard.


Wildlife

Birds of the area include
bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...
, northern spotted owl,
Lewis's woodpecker Lewis's woodpecker (''Melanerpes lewis'') is a large North American species of woodpecker which ornithologist Alexander Wilson named after Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the United States of America as pa ...
,
Williamson's sapsucker Williamson's sapsucker (''Sphyrapicus thyroideus'') is a medium-sized woodpecker belonging to the genus '' Sphyrapicus'' (sapsuckers). Habitat and range Breeding habitat is open forested areas with conifers, mainly ponderosa pine, douglas-fi ...
,
red-breasted nuthatch The red-breasted nuthatch (''Sitta canadensis'') is a small songbird. The adult has blue-grey upperparts with cinnamon underparts, a white throat and face with a black stripe through the eyes, a straight grey bill and a black crown. Its call, whi ...
,
golden-crowned kinglet The golden-crowned kinglet (''Regulus satrapa'') is a very small songbird in the family Regulidae that lives throughout much of North America. Description Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and shor ...
and many migratory species, with the riverbanks important habitat for this birdlife. Mammals that move through the mountain grasslands include
Rocky Mountain elk The Rocky Mountain elk (''Cervus canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely wit ...
(including the largest herd in North America at Hells Canyon),
Bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subsp ...
and
Mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...
. Native fish include Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, Redband Trout, Coho Salmon, Bull Trout, and Pacific Lamprey. The Blue Mountains in Washington are home to one of 10 identified elk herds in the state, with a population of approximately 4,500 Rocky Mountain elk as of 2018 across the region. In 1989, in response to a decline in the elk population and a heavy female-biased population, the Washington Fish & Wildlife Department regulated elk hunting in the Washington Blue Mountains with a "spike-only" general hunting season, permitting hunting of only male elk with at least one visible non-branched antler. By the mid 1990s the area then became known for its mature males and trophy hunting. In 2018, Washington State proposed an updated elk management plan intended to improve the health of elk populations and habitats, reduce human conflict and agricultural damage, and managing elk populations for recreational, educational, scientific, and ceremonial purposes. During winter months elk will prefer to use "moderately steep south slopes" rather than northern slopes because of the southern slopes being warmer and containing less snow.


Land management

The public lands in the Blue Mountains are managed not only by the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, but also by land owners and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.


Location

Much of the range is included in the
Malheur National Forest The Malheur National Forest is a National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. It contains more than in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. The forest consists of high desert grasslands, sage, juniper, pine, fir, and other tree species. ...
,
Umatilla National Forest The Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington, covers an area of 1.4 million acres (5,700 km2). In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Umatilla, Grant, Colum ...
, and
Wallowa–Whitman National Forest The Wallowa–Whitman National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. Formed upon the merger of the Wallowa and Whitman national forests in 1954, it is located in the northeastern corner of the state, in ...
. Several wilderness areas encompass remote parts of the range, including the
North Fork Umatilla Wilderness The North Fork Umatilla Wilderness is a wilderness area located inside the Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. It is the smallest wilderness in northeast Oregon, encompassing only in Umatilla and Union count ...
, the
North Fork John Day Wilderness The North Fork John Day Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Umatilla and Wallowa–Whitman National Forests in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. The wilderness consists of four separate units: the main unit of the North Fork J ...
, the
Strawberry Mountain Wilderness Strawberry Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area of the Strawberry Mountain Range, within Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of east Oregon. The area comprises , including mountain peaks and several lakes, and contains more than ...
, and the
Monument Rock Wilderness The Monument Rock Wilderness Area is a wilderness area within the Malheur and Wallowa–Whitman national forests in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. It was designated by the United States Congress in 1984 and comprises . There are appr ...
, all of which are in Oregon. The Wenaha–Tucannon Wilderness sits astride the Oregon–Washington border.


Drainage

The range is drained by several rivers, including the Grande Ronde and Tucannon, tributaries of the Snake, as well as the forks of the John Day, Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers, tributaries of the
Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
. The southernmost portion of the Blue Mountains is drained by the
Silvies River The Silvies River flows for about through Grant and Harney counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river drains of the northern Harney Basin. The headwaters are on the southern flank of the Aldrich Mountains, about south of Mount Vernon i ...
, in the endorheic
Harney Basin The Harney Basin is an endorheic basin in southeastern Oregon in the United States at the northwestern corner of the Great Basin. One of the least populated areas of the contiguous United States, it is located largely in northern Harney County, ...
.


See also

*
List of mountain ranges of Oregon There are at least 50 named mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Oregon. Many of these ranges extend into the neighboring states of California, Idaho, Nevada, and Washington. Elevations and coordinates are from the U.S. Geological Surve ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Mountain ranges of Oregon Mountain ranges of Washington (state) Physiographic sections Landforms of Columbia County, Washington Landforms of Garfield County, Washington Mountain ranges of Grant County, Oregon Landforms of Wallowa County, Oregon Mountain ranges of Baker County, Oregon Landforms of Union County, Oregon Landforms of Umatilla County, Oregon Malheur National Forest Wallowa–Whitman National Forest Umatilla National Forest