Great Basin and Owyhee Uplands
68. Steens Mountain Loop Road
At Kiger Gorge Overlook on Steens Mountain Loop Road.
GPS Data
Kiger Gorge Overlook located at 8970 feet elevation, 42.42.41
North | 118.34.31 West.
The "Notch" (caused by a glacier).
Kiger Gorge, 25 miles long, 5 miles wide, approximately
.75 miles deep.
GPS Data
Left, Center: Vegetation at 6504 feet elevation, 42.45.18
North | 118.42.33 West.
Right: Aspen trees at 7493 feet elevation,42.43.35 North | 118.37.53
West.
GPS Data
Above: Vegetation at Kiger Gorge Overlook located at 8970
feet elevation, 42.42.41 North | 118.34.31 West.
Big Indian Canyon.
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Geomorphology
The Steens is single, huge fault block mountain, 50 miles long and the highest
in southeastern Oregon, and one of the largest in the world. Its precipitouseast
face rises nearly a mile above the Alvord Desert at its foot. On the west
its slopes more gently down to the well watered Blitzen Valley. Snow and
rain that fall on the mountain drain to the west and then flow north through
rich tule marshes and meadows to Malheur Lake. During the last ice age,
ice and snow built up on Steens Mountain it was the only region in the Basin
and Range to support large ice masses. The images above with a "notch"
reveal where glacial ice broke through the crest of the mountain. Looking
down at Kiger Gorge reveals one of the clearest pictures in America of swinging
U-shaped path left by a glacier. (See image) The basic dimensions of Kiger
Gorege are one-half mile down, five miles wide, 25 miles long. Highest elevation
of Steens Mountain 9,773 feet.
Climate
Due to the continuing presence of snow, Steens Mountain Loop Road does not
usually open until July 1. Sudden storms can occur at any time on Steens
Mountain. Severe winds, rain, lightning, show and wet road conditions may
occur throughout the year. Always bring a coat. (The road has quite a washboard
ride).
Vegetation
See Regional Overview. In the top left image, following the center of Kiger
Gorge, the darker areas are the tops of trees about 30 feet tall. Five vegetation
zones band the mountain. For instance, above 8000 feet expect bunchgrass,
Steens paintbrush, and Cusick;s buckwheat growing here and nowhere else
in the world. Quaking aspen goves dot the 6500-8000 foot zone. Juniper and
low sagebrush dominate between 5500 and 6500 feet elevation. Below 5500
feet, tall sagebrush rules and in the the alkaline playas to the east of
the Steens only salt tolerant species are found.
Wildlife
Mule deer, antelope, Rocky Mountain elk, bighorn sheep, birds of prey, songbirds.
Golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, prairie falcons, kestrels and marsh hawks
are often viewed from Kiger Gorge Overlook. See top images. The plateau
area between the Catlow Rim and the Blitzen River is wildhorse country,
and the the Kiger Mustangs are the well known BLM managed wild horses. See
the Oregon Wildlife Viewing Guide (1994) for important additional
details on wildlife description, viewing information, and directions to
wildlife viewing sites.
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Human Settlement
Indigenous Northen Paiutes lived here in the past. (See Regional Overview.
) Army Major Enoch Steen battled the Paiutes and named the mountain in 1860.
The bottom image is of Big Indian Canyon where large numbers of Indians
came to camp in the summer as late as 1890's. Earlier the US Army established
seven forts ringing the Steens Mountains area in the late 1860's, eventually
exiling Indians to reservations at Yakima and Burns. Peter French arrived
in the Blitzen Valley in 1872 and in 28 years built the largest single cattle
ranch in the United States. Later, Basque sheepherders, working for local
landowners, used the Steens meadows as grazing for sheep. Today the Whitehorse
Ranch on the east side of the Steens is well known and Frenchglen is reminder
of that recent past.
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ExplOregon , CD-ROM, 1995. University of Oregon, Departments
of Geography and Fine and Applied Arts.
Orr, l., Orr, W., and Baldwin, E. 4th Ed., 1992. Geology of Oregon.
. Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, Iowa.
Yuskavitch, J., Oregon Wildlife Viewing Guide , 1994. Falcon
Press, Helena, Montana.
Sullivan, W., Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas . 1988. The Mountaineers,
Seattle.
Steens Mountain Area: Points of Interest . n.d. . BLM, Burns
District Office, Hines, Oregon.
The Secret of the Steens . n.d. . Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior.
Watchable Wildlife: Oregon/Washington.. n.d. . Bureau of Land
Management, Department of the Interior.
Copyright
Phil Kessinger, 1997
Eugene,Oregon USA
All Rights Reserved
phil_k
at
efn.org
Revised December 2002