T» 11 j' XT ClfrC* C * f J R J-M L/O&l*IlUviVC T^PdpriTvii wA PtanlftfrTT VJCUlUe y. t/f ^7 Bulletin No. £52 Series ( Q| Under^round y^ 33 

! DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES J). WALCOTT, J)iRECTOR

PRELIMINARY REPORT

ON THE

GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF 

CENTRAL OREGON

BY

ISRAEL C. RUSSELL

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT' PRINTING OFFICE

1905

CONTENTS.

Page.

Letter of transinittal _':__________..________________ 9

Introduction ________^__________________________ 11

Route of reconnaissance _____________ 11

. Geography _______________.._________________ 12

Topography __________________._ ___ ' 13

General features ______ ____________._ ____.. 13

Great Sandy Desert___________..______________ 13

Classes of elevations __________________________ 13

Summary of topography______________________ 15

Drainage _________ - . . 16

The Great Basin _____________.._____________..__ 16

Crooked River________________________________ 18

Deschutes River ___________.__.___..______._ 19

Climate _________'_________________________ 20

Rainfall ___________.________________________ 20

Temperature ,_________ ______.__._____________:___ 21

Winds _________________-_______________________ 22

Relation to ancient glaciers______,._______________ 22

Forests ______________;____________________.__ 22

Distribution _______________________ 22

Dependence on water supply________________________ 24

Dry and cold timber lines._________________________ 26

General geology _____________________________________ 27

Volcanic recks._,_________________________'_________ 27

Sedimentary formations____________________________._. 28

General surface distribution of rocks ______..______________ 28

Features of the region, by counties. ___ ___________ ____ 29

Malheur County _.__________ _______________ 29

Geology and topography___________'____________ 29

Payette formation _____________________:_____ 29

Volcanic rocks_______________________________ 31

Volcanic dust __.__________________________ 31

Rhyolite and rhyolitic tuff_______ ___________ 32

Drainage and water resources ___.___________________ 34

Harney County _ _______ _______ 36

Geology and topography_____:___________ ___.________ 36

South Fork of Malheur Valley - - ._________________ 37

Crane Creek_________________'_ ----___-_____ 38

Harney Valley______._...____________-____ 39

Saddle Mountain __________________________ 40.

Malheur Lake_____________--_-__.________ 40

Hot spring ___ _ __ _. 41

Wells _________________________________ 41

Soil ____________________._____________ 43

Rhyolitic tuff ___________________________________ 43

3
4 CONTENTS.

Features of the region, by counties Continued. Page. 

Haruey County Continued.

Geology and topography Continued.

Little Sagehen Creek____________________________ 44

Silver Creek__________________________i_____ 45

Prominent peaks..__________________ _________ 46

Iron Mountain___________________ ____... 47

Plasidia Butte_____.___.__:______________ 47

Glass Buttes_____.__________________ 49

Hampton Butte_________.-._______________ 49

Hills and ridges _____________________________ 49

Forested plateau_________________..________ 51

Water resources ____________.._______________.__. __ 52

Surface waters ____________________________ 52

Rivers and streams___________._______-__ 52

Water pockets-..--.._____.._______________ 53

Harney Valley________.._________________ 53

Wells _,__________....__________________- 53

Water storage____._________-___----_________ 54

Crook County______________________.._._____: _____ 54

Crooked River _________________. ____________ 54

Gilchrist Valley_____________'_____________ 55

Warm springs---_____________. ___'..________ 55

Artesian wells___________________________ 56

Price Valley ____________________________ . 57

John Day formation.__________________ 58

Volcanic rocks______________________ 60

Artesian conditions __________________...__ 61

Recent 'erosion ________________________ 62

Hampton Butte.___________________________ 63

Geology ____ _ ___________________ _____ 63

Water resources _______________!_________ 65

Springs ____ _____ __ _____ 65

Water pockets ____ __________________ 67

Great Sandy Desert_______________.._________ 68

Hampton Butte to Button Spring____________________- 68

Button Spring________________ _ _ __-__ 69

Lava caves______________.____________.-_-- 70

Basaltic craters ________________________ 71

. ' Black Mountain ____________________ 78

General geology _________________________ 75

Dry River _________________________________ 76

Pauline Mountains________________..____ 76

Powe'll Butte_-_-___-_____ -------_________________ 77

Deschutes plain ________.____________._______^ 79

Prineville Valley ____________________________________ 82

Geography and geology ___________ _____________ __ 82

Water resources._ ___________ ..__ ____ 83

Surface waters ______ __ _ 83

Wells_________________________ ____ 84

Canyons of Crooked River below Prineville Valley-________ 86

Monument Canyon.___ -__ _____. - __. _ _ ___ 87

Opal Canyon_______......_______.___________ 88

Double canyons_______ ______ _ ______ 88
CONTENTS. 5

Features of the region, by counties Continued. Page! 

Crook County Continued.

Deschutes sand_____.!____.__________..____ , 90

The Haystack country ___________..________________ 91

Soil and settlement.___________________ 91

Water supply______________________________ 92

Volcanic cones.______ _ ____.____________________ 94

Buttes _____:______________..__________ 94

Character and age ____________.______ 94

Pilot Butte ________________________ 95

^ Black Butte _________________..__________ 90

Other buttes _________^_______________'__ 96

Mount Newberry _____________________________ 97

Historical summary____________.____________ 97

Geology ____. . _ _ _______ 98

Amphitheater __________________.___________ 99

Lakes _______.________._____________ 100

Pauline Creek____ _ ____ -____-___-- _________ 101

Water resources___________________ 102

Glacial records ________ _____________________ 103

Recent anclesite craters and lava Hows_________ 105

Recent basalt craters_____'.____________________ 110

Lava Butte_____________________________ 110

Location and general features ______________ 110

Lava delta _________._______ ______ 112

Age of the lava_______-__________________ 115

Faulting _____________ _____________ 115

Lava tunnel. - -__________________ 115

Associated cones._____-- _______________ 116

Behhain Falls ____________________________ 116

Lakes near sources of Deschutes River __________________ 117

Davis Lake ____________________________ 117

Odell Lake________ - _____________________________ 118

Crescent Lake_________________________ 120

Wells _______ _ -__-- -____-___-___ _________________ 122

Irrigable lands _________ _____________________________ 122

Glaciers __ _ __..__.. .. 123

Existing glaciers _____--_--__-__ -__-____________ _ _ 124

On Mount Jefferson___________________L_ _________ 124

On the Three Sisters .__ ___________ _____ 124

Location and size of glaciers_______________ 124

Recent shrinkage.-___ _..______________ 126

Glacier cornices_______________________ 127

Glacial levees________________________ 128

Former glaciers ... ... ... 129

Records _______..__------______________________-, 129

Extent - - ____ ___.___-_--____________--._ .. 130

'Lapilli sheet_______'_____..____ _____._._____________________ 131

Extent and depth____ ________ ___ ___ _ - 131

Composition, source, and age__----_-______-__ __ _ _ 132

Importance ____ _____ _,_ ___..__: 133

Index ___ . - -___ -__-__. ._ . 135

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE I. Outline map of Oregon__________________________ 12

II. A, Concentric jointing in rhyolitic lava, Crowley Creek, Malheur 

Countjr ; B, Erosion columns of volcanic tuff, Cottonwood Canyon, Malheur County ________ _ 1 -- 32

III. Columnar rhyolitic tuff, Gilchrist Valley, near Hampton Butte,

Crook County ___ ______ .. 56

IV. A, B, Eroded John Day beds near Logan Butte, Cl'OOk County 58

V. A, Jointed rhyolitic tuff, summit of Logan Butte, Crook County;

B, Logan Butte, Crook County, looking north ___ 60

VI. A, B, Recent stream channels in alluvium near Price, Crook

County __________________________ ._-- 62

VII. Andesitic agglomerate, east side of Hampton Butte, Crook

County t ______________._______________ ___________ 64

VIII. A, B, C, Basaltic cinder cones near Button Spring, Lake County 72

I.. A, B, C, Views on Crooked River near Prineville, Crook County. 82 

X. Erosion column, Monument Canyon, Crooked River, Crook

County ___________.________________-_____ 86

XI. A, B, Views in Opal Canyon, Crooked River, Crook County___ 88

XII. Jointed hasalt wall of inner canyon, Opal Canyon, Crooked

River, Crook County________________________ 88

XIII. A, B, Views in canyon of Deschutes River, near mouth of

Crooked River ____ ___________^__________ 90

XIV. A, Black Butte, near Sisters, Crook County; B, Odell Butte,

near Odell Lake, Klamath County _________________ 06

XV. A, B, Views in amphitheater of Mount Newberry_________ 98

XVI. A, Falls on Pauline Creek ; B, Benham Falls, Deschutes River. 102

XVII. A, B, Views in Crater No. 5, amphitheater of Mount Newberry_ 10S

XVIIT. Lava Butte, near Beuham Falls ___________________ 1.1.0

XIX. A, South Sister Peak; B, A^? est Sister Peak_____________ 122

XX. A, Nev6 of Diller Glacier and South Sister Peak; B, Lower

margin of Diller Glacier _____^______________ 124

XXI. Lower margin of neve, Hayden Glacier_____________ 124

XXII. A, B, Views of double-crested moraine on south side of Hayden

Glacier _________________________________ 126

XXIII. A, B, Views on Hayden Glacier___________________ 128

XXIV. Glacier cornices on wall of crevasse, Hayden Glacier______ 130 

FIG. 1. Sections of cinder cone with summit lava flow____________ 72

2. Sketch map of Lava Butte and vicinity_______________ 111

3. Cross profile of gorge at outlet of Odell Lake___________-__ 119

4. Cross profile of gorge at outlet of Crescent Lake_________ 121

-7

LETTER OF TRANSM-ITTAL.

DEPARTMENT or THE INTERIOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 

DIVISION or GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY,

Washington, D. C., June ££ '1004.

SIR : I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of a 

Preliminary Report on the Geology and Water Resources of Central 

Oregon, by Israel C.. Russell, and to recommend its publication as a 

bulletin.

The report contains interesting and valuable information concerning a little-known region. The field work on which it is based was 

done under the joint auspices of the western section of hydrology and 

the division of geology and paleontology. Although it contains a 

large amount of information concerning the water resources of the 

region, it is primarily a geologic report, and is therefore offered for 

publication as a bulletin.

Very respectfully, C. W. HAYES,

Geologist in Charge of Geology.

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director United States Geological Survey.

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY AND 

WATER RESOURCES OF CENTRAL OREGON.

By ISRAEL C. RUSSELL.

INTRODUCTION.

ROUTE OF RECONNAISSANCE.

The observations recorded in this paper were made during a rapid 

reconnaissance from east to west through the central part of Oregon 

in the summer of 1903, and are in continuation of similar work in the 

same general region previously done by me, reports concerning which 

have been published." The arrangement of the matter is geographic, 

and the audience addressed consists of the people living in the region 

visited. While my main aim is to indicate where artesian water 

can be had, I have chosen to present the observations made in this 

and other directions in a popular form, with the view of interesting 

those for whom this report is especially intended in the geologic 

history of the land about their homes.

With Messrs. C. E. Wilson and H. C. Dewey as field assistants, I 

left Boise, Idaho, on June 28, with the necessary camp equipage, etc., 

and traveled westward, reaching Burns, Oreg., on July 15. The 

reconnaissance made by me during the previous summer (described 

in Bulletin No. 217) terminated on the west near Burns, and the work 

of the present season practically began there. On leaving Burns the 

route followed led westward through the western portion of Harney 

County, across the southeastern and central portions of Crook County 

by way of Prineville and Sisters, and. thence southward through .the 

northwest portion of Klamath County to Fort Klamath. From- the 

last-named place, in order to reach a convenient locality for disband0 Russell, Israel C., Geological reconnaissance in southern Oregon : Fourth Ann. Kept. 

U. S. Geol. Survey, 1884, pp. 431-464 ; Geology and water resources of the Snake. River 

Tlains of Idaho: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 199,1902, pp. 1-192; Preliminary report on 

artesian hasins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon: Water-Sup, and Irr. 

Paper No. 78, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, pp. 1-51; Notes.on the geology of southwestern 

Idaho and southeastern Oregon: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 217, 1903, pp. 1-83.

11
12 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [HULL. 252.

ing my party, the journey was continued westward across the Cascade 

Mountains to Medford, in Jackson County, a station on the Southern 

Pacific Railroad, which was reached on September 15.

Owing to the absence of railroads in the central portion of Oregon, 

considerable time was occupied in traveling to and away from the 

region concerning which information was desired. During these 

parts of the journey only observations of the most general character 

were undertaken, some of which, however, are set forth in the following pages, as they supplement previous reports.

The region to which attention is here invited is indicated on the 

map forming PI. I. The portion of Oregon referred to is not only 

new to geologists (so far as I am aware, no descriptions of its physical 

features, water resources, or geology are in print), but has not been 

topographically surveyed. The only map available for use during 

my reconnaissance was a map of the State of Oregon, drawn to a 

scale of 12 miles to an inch, published by the General Land Office of 

the Interior Department. To a large extent this map is devoid of 

data in reference to even the more conspicuous elements of the relief 

of the central portion of the State.

The critic who may pass judgment on the value of this report 

should-bear in mind that the observations recorded were made during 

a rapid reconnaissance through a geologically unknown region, without the assistance of a map showing even the major features of the 

topography.

GEOGRAPHY.

The part of Oregon under consideration has been briefly indicated 

above, but its location will perhaps be better understood from a summary account of its relation to the larger features of the drainage of 

the Pacific slope of the United States.

The region examined includes the extreme northern part of the 

Great Basin (an area of about 210,000 square miles situated principally in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and southeastern California, from 

which no streams flow to the ocean) and a part of the drainage area 

of Deschutes River and of its principal tributary, Crooked River, 

which joins it from the east. It lies east of the part of the Cascade 

Mountains included between Mounts Jefferson and Thielsen, and 

north of the extensive region in southern Oregon and northern 

Nevada which was notably deformed by faulting in late geologic time, 

so as to give origin to several deep valleys, now holding lakes of alka1 ine water, such as Abert, Summer, Silver, and Christmas lakes. The 

portion of Oregon and Nevada referred to is unique, owing to the fact 

that it is a lake region in an arid.country, at a distance from lofty 

mountains.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 252 PL. I

L|; A M A

lamath Ageucy

SKETCH MAP OF CENTRAL OREGON

KOUTE OF TRAVEL, INDICATED BY BROKEN LINE

10

Scale 

20

1904

30 40 50 miles
INTRODUCTION. 13 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

GENERAL FEATURES.

The relief of surface in central Oregon presents well-marked contrasts, ranging from the nearly level, featureless surfaces of the desert 

valleys, where the general elevation is about 4,000 feet, to the rugged, 

snow-clad summits of the Cascade Mountains, the highest of Avhich, 

Mount Jefferson, reaches a height of about 10,350 feet. The contrast 

between the region extending 150 or more miles east of the Cascade 

Mountains and the great series of peaks and ridges bounding it on 

the west is so great that the former region, although actually rugged, 

seems by comparison monotonous and lacking in variations in relief 

of surface. But for the overshadowing importance of the great 

mountains on its west border, however, the central portion of the State 

would in general be recognized as mountainous,

GREAT SANDY DESERT.

The most extensive tract of nearly level land is situated in the geographic center of the State and is designated in part on the maps as 

the Great Sandy Desert. This region, termed " sandy " on account of 

the thick sheet of pumiceous sand and dust that covers large portions 

of it, extends from the south-central part of Crook County southeastward across the northeastern portion of Lake County and far into 

Harney County. Its length is in the neighborhood of 150 miles and 

its width from 30 to 50 miles. So nearly uniform is the surface that 

one might drive throughout its length, and even for a much greater 

distance than that indicated above, without meeting any greater 

obstruction than the rigid sagebrush and to indicate the aridity of 

the region without finding a single watering place for men or 

animals.

The boundaries of this vast, nearly smooth tract are indefinite, as it 

is bordered by mountains both of volcanic origin and of upheaval, 

between which lie the extensive valleys that unite to form the central 

plain. On the plain itself there are prominent elevations, either 

standing as isolated buttes or as groups of hills and mountains, which 

are rendered especially conspicuous because of the general smoothness 

of the surfaces from which they rise, as well as by the steepness and, 

in some instances, the ruggedness of their sides.

CLASSES OF ELEVATIONS.

The topographic elevations in central Oregon may be classed in two 

groups hills or mountains and plateaus due to upheaval, and hills or 

mountains produced by volcanic eruptions. Of these two classes the 

second contains by far the greater number of examples. Each of the
14 GEOLOGY AND WATEE EESOUECES, CENTEAL OEEGON. [HULL. 252.

groups of land forms referred to as standing in relief may again be 

divided into those that have derived their most conspicuous characteristics through the action of the forces which brought them into' 

existence, and those that have been modified in an important way by 

erosion. In other words, there are both old and young hills and 

plateaus due to upheaval and old and young volcanic cones. These, 

contrasts in age refer mainly to the degree of topographic development produced by erosion, but also indicate in a general way the relative dates at which the various elevations in each class came into 

existence.

The broad irregular plateaus north of Burns, which extend Avest to 

near Prineville, form an uplifted region, perhaps with many minor 

inequalities, but in general a broad upward swell or anticline produced by upheaval. Its surface has been trenched by streams, but in 

general is not minutely dissected. AbOut 30 miles south of these 

plateaus are Powell Butte and the Pauline Mountains, and in the 

intervening space is a prominent ridge termed locally Pine Mountain. 

Each of these elements is a remnant of a geologically ancient upland 

cut down by erosion.

To the east of the central region rise Steins Mountains, a prominent 

north and south range due to the upheaval and tilting of a large 

block of the earth's crust adjacent to a line of deep earth fractures 

that is, it is a monoclinal or " block mountain." Similar tilted 

blocks form the prominent, generally north-south, ridges in the vicinity of the alkaline lakes to which Lake County owes its name. These 

elevations are mentioned because to a great extent they define the 

boundaries of the less rugged central portion of Oregon traversed 

during the reconnaissance which furnished the data for this paper, 

although, in most instances, no fresh information is here presented 

concerning them.

In central Oregon the most common and most conspicuous elevations are due to volcanic eruptions. In traveling west from Burns 

to Sisters a few old volcanoes are met in the first half of the 

journey, such as Placidia Butte, the Glass Buttes, and Hampton 

Butte, and farther west are seen other ancient craters or much-eroded 

volcanic peaks and numerous young volcanoes. These young volcanoes are situated for the most part in the northern part of Lake 

County and the southwest part of Crook County. Their cones, so 

recent in numerous instances that erosion has not yet broken their 

crater rims, are so numerous that 50 or more can frequently be counted 

in a single view, while a change of a few miles in the position of the 

observer brings perhaps as many more within the range of vision. 

The cones increase in abundance as the Cascade Mountains are 

approached, a fact significant, of the conditions on which the distribution of volcanoes depends.
RUSSELL.] TOPOGKAPHY. 15

The Cascade Mountains border the interior basins and valleys of 

Oregon on the west, crossing the State from north to south in a continuous belt, which, south of the Columbia, is nowhere intersected 

by a transverse valley and across which there are no low passes, 

though at three localities wagon roads have been constructed Avhich 

furnish routes of travel between the interior of Oregon and the 

region west of the mountains. The mountains, so far as known, are 

composed entirely of elevations due to volcanic eruptions, and consist of lava flows and the fragmental products of volcanoes. The 

eastern border of the range in the portion visited, although well de- - 

fined, is not abrupt. In the portion of the border between the 

Three Sisters peaks and Mount Thielsen the recent volcanoes of 

the interior region extend westward and, becoming more and more 

closely associated, merge with the volcanic cones which form the 

Cascade Range. In general it seems to be true that the great number 

of volcanoes forming the Cascades are situated along a.belt of fractures running north and south, from which, at least in the portion of 

the range between the Three Sisters and Mount Thielsen, branching 

fractures trend away toward the southeast. Along both the main 

line of volcanic vents and the extensions from it toward the southeast eruptions have occurred during a long period of time, ranging, 

as the evidence in hand indicates, from early Tertiary to near the 

present day. In general the older volcanoes erupted andesitic lavas, 

Avhile the more recent ones discharged basalt, though marked exceptions to this rule are furnished by certain andesitic volcanoes 

situated about Pauline Lake, which are among the most recent of 

the entire region. The most conspicuous feature of the eastern border of the Cascade Mountairis^is that the range has been built by 

volcanic eruptions, and only subordinate features of the relief are 

due to the work of streams and glaciers. This eastern border does 

not give evidence of being due to a fault or series of faults, as is 

the case of the corresponding eastern- margin of the Sierra Nevada. 

If a displacement of the basement rocks of the range is present, it 

is, so far as known, completely buried beneath more recent volcanic 

ejecta. In no part of the border of the range visited during the 

reconnaissance here described do the rocks on which the volcanoes 

rest and through which their conduits were extended appear at the 

surface. This same generalization, I. understand from the observations of others, can be extended to the entire Cascade region in 

Oregon.

SUMMARY OF TOPOGRAPHY.

In brief, the topography of central Oregon is characterized by 

the boldness of its elevations, which are due in a minor way to the 

presence of eminences.left by widely extended erosion, but principally to constructive volcanic activity. The valleys between the
16 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

mountains, buttes, hills, etc., are, in general, level floored, owing in 

part to the deposition of alluvium brought from the uplands by 

streams, but mainly to the extensive lava flows and the wide distribution of fragmental material blown out of volcanoes in the condition of gravel (lapilli) and dust. Sheets of basalt which have 

invaded the valleys and given them level floors, occur widely 

throughout the central part of the State, and in many localities form 

the present surface. These lava sheets range in thickness from 80 

to 100 feet, as an average minimum, up to probably several hundred 

feet. In certain localities, as along Deschutes River, in the vicinity 

of the mouth of Crooked River, the recent basalt rests on stratified 

lapilli, the revealed thickness of which is about 800 feet. The extent 

and thickness of these modern volcanic products, both liquid and 

fragmental, have changed the topography of the land, and, by filling 

the depressions, have tended to subdue the relief. The valleys, like 

many of the uplands, are constructional topographic forms.

Later than the spreading out of the deposits just referred to came a 

heavy and widely distributed sliower of pumiceous fragments, ranging in size from dust particles to masses of highly vesicular pumice 

2 to 3 feet in diameter, which still remains on the plains and mountains and ranges in thickness up to at least 70 feet. This covering 

of the land lies on it like a great snowfall, over an extent of several 

thousand square miles, particularly to the east of the Cascades. It 

also extends over the mountains and down their western slopes for a 

score or more miles. It not only has produced many changes in the 

minor features of the relief, but on account of its extreme porosity is 

one of the leading factors controlling the agricultural value of the 

country it covers.

DRAINAGE.

THE GREAT BASIN.

The feature of the surface drainage of central Oregon of greatest 

interest to geographers is that the Great Basin there reaches its northern limit. The most northern point on the rim of the region of interior drainage is in eastern Oregon, at the head of Silvies River, which 

flows southeastward and empties into Malheur Lake. To the west of 

the country sloping to Malheur and Harney lakes the Great Basin 

divide passes westward through an arid region, where the valleys are 

broad, nearly level floored, and in large part without stream channels. In the portion of its course between Glass Butte and Pauline 

Mountain the slope of the surface is so gentle that a careful survey 

would be required in order to determine where the parting between 

streams flowing south to some one of the neighboring drainless basins 

and those flowing north to Deschutes River and the Columbia would 

be in case precipitation should become sufficiently abundant to form
HUSSKLU] DRAINAGE. 17

a surface run-off. From the Pauline Mountains southwest to the bold 

cliffs overlooking East Lake on the east and thence southwest to the 

Walker Mountains the divide is well marked in the relief of the land, 

although the deep surface layer of pumiceous dust and lapilli in that 

region prevents to a great extent the occurrence of streams. South 

of the Walker Range the divide is irregular, marking the water 

parting between the numerous streams flowing southwest and south 

to Klamath and Goose lakes and those flowing north to Silver and 

Summer lakes. The boundary in the region just referred to is 

again difficult to determine, for the reason that Goose Lake, although 

fresh, overflows only during high-water stages. At certain seasons it 

is to be reckoned as occupying one of the many component depressions of the Great Basin, and at other seasons as a part of the Sacramento drainage system.

The portion of the Great Basin in south-central Oregon comprises 

the country west of Harney and Malheur lakes and.north of Warner, 

Abert, Summer, and Silver lakes, and also about,forty townships 

northeast of the Glass Buttes. It is practically without surface 

streams, owing to the small precipitation, the porous character of the 

soil, and the fissured condition of the underlying lava sheets. The 

characteristics of the country within the northern portion of the 

Great Basin and of the region adjacent to it on the northwest are 

essentially the same. That is. the entire region shares in the same 

general geologic and climatic conditions; the valleys are occupied 

for the most part by basaltic lava flows; the surface over broad 

areas is composed of loose, porous material, largely volcanic dust and 

lapilli; the rainfall is small; and surf ace streams are generally absent.

A characteristic feature of the Great Sandy Desert and of the 

adjacent country, and closely related to the present drainage, is the 

presence of eroded valleys and canyons disproportionately large in 

reference to the weak streams now occupying them, and what is even 

more conspicuous, the presence in several instances of stream channels 

no longer occupied by water. These features are similar to and. in 

fact, form a part of the characteristics of the Great Basin and of 

much of the country adjacent to it, particularly on the north, showing that what is now an arid country was formerly well watered. 

This is also shown by the well-known greater extent of many of the 

lakes of the"Great Basin region during a former period.

In central' Oregon one of the most conspicuous records of formerly 

greater precipitation, at such a late geological period that the country 

had its present relief, is furnished by an old river channel, which 

leads northwest from the vicinity of the Glass Buttes and joins the 

canyon through which Deschutes River flows. The length of this 

now streamless channel is about 75 miles. Its course is in the main 

Bull. 252 05 M 2
18 GEOLOGY AND WATEK EESOUKCES, CENTRAL OEEGON. [HULL. 252.

well defined, and in certain localities, as a few miles north of Pauline 

Mountain, it is a narrow steep-sided canyon at least 300 or 400 feet 

deep, cut in basalt. During winter seasons portions of this channel 

are occupied by running streams, and in summer an occasional water 

pocket occurs in it, but the inhabitants of the region traversed by it 

assert that it has never been known to receive sufficient water to 

form a continuous stream. The reason for the abandonment of the 

channel referred to does not seem to be solely a decrease in humidity, 

howeA^er, as the lower portion of its course is through a region that 

has recently been deeply covered with loose volcanic dust and lapilli 

and crossed by open-textured lava flows. These additions to the surface, which, as will be described later, haAre caused conspicuous 

changes in the history of Deschutes River, have also exerted a yet 

more important influence on this weak tributary.

CROOKED RIVER.

In central Oregon, to the north of the Great Basin and of the adjacent region which slopes toward Deschutes River but has no perennial 

streams, is situated a rugged plateau drained by Crooked River. 

This stream, of much importance to the country in which it is located, 

has its source in a number of copious warm springs about 10 miles 

east of Hampton Butte, and flows north and west through steep-sided 

canyons all the way to its junction with the Deschutes, a distance of 

about 115 miles. In its upper portion, just after leaving the alkaline 

marsh in which it rises, it receives copious contributions from springs, 

and in its progress rapidly increases in volume, even in late summer, 

when there is no surface run-off. It is reported to receive contributions from other springs at various localities along its course until it 

nears Prineville. Below that toAvn it diminishes in volume, and in

late summer its bed near Forest, about 12 miles below Prineville, is 

frequently dry. This marked decrease is now due largely to the use 

of the water of thejstream for irrigation in the expanded 'portion of 

its canyon below Prineville, but under strictly natural condition's it is 

known to have experienced conspicuous seasonal variations. When 

the volume of the stream diminishes below Prineville, it exhibits the 

characteristics common to many streams that flow from the uplands 

of arid regions and suffer absorption and evaporation as they pass 

through the lower portion of their courses where springs are, absent. 

Owing to the absence of saturation at any but great depths, percolation is away from instead of toward the stream channels, and such 

flow as persists becomes tepid, more or less alkaline, and unwholesome. 

Another and still more remarkable change occurs lower down the 

channel of Crooked River, about 10 miles northwest of Forest, 

where springs of great volume appear in its bed and along "its sides.
RUSSKLL.] DKAINAC4E. 19

One of these springs, conspicuous on account of its large volume, is 

known as Opal Spring, for the reason that in the sands it brings to 

the surface are kernels and grains of opal, derived from the basaltic 

rock through which its supplying conduit passes. Other springs 

come in near at hand, and the river quickly becomes a rushing torrent 

of clear, cool water. The volume is here about 200 cubic feet per second, practically all of which comes from springs. This conspicuous instance of copious springs rising in the lower course of a river 

in an arid region finds its explanation in the depth and wide extent 

of the loose volcanic debris through which the river has cut its present canyon, as will be described more fully in discussing the interesting geology of the Deschutes basin (p. 117).

DESCHUTES RIVER.

The conspicuously arid and treeless portion of central Oregon

merges on the west into a less arid region drained by Deschutes River. 

This fine stream of clear, cool Avater has its main sources on the east 

slope of the Cascade Mountains, between the Three Sisters peaks and 

Mount Thielsen, flows northward, and joins the Columbia about 15 

miles above The Dalles. The country it drains is forested and holds 

several lakes, of Avhich Davis, Odell, and Crescent are the largest. 

These lakes are exceedingly beautiful on account of the clearness of 

their Avaters and the primeval Avildness of the forest-covered mountains about them. OAving to the retention of the main tributaries of 

the river in lakes, as Avell as the shelter afforded the land by its nearly 

universal forest covering, which breaks the force of the descending 

rain, its Avaters are conspicuously clear. Another and still more 

important factor leading to this same result is .the presence over a 

large part and, as it seems, nearly the whole of the region drained by 

the head branches of the river, of a thick surface sheet of pumiceous 

dust and lapilli. This mantle of porous debris acts as a filter, and 

the many copious springs issuing from it are clear and cool.

The tributaries of the Deschutes above the mouth of Crooked 

RiA^er come mainly from the Avest and drain the east slope of the Cascade Mountains. The most marked exception, in reference to direction 

of floAv, is Pauline Creek, Avhich has its source in a lake of the same 

name,,-situated in the summit portion of an old and deeply eroded volcanic mountain about 35 miles east of the crest of the Cascade Mountains. The AValker Mountains, also situated Avell to the east of the 

Cascades, send some tribute to the Deschutes. The streams just 

referred to, like the tributaries of the main river from the Avest, floAv 

over a region deeply coA^ered Avith pumice, and are clear and cold.

OAving to the efficient filtering the Avater of the Deschutes receives, 

and also to the influence'of the several lakes discharging into it, Avhich
20 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

serve as settling basins, its waters are conspicuously clear. It is a 

swift-floAving stream, broken by many rapids and cascades, where its 

greenish-blue waters are churned into foam, and is a delight to the 

beholder on account of its beautiful colors, refreshing coolness, and 

the frequently picturesque and, in some localities, impressive scenery 

of its canyon Avails, as well as a blessing to the arid region, to which it 

brings its flood of \vater for irrigation and other purposes. It is 

also an attraction to the angler, as its Avaters are abundantly stocked 

with trout. Salmon ascend its lower portion, but on account of falls 

do not reach its upper course.

In addition to the features just described, the Deschutes is of especial interest to geographers, as it exhibits certain peculiarities not 

commonly met with. Although floAving from high mountains on 

which precipitation varies conspicuously with seasonal changes and 

where SHOAV melts rapidly as the heat of summer increases, its -volume, 

throughout a large section of its course, is practically constant 

throughout the year. From the mouth of Crooked RiA^er upstream 

' to Benham Falls, near Lava Butte, a distance of about 50 miles, the 

variations in the height of the river throughout the year is not more 

than 8, or perhaps 10, inches Avhere the Avidth is not abnormally 

restricted. Wooden bridges which cross the river in the portion of 

its course referred to are placed only tAvo or three feet above its surface during the summer stage, and eA^en the amount of space thus 

afforded beneath their floors is determined by the height of the 

approaches and not by the fluctuations in the surface level of the 

Avater.

The reason for the practically constant volume of the Deschutes 

betAveen Benham Falls and the mouth of Crooked River is mainly 

because it is bordered throughout a part of its course in this section 

by cellular lava, of recent date, into which its waters flow wheil a 

tendency to rise is experienced. This and other instructive features 

of the river Avill be described later in this report (p. 117).

CLIMATE. 

RAINFALL.

By reference to the general Aveather maps of the United States, 

issued by the Weather Bureau,0 it Avill be seen that this portion of 

central Oregon, lying in the northern part of the extensive arid region 

Avlrich intervenes betAveen the Rocky Mountains on the east and the 

Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains on the Avest, is credited 

Avith a mean annual rainfall of betAveen 10 and 20 inches. While 

these figures express the average of such weather observations as

"Rainfall and snow of the United States, compiled to the end of 1891. Atlas, Bull. C, 

U. S. Weather Bureau, 1894.
RUSSELL.] CLIMATE. 21

were available at the time the maps referred to were published, they 

give a higher average than now seems justifiable. Records kept during the past five years, although somewhat irregularly, at Prineville, 

Farewell Bend, and Silver Lake, in. the central and southwestern portions of Crook County, indicate that the average yearly precipitation 

in the valleys of that region is about 8 inches.

That these records, though meager, do not pertain to exceptionally dry conditions at the points of observation is apparent to one 

traveling through the section of the State where they were made. 

Indeed, if there is any exception to be noted, it is in the direction of 

ascribing even greater aridity to the more sparsely inhabited portions 

of the county adjacent. Although no weather records are available 

concerning the Great Sandy Desert, the nature of the vegetation, and 

especially the absence of juniper trees over vast areas, as well as the 

lack of streams and springs, indicate that it is more arid than the 

country about Prineville, Farewell Bend, and Silver Lake, where 

junipers thrive. This conclusion needs to be qualified, however, by' 

the recognition of the fact that both the Great Sandy Desert and the 

region adjacent on the west are covered to a depth of many feet, in 

places fully 50 feet, with a layer of pumiceous gravel and dust, which 

permits the quick descent of surface waters.

But even after giving due consideration to the influence of the 

physical condition of the soil on vegetation it is apparent that the controlling element of the climate of central Oregon is aridity. The 

small amount of annual precipitation falls principally during the 

winter months and largely in the form of snow. A notable fact in 

reference to the rainfall is the strong contrast between the arid 

country at the east base of the Cascade Mountains and the wellwatered higher peaks of that range, which are white with snow 

throughout the year, and which descend on the west into a decidedly 

humid region. Farewell Bend, for example, with a mean annual 

precipitation of about 7 inches, situated on the Deschutes River near 

Pilot Butte, at an elevation of approximately 3,700 feet, is only about 

20 miles east of the snow fields on the neighboring portion of the 

Cascade Mountains, and not oyer 100 miles from the coast region 

of Oregon, where the mean annual precipitation is 70 or more inches.

TEMPERATURE.

OAving to the dryness of the air both the daily and yearly range in 

temperature is great. On the broad desert-like valleys in summer the 

thermometer, which frequently registers 100° F. or more in the shade 

at noon, drops so rapidly in the evenings, owing to the active radiation, that the nights are cold and occasionally marked by frost. In 

winter the temperature frequently drops to zero or lower and the 

skies are prevailingly cloudy, though only a few inches of snow lies 

on the ground for any considerable time.
22 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BOLL. 252.

WINDS.

There are at least two features of the weather of Avest-central 

Oregon that should repay careful investigation because of their 

bearing on interesting climatic questions and on the former distribution of glaciers. One is the absence, so far as I have been able to 

learn, in the vicinity of the Cascade Mountains of what are termed 

" chinook winds," which are of the same nature as the foehn winds of 

central Europe. These winds, as is well known, are warm, diying 

currents of air which blow during the winter months and cause a 

rapid melting, or rather evaporation, of the snow, if any be present. 

The localities where these winds occur are lowlands or valleys on the 

leeward side of high mountains, across which the air currents move. 

The accepted explanation of the warmth and dryness of chinook 

. winds is that the air in passing across a mountain range parts with 

some of its moisture, which falls as snow, and on descending into 

adjacent valleys is warmed by compression and in consequence of its 

increase in temperature has its capacity for moisture increased. It 

would seem that the topographic conditions in west-central Oregon 

adjacent to the east base of the Cascade Mountains are most favorable for the production of such winds, but the inhabitants of the 

region, many of whom are familiar with the nature of chinook winds 

elsewhere, report that they do not occur.

RELATION OF CLIMATE TO ANCIENT GLACIERS.

The second suggestion in reference to the climate of the region in 

central Oregon to the east of the Cascades is what seems to be an 

abnormally, low mean annual temperature for its geographic position 

and its elevation above sea level. This suggestion is not based on 

accurate observations and would perhaps not be worthy of mention 

if it were not that glaciers during recent geologic time (Pleistocene) 

had a surprisingly great development in the same section of the 

State. The existence of some relation between the former extent of 

glaciers and the present distributions of precipitation and of temperature has been shown. In this instance, however, what is now a cool, 

arid region was formerly occupied by extensive glaciers. The study 

of the two phenomena together might result in instructive conclusions 

in reference to the causes of glacial conditions.

FORESTS.

DISTRIBUTION.

In reference to the distribution of trees over central Oregon and 

the relation of the species of trees present to climatic and soil conditions, the portion of the State visited presents marked contrasts.
FORESTS. 23

 The magnificent forest, principally of pines, firs, and cedars, which 

clothes the part of Oregon situated west of the Cascade Mountains 

extends eastward across that range, with but little change in.its general characteristics until the valleys of the Avest-central part of the 

State are reached, in which locality a decided change begins.

The Cascades are forest-covered on both their east and their west 

slopes up to an elevation of about 8,000 feet, and, as comparatively 

few peaks rise above that height, nearly the entire range is dark 

with evergreens!, but few bare cliffs or crags being visible. The few 

great peaks that do rise above the general crest line of the range, 

like Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, the Three Sisters peaks, Bachelor 

Mountain, Diamond Peak, and Mount Thielsen, are covered with 

perpetual snow, except where the slopes are precipitous. This forest 

has been invaded by lumbermen to only a slight extent and, barring

the destruction due to fires, nearly everywhere recognizable, still

retains its natural wildness and pristine beauty.

On the east side of the mountains the forest, while it descends to 

their base and advances into the adjacent arid'valleys, exhibits a 

change due to a decrease in humidity. Firs, sugar pines, and cedars, 

which occur on the slopes of the range, do not appear in the valleys. 

The yellow pine, however, which is the most abundant tree on the 

eastern side of the range, and which has adapted itself: to a wide 

range of climatic and soil conditions, forms an open forest which 

extends well into the arid portion of central Oregon, including the 

southwest part of Crook County and the adjacent portions of Klamath and Lake counties, reaching nearly to Christmas Lake, and covering the Pauline Mountains, which are situated 50 miles east of the 

crest of the Cascades.

Beyond the frequently sharply defined eastern limit of this widely 

distributed species is a still more open growth of juniper trees, 

which in turn die out in the valleys where the soil is light and porous 

and the precipitation meager. East of these barren valleys of central Crook County, junipers, succeeded on the higher lands by yellow 

pines, again appear and extend southeastward across Lake County 

and far into Harney County.

The table-lands and low, broad mountains in the region drained 

by -Crooked River and farther eastward, reaching nearly to Burns 

and Harney, are clothed with a fine forest of yellow pine. The 

forests on both the west and the northeast border of the treeless central part of Oregon are not only extensive, but contain magnificent, 

well-grown trees, Avhich will be of great commercial value when railroads shall have been built, which will bring them within reach of 

markets. The lumber resources of .Oregon to the east of the Cascades 

are immense, but owing largely to the surprisingly small extension 

of railroads in that portion of the State but little seems to be gen-
24 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [HULL. 252.

erally known concerning its timber resources. It is fortunate that 

these great forests have escaped the demands of industry so long, 

as large portions of them have now been included in national forest 

reserves and can be utilized under the supervision of skilled foresters, 

so that their continuance is assured.

DEPENDENCE OF FORESTS ON WATER SUPPLY.

The striking contrasts seen in central Oregon in the distribution 

of trees may be indicated by describing briefly some' observations 

made from a few of the more commanding mountains and isolated 

buttes that were visited.

One of the most conspicuous landmarks in the eastern part of this 

field is Placidia Butte, situated in Harney County, about 8 miles 

from its western boundary, in the midst of the vast tract of arid 

land that extends westward from Harney Lake. Placidia Butte 

is an old basaltic volcano, the crater of which, if one ever existed, 

has been broken and defaced by erosion until only a single sharp 

summit remains, appearing as a cone when observed at a distance 

from any point of view. The butte has an elevation of 700 to 800 

feet above the neighboring plain and gives from its top an unobstructed view over a great extent of country. On looking southeastward the eye ranges over a basaltic plain which descends gradually until, at a distance of 20 miles, the Avhite salt-incrusted shore 

of Little Silver Lake is seen, beyond which the bare summits of 

Iron Mountain and other and more distinct elevations south of 

Harney Lake can be distinguished. There is not a tree on the vast 

stony plain. In fact, with the exception of a few dwarfed junipers 

on adjacent ridges, not a tree can be distinguished within the field 

of view, although the dark shading on the mountains to the north 

is due to the presence of the forest of yellow pines that covers the 

hills and table-lands to the northwest of Burns. The landscape to 

the west is far extended, but is also' barren and lifeless, with here 

and there depressions containing small ephemeral water pockets, 

the shores of which are white with saline incrustations. Far away, 

at a distance of about 145 miles, gleams the white conical summit of 

Mount Jefferson. To the southwest, shutting out from view the 

Cascade Mountains in that direction, are Pauline and Walker mountains, situated well within the arid region, but, on account of their 

height, dark with forests. To the south many ruddy hills are in 

sight, but they are bare of all vegetation except the ever-present 

sagebrush and its usual associates on arid plains. Bunch grass is 

abundant, but, owing to the almost total lack of water in summer 

within a radius of a score or more miles, the pastures are but little 

utilized.
BUSSEM,.] 1'OKESTS. - 25

The general characteristics of the country, which ,are conspicuous 

to an observer standing on Placidia Butte, pertain also to the region 

in view from the summit of Glass Buttes, situated 20 miles to 

the west, and again to that seen from the top of an old companion 

volcano, known as Hampton Butte, which rises from the adjacent 

sagebush valleys about 15 miles still farther to the northwest. Each 

of these prominent and deeply stream-sculptured mountains has 

a height of approximately 1,500 feet above the adjacent plains, and 

each bears groves of pines on the shaded northern slopes of its steep 

ridges, but for the most part only sagebrush, bunch grass, and their 

usual associates on its other portions. While the forests of the plateaus and mountains to the southwest of Burns are in sight from the 

summit of Hampton and Glass buttes, and while dark areas, like the 

shadows of clouds, mark the sites of open growth of gnarled and aged 

junipers on the desert plain to the west and south, the far-reaching landscape everywhere bears evidence of the dearth of water. The 

Glass Buttes rise boldly from a barren plain, and to reach them 

by the most favorable route one must.traverse at least 12 miles of 

nearly flat sagebrush-covered land. This statement, however, does 

not convey an adequate idea of their isolation, as the watering places 

throughout the region are wide apart and in most instances are but 

small openings in the sands in which the diminished extremities of 

brooks have sunk into the soil. The few watering places, separated 

by ANdde intervals, in the surrounding country are well known to the 

residents of the region, and can readily be found by the stranger by 

following the well-beaten trails, but one might travel in a straight 

line almost in any direction from the buttes for distances of 40, 50, or 

more miles without discovering a flowing stream or a spring. So desolate is the country and so widely scattered are the few places where 

water can be had that even experienced' " cowboys " in attempting to 

traverse it have in some instances become lost during storms and 

have nearly perished from thirst.

Few localities in the continental portion of the United States present to view a greater extent of mountains or offer for study a more 

interesting assemblage of topographic forms than may be beheld 

from the summit of any one of the many isolated volcanic cones and 

craters which rise from the sagebrush valleys and broad desert plains 

of central Oregon. These elevations also afford excellent localities 

for observing the distribution of trees. The dark forest mantle 

which clothes the entire Cascade Range with the exception of its 

higher spires and more lofty craters may be seen descending their 

eastern slopes and extending far out on the lower and less rugged 

country adjacent to their well-defined base, ending in an irregular 

line in. the shadeless valleys. The conditions favoring or opposing 

the growth of trees are there delicately balanced, and each variation
26 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. I BUU,. 282.

in the nature of the soil, in elevation, or in position in reference to the 

mountains finds expression in the tints of the vegetation. Adjacent 

to the base of the Cascades and within what may be termed their 

rain shadoAV, the hills and valleys alike are dark with forest trees, 

which lessen the sharpness of the relief of the land. Farther eastward elevation becomes the controlling factor, and only the hills and 

the isolated mountains have a forest covering, the valleys beingbroad expanses of russet brown and gray, the characteristic colors of 

sagebrush lands. Farther from the great mountains only the summits of the higher elevations support trees, which, in such localities, 

are in many instances confined to the northern or shaded and consequently less arid slopes of peaks and ridges. Well within the arid 

region even prominent hills are without vegetation of higher growth 

than the all-embracing sagebrush.

DRY AND COLD TIMBER LINES.

To an observer, where the desolate plains of central Oregon are in 

view at the same time with the near-by snow-covered mountains, the 

fact of there being a " dry timber line " a definite limit to forest 

growth determined mainly by lack of the requisite moisture is fully 

as apparent as is the existence of a " cold timber line," dependent on 

the low mean annual temperature and the destructive action of 

winter storms, etc., in the higher mountains. The recognition of 

these two principal limitations to forest growth furnishes convenient 

terms by which to designate the chief boundaries of arboreal vegetation in such regions as ceritral Oregon, where the forests terminate 

abruptly both above and below. On the Cascade Mountains, in the 

region referred to, the cold timber line has an elevation of about 8,000 

feet, while the dry timber line, marked by the cessation of the yellow 

pine, may be taken as approximately .4,000 feet. The junipers reach 

lower and extend farther into the broad arid valleys than do the 

pines, but even when most abundant can scarcely be considered as 

forming true forests. They also, however, have a lower or desertward limit, determined mainly by decrease in soil moisture, which is 

in advance of or below Avhat may justly be termed the dry timber 

line."

0 The terms cold timber line, dry timber line, and another, the wet timber lino convenient uames by which 'to designate the three most conspicuous natural boundaries 

of forests were proposed by me in the Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. xiv, pp. SO, SI, and were used 

also in Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 109. Objections to the recognition of the names 

referred to, and especially the substitution of cold timber line for the time-honored term 

timber line, have been presented by Dr. C. Hart Merriam in the Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. xiv, 

pp. 114, 115. While it is true, as stated by Merriam, that the word timber line is 

widely current in the sense just stated, yet other limitations to the distribution of forests 

are fully as conspicuous in certain regions and demand recognition. The several conditions which determine the boundaries of forests seem to make it desirable to employ 

the term previously used to designate one of them, in a generic sense, and to recognize 

"species" of timber, or perhaps better, tree, lines. This matter is also briefly discussed 

in the Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. xv. Tan., 1004, pp. 47-40.
BOSSBLL.] GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. 27 

GBNERAJj GEOLOGY.

The rocks of eastern and central Oregon belong to two general 

classes, volcanic and sedimentary, the former being the more abundant and, so far as surface outcrops are concerned, by far the more 

conspicuous.

VOLCANIC ROCKS.

The rocks of Oregon which were derived from volcanoes are mainly 

rhyolites," andesites,6 and basalts. 0' In each of these three classes, 

as defined by chemical and mineralogical composition, there are tAvo 

conspicuous subdivisions based on the physical condition of the 

material at the time of its extrusion from the earth's interior. One 

of these is composed of fragmental products blown out by volcanoes 

during explosive eruptions, such.as volcanic dust, volcanic gravel or

0 Rhyolite; name derived from a Greek word meaning to flow; given to a certain group 

of rocks which owe their origin to the consolidation on cooling, with more or less complete 

crystallization, of certain of the material discharged from volcanoes in a fused condition. 

Rocks of this group usually present subdued shades and tints of red, brown, purple, yellow, gray, etc., and frequently have a handed structure sis if composed of many thin, 

irregular layers, which show variations in color and texture. The edges of the layers, 

when seen in section, usually appear as irregularly curved' bands and lines, or what is 

termed " flow structure." The most abundant minerals present, and the only ones 

usually visible to the unaided eye, are quartz and the variety of feldspar having the 

appearance of clear glass, known as sanadine. Rhyolite contains in general about 74 per 

cent of alumina and several other oxides of the alkaline earths, etc., in smaller proportions. As indicated by its high per cent of silica, the rocks of this class are difficult 

to fuse, a fact which has an important bearing on the forms the lava assumes on cooling 

and also on the shattering of the rock during eruption so as to form fragmental products.

Rhyolitic tuff; is composed of angular fragments, grains, and dust-like particles of rhyolitic lavas which were blown out of volcanoes during explosive eruptions and showered 

on the adjacent land or water, so as to form beds or sheets. The beds of this material 

are commonly more or less consolidated and not infrequently sufficiently compact to be 

used as building stone, although in many instances they retain their original incoherent 

condition and are simply loose gravel, sand, and dust. Their colors have as wide a range 

as those of the associated rhyolitic lava sheets, although perhaps in general more decided ; 

in sunlight they frequently appear brilliant. Both rhyolite and rhyolitic tuff are common in central and eastern Oregon. The latter is used as a building stone at Burns.

6 Andesite ; named from the Andes Mountains; is typically a compact, usually rough 

and porous rock, in which crystals of feldspar and small scales of mica, hornblende, etc., 

may be detected by the unaided eye. The colors are usually some shade of gray, green, 

or red. In chemical composition the andesites are poorer in silica than the rhyolites, 

the percentage ranging from 56 to 70, and are also richer in alumina, the next most 

important constituent, which ranges from 14 to 19 per cent, the remainder of the material 

present being for the most part as oxides of other alkaline-earths. The rock is refractory, 

and during explosive volcanic eruptions is frequently blown out in fragments.

c Basalt; name dating back to the days of the Romans; now used to designate certain 

common rocks of volcanic origin, usually black or greenish black, though frequently red, 

owing to a higher state of oxidation of the iron present. The rock seldom exhibits 

individual minerals to the unaided eye, although grains and kernels of bright green 

oliviue are not uncommon. The essential minerals are auglte, plagiqclase, feldspar, and 

olivine in the normal, variety, together with several accessory minerals. Although 

variable in composition, silica usually forms about 55 per cent, and alumina, lime, magnesia, and oxides of iron and manganese from 7 to perhaps 14 or 16 per cent each. On 

account of the easy fusibility of several of the constituent minerals the rock melts at a 

comparatively low temperature and becomes highly liquid. Basalt in the condition of 

broken fragments is less common than in the case of rhyolites and audesites, and the 

chief products of the volcanoes from which it is extruded take the form of lava flows. 

The black, compact, and frequently columnar rocks of central Oregon are mostly 

basaltic.
28 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

lapilli, and the other of lava flows. The fragmental material was 

discharged in a solid condition, and the lava flows in streams of 

molten rock.

In general the rhyolites and andesites of central Oregon are older 

than the basalts. Certain andesites and andesitic tuffs, however, 

like those described later as occurring about Pauline Lake, are among 

the youngest of the lavas outpoured in the entire region. Again, in 

the'west-central part of the State and including a part at least of the 

Cascade Mountains, there is, as already mentioned, a surface sheet of 

pumice, composed of angular fragments that were showered on the 

land during the explosive eruptions of neighboring volcanoes, and 

that now mantle the surface like a blanket. This material is in large 

part a highly scoriaceous or froth-like andesitic lava, and shows that 

volcanoes discharging such material were in a state of vigorous eruption in west-central Oregon at a recent date.

SEDIMENTARY FORMATIONS.

In addition to the volcanic rocks which cover the greater part of the 

surface of Oregon there are areas hundreds of square miles in extent 

which are occupied by soft and in part unconsolidated sedimentary 

beds of Tertiary age. These beds consist of claj^s, sands, volcanic 

dust, etc., are mostly light colored and frequently white, and in general 

are best exposed in the valleys and in the walls of canyons. The sedimentary beds of Malheur and Harney counties are in part a direct 

continuation of the extensive Payette formation, so admirably exposed 

along Snake River in southwest Idaho. Similar sedimentary beds 

occur in the southeastern part of Crook Count}', as at Logan Butte, 

near Price, and are a part of a. widely distributed formation which is 

well developed on John Day River, from which it has been named.

These Tertiary sedimentary formations are in many places covered

by sheets of basalt, or by layers of consolidated rhyclitic tuff which 

have protected them from erosion. Where the resistant, covering beds 

have been cut through by streams, canyons with rim rocks either of 

basalt or of rhyolltic tuff are a conspicuous feature in the topography. 

The sedimentary beds occur mostly in the valleys, for the reason that 

when exposed without a protecting cover of more resistant material 

they are readily removed by erosion, and thus give origin to depressions. Yet in certain instances, and especially in reference to the John 

Day formation, extensive movements in the rocks have occurred and 

the beds have been elevated so as to form plateaus in which the component layers are now inclined, commonly at angles of 10° to 15°.

GENERAL SURFACE DISTRIBUTION OF ROCKS.

In Malheur and Harney counties rhyolite and rhyolitic tuff are the 

most common of the surface rocks, though basalt of later age has a 

wide distribution, while rocks of a similar character but older than
KUSSKIX.J MALHEUR COUNTY. 29

the eruptions which supplied the rlryolite and with a thickness of at 

least 5,000 feet are admirably exposed in the east-facing escarpment 

of Stein Mountain, as previously reported.

To the west of Harney County, and extending to the east base of the 

Cascade Mountains, basalt predominates, although much eroded andesitic mountains or buttes and widely extended sheets of tuff of the 

same general nature are present. The old volcanic piles are represented by the Glass and Hampton buttes, and the sheets of rhyolite, 

and the still more abundant and more widely spread sheets of rhyolitic tuff, form the surface in the southeast part of Crook County and 

extend eastward into the northern part of Harney County. Basalt 

occupies the surface throughout nearly all of the region bordering the 

Great Sandy Desert and throughout the extensive tract of country in 

the western portion of Crook County drained by Deschutes River. To 

a conspicuous extent, as shown in the canyons of the streams, it occurs

in comparatively thin sheets resting on lacustral deposits or beds of 

stratified volcanic .tuff. The canyon walls are margined above by 

black cliffs or rim rocks of basalt forming the eroded margins of 

sheets which in general are 80 to 125 feet thick. The basalt occurs as 

widely extended sheets, usually, it is presumed,^of Tertiary age, which 

can not be traced to the craters from which they came, and also as 

much later flows of a similar character, which in part occupy canyons 

cut in the older basalt and underlying gravels, sands, and tuffs, and in 

many instances bear a definite and determinable relation to volcanic 

craters which still preserve their constructional forms.

FEATURES OF THE REGION, BY .COUNTIES.

MALHEUR COUNTY.

GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

PAYJSTXE FORMATION.

The Payette formation, which consists principally of unconsolidated sands, clays, gravel, etc., together with important beds of lightcolored and frequently white volcanic dust, and which is widely 

exposed in southwest Idaho, extends westward into Malheur County, 

Oreg., where it forms a large portion of the surface. This formation was crossed during my reconnaissance in 1902, and again in 1903, 

but its entire extent in Malheur County can not, as yet, be stated. It 

occupies the Snake River Valley, from near Owyhee northward 

beyond Ontario, and extends westward to-a locality about 30 miles 

southwest of Vale. Similar beds occur also along the courses of Jordan 

and Succor creeks, and in several other valleys. As exploration progresses it will probably be found that many of the valleys of Malheur 

County are floored to a depth of several hundred feet with soft
30 C4EOLOGY AND WATEE EESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 25:.'.

imconsolidated deposits like those of the Payette formation and 

probably of the same or of approximately the same age. Whether all 

of these deposits are portions of one continuous formation, or were 

laid clown in separate arid contiguous basins, is not as yet determined. 

It is probable, however, that the}' were accumulated in much the 

same manner that beds of like character are now being spread out on 

the surface of the valleys of the same region by existing streams. In 

most of the sediments referred to as being analogous to the Payette 

formation, however, volcanic dust added materially to the depth of 

the deposits.

At Ontario a \vell put down by the city reached a depth of 1,056 

feet, all in soft material, without reaching the bottom of the formation. The surface portion of this deposit is clearly a part of the 

Payette formation, and it is presumed that the entire depth of the 

well is in the same formation. But even the considerable thickness 

of soft material shown by this boring does not give the original thickness of the Payette formation, since at least several hundred feet of 

similar material has been removed by erosion from the surface of the 

region referred to. The material removed has been carried away by 

Malheur River, along which sloping gradation plains, as they are 

termed, lead down to Snake River, the master stream of the country. 

The Snake has also cut down its valley, the material removed having 

been carried through the magnificent canyon it has excavated in its 

course, across .the rugged country where the Seven Devils and the 

Powder River Mountains are located.

From the broad plain through which Malheur River flows, and 

about midway between Ontario and Vale, there rises a conspicuous 

»and picturesque landmark known as Malheur Butte. This in general conical elevation with precipitous sides rises, as determined by

aneroid measure, about 500 feet above the adjacent portion of Malheur River, and from its summit commands a view of a far-reaching 

and instructive landscape. Geologically it is composed of dark basic 

volcanic rock resembling basalt (determined by F. C. Calkins as 

basalt containing hypersthene), compact and massive at the base of 

the butte, where it is penetrated for a short distance by a tunnel excavated for the passage of an irrigation ditch, but vesicular at the top, 

and containing oval cavities due to the expansion of steam in its material while it was yet plastic. These cavities are now in part occupied 

by infiltrated siliceous minerals. The butte is probably the mucheroded remnant of a volcanic crater. Associated Avith the basalt are 

small exposures of sedimentary beds, hard and compact, which have 

the appearance of having been baked by the heat of the molten rock 

which came in contact with them. The sedimentary beds still clinging to the sides of the butte indicate that several hundred feet of 

similar material have been eroded from the region about it, thus leav-
HUSSELL.] MALHEUE COUNTY. , 31

ing it as a prominent topographic feature. The interpretation of 

these facts seems to be that a volcanic conduit was extruded upward 

through a thick deposit of sedimentary beds, presumably belonging 

to the Payette formation, and built a crater above. Erosion has 

since removed the crater and cut deeply into the stratified sediments 

which its conduit penetrated, leaving the rock, which hardened in the 

conduit, standing in bold relief as a so-called " volcanic neck."

From the top of Malheur Butte the light-colored rocks of the Payette formation may be seen outcropping in every direction. On the 

east side of Snake Elver, to the north of Ontario, the strata dips 

southward for a long distance at a low angle, probably less than 2°, 

showing that the formation has been broadly upraised and tilted. 

Similar evidence of movements in rocks of the same nature and probably of the same formation can be detected in other directions. As 

shown by this and other related evidence there have been considerable and widely extended movements of the nature of broad uplifts, 

and perhaps of equally broad subsidences, between the various upraised regions since the Payette beds were deposited.

The nature of the rocks composing the Payette formation, the conditions under which they were deposited, whether in lakes or in 

streams, the records of life they contain, the deformation their beds 

have experienced, the erosion that has taken place in them, whether 

due to their own upheaval or to the deepening of the canyon of Snake 

River farther down its course, and the local geology about Ontario, 

Malheur Butte, Vale,* etc., all furnish material for study that would 

yield much interesting and instructive information.

VOLCANIC ROCKS.

A few miles south of Grove the topography changes conspicuously. 

The broad valley excavated in soft rocks gives place, to bold and in 

part rugged uplands, through which the Malheur and its tributaries 

have cut deep canyon-like valleys. These uplands, beginning near 

Grove and extending far to the south, are composed largely of rhyolite and rhyolitic tufi's, in part at least of older date than the Payette 

formation, and associated with extensive sheets of basaltic lavas. In 

the walls of the canyons well-defined rim rocks are conspicuous, 

beneath which are less resistant beds, probably of sedimentary origin, 

or of the nature of volcanic-dust deposits, presumably belonging to 

the Payette formation. The resistant layers are of volcanic origin, 

and their gentle dip to the north is evidence of broad, widely extended 

movements in them since the material of which they are composed 

was spread out. More than a general idea, however, of these widely 

extended terraces could not be obtained during my rapid survey.

Volcanic dust. A representative example of the geology of this 

portion of Malheur County occurs in the vicinity of what is known
32 OEOLOCIY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

as Harpers Flat, situated on the Malheur about 30 miles southwest 

of- Vale. At this locality the river has excavated a valley about 

2 miles wide in soft, unconsolidated sand and clays which contain 

a large proportion of white volcanic dust. Some of the layers of 

nearly pure volcanic dust are from 20 to 100 feet thick. Sections of 

these beds are exposed at many localities in the precipitous walls of 

the valley beneath rim rocks of basalt. A roughly measured section 

on the eastern side of the valley, about 1 mile south of the narrow 

canyon at the northern end through which Malheur River outflows, 

contains in vertical section about 650 feet of soft stratified beds, consisting principally of white volcanic dust overlain by a sheet of 

basalt 25 to 30 feet thick. Similar sections are more or less well 

exposed all about the vallety. At numerous localities, particularly 

on the precipitous northern border, landslides have occurred, giving 

to the bluffs the characteristic features of landslide topography.

A conspicuous characteristic of the fine-grained shaly layers which 

occur at different horizons in the soft deposits about Harpers Flat is 

that they have been indurated, probably by the infiltration of silica 

through the agency of hot percolating water, and have the physical 

characteristics of white or gray flint or chert. The debris from 

similar beds occurs at many localities in the northern portion of Malheur County. The sedimentary and tuff beds beneath protecting 

sheets of basalt are also exposed along the creeks which join Malheur 

River near Harpers Flat, and present a wide range of variations in 

appearance and composition. In certain localities, as on Willow 

Creek 4 to 5 miles from its junction with the main stream, the beds 

exposed on the sides of the valley consist largely of dark volcanic 

tuff, weathered into conspicuous monumental forms, one of which is 

shown on PL II, B. The dips of the beds are gentle, but change

in inclination from place to place, indicating that moderate deformation of the nature of broad folding has occurred.

Rliyolite and rliyolitic tuff. To'the south, along a road that leads 

through an extensive and as yet unsurveyed region, indicated on the 

General Land Office map of Oregon as lying northwest of Cedar 

Mountains, the hills become bolder and more abrupt, assuming the 

characteristics of mountains. From 20 to 40 miles north of Harpers 

Flat the surface rocks over great areas are essentially horizontal, 

but deeply eroded. Broad rolling uplands devoid of trees but 

clothed with sagebrush and bunch grass are the dominant features of 

the landscapes. The table-lands are covered with basalt, but the 

presence on them of many flakes and shreds of black volcanic glass 

or obsidian indicates that sheets of superimposed rhyolitic tuff have 

been eroded away. Although basalt is the prevailing rock on the 

surfaces of the broad, plateau-like uplands, as well as in the precipitous walls of the canyons, sheets of rhyolite are also present, and
U. 3. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. CONCENTRIC JOINTING IN RHYOLITIC LAVA, CROWLEY CREEK, MALHEUR

COUNTY.

11. EROSION COLUMNS OF VOLCANIC TUFF, COTTONWOOD CANYON, NEAR 

HARPERS FLAT, MALHEUR COUNTY.
HUSSBLL.] MALHEUE COUNTY. 33

to the south become at times the prevailing terranes in sight. Characteristically the basalt and rhyolite occur in essentially horizontal 

sheets, and give evidence of but slight disturbances.

The general features just mentioned pertain to the country traversed until Crowley Creek was reached, about 50 miles southwest of 

Harpers Flat, whence our route led west and northwest to South 

Fork of Malheur River, in the vicinity of Riverside. With our 

advance, however, rhyolite and rhyolitic tuff became more conspicuous than the outcrops of basalt, and at last formed the prevailing 

rock. Rhyolite is abundant in the region drained by Crowley Creek 

and thence west to South Fork of Malheur River. Some of the hills 

are composed of rhyolitic tuff and agglomerate in inclined layers, 

and are plainly the much eroded remnants of ancient volcanic tuff 

craters. From one such eminence, situated in the central part of T. 

36, E. 26, and rising about 2,000 feet above the adjacent valleys, a 

widely extended view of the surrounding country was obtained, disclosing the leading characteristics of a region several hundred square 

miles in area. From the summit of this butte, which commands a 

vieAV of about 100 miles in every direction, no rocks except rhyolite 

and rhyolitic tuff could be distinguished, even with the aid of a powerful field glass.

Without attempting to weary the reader with a presentation of 

notes, which, owing to the country being unsurveyecl, can not be 

accurately .located, I may say that the portion of Malheur County 

traversed bears evidence of having received a covering at different 

times of widely extended sheets of rhyolite and of rhyolitic tuff. The 

ruins of some of the volcanoes from which this material was extruded 

can still be distinguished. The lava, poured out in a molten condition, and the thick sheets of rhyolitic tuff are evidences that these 

volcanoes were of the explosive type and showered vast quantities 

of ejecta on the country in the same manner that Mount Pelee and 

La Soufriere, in the West Indies, recently added a layer of volcanic 

dust and lapilli to the surface of the islands on which they are 

located.

It is an instructive fact that volcanoes erupting refractory material, largely of the nature "of rhyolite, had a wide distribution in 

central and eastern Oregon during Tertiary time. The contributions 

of this nature to the surface rank in extent and thickness with the 

vast basaltic overflows of the same region. As stated in a previous 

report, the evidence now in hand shows that several veritable inundations of basaltic lava occurred in eastern Oregon (as is shown, for 

example, by the exposures of rocks of that nature more than 5,000 feet 

thick in the east-facing escarpment of Steins Mountains) and were 

succeeded by great rhyolitic eruptions. Still later than the rhyolite 

Bull. 252 05 M 3
34 GEOLOGY AND WATEK EESOUKCES, CENTKAL OEEGON. [HULL. 252.

came a renewal of basaltic eruptions which continued from time to 

time almost to the present day.

DRAINAGE AND WATER RESOURCES.

Throughout the portion of Malheur County traversed, and,in fact 

over nearly all of central Oregon, there is abundant evidence of 

greater precipitation and more active erosion immediately preceding 

the present period of aridity and .weak streams. The present streams, 

often the diminutive representatives of former rivers and creeks that 

excavated wide valleys, are now, in many instances, engaged in filling 

or aggrading their ancient channels. In many cases the present 

streams are ephemeral and flow only during the wet season, and many 

broad, flat-bottomed valleys of erosion are without surface drainage. 

Outstanding buttes, and mesas surrounded by mural'escarpments, and 

sharp ridges, trenched on their slopes by deep excavations, etc., speak 

of climatic conditions different from those which now exist and 

make it evident that the leading feature in the climatic change that 

has taken place was a decrease in humidity.

The surface of the valley between Ontario and Vale and the continuation of the same broad depression for 6 .or 8 miles upstream 

from Vale presents many interesting features in reference to the 

manner in which streams shape land surfaces and leave records of 

their work in terraces, flood plains, sloughs, etc. The flood plain of 

the Malheur, between Malheur Butte and Vale, is in general about 4 

miles wide, and during exceptionally high-Avater stages is inundated. 

These expansions of the river occur in spring, when much floating ice 

is brought down from the upper reaches of the stream and left 

stranded on the flooded tracts. In some instances considerable quantities of gravel and sand, attached or frozen into the ice, are brought 

down, to be deposited irregularly in association with the fine silt that 

the expanded waters sift down on the land they temporarily cover. 

The stream in summer is greatly reduced in volume, and in recent 

years, owing to the demands made on it for purposes of irrigation, 

usually becomes dry in July and August, or has water only in the 

deeper depressions in its bed and in adjacent sloughs. It may be 

classed as an alluvial stream in this portion of its course; that is, one 

engaged in filling in its valley, or aggrading. It flows in many 

curves through the nearly flat ]and it has formed, and furnishes excellent illustrations of the meanders that sluggish rivers develop, and 

also characteristic examples of the cutting off of curves during 

periods of high water. The portions of the curves thus abandoned 

form sloughs and illustrate the character and mode of origin of 

oxbow lakes. The surface layer of the flood plain, as is usual in such 

formations, is largely composed of fine silt. The depth of this layer
MALHEUK COUNTY. 35

is in general about 10 to 12 feet, and beneath it is coarse gravel. The 

gravel was also laid down by the stream and is the lower member of 

the flood-plain deposits. Wells dug in the flood plain reach water on 

entering the gravel, finding there an abundant supply for household 

purposes, watering of stock, ete. As yet, however, none is pumped 

for use in irrigating.

In the northern half of Malheur County, the only portion here considered, the flat lands suitable for irrigation are located mainly along 

the border of Malheur River, below Grove. There are small areas 

of bottom land farther up the stream, as at Harpers Flat, and also 

.an area of several square miles on the Owyhee near its mouth and 

adjacent to Snake River, which are of value for agriculture, and in 

fact are now, to a considerable extent, under irrigation. The valley 

of the Malheur, from near the site of the former post-office of Grove, 

about 6 miles south of Vale, north to Snake River, contains a large 

9mOUnt of rich agricultural land (about 100 square miles, by a rough 

estimate) well located for irrigation; but at present, OAving to scarcity 

of water during the growing season, farmed to but a small extent. In 

a, state of nature this extensive and beautiful valley was a meadow of 

luxuriant bunch grass 'and tall, grain-like.rye grass; now, owing to 

overgrazing, it is essentially a desert.

The only surface water available for irrigating the lower portion of 

Malheur Valley is that flowing through the channel of Malheur 

River. Along that stream there are favorable sites for storage reser-. 

voirs, which could be made to retain all of the winter run-off. One 

such site, that at Harpers Flat, or Harper's ranch, has already been 

investigated by the United States Geological Survey."

Owyhee River also furnishes desirable localities where storage reservoirs could be advantageously, and I think, economically, constructed, and its winter run-off conserved for use on the flat lands near 

its north end, adjacent to Snake River. The possibility of diverting a 

portion of the waters of Snake River onto these same lands has been 

suggested, but the enterprise is one of such magnitude that detailed 

surveys are necessary before even an approximate estimate of the benefits to be expected can be made.

From such facts as are knoAvn concerning the extent of the lands 

along the lower course of Malheur River and near where Owyhee 

RiA^er joins Snake River, which are favorably situated for irrigation, 

and also concerning the volumes of Malheur and OAvyhee rivers, it is 

evident that when all of the available Avater, including the winter runoff, shall have been utilized, only a comparatively small portion of the 

land can be made productive. Another source of supply has been

0 Second Ann. Rept. Reclamation Service, U. S. Geol. Survey : II. Doc. 44, 2d sess. 

58th Gong., 1904, p. 435.
36 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

pointed out, namely, the LeAvis artesian basin,'1 which includes much 

of the region under consideration, but the quantity of water that can 

be obtained from that reservoir and the area of land below the artesian 

head of the basin are as yet only approximately known. Seemingly, 

however, under the most favorable results to be expected from the use 

of artesian water for irrigation, only small areas, principally gardens 

and orchards, can be supplied.

The portion of Malheur County traversed to the south of Grove, 

with the exception of certain small areas immediately adjacent to Malheur River, is almost entirely destitute of water, and owing to its considerable elevation, rugged topography, and especially its deep dissection by streams, is, so -far as can be judged, beyond the hope of 

reclamation by irrigation. The nature and structure of the rocks are 

not such as to suggest the presence of artesian basins. The value of 

the region evidently lies in its use for grazing, and even for this purpose the scarcity of water prevents stock from reaching extensive natural pastures which are still clothed with luxuriant bunch grass.

Previous journeys have shown that these remarks apply equally well 

to the greater portion of Malheur County farther south. There are 

a few notable exceptions to the barrenness of the land, especially 

along some of the small streams and where springs come to the surface, producing abundant crops of native grasses, but their combined 

areas are probably less than 1 per cent of the area of the uplands, 

on which there is no suggestion that irrigation can be practiced. The 

aridity of Malheur County throughout, and the scarcity of water, 

Avhether surface or artesian, are such as to show that the chief economic returns it can be expected to furnish are in the direction of 

stock raising. The practical lesson furnished by these considerations 

is that the utmost economy in the use of the limited water supply

should be practiced and the most thoroughly scientific methods of

agriculture and horticulture employed wherever practicable.

HARNEY COUNTY. 

GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

The sheets of rhyolite and of rhyolitic tuff which form so conspicuous a feature in the geology of the west-central part of Malheur 

County continue west and are well exposed in the hills to the east of 

Harney Valley. In this region, however, the nearly horizontal position of the beds, noted farther east, becomes less conspicuous, and 

faults, accompanied by tilting of the rocks adjacent to them, influence 

the topography to a marked degree, especially in the region drained 

by the headwaters of Crane Creek. In the uplands on the east border

0 Russell, I. C., Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon: Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 78, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.
 BUSSBM,.] HAENEY COUKTY. 37

of Harney Valley extensive areas are occupied by basaltic rocks, and 

in the canyon walls rim rocks of both rhyolitic tuff and basalt are 

present. Beneath the resistant layers forming the rim rocks occur 

beds of soft stratified material composed largely of white volcanic 

dust.

SOUTH FORK 01? MALHEUR VALLEY.

South Fork of Malheur River, near Crane, is situated in a deep 

canyon-like valley, which furnishes a record of extensive erosion, and 

is a part of a widely extended series of valleys and canyons, which 

bear evidence of having been excavated by streams of larger volume 

than those now flowing through them.

In the valley of the South Fork, near its extreme southern prolongation, and in the valley of one of its small tributaries, there is a fresh 

basaltic lava flow, the first of recent date met during the reconnaissance. It terminates in a steep slope at its distal end and along its 

bordering escarpments, and for several miles up the course of the congealed current shows evidence of a sluggish flow, due largely to the 

blocks of the broken crust which became involved in the material 

beneath while it was yet plastic. The surface of the lava is black, 

vesicular, and exceedingly rough, and over large areas has the characteristics of an aa lava surface that is, it is composed of the broken 

fragments of the first-formed crust, piled in confused heaps, and in 

many cases standing on edge or inclined at various angles. Occasional pressure ridges are also present, produced by the upward bending of the thick rigid crust, with its involved fragments of the firstformed and thinner crust; these are due to lateral pressure produced 

by the flow of the lava beneath, or to the shrinkage of the lower portion of the material-as it cooled.

. The lava stream occupies the bottom of the canyon-like valley in 

which is occurs for a distance of at least 10 miles, and is, on an 

average, about a mile wide. Where Crane Creek joins Camp Creek 

its breadth is nearly 2 miles. The blackness of the lava and the 

scarcity of evidence of disintegration or decay, as well as the absence 

of vegetation other than sagebrush and the plants usually associated with it, give an impression of recency, but the weak stream 

that flows down the valley has cut a channel from 50 to 75 feet deep 

near where it leaves the lava. The scarcity of soil and of vegetation 

is due to the aridity of the climate, and is not in itself an index of 

youthfulness in the soil beneath, while the considerable amount 

of work accomplished by the weak and now ephemeral stream is 

suggestive of centuries of slow erosion. The lava stream can not, 

therefore, be considered as young in years, although, with the exception of the Jordan and Diamond volcanoes and lava flows,0 it is the

0 Russell, I. C., Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon : 

B'ull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 217, 1903.
38 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES,- CENTRAL OREGON. [BOLL. 252.

latest considerable addition to the surface rocks that has been made 

in eastern Oregon. '

The valley in which this lava stream lies is a direct continuation 

of a level-floored gap which extends from Camp Creek westward 

and opens out into Harney Valley. This gap, or canyon-like valley, 

was excavated by a stream flowing from the broad basin in which 

Malheur and Harne}^ lakes are situated, and is consequently an old 

river channel. Its level floor is a continuation of the present surface of the adjacent portion of Harney Valley, and is due to the lava 

flow. A direct connection between the fresh lava in the upper portion of South Fork of Malheur River and the similar but less rugged 

sheet just described was not established by actually traversing the 

entire length of the lava-floored depression; as seen through a field 

glass from neighboring hills, however, the two portions seem to be 

parts of a single flow. Their source is not known, but the nearest 

recent volcanoes, so far as present explorations have shown, are the 

Diamond Craters, situated about 15 miles to' the southwest,, and it is 

probable that they came from there.

CRANE CREEK.

From Camp Creek the road followed passes up Crane Creek and 

through a well-defined but peculiar gap or pass leading west to 

Harney Valley. Crane Creel?: receives Coyote and German- creeks 

as tributaries from the north. These two creeks and the upper portion of Crane Creek, above the abrupt bend in its course where the 

road leading to Malheur Lake leaves it, flow south in nearly parallel 

valleys, due mainly to faulting, and enter a large vallej^ with bold 

walls, which trends about east and west. This larger valley has 

several peculiar features which at once attract attention. In a 

general view it appears as a deep stream-cut valley, about one-half 

mile wide, leading directly through the hilly country it traverses, 

and affording a low-grade pass to Harney Valley. The impression 

is that it was formed by a river which escaped from Harney Valley, 

but, as already stated, there is a similar valley some 10 miles farther 

south the old river bed mentioned above which is lower, and has 

an almost perfectly flat floor at the same level as the adjacent portion 

of Harney Valley. One is puzzled to know how two valleys so similar in their geographical relations came into existence.

In traversing the Crane Creek Pass, as it may suggestively be 

termed, froin east to west, one ascends Crane Creek, which has a 

well-defined gradient, until about 10 miles below its ultimate source, 

where a steep ascent of about 100. feet leads to a divide, or rather a 

crest that would be a divide if surface waters were present, separating the slopes on the east draining to Crane Creek from the slopes on
HDSSEM,.] HARNEY VALLEY. ' 39

the west draining to Malheur Lake. On the west the floor of the pass 

is approximately level. Throughout the two portions of the old 

valley the width is about one-half mile, and the bordering escarpments are bold and steep, and in general 200 or 300 feet high. The 

valley is clearly the result of stream erosion, and is a part of the record inscribed on the land, showing formerly greater precipitation 

than now. The divide which crosses the course of the valley from 

north to south is due to movements in the rocks subsequent to its 

excavation, and is of the nature of a fault, the west side of which 

has been upheaved in reference to its eastern side. Other illustrations 

of faulting and tilting are present in the same region, and are suggestive of the causes which produced changes in the direction of flow 

of the modern streams in respect to their former and larger representatives. 

'In ascending Crane Creek from its junction with South Fork of

Malheur River and passing west into Harney Valley, one leaves a 

region where rhyolitic rocks are well displayed and enters an extensive area occupied by basalt, bordering Harney Valley on the east.

For several miles along the middle course of Crane Creek the rocks 

are basalt, spread out in sheets ranging from 40 to 60 feet in thickness, and associated with sheets,of soft sedimentary material, largely 

volcanic dust. The series of resistant basaltic sheets and weak interbedded sedimentary material dips gently westward. Conspicuous for 

several miles on the south side of Crane Creek Canyon is a rim rock 

of rhyolite and rhyolitic tuff of irregular thickness, in general measuring 40 to 50 feet on its vertical escarpments. This sheet of rhyolitic material, like many other similar sheets in eastern Oregon, 

occurs above a series of basaltic rocks and in turn is overlain by other 

basaltic overflows. In places the edge of the sheet exhibits good 

examples of spheroidal jointing, as illustrated on PI. II, A.

Although, as stated above, basaltic rocks become the prevailing 

terranes as Harney Valley is approached by way of the Crane Creek 

Pass, rhyolitic rocks impress their characteristic colors on the landscape in the. neighboring hills to the north. The Crane Creek Hills, 

for example, on the north side of the valley are, as previously recorded," composed mainly of rhyolite and rhyolitic tuff.

HARNEY VALLEY.

From commanding elevations on the east border of Harney Valley 

that great level-floored basin with its surrounding hills and mountains makes an impressive picture. The valley, as is well known, 

is the largest single expanse of practically level land in Oregon; 

although irregular in outline, its diameter in any direction is approxia Russell, I. C., Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon : 

Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 2.17,
40 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

mately 50 to 60 miles. Extending into the level-floored basin, IIOAVcver, at several localities on its border are cape-like projections from 

the surrounding highlands, and well within its sea-like expanse are a 

few isolated buttes. The most conspicuous of the salients on its borders occurs on its west side, where a flat-top table-land of basalt, with 

steep bordering slopes due to erosion, projects at least 10 miles toward 

the center. Near the north and east shores of Malheur Lake are three 

buttes, which are conspicuous on account of their isolation and the 

flatness of the country in all directions about them. The monotony 

of the topography of the basin is also broken by a low swell rising to 

the east of Malheur Slough, about 5 miles west of the entrance to 

Crane Creek Pass, which is composed of basalt and is surrounded on 

all sides by fine soft clajr-like deposits.

Saddle Mountain. Of the three buttes referred to, only one, Saddle 

Mountain Butte, was visited. This butte, situated at the north side 

of Malheur Lake, is about 300 feet high and from 1 to 1| miles in 

diameter. It derives its name from its shape, as seen from either the 

east or the west, being composed of two ridges, running about east and 

west, with a depression .between them. The rocks are scoriaceous 

basalt. There is considerable loose scoria on the surface, but no 

bombs were found and no evidence of a cinder or lapilli cone. Although the eminence is probably the remnant of a volcanic crater, it 

is so deeply eroded that no positive assurance of such an origin could 

be obtained. Its borders are steep on all sides except the east and 

bear evidence of long-continued erosion, and the entire hill may reasonably be considered as a remnant of a basaltic plateau surrounding 

an old crater. It is now densely clothed with sagebrush, beneath 

which there is abundance of bunch grass.

From the summit of the butte a fine view is furnished of the great

plain from which it rises. To the southeast may be seen two other 

similar buttes, situated near the east border of Malheur Lake, which 

from their color seem also to be composed of basalt. To the east the 

deep, flat-bottomed notch in the rim of Harney Valley, through which 

the draining stream of the plain formerly flowed, is in. plain sight, 

although about 15 miles distant; the continuation of the valley floor 

into the bottom of the old channel without a perceptible change in 

slope is a notable feature. Farther to the southeast, about 50 miles 

distant, rises the rugged crest of Steins Mountains, on which snow 

lingers throughout the summer.

Mallieur Lake. To the south of Saddle Mountain Butte, and so 

broad that its farther shore can not be discerned from the summit 

of that elevation, lies Malheur Lake, some account of which has been 

presented in a previous report.*1 The lake is shallow, not over 8 feet

" Russell, I. C., Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon : 

Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 217, 1903.
RUSSELL.] HAKNEY VALLEY. 41

deep in the deepest part, ns I have been informed by persons well 

acquainted with it. A mile from its shore at almost any point the 

water is only a feAv inches deep. Its water is always yellowish with 

material in suspension, a common feature of alkaline lakes. It is in 

fact a so-called " plaj'a lake; " that, is a lake which on evaporating to 

dryness leaves a mud plain or playa. Although Malheur Lake has 

never been known to disappear, it experiences conspicuous variations 

in area and may be expected to evaporate to-dryness if but slight climatic oscillations favoring less rainfall or more active evaporation 

should occur. The open water of the lake is bordered by rank 

growths of dark-green rushes, which also form many island-like 

areas here and there on its surface, rising in general from a foot or 

two of water. During periods of high water the lake expands and 

reaches within a few hundred feet of the south base of Saddle Mountain Blltte, East and west of the butte it frequently expands so as 

to carry its margin about 4 miles beyond its loAV-water limit. These 

fluctuations have not been observed long enough to determine what 

their maximum may be, and it would not be surprising if portions 

of the plain now inhabited, as, for example, the site of the village of 

Lawen, should be sometimes inundated. The portion of the lake bed 

now left dry each summer is in places brightly colored with the reddish and yellowish coral-like plant known as Salicornia, and is overgrown with salt grass, which is harvested each year.

Hot spring. About 4 miles northeast -of Saddle Mountain Butte 

is a spring which, as observed by H. C. Dewey, forms an irregular 

pool from 75 to 120 feet in diameter and 20 to 30 feet deep. The 

water is clear, without odor, and near the margin of the pool has a 

temperature of 122° F. The discharge, which is about 430 cubic 

inches per second, is now utilized for watering stock. This spring 

rises at a locality on the surface of the broad valley, at least 4 miles 

from the nearest upland, and is a true fissure spring, having a deep 

source, shown by its temperature to be probably not less than 3,500 

feet below the surface. Like other hot springs in the same valley, 

some account of which has been published," it indicates the presence 

of artesian conditions.

Wells. At the village of Lawen, situated about 6 miles west of Saddle Mountain Butte and about 3 miles north of the summer margin 

of Malheur Lake, eight wells have been drilled, and within a radius 

of 2 miles of the village six other wells have been put down. These 

wells range in depth from 18 to 40 feet, the differences being due principally to the inequalities of the surface, as the}7 all obtain their water 

from about the same horizon. They pass through fine yellowish silt, 

and reveal the nature of the surface layer that covers large portions

« Russell, T. C., Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon : Water-Sup- and Irr, Paper No. 78, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1003.
42 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BOLL. 252.

and, as nearly as can now be judged, practically the entire area, of 

Harney Valley. ° The material is fine throughout, with but slight 

indications of stratification, and contains no beds of gravel or other 

coarse deposits. It agrees in physical character with the silts the 

rivers of the region deposit during high-water stages. Similar material was observed on the banks of Silvies River, and also on the borders of Malheur Slough, as the channel is termed, through which 

Rattlesnake and other creeks on the north side of Harney Valley 

discharge to Malheur Lake during periods of high water. It is probable that the Avidely extended sheet of material forming the surface 

of Harney Valley is mainly a stream deposit, while the portion near 

the lake was laid down in still water. This is an instructive illustration of the fact that stream and lake deposits merge into each other 

and in many instances have no definite line of separation. On the 

surface of Harney Valley also'there are wind-laid deposits of sand 

and dust, but for the most part they are inconspicuous.

The depth at which water is reached in the wells in and about 

Lawen shows the position of the water table, which is probably controlled by the surface level of Malheur-Lake. The water is raised by 

means of windmills and is used for domestic purposes, watering stock, 

and the irrigation of small gardens. The supply seems to be inexhaustible. The temperature of the water in one well, 18 feet deep 

and 14 feet to water, is 50^° F., which probably represents about the 

mean annual temperature of the locality.

In the southern part of Lawen, on land belonging to Mr. G. L. Sitz, 

a well 5 inches in diameter was drilled in the year 1900 to a depth of 

432 feet with the hope of obtaining artesian Avater. The Avater table 

Avas reached at 10 feet and artesian Avater at about 200 feet; beloAv 

that depth, as thought by the driller, no additional Avater Avas obtained, The well discharges continuously through a 3-inch pipe.

The section passed through, as reported by Mr. Sitz from memory, is 

as folloAVs;

Section in well at Lawen.

Feet.

Sand and clay ________..______________ 200 

Lava, about____________________ _ _ 50

Gravel, cemented ______________________ 4 

Hard and soft layers, from 8 inches thick to 4 feet

thick __________________________-.._ 100 

" Hard blue granite " (basalt) ______________ 78

Total depth ______________________ 432

This, fragment of information concerning the geology of Harney 

Valley, is in harmony Avith Avhat has previously been learned in reference to that basin, and indicates that artesian water can be had if 

drill holes are put doAvn. To adequately test the artesian conditions
lii'sswr,!,.] HATOSTEY VALLEY. 43

at Lawen, a well at least 1,000 feet deep should be drilled, but the 

possibilities in reference to water stored under pressure will not even 

then be exhausted, as water-bearing layers probably exist at still 

deeper horizons.

The depth of the surface layer, 200 feet, given in the above section, 

is of interest and indicates that the surface filling of the valley is not 

great. Beneath the silt, reported as " sand and clay " by Mr. Sitz, 

there probably occur sheets of basalt, rhyolite, and rhyolitic tuff, perhaps with lacustral. or stream-deposited sediments such as clay, sand, 

and gravel between them. So far as the facts in hand furnish data 

on which to judge the structure of the rocks, the position in which 

they occur, and their nature, whether porous or impervious, all favor 

the hope, as previously reported, that flowing water can be obtained 

over a large part of the basin.

Soil The broad, level expanse of Harney Valley is traversed by

roads connecting localities where water can be obtained, and but for 

the wire fences placed about the extensive tracts held for pasturage 

the level-floored valley could be crossed by wagon in practically all 

directions. A representative portion of the valley, situated between 

Lawen and Burns, shows that the surface has minor inequalities 

due to the abandoned channels of streams flowing from the surrounding uplands. The surface of the soft material forming the present 

floor of the basin is alluvium brought by streams from the uplands 

and deposited in broad, low-grade, alluvial fans. Over these deposits 

the streams have run in various channels or distributaries, and as 

they shifted their positions the* abandoned channels remained as 

records of their former courses. Over the stream-shaped surface the 

winds have deposited some material, in the form of sand and dust, but 

this covering is thin and in most localities inconspicuous. Even the 

transient visitor is impressed with the fact that the valley contains a 

vast quantity of good land which only needs water to make it fruitful. 

The climatic conditions, however, and especially the common occurrence of frost in summer, render it evident that in the future, as in the 

past, industrial development'will consist principally in hay growing 

as a basis for stock raising and in dairying.

Rhyolitic tuff. At Burns and especially along the border of Silvies River, to the west of the town, there are conspicuous outcrops of 

rhyolitic tuff. A widely extended sheet of this material underlies 

the surface over a great extent of the hilly and even mountainous 

country to the northwest, but its boundaries have not been traced. 

The region referred to is forest-covered and furnishes the watershed 

of Silvies River. An intimate relation between the character of the 

surface rock and the water supply is here shown, since the thick sheet 

of tuff referred to (as may be seen in the rim rocks bordering the 

jiarrow valley through which Silvies River flows) is porous and
44 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

absorbs the rain water falling on its surface, allowing it to percolate 

slowly to the stream. In the valleys cut in the widely extended tuff 

sheets, hillside springs are common. The'tuff is well exposed at 

Burns, and, as may there be seen, is a brown porous rock of low 

specific gravity, composed of angular fragments of scoriaceous rhyolite. The beds are easily quarried and the blocks obtained readily 

squared for building purposes by means of an ax. Although an 

inferior building stone, because of its porosity, which permits it to 

absorb water almost as readily as a sponge, and because also of its 

sombre color, it is nevertheless useful, especially in a region where 

the rainfall is small. A church at Burns has been built of it, and 

this and similar material will no doubt be extensively used in the 

towns of central Oregon in the future.

LITTLE SAGEHEN CREEK.

The stage road leading southwest from Burns follows the border of 

Harney Valley for about 6 miles and then turns west, crosses a low 

divide, and ascends Little Sagehen Valley. Through this runs Little 

Sagehen Creek, the diminutive representative of the former stream of 

considerable size that excavated the well-defined valley. It is dry 

in its upper part in summer, but in its lower part several warm 

springs come to the surface and supply natural irrigation for extensive meadows of native grasses.

The rocks forming the major portion of the"hills southwest of Burns 

are composed of rhyolitic tuff, similar to the brown building stone at 

Burns, but a prominent butte, overlooking both Harney Valley and 

the narrow stream-cut valley of Little Sagehen Creek, is composed of 

reddish scoriaceous basalt, a remnant left by erosion of a formerly 

extensive sheet of the same material. Little Sagehen Creek has cut a 

steep-sided trench-like valley through the basalt, leaving a broad 

plateau on each side, that on the north extending east to within about 

6 miles of Malheur Lake, where it terminates in a line of bold escarpments. The sheet of basalt also extends widely to the south of Little 

Sagehen Creek, forming a nearly level plateau which reaches nearly 

or quite to Little Silver and Harney lakes. Over the monotonous surfaces of these broad plateaus the bare black basalt with which they are 

covered is nearly everywhere exposed. Along each side of Little 

Sagehen Creek for a distance of about 25 miles, the broken edges of 

the lava sheet form bold palisades about 40 feet high, below which 

steep talus slopes conceal from view the soft stratified beds underlying 

the resistant lava that shields them and that, where unbroken, has preserved them from erosion.

From the basaltic butte referred to above" good views were obtained 

of the mountainous country to the northwest of Burns, which con-
HUSSEIN.! SILVER CREEK. 45

firmed previous observations in reference to the eastward dip of the 

rocks in that region and shoAved that they pass beneath the floor of 

Harney Valley, thus favoring the conclusion that artesian conditions 

are present beneath its broad arid surface.

The north wall of the canyon of Little Sagehen Creek for a distance of about 10 miles near its head is composed of irregular hills 

of rhyolitic tuff, the weathering of which has produced numerous isolated crags and monumental forms. On the south the canyon is bordered by a continuation of the palisade of basalt, marking the border 

of the extensive plateau, which extends far to the south. The basalt 

is here thin, in places being not over 15 or 20 feet thick. Beneath it 

are soft white sedimentary beds, consisting largely of volcanic dust, 

at least 250 or 300 feet thick. The basalt was spread out as a widely 

extended sheet after the rhyolitic tuff, which was showered on the 

land in vast quantities, had been consolidated and deeply eroded. 

After the inundation of basalt erosion continued, and the canyon of 

Little Sagehen Creek was excavated. From our general knowledge of the relations of the rhyolitic tuffs and basalts of central Oregon to sedimentary rocks containing fossils it may reasonably be 

inferred that the soft beds in question are of Tertiary age. The cutting of the canyon in the basalt is, it seems, an event of post-Tertiary 

time.

At the head of Little Sagehen Valley there is a low, irregular, flattopped divide. The road leading westward ascends from the canyon 

by means of a steep grade and traverses a portion of the basaltic 

plateau referred to above. The junction of the basalt with the older 

rhyolitic tuff, which there forms irregular hills, can readily be traced 

1 or 2 miles to the right of the road. The tuff has been deeply dissected by streams, and furnishes examples of old topography in striking contrast with the level surface of the adjacent plateau of basalt, 

with its few steep-sided gorges and canyons. The tuff of the uplands 

is well exposed, and in the walls of deeply cut but flaring valleys sections of beds from 50 to 150 feet thick are revealed. The rocks 

resemble gray granite in color and, like granite, weather into rounded 

hills with crags and isolated tower-like masses on their sides and in 

the walls of the bordering ravines.

SILVER CREEK.

Silver Creek has its source in a dissected plateau, which is an extension to the northeast of the hills just referred to. In summer its 

upper portion becomes dry and its sole supply is from great springs 

of cool, delicious water that well out at the base of a bold escarpment 

of yellowish rhyolitic tuff about 8 miles northwest of Riley. Below 

these springs is an alluvial plain about 10 miles long and averaging
46 GEOLOGY AND WATER EESOUECES, CENTRAL OREGON, [uutr,. 252.

approximately 2 miles in width, through which . Silver Creek 

meanders, bordered by rich agricultural lands. The water supply is 

meager, however, and only a small percentage of the land favorably 

located for irrigation is under cultivation. About 2 miles south of 

Riley the valley contracts and becomes a gorge with bluffs and rim 

rocks on its sides. Bold hills of basaltic rock rising near the creek on 

its south side have the form and appearance of much-eroded volcanic 

craters. About a mile south of these hills is the true border of the 

valley, there defined by a rim rock of basalt which trends south westward and forms the southeast border of a valley or depression tributary to that through which Silver Creek flows. The line of cliffs is a 

conspicuous topographic feature and one of much geologic interest. 

To the south of Riley it is from 200 to 300 feet high, and from its 

crest the descent to the southeast is abrupt for about a quarter of a 

mile, Avhen the surface of the broad basaltic plateau extending far to 

the south and east is reached. The sheet of basalt forming the 

plateau is evidently slightly upturned along the line of cliffs defining 

its northwest border, and is broken so as to form palisades. These 

conditions indicate the presence of a fault, as will be shown more 

clearly a few pages further on.

PROMINENT PEAKS.

.From east to west across central Oregon there is a succession'of 

prominent peaks which sei^e as landmarks to the traveler and furnish a series of convenient stations for studying the geography and 

geology of the region lying between Steins Mountains on the east 

and the Cascade Mountains on the west. These peaks, in their order 

from east to west, are: Iron Mountain, a sharp conical elevation 

about 5 miles south of Little Silver Lake; Placidia Butte, IS miles

northwest of Iron Mountain; Glass Buttes, 18 miles farther northwest; Hampton Butte, 12 miles northwest of the Glass Buttes, and 

the Pauline Mountains, about 30 miles farther west, from which the 

Cascade Range is in full view, although 50 miles distant. In the 

interval there are several isolategl peaks, such as Pilot Butte, Lava 

Butte, Black Butte, etc. steep-sided conical elevations with sharp 

summits, ranged across the country like signal stations each of 

which at some time in its history has been aglow with volcanic fires. 

They are not all of the same age, and, although having a similar history, present many variations in the details of the events they record. 

Some of them, like Iron Mountain, the Glass Buttes, and Hampton 

Butte, are of ancient date, and were built by' volcanic explosions 

which hurled fragments of congealed lava into the air during the 

earlier part of the Tertiary period of geologic history; others, like
MUBSHU,.] PEAKS OF HABNEY COUNTY. 47

Lava Butte, covered the region about them with streams of molten 

lava but a few centuries since.

Iron Mountain. Iron Mountain, some account of which has been 

given in a previous report,0 is a much-eroded volcanic cone built of 

acid lava resembling rhyolite. It.commands a far-extended landscape, characteristic of the arid east-central portion of Oregon; from 

its sharp summit not an individual tree can be distinguished, although 

the shadow-like appearances on the mountains far to the north sireknown to indicate the presence of a valuable forest. About the base 

of the butte are widely extended -basaltic lava flows, and near at hand 

broad, yellow mud plains margined by bands of white efflorescent 

salts. The waters of Little Silver Lake lap on shadeless shores, and 

serve to emphasize rather than relieve the desolation that forms the 

most prominent feature of the landscape in every direction. To the 

northwest, 18 miles distant, rises the sharp summit of Placidia Butte,

the most prominent object in a seemingly boundless plain of SOmbcr 

sagebrush-covered basaIt.

Placidia Butte. The nearest habitation to Placidia Butte is at 

Biley, about, 12 miles eastward, the road for the entire distance being 

without water, except such as is furnished by melting snow in winter 

and spring or by the stagnant contents of small Avater pockets in 

early summer. During our visit to the butte we crossed the Silver 

Creek Meadows to the base of the bold palisade or rim rock that 

borders them on the south. Choosing a notch in the almost continuous crest line of the palisade the top was easily reached. The crest 

of the palisade, instead of being the margin of a level plateau, as is 

so frequently the case where rim rocks occur, is really the edge of a 

tilted block, which stands in relief above the gently sloping plain that 

extends from its base 20 or more miles to the southeast. Along the 

crest of the ridge there are numerous elevations having about the 

same height, between which notches occur resembling the abandoned 

stream-cut channels termed " wind gaps." That they were really 

stream cut was not satisfactorily determined, but they at least suggest 

that the region was dissected by small streams tributary to a southeastward-flowing river before the ridge was uplifted.

The plain extending southeastward from the ridge slopes downward gently from its base, and is remarkable for its evenness and 

smoothness. No more than faint suggestions of stream-cut channels 

are visible on its vast monotonous surface. If such once existed, as 

is probable, they have been filled and obliterated by alluvium and 

wind-deposited debris. To the southeast Iron Mountain and Little 

Silver Lake are in plain view and seemingly only 8 or 10 miles away, 

instead of 18 or 20 miles, as they really are. To the southwest, 7 or 8

a Russell, I. C., Notes on geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon: 

Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 217, 1903.
48 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

miles distant, rises the remarkably regular conical peak known as 

Placidia Butte, with a height above the adjacent plain of from TOO to 

800 feet. On its eastern side, about a mile from its base, is a much 

lower elevation, composed of reddish, highly scoriaceous basalt, much 

eroded, which marks the site of a secondary or parasitic eruption. 

Possibly a stream of lava came to the surface at this locality, but erosion has so altered the topography that definite evidence of such an 

occurrence is not obtainable.

On ascending Placidia Butte we found it to be a volcanic cone built 

during explosive eruptions, which blew out angular fragments of scoriaceous basalt, but discovered no bombs to show that plastic lava was 

erupted. The sides of the cone are steep, and when seen in profile 

reveal long SAveeping curves concave to the sky, typical of many similar cones composed of hard fragments of various sizes. It is doubtful 

if these curved slopes are a part of the original constructional surface 

of the cone, however, since much erosion has occurred, and erosion 

curves in the case of such piles of loose debris simulate constructional 

curves. On the southwest side of the cone there is a line of rough 

crags of scoriaceous basalt; on the west there is a similar line; and 

on the north there are suggestions of a third. These lines of crags 

radiate from the summit portion of the pile and mark the location of 

cracks in its sides, which were injected with molten lava so as to form 

dikes.

All these features are normal, or at least common, in the case of 

scoria and lapilla craters. An exceptional occurrence, however, is 

furnished by the massive angular crags of reddish-brown rock which 

form the summit of the cone and enable erosion to give it a sharp terminus. This summit mass, or capstone, is a volcanic agglomerate, 

but unlike most similar rocks, is lacking in fine material, such as

volcanic dust and lapilli, to serve as a mortar for the larger masses.

It is composed of sharply angular fragments of scoriaceous basalt, 

adhering firmly one to another and ranging in size from 1 or 2 up to 

8 or 10 inches in diameter. In places there are angular holes and 

irregular cavities between the adjacent blocks. The explanation is 

that this agglomerate is composed of fragments blown out of the 

deeper portion of the conduit in a solid condition, and accumulated 

in the crater at the top of^ the volcanic pile as the volcanic energy 

decreased. The finer fragments, being carried higher, fell outside 

the crater or were removed by the wind. The larger fragments 

were hot and adhered to one another, the accumulation being also 

to some extent consolidated by the pressure of its own weight. The 

mass of material thus produced Avas similar to the " cone of eruption '' 

observed in the case of many active or recently extinct volcanoes, and 

at first was encircled by a lapilli crater.
KUSSKLL.] PEAKS OF HAKNEY COUNTY. 49

Stated in another way, the agglomerate is the higher portion of 

the plug or neck which hardened in the volcano's conduit as its 

energy decreased. At no great depth below the portion now exposed 

compact lava may be expected to be present. Erosion has removed 

the crater which once surrounded the summit of the plug and a portion of the compact agglomerate which accumulated within it. The 

. central mass is resistant to all forms of mechanical erosion, and, owing 

to the dryness of the climate, has not been exposed to active chemical 

erosion. Although the plug is probably about 200 feet in diameter 

at a short distance beneath the exposed top, its summit has weathered 

to a rough but moderately sharp apex.

From the summit of Placidia Butte an unobstructed view in all 

directions is obtained. Perhaps the most characteristic features of 

the desolate landscape are the vast expanse of the apparently smooth 

plain of basalt, extending, with its covering of sagebrush, far to the 

east and southeast, and the hills to the south in the vicinity of Abert 

Lake, which, judging from their forms and the little that is known 

concerning them, are much eroded uplifts of rhyolitic lava and tuff of 

the same lithologic character.

Glass Buttes. To the west, 18 miles distant, rise the Glass Buttes, 

consisting of two prominent rounded domes and several lesser hills, 

which, as known from a previous visit, are remnants of ancient 

rhyolitic or andesitic volcanoes, now deeply dissected by erosion. 

They form not only a most prominent object in the vast desert landscape, but add a touch of color to the prevailing gray of the surrounding sagebrush-covered plain by the tawny yellow of the ripened 

bunch grass and the dark shades of the trees that grow on the northern sides of their prominent ridges. The highest point on these desert 

mountains, which take their name from the obsidian or volcanic 

glass scattered over their surfaces, is approximately 2,000 feet above 

the plain surrounding their widely extended base.

Hampton Butte. Hampton Butte, Avhich is of similar geologic 

structure to the Glass Buttes, is situated a little to their right, and 

about 30 miles away from Placidia Butte, from which it ma}^ be seen. 

From Placidia Butte, in the blue, indefinite distance, may also be 

noted the snow-covered summits of the Cascade Mountains; these, 

however, are so dim, as seen through the ever-prevailing desert haze, 

that only Mount Jefferson can be definitely located.

HILLS AND RIDGES.

Continuing northward past a water pocket lying about a mile north 

of Placidia Butte, we again crossed the ridge that overlooks Silver 

Creek Valley and its southwest .tributary, and found it to be comBtill. 252 05 M 4
50 GEOLOGY AND WATER EESOUECES, CENTRAL OREGON. I BULL. 252.

posed in part of white rhyolitic rock of older date than are the vast 

sheets of basalt associated with it. Passing through a depression in 

the rhyolite hills, we gained a platform of basalt which encircles 

them on the northwest side. This platform, which is about half a 

mile wide, terminates on the northwest in a precipitous escarpment 

ranging in height from 200 to 300 feet, in which the edges of several 

sheets of basalt are well exposed. This escarpment is a direct continuation of the similar precipice climbed in the morning, and judging 

from its topography is the upraised side of a fault. The trend of 

the line of cliffs is northeast and southwest, but near its southern end 

it curves westward. The valley at its base on the west is not floored 

with alluvium, but has an irregular bottom composed of basalt, which 

rises in a continuous slope toward the northwest and culminates in 

the crest of a ridge which presents a steep slope to the west. A 

detailed study of this interesting region would no doubt yield much 

valuable data in reference to the influence of movements in the rocks 

on topographic forms.

To the north of Riley and bordering the meadows and adjacent 

sagebrush-covered terrace-like uplands on the northeast rise a group 

of bold rounded hills, which attain a height of between 1,500 and 

2,000 feet above the meadows at their base. These hills are composed 

of compact, apparently basaltic rock, and are thought to be of probably Tertiary age. The hills, although presenting rounded summits 

Avhen seen from the south, were found on near inspection to consist of 

'a series of nearly east and west ridges, with steep escarpments facing 

north. This peculiar topography suggests faulting. The hills are 

thickly strewn with weathered blocks of rock of the same character as 

those exposed in the cliffs, but scoria, lapilli bombs, etc., are absent. 

As there are no trails, the thickly strewn blocks covering the surface 

make traveling difficult. Rich, brown residual soil occurs between the 

loose stones, and luxuriant bunch grass and an open forest of junipers 

and pines clothe the surface. These hills extend at least 8 miles 

northward, and present throughout the same topographic characteristics. Their northern extension is densely forested.

At the head of the Silver Creek Meadows there is a great spring of 

clear, cool, delicious water, at which a military fort called Camp 

Curry was formerly located. The spring, with others that occur 

along its course farther north, is an important source of supply for 

Silver Creek, which here emerges from a narrow canyon cut in a bed 

of rhyolitic tuff at least 100 feet thick, the rock being of the same 

nature as the tuff at Burns, and presumably a continuation of the 

same great sheet.

At the spring the stage road from Burns to Prineville makes a 

sharp turn to the west and ascends the precipitous border of a plateau. The rock removed in grading reveals excellent illustrations of
KUSSKLL.J FOKESTED PLATEAU. , ' 51

the angular fragments of which the tuff is composed. Highly porous, it has been leached by percolating water and changed from the 

brown color that unweathered portions usually present to bright pink 

and even white. Resting on the tuff is a sheet of black basalt about 

20 feet thick, which, by protecting the weaker rock beneath, has led 

to the preservation of a nearly flat table-land many square miles in 

area. The road traverses this plateau for about 4 miles, crossing on 

the way the desiccated bed of an ephemeral lake, surrounded on all 

sides by a low rim of basalt. In summer the bed of this lake is a 

smooth playa, but in winter it is flooded and the traveler has to skirt 

its northern border.

FOEESTED PLATEAU.

To the west of the generally smooth basaltic plateau the road 

enters an extensive plateau region that has been somewhat deeply 

dissected by streams. The surface rock is rhyolitic tuff of the same 

character as that of the sheet so well exposed along Silver Creek to 

the north of the site of Camp Curry. A remarkable and pleasing 

change is here experienced by the west-bound traveler, who passes 

from an area thousands of square miles in extent over which not a 

tree is to be seen to a region covered with an open but luxuriant 

forest. For 10 or more miles the road, which is smooth and hard, 

winds through the forest, now descending steep valley sides, traversing beautiful shadowy vales, and again ascending to the level of the 

general plateau surface, from which exquisite pictures of the primeval forest are beheld on every hand. The forest is composed mainly 

of yellow pine, as yet untouched by the woodman, and gives promise 

of great commercial value in the future when means for transportation shall have been provided. Beneath the tall, straight pines grow 

thickets of mountain mahogany resembling groves of olive trees, 

which here, as in many other localities on the uplands of Oregon, 

add picturesqueness to the rocks and crags among which they make 

their homes. The forest, so welcome after weeks spent in the glare 

of the sun on gray. deserts, extends far to the north, and probably 

continuously to the Blue Mountains of eastern Washington. In 

part it is included in a national forest reserve, and if properly cared 

for and the mature trees harvested, leaving the younger ones time 

to grow, will be valuable for ages to come.

On the south this great forest terminates abruptly, and from beneath the shade of the great trees on its margin one can look down on 

the bare hills of the desert land which it borders. Yet the only conspicuous difference between the forested plateau and the bare hills to 

the south is the nature of the underlying rocks, the plateau being 

composed of rhyolitic tuff, while the hills have been carved mainly 

from sheets of basalt. Beneath the portion of the forest traversed
52 GEOLOGY AND WATEE RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. LBVJLL. 252.

the porous surface rocks drink in all the water that comes to them 

and permit it to slowly percolate away and feed the springs and the 

streams in the countless erosion channels. The general elevation of 

the forested country, about 5,000 feet, is, however, greater than that 

of the vast treeless region bordering it on the south, thus favoring 

cooler climatic conditions in summer and retarding evaporation, and 

the precipitation, especially the snowfall in winter, is probably 

greater on the broad upland than on the desert valleys with their 

isolated hills, although of this there is no positive record. More 

study is required to show which is the determining cause leading to 

such a conspicuous change in the flora. In fact the several conditions 

favorable and unfavorable to tree growth seem to be delicately balanced, and the special factor in control is probably not the same 

throughout either the forested or the unforested region.

At Buck Creek, which flows south from the forested plateau, the 

road descends to the extensive sage-covered plain in which Crooked 

River has its source and enters Crook County.

WATER RESOURCES.

The rainfall throughout Harney County is too small to permit 

agriculture without irrigation. Owing to the considerable general 

elevation the loAvest altitude being the surface of Malheur Lake, 

which is about 4,150 feet above the sea and the clearness - and dryness of the air, which permit active radiation, frosts are of common 

occurrence during every month of the year, and only forage plants 

can be expected to yield adequate returns to husbandry. The uplands 

and valleys alike were clothed with bunch grass while in a state 

of nature, and wherever the soil was naturally moist and not too

alkaline the coarse rye grasses formed luxuriant meadows. These 

several conditions indicate that the chief farming industries must 

be stock raising and dairy farming. The problem that meets the 

hydraulic engineer is how to utilize the available water supply so as 

to best serve these demands.

SURFACE WATER.

Rivers and streams. The surface-water supply, although well 

known to the residents of the country, has only just begun to receive 

critical study. About all has already been done that can be accomplished by individuals and small communities in the way of diverting 

and utilizing the summer flow of the streams, but the main resource 

lies in the direction of storing the winter run-off in upland valleys 

and conducting it through canals to the most favorable portions of 

the lower valleys. There are but two streams that offer favorable 

conditions for such enterprises on a large scale, namely, Silvies River
BCSSBLL.] WATER RESOURCES OF HARNEY COUNTY. 53

and Donner and Blitzen River. Of these the former is by far the 

more favorable, and detailed surveys are in progress by the United 

States Geological Survey a for the purpose of determining accurately 

what can be accomplished by means of it. The possibilities of Donner 

and Blitzen River have not as yet been considered by hydraulic engineers, but they demand careful study, such general knowledge as is 

available concerning the valley through which it flows certainly 

favoring the hope that advantageous sites for storage reservoirs occur 

along its course.

Water pockets. About a mile north of Placidia Butte is a water 

pocket 500 or 600 feet in diameter, capable of holding 4 or 5 feet of 

water. This and several other similar depressions in the same region 

are of interest not only on account of their value as watering places 

for stock, but on account of their origin. Seemingly they are depressions due to wind erosion, but this explanation is not entirely satisfactory, since a similar basin on the forested plateau to the north of 

the Silver Creek Meadows has a rim of basalt all about it. These 

depressions are natural reservoirs in which water collects during the 

winter and spring months, but as they are filled to a .depth of several 

feet with soft, fine silt their value as watering places for stock is much 

impaired. By reexcavating them a supply of water sufficient for a 

large number of cattle might be easily and cheaply procured.

HABNEY VALLEY.

The great plain forming Harney Valley and its several side extensions offers an abundance of irrigable land suitable for forage crops, 

far more in fact than under the most sanguine hopes can ever be 

reclaimed through the use of the water flowing from its bordering 

uplands. There is an urgent demand for more water than the 

run-off can supply, and to secure it the only resource is to obtain 

water by means of wells.

Wells. Ordinary dug wells with a depth of less than 100 feet and 

usually less than 25 feet have proved successful in many portions of 

Harney Valley, particularly in and about Lawen, which is situated 

near the level of the lowest point in the basin. But while these wells 

are of value for household purposes and for watering stock, little 

use can seemingly be made of their water for irrigation. The hope 

for water for irrigation purposes, in addition to that furnished by 

surface streams, centers on a subsurface or artesian supply.

As explained in a previous report,6 Harney Valley is located in 

an extensive depression, which for several reasons is considered to

0 Second Ann. Kept. Reclamation Service, U. S. Geol. Survey, I-T. Doc. 44, 2d sess. OSth 

Cong., 1904, pp. 435-436.

6 Russell, I. C., Pi-eliniinary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon : Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 78, TJ. S. Geol. Survey, 1903,
54 GEOLOGY AND WATER EESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252'.

be an artesian basin that may be expected to yield a valuable water 

supply. The favorable opinion expressed in the report referred to 

in reference to obtaining artesian water was strengthened by the 

observations made during the reconnaissance which forms the basis 

of the present report, and the advisability of putting down a test 

well with all the care that can be exercised is again urged. A favorable locality for such a test, which should be carried as deep as practicable, is at or in the vicinity of Lawen.

 Water storage. In addition to Silvies River and Donner and 

Blitzen River, the possibilities for storing water on Rattlesnake 

Creek above the village of Harney, and also the advisability of constructing small reservoirs on Silver Creek above Riley, need to be investigated; but even at the present time it is evident that, owing to 

the limited water supply, the best returns to be hoped for from such 

undertakings are not great.

In the extensive area of hilly and even mountainous country embraced in the southwestern portion of Harney County the rainfall is 

small probably less than 10 inches and the land favorable for 

irrigation is restricted in area and widely scattered; The conditions 

do hot seem to favor the storage and utilization of the surface water, 

N and there.is no suggestion of the existence of an artesian supply. 

This extensive region is favorable for grazing, however, bunch grass 

being abundant, and something can certainly be done in the direction 

of developing springs" and of deepening natural water pockets so 

as to obtain local supplies for maintaining stock during the summer 

months.

CROOK COUNTY. 

CROOKED E1VER.

On emerging from the forest that occupies such an extensive area 

in the southwest part of Harney County we descended Buck Creek 

to the extensive valley at the east base of Hampton Butte, in which 

Crooked River has its source. The canyon of Buck Creek, which was 

traversed for about 6 miles, furnished a suggestion as to the character of the geology of the series of hills, or deeply dissected plateau, 

through which it flows. The canyon is from 500 to 600 feet deep, 

and has a conspicuous rim rock of basalt on each side, beneath which 

there are at least 700 feet of soft, mostly fine, sedimentary deposits, 

composed in part of volcanic dust. Along the canyon there is in 

places a narrow flood plain, which gives room for several small hay 

ranches. Where the creek emerges from the canyon and enters the 

broad valley or sagebrush plain to the south its water soon disappears;

0 Russell, I. C., Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho: Water-Sup, 

and Irr. Taper No. 54, TJ. S. Geol. Survey, 1901.
BUSSKLL.] CEOOK COUNTY. 55

and even its former channel is almost lost in the wind-deposited 

sands.

G1LCHBIST VAU.KY.

The valley at the head of Crooked River, in which Buck Creek 

sinks, is about 20 miles long from north to south and, in general, 10 or 

12 miles wide. On the southwest its border is low and indefinite, and 

in a general view it seems to merge with the Great Sandy Desert, 

which extends for at least 60 miles in a southeast and northwest direction across the southeast portion of Crook County and far into Lake 

County. This valley has no specific name, and for the sake of convenience, as well as a fitting acknowledgement of the enterprise and 

industry of its first settler, Mr. C. A. Gilchrist, whose hospitable home 

is still there, I propose to term it Gilchrist Valley. The valley contains, by estimate, fully 200 square miles of rich land, the greater 

part of it well situated for irrigation. Unfortunately, there are no 

surface streams rising in the bordering uplands that can be looked 

to for water enough to supply a single square mile. In a state of 

nature not only the valley, but the surrounding hills and buttes on all 

sides, were clothed with bunch grass, but now,.owing to overgrazing, 

all the land not inclosed with fences within a distance of about 6 

miles from any one of the few summer watering places is practically 

a desert.

On the south border of Gilchrist Valley rise the Glass Buttes, 

to which reference has already been made, with bold, rounded summits and long, sweeping slopes, which make them particularly attractive, but they are desert mountains, rising from a featureless and excessively arid valley. The upland area on the north side of the 

buttes, which slopes to Gilchrist Valley, is extensive, but has no lifegiving streams. On the west of the valley, rising boldly from its 

margin, stands Hampton Butte, a mountain mass similar to the Glass 

Buttes, and also waterless, so far as streams tributary to the adjacent 

valleys in summer are concerned. Uplands border the valley on the 

east, but are more remote and of less height than those on the west.

Warm springs. Crooked River, which has its source in a group 

of warm springs at the north end of Gilchrist Valley, flows northward through an irregular, and, in part, " box," canyon, with a conspicuous rim rock of light-colored rhyolitic tuff on each side. Other 

springs swell its volume in the first few miles of its course. The 

land about the springs in the north end of the valley has been 

inclosed with fences, and the water that rises to the surface used 

for irrigation. Small storage reservoirs have been constructed, with 

favorable results. The land, although alkaline, by careful irrigation has been made to yield favorable crops of hay.

The warm springs in Gilchrist Valley are not only of interest on 

account of the use that is now being made of their waters, but
56 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BOLL. 252.

because they supplement other evidence pointing to the probability 

that artesian water can be had over a large portion of the basin in 

which they are located. The springs range in temperature, from 60° 

to 87° .F. and are scattered for about 2 miles along a narrow northand-south belt. . They are all small, but it was not practicable to 

make accurate measurements of their discharges at the time of my 

visit, owing to the flooding of a part of the area where they rise 

by the storage reservoirs that have been constructed. Where the 

waters of the springs are combined at the outlet of the valley, they 

make a creek of warm water, the volume of which, by a rough estimate, is between 20 and 25 cubic feet per second. The temperature 

of the water, as it rises in the copious springs, indicates that it 

comes from a considerable depth. The rate of increase in temperature with depth is not the same at all points on the earth's surface, 

but where recent volcanic heat is not present is, in general, 1° F. for 

each 50 to 60 feet in depth below the stratum of no seasonal variation, which in Oregon may be taken at about 50 feet below the 

surface. The stratum of no seasonal variation has a temperature 

equivalent to the mean annual temperature at the surface, which in 

centra] Oregon is about 49° F. Assuming that the rate of increase 

in temperature with depth is 1° for each 60 feet, we find that the 

depth from which the spring in Gilchrist Valley are supplied is 

at least 2,200 feet. Perhaps a safer estimate, allowing for loss of 

heat as the water rises, would be 2,500 feet. At about that depth 

there is a supply of water at least sufficient to maintain the springs, 

which appear at the surface continuously throughout the year. As 

the springs rise through openings, in part at least, in soft material, 

there must be lateral seepage, and probably much loss in other ways. 

These springs may be justly termed artesian springs, as they flow 

by reason of the pressure of water at higher levels, and render it 

evident that if wells should be drilled to the requisite depth near 

them and properly cased a more abundant outflow might reasonably 

be expected.

Artesian wells. While the presence of warm springs in Gilchrist 

Valley alone would furnish a strong argument in favor of drilling 

wells in their vicinity with the hope of obtaining artesian water, 

other facts also sustain the conclusion that they are situated in an 

artesian basin.

On all sides of Gilchrist Valley, except the northeast, the rocks 

dip toward it in such a way as to be readily seen. On the northeast 

the country rises for a long distance, until the forest-covered plateau 

drained in part by Silver Creek is reached, and the rocks become so 

nearly horizontal that the determination of their dip is difficult. On 

the north the layers of basalt and volcanic tuff are conspicuously 

flat, but, as revealed by the rim rocks on the sides of Crooked River
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

COLUMNAR RHYOLITIC TUFF AT NORTH END OF GILCHRIST VALLEV ,,
PBTCE VALLEY. 57

Canyon, are gently inclined toward the south for a distance of at 

least 10 miles. The hasty examination I was able to make favors 

the conclusion that Gilchrist Valley is situated in a structural basin. 

The rocks passing under the valley are in many instances porous, as 

may be seen in the eastern slope of Hampton Butte, along Crooked 

River, etc.; that is, they are of such a nature that they permit water 

to percolate through them. The presence of impervious layers, or 

rocks of such a close texture that, if resting on a pervious bed, they 

would prevent water from escaping upward from it, is less easy to 

demonstrate, and, in fact, no good evidence was obtained that such 

beds are present.

While it is not just to claim from the observations thus far made 

that Gilchrist Valley is in reality situated in an artesian basin, the 

facts presented above, and the impression gained while traversing 

the region and searching for adverse as well as favorable evidence as 

to a possible artesian water supply, certainly favor the opinion that 

a true artesian basin of considerable size is present.

The source of supply of the water rising in the springs referred to 

is most probably in the plateau region to the northeast, and, as the 

volume of the springs and the extent of the supposed gathering 

ground indicate, will probably be found ample to supply a number 

of artesian wells.

The object of my examination was mainly to determine if the conditions present warrant the expense of putting down test wells for 

the purpose of demonstrating the presence or absence of water under 

pressure. To this question, so far as Gilchrist Valley is concerned, an 

affirmative answer is abundantly justified. The test well may be 

located anywhere in the basin where flat land occurs, but would serve 

its purpose best if put down on the north and south axis of the 

valley, anywhere from 1 to 3 miles south of the Gilchrist brothers' 

ranch, on which the most copious springs come to the surface.

If a test well is put down, a careful record of the nature, thickness, 

etc., of the rocks passed through should be kept, the well properly 

cased, and the pressure of the water in every water-bearing layer met 

accurately measured. Suggestions in these and other directions, 

together with a list of reports, papers, etc., relating both to the 

theory of artesian water supply and the art of well drilling, have 

been presented in a previous report.0

PRICE VALLEY.

From the foot of Gilchrist Valley our route led westward to the 

now abandoned post-office of Price, situated on Camp Creek, at the 

south base of Mutton Mountain.

" Russell, I. C., Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and 

southeastern Oregon: Water-Sup, and TIT. Paper No. 78. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.
58 GEOLOGY AND WATEE BESOUECES, CENTEAL OEEGON. [BULL. 252.

At the outlet of Gilchrist Valley a bed of conspicuously columnar 

rhyolitic tuff, about 20 feet thick, which dips west at an angle of about 

8°, is well exposed. (PI. III.) The direction of the inclination of 

this and of other similar blocks in the vicinity is not the same, and in 

many instances is to be ascribed to landslides rather than movements 

having a more general cause. The prevalence of sheets of compact 

tuff and of basalt, resting on soft sedimentary beds or on sheets of 

fine, incoherent volcanic dust and lapilli, affords favorable conditions 

for the occurrence of landslides throughout an extensive region 

drained by Crooked River in the upper portion of its course, and by 

Camp Creek, its principal tributary from the west. Along the canyon walls of these streams numerous illustrations of landslide topography are conspicuous!

The uplands between Gilchrist and Price valleys bear evidence of 

long-continued weathering, and stand in relief above the adjacent 

valleys because of the resistance offered to erosion by the widely 

extended sheet of rhyolitic tuff of which mention has already been 

made.

Camp Creek has excavated in soft sedimentary beds a valley in 

general 400 or 500 feet deep arid about 2 miles wide. From its head 

to a narrow outlet, through which the stream escapes through a canyon to join Crooked River, is a distance of about 8 miles. In this 

basin, which it is convenient to term Price Valley, there are abundant 

outcrops of fine gravel and light-greenish shales, which in several 

localities have been weathered into typical badland topographic 

forms, as illustrated by PL IV. Much of the south side of the valley 

is crowned by a conspicuous rim rock of rhyolitic tuff, while the 

north side is more irregular and rises precipitously to form Mutton 

Mountain, the rocks of which are basalt. Basalt also forms a conspicuous remnant left by erosion on the south side of the. valley.

John Day formation. The soft fresh-water sedimentary beds so 

well exposed in Price Valley, particularly near its head, have become 

known to geologists on account of the large number of well-preserved 

fossil bones discovered in them, and have been shown to be a part of 

the .John Day system. Judging from their close lithological similarity to the John Day beds at tj^pical localities adjacent to the river 

after which they are named, descriptions of which have been published by John C. Merriam,a the lower and middle members of that 

series are represented, but I am in doubt as to the presence of the 

upper member. However, previous observers refer the beds in question to the middle and upper John Day.

a A contribution to the geology of the John Day basin : Bull. Dept. Geology University 

of California, vol. 2, Berkeley, Cal., 1901, pp. 269-316. In this paper summaries of 

previous writings pertaining to the John Day formation are presented. . A description 

of the fossil flora of the John Day formation, and a discussion of its geologic age, are 

presented by F. H. Knowlton in Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 204, 1902.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 252 PL. IV

ERODED JOHN DAY BEDS, NEAR LOGAN BUTTE, CROOK COUNTY.
IMJSSELL.] PEICE VALLEY. " 59

The lowest exposures in Price Valley consist of soft, highly colored 

shales, among which dark-red layers are conspicuous. Associated 

with these are similar beds, ranging in color from buff to white, and 

composed, to some extent .at least, of volcanic tuffs. These beds, on 

weathering, produce rounded hills, in the sides of which the variously 

colored layers make concentric bands. These beds at least may be 

provisionally referred to the lower John Day.

Resting on the vari-colored beds just described are evenly stratified, 

bluish green shales having a dip of about 15° to the northeast, which 

are well exposed and form the most.conspicuous outcrops of the valley. Their thickness was not measured, but is evidently considerable, 

probably amounting to 3,000 or more feet. Near Price the conspicuous bluffs of these bluish green shales have been penetrated by 

prospecting tunnels, in which the fresh rock has been revealed.

The best exposures of the bluish green shales, here referred to the 

middle John Day on account of their similarity to the rocks of that 

formation as described by Merriam, are seen between Indian Creek 

and West Camp Creek, where fine examples of badland topography 

occur. At this locality, rising from a most instructive group of 

deeply sculptured and artistically beautiful hills and ridges, is a 

prominent landmark known as Logan Butte, which is capped by a 

remnant of a resistant layer of rhyolitic tuff. The main portion of 

the butte and of all of its flanking ridges, as W7 ell as of the associated 

but lesser buttes, has been carved from these light-colored shales. In 

these beds numerous well-preserved bones of extinct mammals.have 

been found, but only a few imperfect specimens were obtained during 

my visit. A view of Logan Butte as seen from the south and a nearer 

view of its capping layer of resistant rhyolitic tuff are presented 

on PI. V, A and B. The most interesting feature of the section exposed is the presence beneath the capping layer of tuff of nearly horizontal beds of dark-brown and reddish shales, volcanic dust, and 

conglomerate, which rest unconformably on the eroded surface of the 

conspicuously inclined middle John Day beds. These features are 

shown in more detail in the following section of the upper portion of 

the butte:

Geologic section of Logan Butte, Crook County, Oreg.

Feet. 

.1. Compact, massive, homogeneous, light-brown tuff, with many angular

fragments; no stratification lines; strongly jointed vertically ; rests 

evenly and conformably on the bed below -___________ 50

2. Dark-red or brown sandstone passing below into yellowish brown stratified sandstone, in part tuff_________ -_______________ 35

8. Fine white volcanic dust or tuff__________________'_:___ 2

4. Brown sandstone, soft but. weathering, with steep escarpments_____ 8

5. Conglomerate composed of well-worn pebbles 6 to 8 inches in diameter,

and varying in thickness __ ____ ____'______________ OtoS

Unconformity.

6. Blue-green and buff shales, dipping northeast 15° to 18°, evenly laminated, thickness exposed estimated at________________ 800
60 GEOLOGY AND WATEE RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON". [BUM,. 252.

Whether the stratified sedimentary beds above the unconformity 

noted in the section should be classed as upper John Day or as 

belonging to a higher formation remains to be determined.

Information in this connection has been supplied by Prof. Jdhn C. 

Merriam, of the University of California, who in a letter dated 

January 15,1904, writes-as follows:

The exposures of John Day beds at Price, Crook County, Oreg., were visited 

by Mr. V. C. Osmont, of the University of California, in 1900, and from his 

notes I quote the following:

"At Logan Butte itself, between 800 and 900 feet of the blue beds (middle 

John Day) are exposed. * * * On the northeast side of the butte they may 

be traced down the valley without a break for 1* miles, and then are covered 

with alluvium for a mile, then as the ground rises, buff beds (upper John Day) 

for one-half mile occur. Wherever exposed the beds referred to have a dip of 

about 15° to the northeast."

Judging from Mr. Osmont's description, and from the collections which he 

made at Logan Butte, I suppose both the upper and middle divisions of the 

system to be present. I do not remember whether I have mentioned any unconformity as existing between the middle and upper John Day. At one locality 

on the John Day River there seems to be an erosion interval represented between these two divisions.

The formation which you mention as resting uuconformably on the middle 

John Day at Logan Butte is described as follows in Mr. Osmont's notes:

" The John Day is protected from erosion by a horizontal layer of very much 

more recent formation, resembling closely the hard, light, reddish columnar tuff 

which so universally covers the Loup Fork (Marshall formation). This tuff 

rests unconformably and horizontally on the middle or possibly the top of the 

blue beds (middle John Day), the tuff beds (upper John Day) and the uppermost part of the blue beds having been cut away at this point This recent 

formation is made up of columns 30 to 40 feet through and 50 to 75 feet high. 

Beneath it are three or four distinct layers of red, blue, and yellow clay with 

white volcanic ash. The total thickness of this formation averages about 75 

feet."

At the time of Mr. Osmont's visit to Logan Butte I had not named and described the Rattlesnake formation, which you will find mentioned in my paper." 

After his return, Mr. Osmont informed me that the formation at Logan Butte 

was almost exactly similar to the Rattlesnake formation of the John Day 

Valley.

Volcanic rocks. The conspicuous capstone of Logan Butte' is a 

remnant of a widely extended sheet, other and far larger portions of 

which form the surfaces of table-lands a few miles distant to the 

south and east. This sheet, as noted on the previous page, is well 

exposed in the rim rocks of Camp Creek and Crooked River canyons, 

and the soft beds beneath it are probably portions of the widely extended John Day formation.

At several localities on the borders of these canyons the layer of 

tuff presents two well-marked divisions, but there is no distinct plane 

of separation between them. The upper portion of the bed, which

"Univ. California, Bull. Geol. Dept, vol. 2, pp. 299-314.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 252 PL. V

A. JOINTED RHYOLITIC TUFF AT SUMMIT OF LOGAN BUTTE, 

CROOK COUNTY.

LOGAN BUTTE, CROOK COUNTY. 

Looking north.
KUSSELL.J PRICE VALLEY. 61

frequently has a thickness of 40 feet, is massive and of a brown 

color, and at its base passes abruptly into a still more massive layer, 

which at times has the appearance of shale and is nearly black in 

color owing to the presence of numerous thin angular fragments of 

rhyolite with " perlitic " structure. The thickness of the lower division, where best seen, is exposed for 30 feet without revealing its 

base. The entire bed is frequently strongly jointed, the columns produced being at times as prominent as in the case of well-jointed 

basalt, the joints passing from one division of the bed to the other 

without change, thus showing both portions to be products of the 

same period of deposition. The differences in the two divisions of 

the layer are no doubt due to changes in the nature of the volcanic 

fragments which were showered on the land, and form the entire deposit. The absence of stratification in this and other similar sheets 

of volcanic debris, and also the fact that in some instances the thin, 

plate-like fragments entering into their composition stand on edge, 

are evidences that the tuff fell on land and is not a° water-laid deposit. 

The difference just noted between the upper and loAver portions of 

the tuff sheet in question is thought to furnish a means for identifying 

it at widely separated localities.

Artesian conditions, -In the central portion of Price Valley there 

are springs with a temperature of 67°. Near them two wells have 

been drilled, each of which reached water under sufficient pressure to 

cause free discharge at the surface. The record of one of these wells, 

furnished in part by Richard Hurley, is as follows1 :

Completed in 1885; bored with hand auger; diameter, 2 inches; total depth, 

229 feet; reached water under pressure at 130 feet, which rose about 20 feet 

above the surface of the ground;' discharge estimated at 12 cubic inches per 

second; water hard and tasted of sulphur; temperature, 78°; lower 100 feet 

of well yielded no .additional supply of water; material passed through 

reported to be clay; owing to a disturbance of the discharge pipe on bending 

it, most of the flow was lost; water used for irrigation and farm purposes. 

The other well, situated about 380 yards northeast of the one just described, 

depth not ascertained, also yielded artesian water.

The structure of the sedimentary beds in Price Valley gives no 

indication of the presence of a synclinal basin that is, the inclinations of the strata do not correspond with those found in such basins 

as commonly yield water under pressure. The temperature of the 

water, 73° F., indicates that it comes from a much greater depth than 

that of the boring through which it rises, and probably from at least 

1,300 feet below the surface. These two facts favor the conclusion 

that a deep artesian basin, or other conditions favoring the storage of 

water under pressure, exists beneath the formations outcropping in 

the valley.

These two successful artesian wells, neither of which has been cased, 

and one of which gave an artesian head of at least 20 feet above the
62 GEOLOGY AND WATER EESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

surface of the ground Avhere it was drilled, are an assurance that 

other wells put down to a depth of about 150 feet in the portion of 

the valley where they are located would meet with equally favorable 

results. At a distance of over a mile from the existing artesian Avells 

drilling will very likely have to be carried deeper than 150 feet, but 

hope of obtaining a surface flow should not be abandoned so long as 

soft rocks are met.

There is a large body of excellent land in Price Valley which can 

not be irrigated by means of surface streams, but which should be 

rendered of value by the presence of water under pressure at small 

depth, provided rigid economy and common sense are exercised in 

utilizing the supply.

Drilling in Price Valley, as has already been demonstrated, can 

be done with a hand auger to a depth of at least 200 feet, but each 

well put down should be properly cased, and if a surface flow is 

obtained the water should be shut off when not being utilized.

Recent erosion. -The floor of Price Valley, when seen from its 

north or south border, presents the appearance of a smooth sagebrush-covered plain. In crossing the valley, however, one finds that 

its surface is intersected by arroyos, or small canyons, through which 

water flows during the wet season. Joining the main trenches are 

several branches, each of which has the characteristics of ? young 

stream-cut canyon. The main trench, which follows the longer axis 

of the valley, ranges from 60 to 100 feet in width, is approximately 

25 feet deep, and has vertical walls throughout the greater portion 

of its course. The walls of the arroyos reveal admirable sections 

of the unconsolidated silts of recent date which floor the valley and, 

together with the recent erosion that has taken place, present facts 

of much interest. The appearance of the main trench about 2 miles 

east of Logan Butte is shown on PI. VI, A.

The tipper 17 to 20 feet of the arroyos' walls are composed of fine, 

gray, silt-like material which reveals obscure laminae but no conspicuous stratification. Beneath the silt there is an irregular sheet of 

gravel from 0 to 6 feet in thickness, which rests on the eroded edges 

of layers of weathered shale like that exposed in the valley sides, 

and presumably belongs to the John Day f ormation.

The interpretation of the condition described is that Price Valley 

was excavated in the John Day beds, and then filled to a depth of 

about 20 feet with fine-grained, stream-deposited silt. The silt is a 

flood-plain deposit, the counterpart of which can be seen in many 

places along the borders of streams throughout the arid portion of 

Oregon. These deposits correspond in age and in mode of deposition with the adobe and related deposits of the Great Basin and of 

other portions of the arid region of the Pacific mountains. After 

the valley was filled to the depth stated a change occurred in the
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WALLS OF RECENTLY ERODED STREAM CHANNELS IN ALLUVIUM, NEAR PRICE,

CROOK COUNTY.
HUSSHLL.] HAMPTON BUTTE. 63

action of the streams. Instead of continuing to deposit silt and raise 

the floor of the valley, they began to erode, not only cutting through 

the soft bed of silt and the irregular sheet of stream-deposited gravel 

on which that material rests, but even in places excavating channels 

to a depth of 4 to C feet in the underlying Tertiary shales.

The change that caused the streams to excavate instead of deposit 

was certainly very.recent, probably dating back only about fifteen or 

twenty years, although no note of its occurrence seems to have been 

taken by residents of the region. The renewal of the energy of the 

streams, however, is a part of a widely extended change, some 

account of which has already been recorded,0 and probably coincides 

with the introduction of domestic animals in such numbers that the 

surface covering of bunch grass was largely destroyed, and in consequence the run-off from the hills accelerated.

HAMPTON BUTTE.

Rising boldly from the northeast border of the Great Sandy Desert, 

in the southeastern portion of Crook County, is a much eroded volcanic mountain known as " Hampton Butte." When the geologic 

story of central Oregon is written, this butte, together with the Glass 

Buttes of similar history, 15 miles to the southeast, will occupy a 

leading place, since each of these elevations was built by explosive 

volcanic eruptions which discharged acid lavas and, as seems probable, furnished much of the material for the formation of the widely 

extended tuff sheets which form the surface over hundreds of square 

miles of the adjacent country. In the history of each of these 

ancient volcanoes there are two prominent chapters, one dealing with 

their construction or upbuilding and the other with their destruction 

or erosion.

GEOLOGY.

Hampton Butte has an elevation, as determined by aneroid measurements and subject to probably important corrections, of about 

2,500 feet above the nearly level surface of the broad desert plain to 

the south. Its base is irregular in outline, owing principally to the 

deep dissection of its sides by stream erosion, but in general measures 

about 6 miles in diameter. The butte has three prominent summits, 

the one farthest southeast, on the site of the mountain's peak when 

in its prime, is higher than its companions. It is composed of 

massive andesitic lava, and is the deeply eroded summit of the column of rock that cooled and hardened in the conduit of the volcano. 

The peak about 1 mile distant to the west of the central core is also

0 Russell, I. C., Geology and water resources of the Snake River plains of Idaho: 

Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 199, 1902, pp. 145-140.
64 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

of solid lava, but seems to be part of a lava flow; and the prominent 

ridge about 1 mile north of the summit, like the greater part of the 

butte, is composed of volcanic agglomerate. On all sides of the 

butte, forming its widely extended slopes, are beds of stratified 

agglomerate, which dip away from its central portion in all directions 

at angles in general of from 3 to 5 degrees. The dip of these beds 

decreases with distance from the vent from which the material composing them was blown out, and the component fragments show a 

decrease in size in the same directions. The agglomerate exposed in 

the border of the butte at a distance of 2 or 3 miles from its summit; 

consists largely of angular blocks of light-colored lava ranging from 

2 to 4 feet in diameter, firmly held in a compact matrix of angular 

volcanic sand and gravel. It weathers into monumental forms, 

admirable examples of which occur on the northeast side of the butte 

overlooking Gilchrist Valley (PL VII) and at many other neighboring localities. The thickness of the agglomerate beds on the sides 

of the butte is not less than 1,200 feet, though a full measure was 

not obtained.

An exception to the statement that Hampton Butte is composed 

of andesitic lava and fragmental material of the same nature occurs 

on its southeast side, and in a neighboring but intimately associated 

ridge, sometimes termed " Cougar Butte," in which black rock resembling basalt is well exposed. The eruptions which furnished the 

black rock were evidently later than the period of activity of the 

andesitic volcano which built the main portion of the mountain, but 

their full history remains to be studied.

The records now exposed and clearly legible show that Hampton 

Butte was at one time a conical mountain much higher than at present, and as may be judged from analogy with other similar volcanic 

piles that are yet in their prime, formerly had a crater with an 

encircling rim of lapilli at its summit. All vestiges of such a crater 

have disappeared, however, and the once smooth, sweeping slopes of 

the conical pile have been deeply trenched by streams which flowed 

away from its central portion in all directions. Ten or twelve 

gulches carved by these streams still lead downward to the bordering 

plains. The butte now presents a rugged surface; nearly everywhere the soil is composed of light-colored volcanic sand, containing many loose blocks, and has been formed principally by the 

disintegration of the agglomerate beds on which it rests. The rain 

that falls is at once absorbed and surface rills are uncommon, but cold 

springs come to the surface in most of the gulches and, as noted below, 

have an instructive relation to the stratification of the beds from 

which they issue. The hills and the valleys alike are clothed with 

luxuriant bunch grass and the north sides of several of the ridges bear 

beautiful groves of yellow pine, showing a delicate adjustment in the
U. fi. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

ANDESITIC AGGLOMERATE ON EAST SIDE OF HAMPTON BUTTE., CROOK COUNTY.
'RUSSELL.] HAMPTON BUTTE. 65

distribution of soil moisture. Less restricted in their distribution 

than the pine and extending far out on the bordering plains are open 

growths of juniper trees.

WATER RESOURCES.

Hampton Butte is not not only isolated in reference to its associated 

mountains, but is also remote from centers of industry and far removed from usual routes of travel. On the north its nearest neighbor 

of comparable prominence is Mutton Mountain, about 12 miles distant, and on the southeast the Glass Buttes, about 15 miles away, 

across a nearly level sagebrush plain. In all other directions comparable elevations are remote. There are a number of cabins about the 

butte, all occupied by energetic and most hospitable ranchers. The 

watering places have been inclosed by fences, and small areas about 

the lower slope of the butte are irrigated and produce good hay crops

and some wheat. The value of the butte and the region about it,

however, lies almost solely in its excellent pastures, its usefulness as a 

stock range being due largely to the fact that it is an outpost of industry in a generally waterless land. To the south the great desert, 

which in winter furnishes abundant pasturage, extends without a 

resident for 40 or more miles, while the butte itself is so thinly settled 

and the extent of the uninhabited country about it so vast that it is 

still almost in a state of nature. Its grasses are still luxuriant, and 

deer and antelope continue to make it their home; mountain sheep 

were formerly abundant, but have now vanished.

The remoteness of Hampton Butte from all commercial centers, the 

abundance of grass on its hills and vales, the number of its cool 

refreshing springs, the beauty of its groves of whispering pines and 

junipers, and, perhaps more than all, the almost continuous sunshine 

that bathes its breezy slopes, make it wonderfully attractive to the 

traveler, from whatever land he may have wandered. As a health 

resort and place of rest and recreation it has but few rivals.

Springs. Hampton Butte, as stated above, is located in an arid 

region and in the midst of broad plains on which there is scarcely any 

perennial water. The demand for water is very great, not only for 

irrigation, but for watering stock and for household purposes. To 

meet this demand the only source of supply now utilized is the 

scanty outflow from springs.

About the butte, at an elevation of approximately 5,000 feet above 

the sea, or 1,000 feet below the highest summit, there are several 

springs, for the most part of small volume. They are located in 

gulches eroded in the outward-dipping sheets of agglomerate and tuff 

which surround the central plug of lava, and come to the surface where 

retentive strata outcrop. The retaining layers, as indicated in at least 

Bull 353 05 M 5
66 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

two instances, are thick beds of coarse but firmly cemented agglomerate. On account of the dip of the beds of agglomerate and the manner in which radiating gulches have been excavated in them, the more 

resistant beds extend far toward the summit of the butte on the crests 

of the ridges between the radiating gulches, in the bottom of which 

their lowest outcrops occur. The springs are all cold, their temperature being from 51° to 53° F., and their source of supply is clearly the 

rain and snow that falls on the butte above the outcrops of the retentive layers, which cause the water to appear at the surface.

The conditions just described render it evident that something can 

be done in the way of improving the springs and conserving the water 

that now percolates away and is lost. The best method of doing this 

is to excavate tunnels in the rocks, beginning a few feet, or rather 

as low as practicable, below where a spring now appears and continuing the excavations toward the center of the butte wr ith a gently rising 

gradient until the.retentiA'e bed is passed through and more porous 

material reached. The tunnel should then be extended in two 

branches, like the arm of the letter Y, so as to intercept and furnish 

a free escape for the percolating water. The length of the main tunnel in.each instance would have to be governed by local conditions, 

and chiefly by the thickness and dip of the retentive layer of agglomerate to be penetrated, but in no instance, so far as can now be judged, 

would an extent of more than 300 or 400 feet be required. Suggestions as to this method of utilizing what may be termed horizontal 

wells have been presented in a previous report." Several if not all 

of the springs about Hampton Butte might be improved in the manner just suggested and the available water supply considerably increased. The main or entrance tunnels in each case should be floored 

with impervious material, as clay or cement, and the water obtained

conducted in pipes to the localities where it is to be used. This

method of utilizing the water in the case under consideration is especially recommended, since the localities where it can be employed are 

well separated one from another, and each .rancher owning a developed spring would not be in danger of having his water supply drawn 

upon by his neighbors, and hence would in his own interest be led to 

the utmost economy in its use.

In place of excavating a tunnel, as suggested above, at each of the 

localities where a spring appears in a well-defined gulch, a similar end 

can be reached by drilling a vertical well a few yards or a few rods 

downstream from the locality where water now comes to the surface. 

Such drill holes, if carried to a depth of about 250 or 300 feet, should 

in most instances yield flowing water. It is not possible at present 

to state just how deep such drill holes should be carried, but the cona Hussell, I. C., Geology and water resources of. Nez Perces County, Idaho : Water-Sup, 

ana Irr. Paper No. 54, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, pp. 98-101.
RUSSELL.] HAMPTON BUTTE. 67

ditions are favorable, and the depth mentioned might reasonably be 

attempted unless success is secured sooner.

As already explained, the stratified tuffs and agglomerates forming 

the greater part of Hampton Butte dip away from its central portion and decrease in their degree of inclination with increase in distance. The size of the fragments composing the beds also decreases 

with the distance from the vent from which they \verc discharged. 

These conditions favor the hope that artesian water can be had about 

the outer border of the butte. On its north side there is.a lake basin, 

or rather water pocket, several hundred acres in area, about Avhich, 

particularly on the southeast, there are several square miles of nearly 

level sagebrush land. This locality is sufficiently near Hampton 

Butte to favor the hope that artesian water can there be had, owing 

to the outward dip of the beds of tuff, etc., as just explained. There 

does not seem to^be any way to test this possibility except by means

of the drill, but the value of a flowing well at the locality referred to 

would be sufficient to warrant giving Aveight to the knoAvn favorable 

conditions. After due consideration I venture to suggest that it 

would be well to put doAvn a drill hole at the locality mentioned to a 

depth of at least 1,000 feet.

When the seA^eral springs about Hampton Butte are developed so as 

to yield their full quota of Avater it is to be expected that practically 

all the irrigable land immediately beloAv them can be converted 

into hay ranches. The actual areas of such irrigable lands have not 

been computed, but are 'well known to the ranchers of the vicinity, 

and, although small in each instance, are of great value in the aggregate from the use to which the hay can be put in the feeding of stock 

during unusually severe winter weather. Summer pasture is abundant, but the critical condition that limits the number of head of stock 

a rancher can safely maintain is the necessity of tiding them over 

the stormy periods of Avinter. Hence every effort should be made to 

increase and conserve the limited Avater supply.

' Water pockets. The extent of country over Avhich stock can range 

about Hampton Butte, as is the case throughout the arid region, 

depends on the presence of Avatering places. With a Avide summer 

range, the grass near Avinter supplies of hay can be conserved, and 

thus greater benefits be derived from it. As summer Avatering places 

in the valleys and on the plains about the buttes are far apart, a 

suggestion offered on page 53 in reference to deepening natural Avater 

pockets may here be repeated. At Dry Lake, as it is termed, referred 

to above, situated about 6 miles north of the butte, a reservoir could 

be excavated Avhich would contain sufficient water to supply a large 

number of cattle throughout the summer. The advantage of excavating a reservoir to as great a depth as practicable may be readily 

judged from the fact that water now stands in the basin each spring
68 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

to a depth of a few inches over an area of a square mile or more. 

By restricting this supply to a smaller area the loss from evaporation 

would be lessened and the duration of the supply increased; besides, 

an excavated reservoir would serve as a well and lead to the percolation to it of the ground water from adjacent areas.

The plans outlined above for the increase and concentration of the 

water supply about Hampton Butte call for only small investments, 

such as the returns to be expected amply justify, and I trust will 

receive careful consideration from the intelligent and progressive 

ranchers of the locality.

GREAT SANDY DESERT. 

HAMPTON BUTTE TO BUTTON SPRING.

The route followed on- leaving Hampton Butte led southwest across 

the Great Sandy Desert toward Christmas and Silver lakes. The first 

water met, with the exception of a small ephemeral lake, or " pocket," 

of alkaline water unfit for human use, occurs at Button Spring, about 

35 miles from the west base of Hampton Butte.

For about 4 miles from the springs on the west side of Hampton 

Butte the country rock is andesite and andesitic tuff similar to the material composing the butte itself, from which it probably came. Judging from the topography, this same rock extends far to the northwest. 

At a distance of about 6 miles from Hampton Butte, however, in the 

direction mentioned, is a low conical elevation, which, judging from its 

color as seen at a distance, is composed of basalt, and about it is an 

extensive lava flow of the same character. The butte referred to is on 

the " upper desert; " that is, it lies to the north of the long line of 

bluffs that form the northern border of the Great Sandy Desert, or the 

" lower desert," as it is locally termed. This line of bluffs, which 

sharply defines the north border of the Great Sandy Desert for fnlly 

20 miles northwest from near the south base of Hampton Butte, is composed of sheets of basalt, the eroded edges of Avhich reveal a thickness 

of between 80 and 100 feet. The beds are gently inclined and dip 

northward at an angle of about 1°. In places the steep escarpment 

is concealed by pumiceous sand, which has been drifted over it by the 

prevailing westerly winds. . On descending this south-facing escarpment of basalt through a 

notch that seems to have been eroded by a south-flowing stream 

the nearly level surface of the lower desert is reached; thence southwestward the road follows an almost straight course bearing S. 25° 

to 30° W. for about 15 miles across a plain of light-colored pumiceous sand, with occasional exposures of basalt. The outcropping 

layers of basalt dip north at a low angle, probably 1° or 2°, until 

the axis of the valley is passed, at a distance of 5 or 6 miles from
RUSSELL.] GREAT SANDY DESERT. 69

the line of bluffs bordering it on the north. This dip is revealed in 

the gradient of the road, which, when followed southward, ascends 

long, gentle slopes, at the top of each of which is a short, steep descent 

to the base of another gentle rise. The beds of basalt on the south 

side of the valley for several miles, although seemingly nearly horizontal, have a gentle downward slope to the south. From the facts 

noted along the section traversed in crossing the Great Sandy Desert, 

that depression appears to be of the nature of an anticlinal valley; 

that is, it has been eroded in the summit portion of a gentle upward 

fold or anticline.

The Great Sandy Desert is without water, except such as gathers 

in small basins and forms water-pockets during the winter. Wells 

dug, as I have been informed, to a depth of about 70 feet failed to 

reach water, the material passed through, like that forming the surface, being pumiceous sand, No method o'f obtaining water on the

desert, even for stock ranches, seems to be practicable, except the deepening of the natural water pockets. So far as the. geologic structure is known, it gives no suggestion of the presence of artesian 

conditions.

On the southwest side of the Great Sandy Desert, or in a general 

way about 25 miles north of Christmas Lake, there are a large number of low and for the most part rounded buttes, each of which marks 

the site of an old volcano. This region, like the arid plain adjacent 

to it on the north, is without water, and, as is manifest from the 

number of volcanic cones present, as well as the apparent absence of 

the necessary geologic structure, offers no encouragement to the 

searcher for artesian water.

BUTTON SPRING.

Button Spring is located about 15 miles northwest of Christmas 

Lake, and with the exception of two or three wells that have been dug 

near the road between these two localities, is the only available 

water within a radius of 15 miles, and in most directions of 30 or 

more miles. To the east of the spring extends a waterless region 

without trees, except an open growth of junipers, but on the west 

the country is shaded by a magnificent forest of yellow pine, which 

continues west over a region rendered rugged by many recent basaltic 

craters and several mountain-like elevations eroded from more 

ancient, andesitic lavas, to the Cascade Mountains and thence to the 

shore of the Pacific. The forest terminates abruptly on the east in 

what maybe designated as a dry timber line. The grass on the eastern border extends into the forest, forming beautiful glades, and 

grows luxuriantly beneath the trees, but the absence of water renders 

these natural pastures useless. Great as is the demand for water in
70 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

this inviting region both for stock and, as will no doubt soon be the 

case, for sawmills, no practicable method of supplying it can at 

present be suggested, except that small storage reservoirs might be 

made in some of the valleys.

Button Spring is a weak hillside spring which emerges at the 

base of a rim rock of basalt on the side of a small valley. The volume of the spring was formerly greater than at present, and, as is 

reported, served for the irrigation of a few acres of land, but 

attempts to increase the supply by excavating a vertical well resulted 

in a loss of the water. The well is said to have been 100 feet deep, 

but it has now been filled to within a few feet of the surface. The 

excavation reached a light-colored, highly porous layer, probably of 

volcanic dust, beneath the surface sheets of basalt, thus permitting 

of the ready escape of the water. Much water is evidently still being 

lost in this way, but the value of the spring can no doubt be restored 

by placing a water-tight floor or shallow cement basin in the bottom 

of the excavation as it is at present and allowing the water to flow 

out as formerly. The excavation of a horizontal and not a vertical 

well would have been the proper method for developing the spring.

LAVA CAVES.

About half a mile east of Button Spring there is a locality where 

the falling of a portion of the roof of a cavern has formed an opening about 14 feet across, by means of which access can be gained to 

a subterranean chamber of the ordinary type of lava tunnels, formed 

by the outflow of molten lava from beneath the thick,, rigid crust of 

a sheet of basalt. The tunnel on which the opening is located 

trends east and west, but owing to the falling of parts of its roof can

be followed for only a few rods, The opening leading down to the

cavern suddenly expands about a foot below the outer surface into a 

vaulted chamber approximately 100 feet in diameter and 45 to 50 

feet deep. Snow entering the chamber through the hole in the 

roof remains until late summer, and, as persons familiar with the 

region state, sometimes endures, in part changed to ice, from one 

winter to the next. A little ice was present at the time of my visit, 

July 29, 1903, and the temperature of the air in an extension of the 

main chamber and at a depth of 40 to 60 feet below the surface was 

19° F. This opening may therefore be termed an ice cave, and, like 

others in the same general region, may be considered as a natural 

ice house, in which the presence of ice is due to the preservation of 

snow and ice formed during winter months.

In the vicinity of the cavern just described there are irregular, 

steep-sided, canyon-like valleys from 40 to 50 feet deep which owe 

their origin to the subsidence of the roofs of similar lava tunnels.
KUSSHLL.] GREAT SANDY DESERT. 71

BASALTIC CRATERS.

All about Button Spring there are conspicuous buttes, mostly 

with rounded summits, which by their shapes at once declare their 

volcanic origin. These hills, of which typical examples are shown 

on PI. VIII, are old volcanic cones composed of basaltic lava, for 

the most part in the form of lapilli and scoriae, usually- of -a reddish 

color, and to a minor extent of well-formed bombs. In a 'few 

instances they extruded lava in streams that spread out in sheets on 

the adjacent plain. In most cases the cones have yielded to the 

weather to such an'extent that the craters which once existed in their 

summits have disappeared, and their tops have been fashioned into 

dome-like shapes, in most instances presenting examples of what are 

termed weather curves. From a hill near Button Spring 28 individual volcanic craters were counted within a radius of about 7 miles,

lying mostly to the east of the place of observation. Many other similar volcanoes are also known to exist in the f orested.region to the west 

of the same locality and still others to the south. The majority of 

the old craters are small, ranging in height from 150 to 200 feet, but 

some of those to the southeast, as noted below, are much higher.

These elevations furnish good illustrations of the weathering of 

accumulations of porous material, such as scoriae and lapilli, in their 

passage from a conical shape with steep sides to rounded hills and 

gently swelling mounds. An instructive fact' in connection with the 

weathering of cinder and lapilli cones is that they sometimes give 

origin to crescent-shaped and even nearly straight ridges Avhich are 

steep on one side and slope gently on the other. .In the case of the 

crescent-shaped, ridges the steep slope is on the concave side. Such 

weathered remnants find an explanation in the form of the original 

piles, due to the agency which built them and in some instances partly 

destroyed them. A symmetrical volcanic cone -composed of scoriae 

and lapilli changes under the destructive action of the atmosphere to 

a symmetrical mound which expands and flattens as weathering progresses, while a crater, one side of which has been blown away or 

removed by an outflowing lava stream, weathers to a crescent-shaped 

hill. If the destructive action of the volcanic agencies has been 

greater and only a fragment of a comparatively large crater wall is 

left standing, it sinks as'weathering progresses into a ridge, at the 

same time broadening, owing to the removal of material from the 

summit and its deposition on the sides and about the base of the pile, 

finally becoming a ridge in which the original curvature of the longer 

axis may be entirely lost.

The weathering of the volcanic piles near Button Spring has 

brought out still another feature which is not uncommon in the topog-
72 GEOLOGY AND WATEE RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

raphy of ancient craters. In the case of a small cinder cone about 1 

mile east of .the spring a lava flow, originated in a summit crater, 

descended the northeastern slope of the cone, and reached the plain at 

its base. The portion of the lava stream which cooled and hardened 

on the side of the cone forms a sheet 30 to 50 feet thick and 400 or 

500 feet wide, inclined at an angle of approximately 20°. After the 

lava .hardened the crater from which it came was deeply eroded and 

all vestiges of its rim removed, leaving the upper portion of the lava 

stream in bold relief as the highest part of the unsymmetrical hill of 

which it forms the steepest side. A photograph of this instructive 

butte is presented in PI. VIII, A. The margin of the lava sheet 

facing the site of the crater from which it came is precipitous and 

its lateral margins are also bold. As weathering continues, it is to 

be expected that the solid lava will become more and more prominent 

until at a late stage all vestiges of the cinder and lapilli cone from 

which it came will have disappeared. It will then be left as an isolated inclined bed, with a gentle slope on one side and a steep talus 

on the other; that is, it will have the appearance of a local uplift of 

a portion of a previously horizontal sheet of basalt.

The sequence of topographic changes just outlined may be illustrated by a series of ideal examples, as in the following figure, which 

shows (Stages in the change referred to:

FIG. 1. Sketch of cinder cone with summit lava flow.

The sketches represent vertical sections through a cinder cone from 

which a summit discharge of liquid lava occurred at various stages 

during its erosion. The first sketch to the left represents a section of

the young crater, and the succeeding ones the changes passed through 

up to the time the cinder cone has mostly disappeared, and only the 

inclined sheet of more resistant lava remains.

ISTot only are inclined sheets of solid lava left exposed by the erosion 

of the cinder and lapilli craters from which they were discharged, but, 

as is suggested by some of the craters near Button Spring, the tuff 

beds on one portion of a crater may be more resistant than other portions of the same accumulation and be left, as erosion progresses, as 

isolated inclined beds. As it seems, also, flows of brecciated or angular 

fragmental material simulating true lava streams in the manner of 

their extrusion are sometimes discharged from summit craters and 

descend their outer slopes. Such outpourings also may endure as 

local exposures of inclined beds when erosion has removed the cones 

on which they originated.

The weathering of a cinder or lapilli cone, from which a stream of 

lava has been extruded from a summit crater, in the manner de-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVE' lULLETIN NO. 252 PL. VIII

B i

BASALTIC CINDER CONES NEAR BUTTON SPRING, LAKE COUNTY. 

A, With summit lava flow, U, with residual mass of tuff at summit; r, weathered cone.
RUSSELL.] GREAT SANDY DESERT. 73

scribed above, furnishes an explanation of the nature of certain curious buttes in Oregon and Idaho, which have been a puzzle to all who 

have seen them. For example, some 10 miles northeast of Button 

Spring there is a butte about 250 feet high, which has an inclined 

table on one side and is locally termed the Soldiers Cap, in reference 

to its resemblance to the caps worn by Union soldiers during the civil 

war. Although I have seen this butte only from a distance, it appears to be of the" nature of the cone near Button Spring, described 

above, but in a more advanced stage of erosion. Again, on the north 

border of Snake River, about 12 miles south of Caldwell, Idaho, 

there is a conspicuous butte about 125 feet high, which has an inclined table on its eastern side, and is apparently another example 

of the same nature. A third illustration is furnished by Middle 

Butte, situated midway between East and Big buttes, on the Snake

River Plains, about 28 miles northwest of Blackfoot, Idaho. In

this instance a sheet of basalt 100 feet or more thick rises boldly from 

the plain with a slope of about 10° toward the southeast, and breaks 

oft' in a precipitous escarpment on its northwest border. The butte 

is about 500 feet high, approximately a mile long from northeast to 

southwest, and about half a mile wide. Surrounding it on all sides 

is a plain of basalt of more recent date than the rock of which it is 

composed. This example of what appears to be a local .uplift may 

well be a large example of a lava stream on the side of a cinder cone 

that has been left isolated by the erosion of. its parent crater; in 

this instance, however, subsequent basaltic flows from neighboring 

craters have assisted in concealing evidence of the cinder cone from 

which the inclined sheet of lava was probably erupted. This same 

hypothesis seemingly furnishes an explanation for the presence of 

the inclined sheet of basalt referred to in describing Hampton Butte, 

designated on the General Land Office map of Oregon as Cougar 

Butte, but locally considered as a part of the large butte to the northwest.

The several examples just referred to were seen by me before I 

visited the butte near Button Spring, and were passed by without 

being understood; now they seem to be explainable on the hypothesis 

here presented.

BLACK MOUNTAIN.

From any commanding point of view near Button Spring the most 

conspicuous elevation in sight is a prominent black butte with a 

triple summit, about 8 miles to the southeast. As seen from the 

direction just mentioned the cathedral-like elevation consists of a 

central dome about 800 feet high, flanked on each side by smaller 

domes approximately 200 feet lower. The grouping of the three is
74 GEOLOGY AND WATER EESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

strikingly symmetrical, and their slopes descend to the black lava 

field which surrounds them in long, sweeping curves. The blackness 

of the group, which has suggested its name, is due to the color of 

the basaltic lava of which it is composed, but has been enhanced in 

recent years by the burning of the open forest that clothed its sides 

and extended over the surrounding lava flow. A younger forest has 

sprung up, however, and now the lava field and central elevations 

are overgrown with junipers, mountain mahogany, and a few pines.

On visiting Black Mountain the symmetry of the grouping of its 

three central domes is found to depend on the point of view from 

which they are observed. The central elevation is composed of 

coarse lapilli and scoriae, among which a few well-shaped' volcanic 

boimbs occur, but it is only a remnant of the original crater. The part 

remaining is the northern portion of the rim of a bowl-shaped depression, about three-fourths of which has been removed, the outline of 

the missing portion being indicated by low ridges of lapilli. The 

crater seems to have been breached by an outflow of lava from its 

southern side, but may have been ruined by an explosion. The west 

elevation is closely connected with its higher companion, and is a 

lapilli and scorise crater 100 feet deep with a complete rim about 

450. feet in diameter. The southeast elevation, which appears as a 

rounded dome when seen from the north, in close. proximity to the 

central elevation, is in reality about three-fourths of a mile distant 

and is but the ruin of a crater composed of reddish scoria3.

All about Black Mountain there is a fresh basaltic lava field, with 

an irregular margin, in general from 1^ to 2 miles in radius. This 

lava came to the surface near the base of the central crater, and perhaps represents the results of more than one eruption. Its surface is 

fresh in appearance and excessively rough. On its margin it terminates in steep, irregular escarpments. The roughness of the surface

and the steepness of the bordering slopes show that the rock of which 

it is composed flowed out either in a highly viscous condition or that 

its motion was retarded by the fragments of the first-formed crust 

which became involved in and were carried along by the still viscous 

material beneath and into which they sank. The surface slope of the 

lava field is between 2 and 3 degrees near the the craters with which 

it is associated, but .at a distance of less than half a mile flattens out 

and becomes essentially horizontal. On its northern portion there 

is a group of small, fresh-looking craters, probably produced by 

superficial explosions.

From the summit of Black Mountain an instructive view is furnished of a land dotted with craters in various stages of erosion, of 

which about 25 still retain enough of their characteristic constructional shapes to be recognized as being of volcanic origin. On the 

east the bare mud plain about Christmas Lake, in places white with
RUSSELL.] GREAT SANDY DESEBT. 75

salt and other efflorescent products, is in view. The entire landscape 

eastward of the mountain, and extending for a score of miles on 

each side of the desolate plain in its midst, is typical of the arid 

region' of which it forms a part. This is the northern extension of 

the Great Basin and is similar to the vast expanse of arid country 

embraced in the series of drainless basins in Nevada, Utah, etc., with 

which it forms a connected series. On the west occur many recent 

basaltic craters and more ancient hills and ridges that have resulted 

from the dissection of light-colored andesites and rhyelites; all are 

covered by the great pine forest to which reference has already been 

made. .

GENERAL GEOLOGY.

In traveling toward Button Spring from Hampton Butte, all the

Solid rocks exposed, after reaching the line of basaltic cliffs, described

-on page 68, which defines the northern border of the Great Sandy

Desert, are basalt. To the east and south of the spring also nothing 

but basalt was encountered in the various excursions made from that 

locality, and the many old craters in sight from Black Mountain and 

other neighboring eminences, within a radius of about 10 miles, are 

dark in color and .appear to be composed of basaltic rocks. On the 

west of the spring also several basaltic craters were visited, and 

others recognized by their color, mode of weathering, etc. All of 

this goes to show that basaltic eruptions from many craters have there 

taken place. The number of craters in various stages of erosion, and 

decay within a radius of 10 miles from Button Spring is by estimate 

not less than 50. Beginning about 2 miles south of the spring and 

extending far into the forest to the southwest are abundant outcrops 

of light-colored lavas (andesites and rhyolites) and variegated tuff 

beds, which contain large masses of black obsidian. These rocks 

weather into bold cliffs and have been deeply trenched by stream-cut 

valleys, now without water except in winter or when the snow is 

melting, and in many instances without rill channels in their deeply 

filled and nearly flat bottoms.

The region about Button Spring contains the records of at least 

three groups of events: First, a prevalence of volcanoes, probably in 

the early Tertiary age, which discharged acid lavas and were characterized by the violence of their explosive eruptions; second, a long 

period of denudation, during which the previously formed lava flows 

and tuffs were deeply eroded (this time seems to relate in part at 

least to the Sierran epoch), and, third, a modern period, during which 

a large number of volcanic vents were established and basic lavas 

extruded, both during explosive eruptions and quiet discharges of 

liquid -rock. These recent basaltic volcanoes, although comparatively 

young and furnishing the last important chapter in the geologic his-
76 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. IBULL. 252.

tory of the region,' are actually centuries old, and in most instances 

have suffered much defacement from the attacks of the denuding 

agencies of the air. The later chapters in this interesting, geologic 

history, when fully interpreted, will include an account of a climatic 

change from hurnid to the present arid condition.

From Button Spring a road leads north to Prineville, on following which one passes over basalt nearly all of the way. Rocks that 

are older, however, and that differ in character from the seemingly 

universal sheets that floor the valleys, form the three prominent 

groups of hills, namely, Pauline Mountains, Pine Mountain, and 

Powell Butte, which were .visited during the journey. In places, as 

midway between Button Spring and Pine Mountain, the basalt forming the plains is concealed beneath an extensive series of dunes composed of pumiceous dust and lapalli.

DKY RIVER.

Our first camp after leaving Button .Spring was in the bed of an 

ancient stream known as Dry River, which at one time drained the 

Great Sandy Desert. The course of the channel is well marked from 

the west end of the desert to Deschutes River, a distance of over 50 

miles. At our camp, about 6 miles east of Pauline Mountains, the 

old river bed is a well-defined canyon, 30 to 40 feet deep and 150 

feet wide, with walls of columnar basalt. About 12 miles farther west 

the canyon becomes deeper, and for a distance of 4 or 5 miles is a 

narrow defile with vertical walls of basalt. In the river bed at the 

time of our visit there was no water, but by digging in the sand 

that partly fills the channel a sufficient supply for camp purposes 

for a single day was obtained at a depth of 6 feet.

PAULINE MOUNTAINS.

The name Pauline Mountains is used on the General Land Office 

map of Oregon to designate a prominent group of hills situated 42 

miles directly south of Prineville and approximately in the geographic center of the State. Locally, however, the same name is also 

applied to other equally conspicuous elevations in the vicinity of 

Pauline and East lakes. Although these two groups of picturesque 

hills or mountains are connected by a tract of high land, they are 

independent, so far as their geologic histories are concerned, and as 

they will no doubt receive much attention from geologists and others 

in the future, it is thought advisable to designate them by separate 

names. For the group of hills termed the Pauline Mountains on 

the map referred to above that name will be used in this report, and 

for the exceedingly interesting and conspicuously beautiful mountain 

in the summit of which Pauline and East lakes are situated a special name will be proposed on a later page (see p. 97).
RDSSELL.] POWELL BUTTE. 77

The Pauline Mountains proper rise boldly from the bordering 

basaltic plain to a height of about 1,500 feet. The main summit is 

a sharp ridge trending N. 70° E. (magnetic), which at each end 

curves abruptly southward, so as to partly inclose an amphitheater 

nearly 2 miles in diameter. The rock along the crest of the ridge 

and forming the conspicuous pinnacles rising from it is a hard, purplish, material resembling quartzite, but from field observations 

simply is believed to be mainly a consolidated rhyolithic tuff. The 

sides of the mountain are thickly covered with quartz sand. The 

stratification of the rock is well defined and the dip on the crest of 

the main ridge is downward to the east at an angle of about 16°, 

the strike being at right angles to the trend of the ridge. In the 

curved western portion of the ridge, and exposed in the west wall 

of the great amphitheater, the dip is south at an angle of from 16° 

to 17°. The mountain is thus shown to be an eroded remnant of what

was probably at one time a great volcanic cone older than the surrounding basalt, but no fossils were discovered by means of which its 

age might be determined. To the northwest of the main ridge and 

about half a mile distant rises an outstanding butte composed of rock 

of the same character as the main elevation, left in bold relief bj 

erosion.

The floor of the amphitheater on the south side of the Pauline Mountains is deeply covered, over an area of 3 or 4 square miles, with nearly 

white pumiceous lapilli, which the wind has drifted into dunes. This 

barren area is bordered on the south by an open forest of junipers. 

The mountain itself, more especially its northern slope, bears groves 

of yellow pine and has a well-defined forest about its western base.

The view from the topmost pinnacle of Pauline Mountains is farreaching and superb. In the east, beyond the barren yellow plain of 

the Great Sandy Desert, Hampton and Glass buttes are in plain 

sight, and the tapering summit of Placidia Butte can be recognized in 

the blue distance. To the south, in the vicinity of Button Spring, 

about 50 reeent volcanic craters can be counted, and in the western 

sky rise the snow-clad summits of several of the great peaks that dominate the generally even crest line of the Cascade Mountains.

POWELL BUTTE.

In the extensive region drained by Crooked Kiver to the east of 

Prineville there are numerous hills, which, in places, are sufficiently 

bold and lofty to merit the name of mountains. These uplands for a 

distance of about 30 miles south of Prineville terminate abruptly on 

the west, where they meet a seemingly level but in reality gently 

westward-sloping plain of basalt. The junction of the hills with the 

plain resembles the margin of a rugged land adjacent to the ocean,
78 .GEOLOGY AND WATEE BESOUECES, CENTEAL OEEGOW. [BOLL. 252.

except that the hill descends to the lava without change of slope such 

as the ocean's waves produce in the land. This resemblance to oceanshore topography is due to the fact that extensive inundations of 

basaltic lava have partly filled a wide valley and encroached on its 

indented border. The lava flows extended up the gorges and ravines 

in the border of the old valley, leaving the ridges between them to 

project as capes into the black plain formed by the congealing of the 

lava flow.

Offshore, so to speak, in the once molten sea, about 4 miles from thenearest cape on the border of the uplands to the east, rises an islandlike butte, completely surrounded by the lava plain. This conspicuous elevation, known as Powell Butte (not Paul Butte, as given on the 

General Land Office map of Oregon), is about 7 miles long from east 

to west and approximately 5 miles wide from north to south, but its 

margin is irregular, owing to the deep sculpturing which preceded the 

outflow of basalt which surrounded it and entered for short distances 

the high-grade valleys eroded in its sides. The butte rises, by aneroid 

measurements, 1,500 feet above the surrounding plain. The material 

from which it has been sculptured is a hard, resistant rhyolitic tuff, 

with, perhaps, some quartzite. The rocks are of a brownish and purplish color, weathering on steep cliffs to a rich brown. The bedding 

is distinct and steeply inclined. Inclinations of from 65° to 70° to 

the southwest are cqmrnon, and in places the outcrops are vertical, 

with a northwest and southeast strike.

The facts just stated show that Powell Butte is a remnant of an 

ancient upland, which was deeply eroded before the coming to the 

surface of the extensive basaltic lava flows which now form the floor 

over an extensive portion of the valley of the Deschutes. In all of 

these features the butte resembles another rugged island in a congealed sea of lava, situated in the State of Washington and known as

Steptoe Butte, some account of which is already on record.0 This 

last-named butte is typical of the topographic features and geologic 

history which it illustrates, and all similar island-like areas surrounded by lava flows may for convenience be termed " steptoes." 

Powell Butte, therefore, on account of its isolated position and the 

fact that it rises through the lava of the encircling plain, may be ' 

designated a steptoe.

The sides of Powell Butte, particularly the bottoms of the gulches 

in its sides, are covered with fine rich soil, which owes its origin in 

large part to the deposition of dust by the wind. In the gulches 

this material has been washed down by ephemeral streams and spread 

out in broad alluvial fans with conspicuously inclined surfaces, which 

descend to the surrounding plain. These alluvial fans in' certain

a Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 4, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1897, pp. 38-40 ; Water-Sup, 

and Irr. Paper No. 53, U. S. Geol. 'Survey, 1901, pp. 19-pp.
EUSSELL.] DESCHUTES PLAIN. 79

instances are not scored by stream channels, and when cultivated 

yield good harvests of wheat without the aid of irrigation. At the 

heads of a feAv of the gulches small, cool, hillside springs come to the 

surface and furnish a water supply for household uses and for the 

watering of stock. The only method of increasing, or rather of conserving, the meager Avater supply is to excavate horizontal wells 

where springs appear, in the manner suggested on page 66, but 

owing to the excessive hardness of the rocks, the practicability of 

.such a method seems doubtful. Water is now obtained at several 

localities about the butte by means of ordinary dug wells, and nothing need be said concerning the possibilities in that direction, as they 

are well understood by the few energetic, and for the most part successful, ranchers of the region.

DESCHUTES PLAIN.

Powell Butte forms one of the succession of admirable observing 

stations previously referred to as extending from east to west across 

eastern and central Oregon, and when the country is surveyed will 

furnish a favorable primary triangulation station. From its summit the view westward is particularly instructive. The plain of 

basalt which surrounds its base can be traced as on a map far to the 

west, across the seemingly level valley through which Deschutes 

River flows, to the base of the Cascade Mountains. To the southwest. 

15 miles distant, across the level lava plain, rises the conical summit 

of Pilot Butte, an old volcanic cone, also a steptoe. Still farther 

south a widely extended group of recent volcanic cones can be 'recognized. The great plain of basalt also extends, far to the northwest, 

and about 7 miles away meets a bold ragged crag of light-colored 

rock, which projects into it from the east. Crooked River here 

touches the high land bordering the basaltic plain, and for a distance 

of about 2 miles.has cut away its base and caused a precipitous 

escarpment to appear. The area of the plain of basalt in sight, 

although not accurately known, is by estimate not less than 2,000 

square miles. One seems justified in concluding that the basalt covering it is a southward extension of the vast lava flow of Washington and northern Oregon, to which the general narne Columbia River 

lava has been applied. Previous estimates of the area covered by 

these lavas place it in the neighborhood of 250,000 square miles, but 

seem too conservative to an observer standing on Powell Butte who 

has in mind the various records previously made and remembers the 

notes presented in this report concerning the occurrence of similar 

rocks, which extend almost continuously from Steins Mountains on 

the east to the Cascade Mountains on the west. J It is to be understood 

that the name Columbia River lava is a general term by which to
80 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

designate the great basaltic lava flows of the Northwest, and that, as 

is well known, the various sheets of once molten rock range in age 

from the earlier portion of Tertiary all the way up to recent time. A 

detailed study, as the general reconnaissances already made clearly 

show, will necessitate the recognition of several independent formations, separated by fresh-water deposits and unconformaties in what 

is now from necessity designated by a single general term.

The fascinating story of deep erosion, of subsequent lava flows of 

vast extent, and of renewed outpourings of molten rock, followed by 

another long period during which streams renewed their work of 

denudation and canyon cutting, to be read in the landscape spread 

at the feet of an observer standing on Powell Butte, is not the sole 

attraction of that commanding station. Beyond the broad valley of 

the Deschutes rise the wonderfully grand Cascade Mountains, in part 

at least composed of rocks of the same nature as the Columbia River 

lava, and in a general summary of the history of the region to be 

classed with it. How far west of the Cascades the outpourings of 

basaltic rock of Tertiary and later dates extend remains to be discovered. The lava fields and volcanic mountains of the Northwest are 

probably the most extensive on the earth and demand attention as 

furnishing one of the most instructive chapters in the geologic history 

of our planet. One of the startling facts that come to mind in gazing over the seemingly boundless plains and numbering by the score 

the volcanic mountains in sight is that not less than 150,000 cubic 

miles of dense rock have there been transferred from deep within the 

' earth and spread out on its surface. The bearing of such an event 

on the physics 'of the earth's crust, the condition of its interior, the 

nature of the forces which cause magmas to rise in volcanic conduits, etc., are some of the now obscure questions which a complete

understanding of the lava fields of the Northwest would assist in

answering.

As stated above, the region in the west-central part of Crook 

County, through which Deschutes River flows, is a great lava-covered 

plain. On traversing the plain in various directions and following 

the canyons that have been excavated in it, much of interest concerning its history was discovered, an outline of which will assist in explaining certain more special observations to be recorded later.

The valley of the Deschutes, before it was filled so as to produce the. 

broad, generally level surface which is at present its most conspicuous feature, was from 20 to 30 miles wide in the portion west of the 

Pauline Mountains and Powell Butte, but perhaps had a less width 

farther north. This large valley, as may be judged from the character of the portions "of its bordering slopes now exposed to view, 

was produced largely by erosion and was at least 800 feet deeper in
RUSSELL.] DESCHUTES PLAIN. ^ 81

its central part than the widely extended sheet of basalt forming the 

surface of the present plain. The material which partly fills the old 

. valley consists largely of water-laid volcanic dust and lapilli, of 

which sections TOO feet deep are exposed along the lower portion of 

the canyon of Crooked River and in the adjacent portion of that 

of Deschutes River. The total depth of this deposit, however, is as 

yet unknown, as its bottom is not exposed. After the volcanic dust 

and lapilli, together with minor quantities of sand and clay, was 

deposited a sheet of basaltic lava, in general about 80 feet thick, was 

spread out. Possibly tAvo or more sheets of lava were formed at 

about the same time which are so similar that their recognition is 

difficult, and they appear to represent but a single outpouring.

After a lava covering was given to the deep deposit of currentbedded volcanic dust, lapilli, sand, etc., Deschutes River and its tributary. Crooked River, displaced from their former courses, flowed 

across the plain and excavated canyons, Avhich for many miles near 

their junction were at least 800 feet deep and in general about a mile 

wide. The nameless stream which flowed northwest from the Great 

Sandy Desert (see p. 76) also cut deeply into the lava plain and its 

underlying deposits of loose material, and joined the Deschutes about 

14 miles south of the locality where Crooked River now comes in. 

Following the period of erosion, during which not only the main 

streams of the region, but also their tributaries, cut deep canyons, 

came another considerable discharge of basaltic lava, which entered 

the canyons in the region where Deschutes and Crooked rivers now 

mingle theJr waters and filled them to a depth of at least 500 feet. 

Later still, Deschutes and Crooked rivers reexcavated their canyons 

in the hard resistant basalt to a depth of .over 500 feet without, so far 

as known, reaching its bottom. There are thus at least five important 

episodes in the history of the Deschutes plain that are clearly legible in its present topography.

It would greatly facilitate a description of the several events in the 

history of the Deschutes plain if names could be applied to the beds 

of tuff and sand ?,nd the two lava flows mentioned above, but as such 

a course would perhaps lead to confusion when the rocks referred to 

are correlated w: ' ". those of adjacent areas, and particularly with the 

formations of the John Day basin, described by John C. Merriam 0 

and others, no attempt to give them names or to assign them a definite 

position in geologic history will at present be attempted. Apparently, however, the thick deposit of lapilli, etc., beneath the older 

sheet of basalt is of Tertiary age, and the two periods of canyon 

cutting belong to the time of general erosion recorded by deep excava0 Men-lam, J. C-, Contribution ( to the geology ot the John Day basin: Bull. Univ. Call-- 

fornia, Dept Geology, vol. 2, 1901, pp. 269-314,

Bull. 252 05 M 6
82 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

tions in many parts of. North America, and named by Joseph LeConte 

" the Sierran epoch."

PRINEVILLE VALLEY. 

GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.

Prineville, the county seat of Crook County, a town of about 900 

inhabitants, is situated'on the border of Crooked River, at the head 

of an alluvial plain about 6 miles long and from 3 to 4 miles Avide. 

This valley, although small, is of importance on account of the aridity of, and general absence of irrigable land in, the region in which it 

is located, and is an exceptional feature in the geography of Crooked 

River, which in all other portions of its course flows through a succession of narrow canyons.

East of Prineville Crooked River flows west through a rugged valley in which outcrops of soft material carrying fossils are reported to 

occur. About 6 miles before reaching the town it traverses a narrow 

canyon with vertical walls of basalt about 650 feet high. The basalt 

is in well-defined layers, with scoriaceous surfaces, of which at least 

1 are exposed. The stream has-not as yet cut through the pile of 

basaltic sheets, although a few miles farther up its course the underlying rocks are exposed. This basalt, so far as can be judged from 

the facts in hand, is to be correlated with the older and more widely 

extended lava of the Deschutes plain, though present in several sheets 

instead of a single one. Only one of the sheets, near the top of the 

section, however, seems to extend west of Prineville.

Less than a mile above Prineville the canyon of Crooked River 

becomes abruptly wider, and for 6 miles Avest of that town has a 

width of 4 or 5 miles, this abrupt increase being due to the presence 

of soft material beneath the basalt. The canyon is here bounded on

the northeast by rocks (probably rhyolitic tuffs) which formed the

border of the old Deschutes Valley. Crooked River flowed across 

the basalt, cutting a canyon near its margin, and, on gaming the soft 

beds beneath the resistant surface layer, widened its canyon, locally, 

into a valley. On the west and south side of the river Avhere it 

turns from a northerly to a westerty course, near Prineville, the surface sheet of basalt is but 30 or 35 feet thick. The base of the sheet 

is scoriaceous, and embedded in it are fragments of the soft shaly 

beds on which it rests. The fine sediments immediately beneath the 

basalt grade downward into soft, coarse sandstone 20 to 30 feet thick, 

below which are coarse, well-worn gravels and other sedimentary 

beds reaching, in the face of the cliff, nearly to the river. The canyon wall with its rim rock of basalt is about 250 feet high by aneroid 

measure.

West of Prineville the wall, on the south side of the valley of 

Crooked River presents a continuation of the condition just de-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY :ULLETIN NO. 252 PL. IX

A. CANYON OF CROOKED RIVER, 6 MILES BELOW PRiNEVILLE, CROOK COUNTY. 

From butte shown in B; looking west.

REMNANT OF BASALT SHEET. 6 MILES WEST OF PRINE'VILLE, CROOK 

COUNTY.

Looking north.

C\ PRINEVILLE VALLEY, CROOK COUNTY. 

From butte shown in E; looking east.
PEINEVILLE VALLLY. 83

scribed a rim rock of basalt rising above a talus-covered escarpment that conceals thick water-laid beds. At several localities landslides have occurred and produced interesting variations in the 

otherwise monotonous line of cliffs with steeply sloping talus spurs at 

their base. About 6 miles west of Prineville the valley contracts in 

Avidth and once more becomes a narrow canyon with nearly vertical 

walls, in which the edges of 6 sheets of horizontally bedded basalt 

are well exposed. The presence of several sheets of basalt at this 

locality and in a similar section exposed in the Avails of Crooked River 

Canyon above Prineville, while between the two localities but one 

sheet is present, is readily explained by the fact that the surface on 

which the lava while yet molten was spread out was trenched by canyons or valleys. The earlier lava flows entered the depression, which, 

as successive eruptions took place, became completely filled, while the 

later sheets Avere spread Avidely over the former depressions and the

intervening uplands or plateaus. Crooked River has since excavated 

a rieAv canyon, Avhich in places cuts across the- lava sheets occupying 

its previous valley. Where the channel Avas cut through a pile of 

lava sheets its course is through a narroAv canyon, and Avhere only 

one, or but a feAV, thin lava sheets Avere present, resting on a thick 

formation of volcanic lapilli, etc., a Avide excavation like the one in 

Avhich Prineville is located AAIIS produced.

In Prineville Valley some interesting modern changes in the A\7 ork 

of the river are recorded by gravel terraces, one of Avhich has a surface elevation of 60 feet above the present stream channel. All along 

the course of the river for seAreral miles^beloAv the toAvn the stream 

meanders in SAveeping curves through the alluvial bottom lands and 

affords fine illustrations of the behavior of an aggrading stream.

The isolated table Avith a cap of columnar basalt, shoAvn on PI. 

IX, B, stands on the north side of Crooked RiA^er about 6 miles Avest 

of Prineville, near Avhere the valley changes to a canyon. This remnant, spared by erosion, is by aneroid measure about 250 feet high and 

is instructive not only on account of its striking topographic form, but 

because at the base of the basalt there is evidence that the lava of 

Avhich it is composed, Avhile yet molten, entered Avater or at least 

floAved over a Avet .surface. The base of the sheet for a thickness of 

from 3 to 7 feet is open textured, or u shredded," and rough, and has 

masses of the underlying shale involved in it for a distance of from 

a few inches to fully 3 feet above the general plane of contact.61

WATER RESOURCES.

/Surface waters. From the summit of the erosion remnant just 

referred.to a fine vieAv is obtainable of the broad, fruitful valley to

a For characteristics of lavas that flowed into water, see Russell, I. C., Geology and 

water resources of the Snake River plains of Idaho; Bull. U. §, Geol, Survey No; 199, 

1902, pp. 113-117.
84 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

the east, in which the spires of Prineville, when illuminated by an 

evening sun, gleam brightly in the middle distance. Bordering the 

yellow-fringed stream on either side are level fields seemingly well 

located for irrigation, which in the aggregate have an area of perhaps 

8 to 10 square miles. This alluvial plain is far too large to be watered 

by the summer flow of the stream which meanders through it, even 

when aided by the few small brooks which have their source in 

springs in the deeper gulches and enter the valley from the hill on its 

northern border.

As Prineville will no doubt continue to be a thriving town, and as 

the adjacent valley contains one of the finest areas of agricultural land 

in central Oregon, every effort should be made to bring it under cultivation. The first step in this direction is obviously to store the winter 

run-off of Crooked River and of each of its tributaries that enters 

the valley. The conditions seem to favor such a plan, but only detailed surveys can be relied upon to show what can be accomplished. 

One of the difficulties to be met with is the great annual fluctuation in 

the volume of Crooked River. At times Avhen the snow melts on the 

mountains to the east, the river rises fully 25 feet above its summer 

stages, and destructive floods occur. Prineville is within reach of 

such floods and in danger of a great disaster. In the future growth 

of the town this should be borne in mind, and safer ground chosen 

on which to build. Another matter which demands attention is 

the pollution of the river. Refuse of all sorts is now dumped into 

the stream or left on its immediate banks, and its water, especially 

during the low summer stages, is seriously contaminated.

Wells. Prineville is supplied with water by the Prineville Light 

and Water Company from a group of 23 " driven " wells, which were 

put down in 1899 in the eastern portion of the town within a radius

of about 100 feet. The deepest well goes doAvn 280 feet; the pipes

used are 3 inches in diameter; the water, which is slightly alkaline, 

is raised by a steam pump, discharging about 300 gallons per minute, 

The water is stored in a reservoir and distributed through pipes in 

the usual manner. The material passed through in driving the 

wells is reported to be as follows:

Section of well at. Prineville, Crook County, Oreg.

Feet.

Soil ________-_________________ 5 

Gravel, coarse___________ ___ 20 

White clay__________._______________ 1 

Quicksand, fine__________ __ __ 2 

Gravel 1___,_____________________ 3 to 4 

White clay_________!_________-______ 2 

Quicksand (volcanic dust?) 210
KUS8KLL.1 PRINEVILLE VALLEY. 85

Water was reached at a depth of about 32 feet, but the supply 

continued to increase until a depth of 60 feet was reached. The 

main supply comes from the so-called quicksand, probably volcanic 

dust, found beneath the layer of white clay 32 to 34 feet below.the 

surface. The fine sand, or volcanic dust, is excluded from the pipe 

by means of wire gauze. The water at first rose 3 to 4 feet above 

the surface level of the adjacent creek. Its temperature is 54° F. 

I The rise of the water in the well just described is evidence of artesian pressure and favors the hope that flowing wells can be obtained 

in the same or adjacent areas. As the wells terminate in the waterbearing stratum, they do not furnish a complete test of the artesian 

conditions. The formation penetrated is widely extended, and in 

the walls of the canyons of Crooked and Deschutes rivers near their 

junction is over 800 feet thick, but the lower limit is unknown.

While the thickness of the porous beds in these canyons does not

prove that the portion of the deposit beneath Prineville is equally 

thick, yet it is at least a suggestion that the present wells might be 

continued much deeper with the hope of obtaining an additional 

water supply.

1 The geologic conditions shown by the wells at Prineville and by 

the sections exposed in the canyons of Crooked and Deschutes rivers, 

together with such evidence as is available concerning the topography of the region, all favor the hope that artesian water can be 

had in Prineville Valley.

The presence of a definite artesian basin is not suggested by the 

known conditions, however, but rather 'by the possibility that an 

" artesian slope," a or wedge-shaped beds of previous material inclosed 

in impervious material, may be present. While no prediction worthy 

of consideration can be made that flowing water will b& obtained in 

the valley if wells are drilled, the conditions are such as to warrant 

making a thorough test in that connection at any point on the alluvial 

bottom lands from Prineville to Forest.

For the benefit of the people interested in the development of 

Prineville Valley I venture to suggest the propriety of their combining in an enterprise having for its aim the making of a thorough 

test of the possible artesian conditions' beneath the valley. A number 

of the owners of land in the valley might well contribute to the cost 

of putting down a well, the expense to be shared by all if failure 

resulted, and the owner of the land on which the well is drilled to 

meet the entire cost if flowing water should be obtained. One flowing well would be evidence that others in various parts of the valley 

would probably be successful. The water-bearing formation, how-

" Russell, I. C., Geology and water resources of the Snake River plains of Idaho: Bull. 

U. S. Geol. Survey No. 199, 1902.
86 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BDLL. 252.

over, is composed of many variable layers, and so far as can now be 

judged no one of them may be widely extended.

The proposed test well should be put down on the north side of 

Crooked River, in the vicinity of the medial line of the valley, and 

.continued until hard rock is reached. The well should be drilled 

under the direction of a competent hydraulic engineer who has had 

extensive experience in that line of work, and the pressure in each 

water-bearing layer accurately tested. The nature of the records 

that it is desirable should be kept while drilling such a well has been 

indicated in a previous report.0

CANYONS OF CROOKED RIVER BELOW PRINEVILLE VALLEY.

About (5 miles west of Prineville, as already stated, the valley 

excavated by Crooked River contracts in width and becomes a canyon, 

but for a distance of about 6 miles farther, or to the vicinity of the 

former post-office known as Forest (where there is now a store and 

where, as may reasonably be expected, a village will in time be built), 

there is alluvial land on the borders of the river, now occupied by 

several valuable ranches. The portion of the canyon above Forest 

is in reality a continuation of Prineville Valley and shares with 

it the probability of future agricultural development. Below Forest 

all the way to the Deschutes, a distance of over 30 miles, Crooked 

River flows through a narrow canyon with essentially, and often 

actually, vertical walls, and there is no alluvial land in its bottom. 

Throughout this portion of the river there is but one place where 

a team and wagon or even a pack train can be taken across it, namely, 

at Trail Crossing, about 18 miles below Prineville and 7 miles below 

Forest. Toward this locality Indian trails formerly converged on 

each side of the river; later, frontiersmen, with their saddle ponies 

and pack horses, sought the same breaks in the canyon walls; and 

within the past few years a road has been graded on the declivities 

of the opposite-facing precipices and a good bridge thrown across 

the river. Trail Crossing is thus an instructive locality in reference 

to the control exerted by geographic conditions on the affairs of men. 

The canyon, too, is of great geologic interest, and, on account of its 

wildness and picturesqueness, will no doubt in the future attract to 

its secluded depths many curious travelers.

The portion of the canyon of Crooked River under consideration 

may be divided into two portions, which are strikingly different, and 

for convenience may with propriety be given independent names. 

From near Forest to Trail Crossing, Crooked River has excavated its 

canyon along the border of the vast lava fields extending from the 

brink of its left wall westward, and on the right has eroded the base

a Russell, I. C., Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon: Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 78, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 1ULLETIN NO. 2S2 PL. X

EROSION COLUMN ON NORTH WALL OF MONUMENT CANYON, CROOKED RIVER,

CROOK COUNTY.
KUSSKLL.] CKOOKED RIVER CANYONS. 87

of a rugged mountain composed of light-colored acid tuffs cut by a 

great basic dike. The tuffs, under the destructive action of wind and 

rain, have been sculptured into many remarkable monumental forms, 

one of which is shown on PL X. On account of these unique monuments of atmospheric erosion the portion of the canyon to which 

they add picturesqueness may well be termed " Monument Canyon." 

Below Trail Crossing the canyon of Crooked Eiver becomes still narrower and assumes the characteristics of 'what are significantly 

termed " box canyons." In its bottom, about midway between Trail 

Crossing and the mouth of the river, a superb flow of clear, cool 

water, known as Opal Spring, gushes out of the rocks. To the portion of the canyon to which this spring adds an especially attractive 

feature, giving in summer new life to the exhausted river, the name 

Opal Canyon may fittingly be applied.

MONUMENT CANYON.

The left, or southern, wall of Monument Canyon, approximately 

250 feet high, is surmounted by a rim rock of basalt about 40 feet 

thick, beneath which are soft, unconsolidated, stratified deposits, consisting mostly of tuff. The contact of the basalt with the formation 

on which it rests is irregular and even rugged, indicating that the 

lava, while molten, advanced OA^er a wet surface. Along the plane of 

contact the tuff beds are changed from their usually gray or yellowish colors to red, on account of the oxidation of the iron they contain. The sheet of basalt exposed in section in the canyon wall 

extends southward from-the brink of the canyon for about a mile, 

and has an uneven surface in part smoothed over by wind-deposited 

dust, which forms a rich soil. Its southern margin skirts the base of 

an irregular escarpment of basalt, about 100 feet high, from the crest 

of which a plain of basalt extends south and west for many miles. 

This escarpment is the rim rock of an old canyon cut by Crooked 

River, which was later invaded by a lava stream, or rather inundation of molten rock, which gave it its present rough surface. Subsequent to this event the river excavated the present and deeper canyon, 

on the northern slope of which the remarkable erosion columns from 

which it derives its name are situated.

The north wall of Monument Canyon rises precipitously several 

hundred feet higher than the nearly level-crested cliff bordering it 

on the south, and presents striking contrasts to it in nearly every feature. The mountain-like elevation on the north is composed mainly 

of light-colored, mostly yellowish, tuffs in well-defined beds, which 

in general dip northeast at angles of 40° to 50°. The beds are of 

unequal hardness, some being resistant to the destructive action of 

. Avjnd and rain and standing out beyond their neighbors as sharp serrated ridges, along which are numerous pinnacles and spines. Cut-
88 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON". tnoLL. 252.

ting the consolidated and steeply inclined tuff beds is an immense 

dike of dark basic rock, probably basalt, which has a width of about 

1,000 feet and trends northeast and southwest. To the northeast the 

dike can be traced for a mile or more, and in its present weathered 

condition forms rounded hills and domes, conspicuous on account of 

their rich brown colors.

In Monument Canyon a wonderfully interesting page of the earth's 

history is laid open, but its full meaning can only be interpreted after 

more careful investigation than my necessarily hurried visit permitted. The lesson it teaches pertains to the region to the north, and 

particularly to the history of Gray Butte and the country about Culver and Haystack, but must be left for future study. .

OPAL CANYON.

Crooked River at Trail Crossing, at the time of my visit early in 

August, had shrunk to a brook of tepid, muddy, and unwholesome 

water, across which one could step dry-shod from stone ito stone. Its 

volume, by estimate, was not more than 2 cubic feet per second. The 

high-water marks along the sides of the canyon, however, were about 

25 feet above its nearly dry floor. On descending into the canyon 

about 12 miles lower down its course I was surprised to find a swiftflowing, clear stream of cool, delicious water, by estimate 100 feet 

wide and 3 feet deep, with a volume of not less than 300 cubic feet 

per second. This remarkable renewal or resuscitation of a stream in 

an arid land is due to the inflow of Opal and other similar springs. 

The probability that this subterranean water supply comes from far 

up the course of Deschutes River, where its banks are of open-textured 

basalt, will be considered later in describing the influence that a recent 

lava flow from Lava Butte exerts on the volume of the Deschutes (pp. 

116-117).

DOUBLE CANYONS.

. The most conspicuous fact in the geography of Crooked River Canyon is that in places it consists of two canyons, an outer and an inner 

one. On crossing the adjacent basaltic plain below Opal Spring and 

gaining the brink of the outer canyon, one finds that it is margined on 

each side by a vertical escarpment or rim rock of basalt, in general 

from 80 to 100 feet thick, beneath which there are soft, incoherent 

beds, the outcrops of which in the canyon's walls are in most places 

concealed beneath talus slopes or debris aprons. At a level of 250 

feet below the crest of the outer canyon there is a generally flat floor 

with a surface rough except wiiere wind-deposited dust has accumulated or sand and gravel from its bordering escarpment has been 

washed out upon it. Cut in this is the inner canyon, which for a distance of from 3 to 4 miles below Opal Spring is 550 feet deep (PL 

XI, A, B). The outer canyon is here in general form 1 to 1£ miles
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 252 PL. Xl

VIEWS IN OPAL CANYON, CROOKED RIVER, CROOK COUNTY. 

A, Looking north; H, showing basalt of inner canyon in contact with stratified beds of outer canyon.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XII

^*p^7->^- ^£c£25 

*"^fMib-"^ 

 -. " ;"»

P¥<^ffe

5 ""' .- .-;-.j>iir^"S

'S^^^J^-^ '*»- '; *

JOINTED BASALT IN WALL OF INNER CANYON, NEAR OPAL SPRING, CROOKED 

RIVER, CROOK COUNTY.
CBOOKED KIVEB CANYONS. 89

wide, but has a greater width farther north, where it unites with the 

similar canyon occupied by Deschutes River. The inner canyon is 

irregular both in direction and in width. In places it is margined on 

each side by the floor of the outer canyon and in other places the two 

canyons have a common Avail on one side. The sides of the inner 

canyon, where it is situated medially in the floor of the outer canyon, 

are of compact basalt, without well-defined or continuous bedding, 

but with irregular columns from base to summit (PL XII). Where 

the walls of the two canyons coincide a thickness of 650 feet of irregularly bedded clay, sand, gravel, and volcanic dust and lapilla is exposed, above which is a rim rock from 80 to 100 feet thick of the 

basalt which forms the surface of the greater part of the Deschutes 

plain. Where the inner canyon has a wall of basalt on each side it is 

seldom more than 500 or 600 feet across, but its width increases to 800 

or 1,000 feet where the two canyons have one wall in common.

The conditions just described occur again, with nearly the same 

details, in the canyon of Deschutes River for a distance of about 8 

miles upstream from where Crooked River joins it. How far below 

or north of the junction of the two rivers the inner canyon extends 

on the Deschutes is unknown to the writer.

The history recorded in the facts described above is in brief as 

follows: After the broad ancient valley of the Deschutes had been 

filled to a depth in excess of TOO feet with loose stream-deposited 

debris, consisting mostly of black volcanic sand and gravel, and this 

material covered by the widely extended sheet of basalt now forming 

the surface of the major portion of the Deschutes plain, the rivers 

displaced from their former courses flowed across the young lava 

plain and excavated canyons in it, which, in the case of Deschutes and 

Crooked rivers, are a mile wide and over 800 feet deep. Next came a 

flow of molten basaltic rock, which entered the canyons and filled them 

to a depth of over 550 feet for many miles. Subsequently the same 

streams, again displaced but still confined to their former but deeply 

filled canyons, resumed their work of erosion and cut, in solid basalt, 

the inner canyon described above. In the portion of the canyon 

examined the task of cutting through this layer is as yet incomplete, 

and the rivers flow swiftly over solid, compact basalt.

This is one of the most remarkable instances known of a river struggling, as it were, to maintain its right of way against the opposition 

offered by stupendous showers or downpourings of volcanic dust and, 

lapilli and by vast outflows of lava which hardened into dense, resistant rock. The time occupied in the excavation of the outer canyons 

was probably not great, as the material in which these were excavated, with the exception of the covering sheet, was loose and incoherent, but the inner canyons, in places, and for distances in several 

instances of at least 2 or 3 miles, were cut in hard, compact basalt, and
90 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

their erosion to a depth of 550 feet must have required many thousands of years. It is worthy of note, however, that the conditions 

along the courses of both Deschutes and Crooked rivers, in the 

region under consideration, are usually favorable for rapid erosion. 

The rivers are swift, and the abundance of loose, coarse sand and 

gravel discharged into them where they wash the borders of the older 

or outer canyons furnishes as large a supply of abrasive material as 

the water can transport. In the case of Crooked River these favorable conditions are still more enhanced by the spring freshets that 

occur, during which the river becomes a raging torrent. These favorable conditions for rapid mechanical erosion are offset, however, by 

the hardness of the rocks over which the rivers flow, and the task of 

deepening the channels has progressed but slowly.

PL XI, A, shows both the outer and inner canyon of Crooked River 

about 3 miles north of Opal Spring. The view is northward, and the 

hill on the distant table-land is a low steptoe, about 5 miles northwest 

of the village of Haystack. To the left in the picture can be seen the 

junction of the basalt, in which the inner canyon has been excavated, 

with the stratified volcanic gravel, etc., of the outer canyon. 1 PI. 

XI, #, shows the wall of the outer canyon as seen from the brink of the 

inner canyon. Details in the wall of the inner canyon,'and especially 

the irregular jointing of the basalt, are shown on PI. XII. Contrasted 

with the vertically jointed basalt of the inner canyon is the horizontal 

although irregular bedding of the material forming the walls of the 

outer canyon below their rim rock of basalt, in which Avhite layers of 

volcanic dust are conspicuous, as may be seen on PL XI, B. Beds of 

diatomaceous earth are perhaps also present. PL XIII, /i, shows a 

remnant of the wall of the inner canyon of the Deschutes abutting 

against the escarpment of the outer, cany on about 8 miles upstream 

from the mouth of Crooked River. PL XIII, 7;?, illustrates the 

topography of the canyon of Deschutes River upstream from where 

it was invaded by a flow of basalt.

' DESCHUTES SAND.

The material forming the walls of the outer canyon of Deschutes 

and Crooked rivers demands careful study with reference not only 

to its composition and the evidence it contains respecting the conditions under which it was deposited, but in order to learn how far it 

meets the conditions favoring the retention of water under pressure. 

This same formation, it will be remembered, extends eastward and 

underlies Prineville Valley, where artesian water will probably be 

discovered. It also underlies the sheet of basalt exposed here and 

there beneath the rich, wind-deposited soils of a large section of the
IULLET1N NO. 252 PL. XIII

VIEWS IN CANYON OF DESCHUTES RIVER, NEAR MOUTH OF CROOKED RIVER. 

. 1, Showing remnant of basalt in canyon excavated in stratified deposits; B, looking south.
SUSSKLL.] HAYSTACK COUNTRY. 91

Haystack country, to the north and east of Opal Canyon. Sufficient 

attention has not as yet been given to the formation in question to enable a description of it to be put on record, but such notes as are available show that it was waterlaid, probably by Avidely expanded and 

fully loaded-or overloaded streams, which divided and reunited after 

the manner of " laced " streams. The nature of streams of this class 

is indicated by the well-known example of Platte River, Nebraska, 

which flows over its broad, sandy bed in many locally separate but 

constantly uniting and again subdividing channels. The material 

forming the " Deschutes sand," as the formation will perhaps be 

termed when its history is more fully studied, consists largely of 

black basic and frequently scoriaceous grains and kernels of volcanic 

rock, forming a coarse sand, mingled with which are lesser quantities 

of quartz grains. Although the stratification is distinct and the beds 

thinly laminated, the individual layers can not usually be traced for 

more than a few hundred yards. The deposit throughout is frequently cross-bedded; that is, contains evidence of having been deposited by strong currents. Some of the beds are composed of well-worn 

gravel, the pebbles at times being 6' to 8 inches in diameter. Claylike beds, which would evidently serve the role of retaining layer in 

an artesian basin, are present, but, so far as seen, are local accumulations rather than widely extended strata. The most conspicuous layers, of which 10 or more can sometimes be counted, are composed of 

white volcanic dust. A bed of white diatomaceous earth, identical 

in appearance with the volcanic dust referred to, was found at the 

lower bridge o across the Deschutes. 'about 20 miles south of the mouth

of Crooked River, and other similar beds may be present in the adjacent region. This diatomaceous earth is composed of the beautiful 

siliceous cases or frustules of certain minute one-celled algse, and 

resembles the finer grades of white volcanic dust so closely that a 

microscope is required to reA^eal the difference to the eye.

The formation referred to above as the Deschute sands is exposed 

in the can}^on wall of the river after which it is named for at least 25 

miles upstream from the mouth of Crooked River, and is probably 

present' for a long distance below that locality. It is also exposed, 

as has been stated, at many localities in the canyon walls of Crooked 

River from Prineville west to the Deschutes, and, no doubt, underlies several hundred square miles of the Deschutes plain.

THE HAYSTACK COUNTRY. 

SOIL AND SETTLEMENT.

In the north-central portion of Crook County, north and east of 

Opal Canyon, and east of the Deschutes below the mouth of Crooked 

River, there is an area embracing at least 8 or 10 townships, most of
92 GEOLOGY AND WATEE RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BOLL. 252.

which is an undulating plain covered with a fine rich soil. In a 

state of nature this great tract of open country was a prairie of 

bunch grass roamed over by antelope and deer, and owing to the 

scarcity of water, Avhich prohibits summer pasturing, much of the 

land is still well clothed with native grasses. The soil is fine in texture, and evidently owes its origin principally to the deposition of 

wind-borne dust. In the nature of its soil, the luxuriance of the 

native grasses, and also in the fact that " dry farming " is successfully carried on, this region resembles the Palouse country of eastern 

Washington, famous for its highly productive wheat fields. In each 

of these extensive regions favorable yields of grain can be grown 

without irrigation, although the mean annual precipitation is too 

small to permit successful agriculture unless some exceptionally favorable soil condition is present. The determinative condition is the 

retentive character of the fine, flour-like soil, which permits it to 

absorb and retain tenaciously all of the water that falls upon it.

The region about Culver. Haystack, Hay creek, etc., or the " Haystack country," as it is familiarly termed on account of the abundant 

crops of .hay obtained in certain favored tracts where water is available for irrigation, is becoming occupied by farms with wonderful 

rapidity. During the past three or four years the rush of ranchers 

to this new farming land new in the sense that the discovery that 

cereals and even maize can be raised on it is but recent can be compared to the rush of fortune seekers to a new gold field. The broad, 

grassy plain, which a few years ago was tenantless, is now dotted with 

settlers' cabins, the freshly sawed boards of which still gleam yellow 

in the intense sunlight. This region of dry farming may also be said 

to be a country of dry housekeeping, since no water is available for 

domestic use within a distance of several miles of the majority of the 

recently built houses. In the case of about 300 homes, situated to 

the west of Culver and south of Haystack, water for domestic use 

is transported in wagon tanks for distances ranging from 5 to 10 

miles. The one most essential thing on which the future prosperity 

of this otherwise favored region is dependent is the procuring of a 

water supply adequate at least for household uses and for the'maintenance of stock in sufficient numbers to carry on grain and hay 

ranches.

WATER SUPPLY.

This interesting and economically highly promising region was 

barely entered during the reconnaissance and no more can be said in 

reference to its water resources than that it has possibilities that 

demand careful consideration from hydraulic engineers. As to the 

question of obtaining artesian water, but little information is available, but that little is suggestive and warrants further study. On
RUSSELL.] HAYSTACK COUNTRY. 93

the east the Haystack country is bordered by uplands having a 

mature topography such as hills long exposed to the denuding agencies of the air and of rain and streams commonly present. These 

uplands were a part of the eastern border of Deschutes Valley 

before it became deeply filled with volcanic dust, sand, gravel, etc., 

and flooded with lava. Its rocks are composed, so far as known, 

and judging from topographic forms seen at a distance, probably to a 

great extent of compact tuffs, in beds which dip westward and pass 

beneath the Deschutes plains. The hills when seen in profile from 

the south present long slopes on the western sides and steep, rocky 

escarpments facing east. In a general way this structure is favorable to the hope of obtaining artesian water where the rocks referred 

to underlie the plain to the west, but the nature of the rocks, whether 

containing alternating porous and impervious beds, etc., is unknown. 

To the west of the ancient uplands and terminating against them

are the lava flows and underlying gravels, etc., of DeSChllteS 

Valley. In the open-textured deposits beneath the surface sheet of 

basalt, as in Prineville Valley, there is.a possibility that water under 

pressure may exist, but an answer to this question can only be had 

by drilling test wells.

Although nothing definite can at present be said in reference to 

the probability of obtaining flowing water in the Haystack country, 

it seems safe to predict that wells drilled through the basalt which 

occurs beneath the soil of the plain to the west of Culver and Haystack will at least furnish water which can be raised by means of 

pumps. The localities most favorable for such tests are on the broad 

plain at as great a distance as practicable from hills. This restriction is made because in at least one locality about 10 miles west of 

Haystack the older rocks, probably tuffs, which underlie the more 

recent gravels, basalt, etc., that now give a level floor to Deschutes 

Valley rise to the surface and form a low steptoe, or isolated hill, in 

the lava plain. A well put down here would probably pass through 

about 100 feet of compact basalt, exceedingly hard to penetrate, and 

enter the thick deposit of gravel, tuff, volcanic dust, etc., which occurs 

beneath it. As alread}7 stated, however, this sedimentary formation 

had an uneven surface and was in places deeply trenched previous to 

being covered with the basalt that now rests upon it, so that an even 

greater thickness of basalt than that mentioned might be encountered. In this connection it may be suggested that if more than 125 

feet of basalt should be discovered in drilling a test well the abandonment of the undertaking and another attempt a mile or so away 

would be justified.

As stated above, my journey took me to the margin of the Haystack country, and although the desirability of making a study of its
94 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL.OREGON. [BULL. 252.

geology, at least so far as the facts bearing on the possibility of a 

subterranean Avater supply are concerned, was fully recognized, the 

extent of country to be examined was seen to be so great that the hope 

of traversing it in the time available had to be abandoned. One 

conclusion reached during my hasty visit which may be welcome to 

the residents of the region is that the conditions favoring agriculture are there so great that unusual efforts are justified in attempting 

to supply the demand for water.

I have been informed by Mr. A. M. Drake, president of the Pilot 

Butte Development Compan}7 , that detailed surveys made under his 

direction have shown that water taken from Deschutes River at Benham Falls can be conducted across the broad lava plain lying between 

Powell and Pilot buttes and across Opal Canyon to the rich lands 

tying west of Culver and Haystack. This is a part of an extensive 

and apparently well-matured plan for the irrigation of a vast extent 

of now unproductive land in the west-central part of Crook County, 

concerning which I am not in a position to do more than make mention at this time.

VOLCANIC CONES. 

BUTTES.

Character and age. On the east side of the Cascade Mountains in 

Oregon, and in general from 15 to 30 miles from their crest, are a 

number of isolated conical buttes, which from their shapes and what 

is known of the general geolog}7 of the region, as well as the somewhat 

detailed information concerning a few of them-.which is in hand, may 

be safely classed as volcanic peaks. They evidently present a wide 

range in age and considerable variations in the nature of the rocks of 

which they are composed.

The buttes referred to are associated with the Cascade Mountains,

and in a comprehensive study of the geology of that range should 

evidently be considered as adjuncts to it. On the other hand, their isolation in many instances and their evident independence of all neighboring elevations make them features of the broad lowlands of the 

central part of the State.

In the case of mountains left by the erosion of upraised portion? 

of the earth's crust, and also in examples of deeply dissected volcanic' 

mountains, isolated remnants of the formerly more extensive uplands 

about their borders are frequently left and are conveniently designated foothills. But in the case of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon 

a magnificent example of built-up mountains is furnished, in which 

the constructional agency was volcanic energy, and the flanking elevations or foothills, instead of being remnants left by erosion, are of 

the same character as the main range. These secondary volcanic 

piles may be roughly classified as ancient or modern. In general,
_RUSSELL. ] VOLCANIC CONES. 95

the older series of volcanic cones and associated lava fields are composed of andesite and related lavas, and the younger series for the 

most part of basaltic rocks. This generalization, however, is not 

strictly true, and, perhaps, not well founded, since some of the most 

recent of the volcanoes in question discharged acid lavas of the 

nature of andesite.

These volcanoes may safely be concluded to range in geologic age 

from the earlier portion of the Tertiary period to recent centuries. 

They number several hundred, and extend geographically across the 

entire width of Oregon and no doubt far into the region to the north 

and south of the State. Although several of them were visited, only 

an indefinite and unsatisfactory beginning of their study could be 

made.

The most prominent examples of the older of these secondary volcanic piles in the portion of Crook County traversed are Pilot and 

Black buttes. These were visited and something of their histories 

ascertained.

Pilot Butte. To travelers on the broad lava plain west of Powell 

Butte a conspicuous landmark is furnished by an isolated conical 

elevation, long known as Pilot Butte, which is situated near the 

recently established town of Farewell Bend, on the east bank of the 

Deschutes. This butte has a height of about 500 tt feet above the 

adjacent plain, and has steep sides and a moderately sharp summit. 

It is an ancient volcanic cone composed of basalt, containing conspicuous crystals of hypersthene, which occurs mostly in the form of 

angular fragments of scoriaceous rock, but with an exposure of reddish scoriaceous lava about its summit! No vestige remains of the 

crater which probably once existed at the top of the cone, and its sides 

have lost the graceful concave curves that usually -characterize such 

piles when fresh. Basaltic lava of the same character as that forming the lapilli and scoriae of the cone is present on the northern side of 

its base, and may be traced for about half a mile to where it disappears 

beneath more recent basalt. The old lava exposed is probably a portion of a stream which emerged from the base of the butte, but evidence as to the details in its history is wanting.

Pilot Butte is now entirely surrounded by a nearly level sheet of 

recent basalt and rises as a steptoe above it. A mile west of the butte 

the Deschutes has cut a canyon to a depth of perhaps 100 feet in the 

irregular and fresh-appearing basalt which covers the plain. The 

butte stands at the margin of the vast pine forest, which extends 

west beyond the crest of the Cascade Mountains and is itself sparsely 

tree covered. To the east scattered groves of juniper reach far out

a The height of Pilot Butte, as determined by L. D. Wiest, C. E., of the Pilot Butte 

Development Company, is 4,152 feet above sea level, and the elevation of the Deschutes 

at Farewell Bend Is 3,622 feet, the possible, error in each case being + 40 feet on 

account of uncertainty of the datum plane.
96 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

on the broad lava plain. The view from the summit of the butte is 

unusually fine, commanding, as it does, the dark Cascade Mountains 

with their snowy peaks.

Blade, Butte. Rising from the magnificent pine forest which 

clothes the eastern slope of the Cascades in Crook County and extends 

far out on the adjacent plain is an isolated peak that is visible for 

scores of miles throughout the sagebrush country to the east. This 

peak, known as Black Butte, is situated about 8 miles northwest of 

the town of Sisters and approximately 15 miles east of the crest line 

of the Cascade Mountains. The butte is b}^ aneroid measure about 

2.500 feet high, is conical, and has a nearly circular base, the symmetry of which, however, has been somewhat marred by erosion. The 

sides of the butte have lost their original graceful concave curves of 

construction and are nearly straight when seen in profile, as may be 

judged from the view shown in PI. XIV, A. The western side has 

an inclination of 20 to 21 degrees, while the eastern forms an angle 

with a horizontal plane of about 15 degrees. In each instance the 

inclination increases somewhat near the summit, the northern slope 

being the most precipitous and the most modified by erosion. The 

rock is hypersthene-basalt of about the same character as that composing Pilot Butte, and, so far as surface exposures are concerned, is 

mostly in the form 'of angular fragments, imitating a coarse lapilli, 

but at the top there occur outcrops of massive rock in conspicuous 

ledges. These summit crags of compact porphyritic rock are evidently the upper portion of a plug or core of lava that cooled slowly 

and hardened in the conduit of the volcanic pile and was subsequently 

exposed by erosion. No evidence of a former crater remains. The 

butte is forest covered, and from its summit a splendid view of the 

Cascade Mountains and of the arid country to the east as far as the 

Bl,ue Mountains in northeastern Oregon may be obtained.

From the northeast base of Black Butte a canyon several hundred 

feet deep leads northeast and is occupied by Metolis Creek, which has 

its source in a magnificent spring of clear, cold water and forms a 

rushing brook 40 feet wide with an average depth of 2 feet.

Other buttes. Besides Pilot and Black buttes there are several 

similar elevations in the western part of Crook County, which were 

not visited, but appear to be of the same nature when seen from a 

distance. Other similar isolated mountains, adjacent to the Cascades 

and belonging to the same general series of volcanic eruptions that 

built the mountain range, occur to the south of Crook County; one 

- of these, Odell Peak, is shown on PL XIV, B. This is also a conical 

pile of hypersthene-basalt, now considerably eroded, but preserving 

something of its original constructional form. As in the case of 

Black Butte, a crater is absent, and at the summit dense lavas have
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVE IULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XIV

,-i. BLACK BUTTE, NEAR SISTERS, CROOK COUNTY,

B. ODELL BUTTE, NEAR ODELL LAKE, KLAMATH COUNTY.
KHSSELL.] . VOLCANIC CONES. 97

been exposed by erosion. The buttes, as may be judged from the 

amount of erosion they have suffered, are of ancient date and probably belong to the Tertiary division of geologic history.

MOUNT NEWBERBY.

In. the south-central part of Crook County, 40 miles in a direct 

line ea ?t of the crest of the Cascade Mountains, there stands a darkforested mountain of notable height and widely expanded base, in 

the deeply eroded summit of which Pauline and East lakes are situated. The mountain is surrounded by many lesser elevations, most 

of which have still recognizable craters, and is connected on its northeast side by intervening highlands with the Pauline Mountains, as 

designated on the General Land Office map of Oregon. Reference 

has already been made to the fact that the large mountain in.the 

eroded summit of which Pauline and East lakes are situated is 

locally considered part of the Pauline Mountains, and the desirability 

stated of giving it a separate and individual name. For this purpose none seems more appropriate than that of one of the earlier 

explorers of Oregon, who did much to make the geography, geology, 

and botany of the State widely known. I refer to Dr. John Strong 

Newberry, one of the geologists of the " Pacific Railway Survey," 

and venture to term the mountain in question Mount Newberry in his 

honor.

The sharp culminating peak of Mount Newberry, according to 

measurements made by the United States Geological Survey West of 

the One Hundredth Meridian (the " Wheeler Survey "), has an elevation of 7,387 feet above the sea. The approximate height of the 

adjacent portion of the valley of the Deschutes is 4,200 feet, making 

the visual height of the mountain as seen from the west about 3,000 

feet. The mountain is prominent from every point of view from 

which it can be seen, and has a, greater height than that of the adjacent portion of the crest line of the Cascade Mountains. The base of 

the mountain is widely extended, its diameter being in the neighborhood of 20 or 25 miles, but is indefinite on all sides except the west 

because of the associated but lesser mountains and the numerous volcanic craters of recent date that surround it.

Historical summary. The salient facts in the history of Mount 

Newberry may be briefly stated as follows: It is an andesitic volcanic mountain of probably early Tertiary age, the upper part of 

Avhich has been removed, and a great amphitheater eroded in the 

summit of the portion remaining. The amphitheater had an opening 

on its northwest side, and was occupied by a neve during the Glacial epoch, from which a glacier flowed northward for a distance 

of at least 3 or 4 and probably more miles. During a stage in the 

Bull. 252 05 M 7
98 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON.[BULL. 252.

shrinking of the glacier it deposited a large terminal moraine across 

the opening of the amphitheater through which it floAved, thus forming a dam which confined the water as the glacier melted and finally 

disappeared. A lake thus originated which discharged across the 

lowest place in its retaining morainal dam, and cut down an outlet, 

which has since been deepened in the rocks beneath. Subsequent 

to the melting of the glacier referred to, volcanic energy within the 

amphitheater was reneAved, and five andesitic volcanoes formed along 

a north and south belt, which crosses the depression slightly to the 

east of its center. A lava stream discharged from the most northern 

of the five craters met the cone built by the next in the series and 

divided the basin into tAvo parts. To the east of the obstruction lies 

East Lake, Avhich has no surface outlet, and to the west Pauline 

Lake, Avhich discharges through the outlet mentioned above and supplies Pauline Creek.

More recent than Mount NeAvberry, and in part at least of later 

date than the Glacial epoch, are many basaltic craters, mostly of 

small size, situated on its outer slopes and scattered irregularly over 

the adjacent country, particularly to the north and the south.

The northern border of the great amphitheater consists of dark 

lavas and tuft's, Avhich form rounded domes nearly as high as the 

present summit of the main peak. These rocks are of later date than 

those exposed in the southern part of the rim of the amphitheater, 

but are glaciated, thus showing that they are older than the several 

volcanic cratevs of the vicinity which still preserve their constructional forms.

Geology. The rocks composing the older portion of Mount Newberry and situated to the south of an east and west line passing 

through the center of Pauline Lake are andesite, and, although no critical study of them has yet been made, it may be provisionally stated 

that they present a wide range, in physical characteristics and include 

obsidian as Avell as stony and spherulitic representatives. In each 

variety there is frequently a Avell-defined flow structure. These 

lavas occur in distinct beds, Avhich in several instances as in the 

cliffs overlooking Pauline Lake on the south are from 80 to 100 or 

more feet thick. From these cliffs, in which the broken edges of 

the strata are exposed in nearly horizontal bands, the dip is outAvard 

from the basin occupied by Pauline Lake, at angles of from 10° to 

about 15°. The cliffs which rise so prominently on the south side 

of Pauline Lake and from the north Avail of the culminating peak 

extend about the southeast and east side of the basin as shown in PL 

XV, A, and, as judged from distant vieAvs, are composed of the same 

kind of rock, at least as far as the southeast border of the basin in 

Avhich East Lake is situated is concerned.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY IULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XV

VIEWS IN AMPHITHEATER OF MOUNT NEWBERRY, FROM WEST SHORE OF 

PAULINE LAKE.

A, Cliffs on southeast side, />', ciater No. 2.
KUSSBLL.] VOLCANIC "CONES. . 99

About the northern portion of the basin the encircling mountains, 

although precipitous, do not rise in vertical cliffs. The rocks are 

dark, and in places reveal red and brown colors, in contrast with the 

gray cliffs inclosing the great depression on the south. Those on 

the north border of Pauline Lake are dark and massive, having the 

appearance of basalt, and in part consist of thick beds of agglomerate 

containing many volcanic bombs. The beds are inclined southward 

or toward Pauline Lake, and were evidently discharged by a volcano 

of later date than the one which was eroded to form the cliffs overlooking the lake on the south. It thus appears that the main mass 

of Mount Newberry is composed of the products of at least two 

ancient volcanoes.

Amphitheater. The depression in the summit of Mount Newberry, 

measured from crest to crest, is by estimate about 5 miles from north 

to south and 4 miles from east to west. The walls forming its inner 

slopes are precipitous on all sides except the northwest, and, as stated 

above, rise in magnificent cliffs about its southern portion. The 

highest point on the rim of the depression, and the highest pinnacle 

of the mountain, is shown in PL XV, A, which is a view from near the 

outlet of Pauline Lake. The cliffs are, by estimate, 1,500 to 1,800 feet 

high above the lake and have conspicuous talus slopes about their 

bases. The rim of the basin is continuous, without a pass or deep 

notch throughout its entire circumference except where Pauline 

Creek escapes from it.

As to the origin of the amphitheater, it is to be presumed from the 

nature of the volcanic mountain, in the summit of which it occurs, 

that the latter had a crater at its top, when the eruptions which built 

it ceased. It may reasonably be presumed that this crater was 

enlarged by erosion and that a stream flowed from it toward the 

northwest. At a later period the depression was occupied by a neve 

field which gave origin to glaciers and was enlarged and given the 

broader features now visible by their erosion. While the amphitheater was being eaten out in the summit of the mountain, its outer 

slopes, particularly its south side, were becoming scored by radiating 

canyons. As the amphitheater increased in size, the cliffs bordering 

it receded, and the canyons on the outer slope lost' their upper portions or Avere " beheaded." The glaciation of these outer canyons and 

their present characteristics will be noted below in connection witli 

other records left by the former glaciers.

The dimensions and the scenic features of the great amphitheater 

in the summit of Mount Ne\vbeny, in Avhicli Pauline and East lakes 

are situated, are similar to those of the " caldera " in the summit 

of Mount Mazama, which holds Crater, or Mystic, Lake, already
100 GEOLOGY AND WATEK EESOUEOES, CENTRAL OREGON; [BULL. 252.

familiar from the writings of J. S. Diller and others." The history 

of these two great depressions in the summits of mountains of about 

the same height and approximately of the same age is much the same, 

and the study of one supplements that of the other.

Lakes. Pauline Lake, when seen from any of the commanding 

summits in its vicinity, appears at first to be nearly circular, but a 

better acquaintance Avith it shows that its southern portion is indented by a projecting hill of morainal material, to the east and west 

of which there is something of an embayment. The lake is about 

2 miles in diameter from north to south and 1£ miles wide, but 

these are eye estimates, made in a region where there are no known 

distances to serve as base lines in assisting one's judgment. The 

water is clear and of a deep blue, with a narrow purple band, clearly 

distinguishable in most stages of illumination, about its margin 

where the depth is small. The shores are everywhere steep, except 

near the outlet, and in many places precipitous. Where the bordering uplands consist of glacial moraines there is a terrace, the 

surface of which is about 15 feet above present water level and 

from a few yards to a few rods wide. On the north shore at the 

head of a wide-mouthed embayment there is a ridge of gravel the 

crest of which is about 10 feet above the present fair-weather level 

of the lake,, and there are similar gravel ridges and terraces on the 

southeast shore. These seem to record the upper limit to which the 

waves can wash the gravel on shelving shores during the most violent storms. The lake's surface is unbroken by islands, and there is 

a notable absence of' partly submerged rocks or crags about its 

margin. In several places stones are piled along the shore near the 

fair-weather level so as to resemble artificial walls. The absence of 

loose stones and bowlders in the shallow marginal waters and the 

presence on the border of the encircling land of a ridge composed of

blocks of stone much too large for the waves of the lake to move is 

satisfactorily accounted for by the way in which the ice of small 

lakes is known to shove stones ashore so as to build ramparts.6

No surface streams are tributary to Pauline Lake and there are 

only a few springs of small volume about its shores. One diminutive 

spring on the north border of the lake at the water's margin rises 

through a fissure in black rock resembling basalt, and feels hot to 

the hand. Its temperature is judged to be between 105° and 110° F. 

All other springs of the region, so far as known, are cold. With the 

exception of the insignificant amount of water discharged into the 

lake from this source, its supply comes from direct precipitation and 

from percolation through the open-textured or porous material form0 Diller, J. S., and Patton, H. B., Geology and petrography of Crater Lake National 

Park: Prof. Paper TJ. S. Geol. Survey, No. 3, 1902.

"Russell, Israel C., Lakes of North America, Ginn & Co., 1895, pp. 51-53.
BUSSBLI,.] VOLCANIC CONES. 101

ing its bordering slopes. There is a probability, however, that sublacustral springs are present, though no indications of such a source 

of supply are known.

As to the depth of the lake the only evidence is its uniformly deepblue color and the generally precipitous character of its immediate 

banks, both of which indicate that it is deep. A line of soundings 

extending from near the outlet toward the center of the lake showed 

that in that portion the bottom is shelving and composed of pumi- 

. ceous sand, but at a distance of about GOO yards from land a sounding 

line 125 feet in length failed to reach bottom. As shown by the color 

of the water when seen from many commanding stations about the 

lake, its margining belt of shallow water is broadest near the outlet, 

\vhere the soundings mentioned were made. The character of the 

stream flowing from the la Ice is described below.

East Lake, situated in the same great amphitheater that contains

Pauline Lake, is about a mile to the east of its companion, from which 

it is separated by a rugged lava stream composed largely of obsidian, 

which came into existence as described on page 98.

East Lake, like its companion, is without inflowing streams, but 

differs from it in not having a visible outlet and in being distinctly 

alkaline. Like many inclosed lakes, it bears evidence of considerable 

fluctuations in level, the most conspicuous record of which is a grove 

of dead spruce trees near its western shore which rise from about 3 

feet of water. The trees are about 30 feet high, 10 to 12 inches in 

diameter, stand erect and still retain their branches. There is no 

indication that they were carried into the lake by a landslide, but 

every probability that they grew where they now stand and were 

killed by a rise of the lake which submerged the surface in which 

they were rooted. This conclusion needs further study, however, as 

no other dead trees were seen about the lake, although there were several localities where they should be expected to occur in case a recent 

rise of the water has taken place. Pauline and East lakes are each 

inhabited by swarms of insect larvse, but are without fish. In Pauline 

Lake, but not observed in East Lake, crayfish are numerous, as they 

are also in Pauline Creek. It is of interest to note in this connection that.,the falls in the creek, which present an impassable barrier 

to the ascent of the fish which are abundant in the lower part of the 

same stream, are passed by the crayfish by crawling up the nearly 

vertical rocks adjacent to the border of the stream.

Pauline Creek. Near where the outlet of Pauline Lake is situated 

the water is shallow for at least 300 yards from the shore. The adjacent land is low and in part swampy, and the outflowing stream meanders through pumiceous sand for a distance of about 600 yards to 

where it crosses the solid rock border of the basin. At this, the real 

outlet of the lake, a narrow channel has been eroded in reddish vol-
102 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

canic agglomerate, and the stream makes a leap of about 10 feet and 

enters a canyon which becomes rapidly deeper as the stream progresses. The outlet has recently been restricted in width by the building of a log dam with a water gate in its center, which permits a 

rough measurement of the discharge. The sill of the water gate is 

a log about 8 inches in diameter, laid at right angles to the current, 

the drop below the log being about 6 inches. The length of the gate 

is 11 feet. Through this imperfect weir the water flowed at the time 

of my visit (August 25, 1903) with a depth of 6 inches, measured by 

resting the end of a scale on the sill of the opening. Assuming that 

the conditions mentioned meet the requirements for weir measurements, they indicate a discharge of 781 cubic feet per minute.

For about half a mile below the first fall the creek flows down a 

canyon, which deepens rapidly and then divides into two channels, 

separated by a small island, and plunges over a precipice about 80 

feet high (PL XVI, A), below which the canyon continues westward 

to the foot of the mountain. In the canyon, below the main fall, 

there are many rapids and small leaps of 10 to 15 feet. The layer of 

resistant rock which produces the main fall is composed of a reddish 

volcanic agglomerate about 40 feet thick, which appears to be 

nearly horizontal, but really has a slight dip to the east, or upstream. 

Below the resistant bed softer material of the same nature, also an 

agglomerate, occurs. The rocks about thef alls and the large angular 

fragments that obstruct the flow of the water in the canyon into 

which it plunges are rendered white by a thin nodular incrustation 

of calcium carbonate, precipitated from the spray of the cataract 

dashed and blown against them. The sides of the canyon are tree 

clothed and still retain their primitive wildness and beauty, unmarred 

by the hand of man. A conspicuous feature of .the walls of the canyon where they are moistened by the spray of the cataract and of 

those of the creek above the precipice over which it plunges is a 

luxuriant growth of algse, which mantels the rocks and forms long 

green streamers in the water.

Water resources. Pauline Lake is situated in an arid region, high 

above the flat lands of the Deschutes Valley, and is thus favorably 

located to serve as a reservoir for water to be used in irrigation. As 

stated above, a small log dam has been placed at the head of Pauline 

Creek, but as it appears, for the purpose of securing some claim to the 

water rather than for actual use. The dam, if intact and its watergate closed, would serve to raise the level of the lake about 5 feet, but 

this experiment, so far as I have been able to learn, has never been 

tried; the reason, as I have been informed, being that.when the outflow of the lake is checked wells dug in the flood plain of the creek, 

about 8 miles downstream from the lake, became dry. How high the 

waters of the lake would rise during the winter interval between
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. FALLS ON PAULINE CREEK, NEAR PAULINE LAKE.

IS. BENHAM FALLS, DtSCHUTES RIVER, CROOK COUNTY.
RUSSELL.] VOLCANIC CONES. . 103

growing seasons is not known and at present can not be computed 

from the discharge, since the area of the lake is unknown. Taking 

the single measurement available, however, which was made, as is 

judged, during the season of least overflow, it has been estimated that 

the amount of water the lake could furnish if its discharge was 

stored for a period of nine months would be approximately 300,000,000 

cubic feet, or sufficient to flood an area of 10 square miles to a depth 

of about 1 foot.

By dredging a channel about 600 yards in length and making a cut 

in soft rock about 100 feet long and 10 feet deep, arranged with a 

gate, and, in case the water supply is sufficient, provided also with 

a dam for raising the water above the present level of the lake, an 

admirable reservoir could be secured at small expense.

All of the conditions pertaining to the storage of water in the manner here suggested are exceedingly favorable, and there is an abundance of land along the lower course of Pauline Creek on which the 

water could be utilized for irrigation. The critical condition, however, and one which might render such an attempt at irrigation useless, is the extreme porosity of the deep pumiceous layer which forms 

the surface over all of the flat lands bordering Mount Newberry on the 

west. Although the belief seems to be general among the few residents of the pumice-covered region of the upper Deschutes that the 

porosity of the soil will render irrigation fruitless, this conclusion 

does not appear to have been demonstrated by experiments. It seems 

probable that irrigation carefully conducted would result in the com- 

. pacting of the soil and the silting up of its interstices to such an extent 

that water would be retained at the surface in sufficient quantity to 

nourish plants. Without venturing to offer an opinion in this connection, however, I feel abundantly justified in recommending that a 

careful study of the storage capacity of Pauline Lake should be made, 

coupled with an investigation of the best method of conducting water 

to the lands to the west and a study of the soil conditions along the 

lower course of Pauline Creek.

Glacial records. On the south shore of Pauline Lake, rising precipitously from the water's margin, are hills with an irregular hummocky surface, composed of .unassorted rock debris, including many 

angular blocks from 5 to 10 or more feet in diameter, 'which are 

clearly moraines. These hills extend south to the base of the cliffs 

bordering the basin on that side. About the west side of Pauline 

Lake and merging with the moraines just mentioned there is again a 

broad belt of moraine-covered country which, at the north, unites with 

a region 5 to 10 square miles in area, situated on the mountain bordering the amphitheater in the summit of Mount Newberry on the north. 

The moraines on the west side of the lake rise steeply to a generally 

even and broad crest about 250 feet above the present lake surface, and
104 GEOLOGY AND WATEE RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

decline westward with a well-defined slope for at least 3 or 4 miles. 

The full extent of the former glacier was not determined, as the 

region its traces occupy is so thickly forested or mantled with fallen 

timber that it could not be explored in the time available.

On the south side of the summit of Mount Newberry there are at 

least three canyon-like valleys with steep gradients, which lead southward down the outer slope of the mountain. These moderately broad 

steep-sloping valleys have the characteristic cross profiles of glacial 

troughs, such as small alpine glaciers produce, and were, without 

doubt, once occupied by glaciers, although no polished or striated surfaces .were seen. On following them to the crest of the cliffs overlooking Pauline Lake, they were found to end abruptly at the summits of precipices several hundred feet high. These troughs will be 

recognized at once by persons familiar with the published descriptions of Mount Mazama, as being similar to the " beheaded " valleys 

of that mountain.

The interpretation of the facts just presented, arrived at while 

studying the region to which they pertain, is briefly as follows:

The great amphitheater in the truncated summit of Mount Newberry 

was in existence previous to the Glacial epoch, and during that time 

became filled to overflowing with snow, which formed a neve field 

from which a glacier from 2 to 3 miles wide flowed northwestward 

down the previously stream-eroded outlet of the amphitheater. During the retreat of this glacier it formed the massive terminal moraine 

which now unites the cliffs on the southwest sicle of the amphitheater 

with the mountain mass forming the northern border.

From the neve field in the amphitheater of Mount Newberry, the 

main discharge from which went toward the northwest, small ice 

streams found their way through notches in the line of cliffs on the 

south and descended preexisting canyons on the south side of the mountain, enlarging them and giving them broad U-shaped bottoms. 

That is, the amphitheater became so deeply filled with snow that the 

neve was built up at least as high as the highest pinnacle on its 

southern rim.

As will be seen from this explanation, the high grade and now 

broad-bottomed gorges on the south side of Mount Newberry are 

probably remnants of water-cut canyons made while the amphitheater 

in the summit of the mountain was being eroded.; the evidence is not 

considered to indicate, however, that they were glaciated before the 

mountain was truncated or before a deep amphitheater was excavated 

in the portion that remained.

In connection with the statement just made in reference to the 

former glaciation of Mount Newberry it is of interest to note that 

snow still lingers throughout the summer in the noontide shadows of 

the cliffs on the south border of the amphitheater. At the time of my 

visit, August 27-30, snow banks were still present in sheltered places
BUSSELL.] VOLCANIC CONES. 105

among the lava flows in .the eastern portion of the amphitheater, at a 

height of less than 100 feet above Pauline Lake. It is thus evident 

that but a moderate climatic change in the direction of increasing the 

winter snowfall or of decreasing the summer melting would again 

bring about glacial conditions.

Recent andesite craters and lava flows. The history of Mount 

Newberry thus far traced relates to the building of a lofty volcanic 

mountain, its truncation by erosion, the excavation of a deep amphitheater in its summit, the filling of the amphitheater with snow, the 

discharge from it of ice streams, and the closing of its outlet by a 

massive terminal moraine. Another and no less interesting chapter 

in the long and varied history of the mountain is recorded by material 

erupted from volcanoes which originated in the amphitheater vacated 

by the melting of the neve field.

The post-Glacial craters referred to are 5 in number, arranged

in a belt running north and south across the bottom of the amphitheater, between Pauline and East lakes. The length of the belt 

is by estimate about 4 miles, and the position of the 5 vents along it 

indicate that they are situated on a fissure. Each of the 5 craters 

is composed of andesitic lapilli, and 4 of them discharged lava streams 

which on cooling produced, at least superficially, great quantities of 

obsidian and scoria?. For the sake of convenience the 5 craters 

referred to have been assigned numbers, in reference to their positions, beginning at the north end of the series and progressing southward. In reference to their relative age, No. 3 seems to be the oldest, 

while No. 2 is older than No. 1; Nos. 4 and 5, the most recent of all, 

are of about the same age.

Crater No. 1 is situated on the southward-facing slope of the north 

border of the amphitheater to the northeast of Pauline Lake, from 

the shore of which it rises precipitously. It is not a conspicuous 

feature and was not visited. The principal fact concerning it to 

be recorded is that from a breach in the south side of its rim a lava 

stream was discharged which floAved south with a moderate gradient 

until it impinged upon the north side of Crater No. 2, where it 

divided, one branch going eastward toward the site of East Lake 

and the other branch westward toward the basin of Pauline Lake. 

The trunk stream and each of its branches is approximately a mile 

long. It was principally this lava flow which so divided the bottom 

of the amphitheater in which it originated as to make two basins. 

The end of the eastward branch forms a portion of the shore of 

East Lake, while its companion terminates in a steep slope washed 

by the waters of Pauline Lake. The surface of the lava is excessively rough and irregular, consisting of a succession of heaps of 

large, angular blocks of obsidian and black scoriae together with yellowish pumice, rising from 20 to 30 feet above the general level;
106 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BOLL. 252.

between these at many localities are irregular depressions and pitlike openings fully as deep. Both the crater and the lava stream 

from it are densely overgrown with trees and bushes, which suggest 

that they are older than the similar craters, Nos. 4 and 5, which, 

together with their accompanying lava streams, are nearly bare of 

vegetation. The borders of the lava are precipitous, and in this, as 

in nearly all other characteristics, correspond with the streams discharged by the two craters at the south end of the series.

Crater No. 2 rises boldly near the east shore of Pauline Lake, 

When seen from the west shore it presents the appearance well shown 

in PL XV, B. The cone is, by aneroid measure, between TOO and 800 

feet high, and, as shown in the picture, has a broad truncated summit. Sunk in the summit is a well-defined crater about half a mile 

in diameter, the south side of which has been breached by an outflowing lava stream. There is also a deep notch on the north side, 

but it is not so pronounced as the one opposite to it, and is not occupied by a lava stream. The cone is composed of andesitic lapilli, 

among which pumice is conspicuous, but this may have been showered 

on the crater during the eruption of the neighboring craters to the 

south. The outer slopes of the cone are steep and the inner slope's of 

the pit in its summit precipitous. The entire crater and its small 

lava stream are overgrown with trees.

Crater No. 3 is adjacent on the southwest to the base of Crater No. 2 

and is situated near the southeast border of Pauline Lake, above which 

it rises to a height of about 200 feet. In comparison with its conspicuous and symmetrical neighbor it is small and its rim is deeply 

notched by erosion. It is probably the oldest of the group of five 

craters to which it belongs. Its circular form and both the inner and 

outer slope of its ring of lapilli are plainly recognizable, and in its

bottom there is a smooth plain of yellowish pumiceous lapilli about 

500 feet in diameter. This plain is similar to other pumice plains in 

the same region, and is formed of the same kind of material that 

floors the depression to the east of Crater No. 5. The walls of the 

crater are coated with similar material which fell after they were 

broken, at a date late in the history of the basin. The yellowish 

pumice referred to is widely scattered about Mount Newberry, and, in 

part at least, was blown into the air during the eruption of Crater 

No. 5. '

Crater No. 4, situated about half a mile southeast of No. 3, is represented by a portion of its eastern rim, composed of yellowish pumiceous lapilli, which forms a curved ridge, concave to the west. 

Between the fragment of the crajter remaining and the lava which 

rose within it, and now appears as a rugged, black field or plateau of 

obsidian, there is a deep moat, in which the water from a cold, springforms a crescent-shaped lakelet about 800 feet long and 30 to 50 feet
BUSSHM..] VOLCANIC CONES. 107

wide.' To the east of the lake is the tree-covered inner slope of the 

crater, and to the west the precipitous border of the stream of obsidian 

that rose within it but did not expand to its rim.

The west end of the fragment of the wall of Crater No. 4 disappears 

beneath a great sheet of black obsidian which came from the south, 

probably from Crater No. 5. The lavas from Craters Nos. 4 and 5 

avre of the same character and are united in such a manner that they 

seem parts of a single outpouring from No. 5. Close examination, 

however, shows that part of the material came from No. 4, which is 

several hundred feet lower than its companion and is inconspicuous 

except when seen from the hills of lapilli bordering it on the east.

Crater No. 5 is situated at the south end of the series, adjacent to 

the steep southern rim of the amphitheater excavated in the summit 

of Mount Newberry and about 2 miles from the southeast border of 

Pauline Lake. The fragments of the sharp-crested ring of lapilli 

which it formed fhiring its earlier and markedly explosive eruptions 

are not conspicuous for. their height, and, in fact, in a general view 

from the adjacent portion of the lofty rim of the amphitheater, are 

easily overlooked amid the rugged topographic forms with which 

they are surrounded. Sufficient of the crater rim remains, however, 

to show that it had a diameter of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. Within it the 

greatest lava discharges of any of the series of volcanoes to which it 

belongs took place, and in this and several other features it supplements the phenomena displayed by its companions in an instructive 

manner.

The lava which welled out of Crater No. 5 and buried or carried 

away its northwestern and northern portion for about one-half its 

circumference flowed northwest down a rather steep gradient for 

about 2 miles, but halted before reaching the site of the adjacent shore^ 

of Pauline Lake. It is in general about 1 mile wide. The lava field, 

or rather, the inclined plateau of rugged obsidian and scoriae, is bordered by rough descending escarpments 50 to 80 feet high (PL XVII, 

A). These bordering slopes are now composed of angular blocks of 

obsidian that form a talus difficult to climb, Avhich, when fresh, 

must have presented nearly vertical precipices. The surface of the lava 

is exceedingly rough, consisting of heaps and precipices of obsidian 

and black scoriae, between which there are steep-sided depressions and 

trench-like openings, or fissures, with walls of black glass. The surface is without the general coating of pumiceous lapilli which covers 

practically the entire region about it, except the similar lava discharged from Crater No. 4. In common with its associated craters 

and lava flows it is entirely lacking in evidence to show that itrwas 

ever covered by ice, and is thus proved to be one of the most recent 

additions to the rocks of the Newberry amphitheater. There are no 

trees on the lavas, and scarcely a lichen, but on the lapilli within the
108 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

craters from which it came, as shown in PL, XVII, B, trees 30 or 40 

feet high are growing. The absence of vegetation is evidently due 

to a lack of soil, and this in turn is due to the slow disintegration 

of the obsidian and to the open and cavernous character of the rocks, 

which permits dust and the finer products of disintegration to sink 

too deeply into them to be available for plant support.

The most novel feature of Crater No. 5, and one which is absent 

from its companions, is the presence in the central part of the rough 

lava plain it encloses of a tower-like mass of rugged and angular 

crags which rise about 250 feet above it. The appearance of these 

central crags, as seen from the southwest, is shown on PL XVII, B, 

The middle distance in the picture is occupied by the rough lapilli 

surface which forms the greater part of the floor of the crater and 

encircles the crags rising within it. on all sides except the northwest. 

The crags themselves are composed of dense, granular andesite, and 

are without obsidian, scoriae, or pumice, and are interpreted as having 

been formed by an upward protrusion of solid lava after the manner 

of the formation of the " obelisk " of Mount Pelee."

The material occupying Crater No. 5 about the base of its central 

pile of crags presents interesting and novel features, inasmuch as it 

is composed of angular fragments that occur in irregular heaps, with 

equally irregular basins intervening. The surface, although generally a plain, is uneven and has hills and hollows resembling those of 

a glacial moraine, but is composed of angular fragments consisting 

of pumice, scoriae, obsidian, and a few imperfectly shaped bombs. 

The explanation of this seems to be that mild steam explosions took 

place in it which threw it into piles, leaving depressions where the 

explosions occurred; after the explosions ceased cracks formed in 

the more solid rock beneath and permitted a subsidence of the material resting On it along certain more or less definite lines. About the 

border of the irregular lapilli field flooring the greater part of the 

crater there is a belt about 150 feet wide composed of angular and 

upturned blocks of obsidian and black scoriae, of the same nature and 

the same general appearance as the surface of the adjacent lava 

flow. A portion of this broken and very rough bordering belt is 

shown in the foreground of the view in PL XVII, B.

A plain of pumiceous lapilli lies east of Crater No. 5, from which 

the pumice was no doubt blown out. This pumice plain resembles 

several other small basins in the same region. This sheet of pumice 

covers the adjacent rim of the amphitheater and is widely distributed over the neighboring plains. As it merges with other similar

a Hovey, E. O., The new cone of Mont Pel6 and the gorge of the Rivi&re Blanche, 

Martinique: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 16, 1903, pp. 269-281.

Russell, I. C., The Pelg obelisk : Science, vol. 18, Dec. 18, 1903, pp. 792-795.

Russell, I. C., Criteria pertaining to massive-solid volcanic eruptions : Am. Jour. Sci., 

vol. 17, 1904, pp. 253-268.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XVII

VIEWS IN CRATER NO 5, MOUNT NEWBERRY.

At Margin of obsidian lava bed, looking north; 11, massive extiusion of lava, forming crags; looking

northeast.
RUSSELL.] VOLCANIC CONES. 109

deposits discharged from craters in the Cascade Mountains, the limits 

of its distribution can not at present be stated. On PI. XVII, J., 

the general appearance of the precipitous margin of the lava flows 

from craters Nos. 4 and 5 is shown. Escarpments of this nature are 

characteristic of the margins of all the lava flows in the amphitheater and show that the material of which they are composed was 

thick and viscous at the time it flowed away from the craters from 

Avhich it was discharged.

The interpretation of the records made by the volcano designated 

as Crater No. 5 may be stated briefly as follows:

The volcano was the last (or perhaps the next to the last in case 

Crater No. 4, which is of about the same age, was in action at a later 

date) of those which originated along a fissure in the bottom of the 

Newberry amphitheater. Its activity at first was characterized by 

violent explosions, which blew out pumiceous lapilli and distributed

it Widely over the adjacent region, particularly on the encircling 

cliffs to the south and east. An encircling ring of lapilli, in general 

about a hundred feet high, with a sharp crest, was formed, having 

a diameter of approximately 1,500 feet. Later came an outwelling 

of thick, viscous lava which flowed northwest and expanded somewhat before cooling. The sluggish flow of this lava is indicated by 

the fact that it descended a slope with a well-marked gradient 

about 500 feet to a mile and came to rest with precipitous borders 

50 to 80 feet high on all sides. Following the extrusion of the viscous lava came a massive-solid eruption, during which the material 

congealed at a considerable depth in the supplying conduit was 

forced up, so as to form the pile of crags in the center of the crater. 

That the lava composing these crags cooled and hardened at a depth 

and under pressure is shown by the absence of glass and scoriae and 

by the incipient crystallization which resulted in a granular structure of the material. The magma which once rested on this more 

slowly cooled material was perhaps discharged as viscous lava, but 

more probably was blown away in the condition of a fragmentalsolid discharge. After the central column had been forced upward 

and out of the summit of the conduit as a solid protrusion mild 

explosions occurred in the crater about its base and produced lapilli 

and a few bombs, which were left in heaps, with irregular depressions intervening. After the explosions ceased there was some movement in the solid rock beneath the lapilli, which caused it to become 

fractured.

The volcano that built Crater No. 5 thus left records of having 

undergone fragmental-solid, effusive, and massive-solid eruptions.

The reason for assigning the five volcanoes just described to a 

post-Glacial date is because, although they occur within an amphitheater which was at one time, presumably during the Glacal epoch,
110 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

occupied by a neve field that gave origin to glaciers, neither their 

craters, composed of loose fragments, nor the rough surfaces of their 

lava floAvs bear any evidence of glaciation; without question they did 

not exist when their sites were occupied by flowing ice.

RECENT BASALTIC CRATERS.

A large number of comparatively small, black or reddish, conical 

elevations, some of them with depressions in their summits, are clustered about the .base and on the sides of Mount Newberry, but more 

especially north and south of the central elevation. These secondary 

. hills have the form and color of basaltic cinder and lapilli cones, and 

a long, narrow, black area 5 or 6 miles south of Mount Newberry and 

trending about northeast and southwest, and bare of trees, though the 

adjacent land is densely forested, reveals the presence of a rough lava 

flow, probably of basalt. Besides Lava Butte, which belongs to the 

same series and is described below, only one of the score or more of the 

recent craters referred to was visited, and that one, situated about 4 

miles west of Pauline Lake, was found to be a basaltic crater built of 

lapilli, with a well-defined rim about 150 feet high on the outside, 

inclosing a depression approximately 100 feet deep and 600 feet 

across. This crater is in the region traversed by the glacier which 

flowed out of the Newberry amphitheater, and as it is unglaciated, is 

evidently of post-Glacial date. It is overgrown with trees, however, 

and is probably older than the bare, black lava stream to the south of 

Mount Newberry, and also older than Lava Butte, described below.

From the similarity of the several secondary craters to the north 

and south of Mount Newberry to the one just mentioned and to Lava 

Butte, it is judged that they all consist of basaltic rock and are postGlacial in age.. The score or more volcanic piles here considered are 

a part of a much greater group, which includes the 50 or more craters 

and cones in the neighborhood of Button Spring, briefly described 

on page 71, and also probably part of a still larger number of similar 

topographic forms situated to the south of Mount Newberry and 

known in part as the Walker Range. A vast field for the study 

of volcanoes, and one which will richly repay investigation, is here 

inviting attention.

LAVA BUTTE.

Location and general features. Situated about 12 miles slightly 

west of north of Mount Newberry and about 2 miles east of Deschutes 

River, at Benham Falls, is Lava Butte, a conspicuous lapilli cone 

with a deep crater in its summit, from the south base of which a 

stream of basaltic lava was poured out and flowed toward the northwest at a recent date. The position of the lava flow in reference to 

the cone from which it came, the manner in which the. lava turned
U, S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

LAVA BUTTE, NEAR BENHAM FALLS, CROOK 

Looking northeast from near south margin of lava 
VOLCANIC CONES. Ill

Deschutes River aside, etc., are indicated on the following map, based 

on surveys made by the Pilot Butte Development Company.

FIG. 2. Sketch map of Lava Butte and vicinity.

Lava Butte is sparingly overgrown with pines, but the associated 

lava flow is nearly bare of vegetation, except that here and there 

a juniper tree has taken root. The scarcity of vegetation on the lava, 

however, is not an index of extreme youth, since trees are found upon 

it wherever the conditions have permitted the accumulation of sufficient soil. Dead jumper trees from 16 to 18 inches in diameter, now 

bleached to a silvery whiteness, which lie on it, in several instances 

midway down its surface, show that it was extruded at least a hundred and probably more than a hundred and fifty years ago.

The cone of Lava Butte rises about 500 feet above the adjacent 

forest-covered country, and is composed mainly of a coarse, angular, 

basaltic lapilli and scoriaceous fragments varying in size up to 3 or 4 

inches in diameter. The color of this material is mostly red and 

black. Mingled with the angular fragments, especially within the 

crater, are many volcanic bombs and oval scoriaceous masses 3 or 4 

feet in diameter, which were bloAvn out as clots of viscous lava. A 

crater about 150 feet deep^ which is situated at the summit of the
112 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

butte, is without lava which rose in a fused condition, and is now 

partly filled with debris which has fallen from its walls and given 

it a conspicuous inverted-cone shape.

The appearance of Lava Butte as seen from the southwest, near the 

southern margin of its accompanying lava field, is shown on PI. 

XVIII. As can be seen in the picture, the lava rises higher than 

elsewhere at the south base of the cone and stands in rugged crags. 

This fact is connected with one of the most instructive features that 

the volcanic cone and its accompanying lava stream presents, and may 

be considered as a contribution to the characteristics of volcanoes previously recorded.

Lava delta. The lava escaped through the base of the lapilli cone 

forming Lava Butte on its south side, but did not breach it, and 

flowed south for a few hundred yards and then in the main curved 

and went toward the west and the northwest. ' At a late stage in the 

discharge of the lava it formed a " lava gutter " of the same character 

as the miniature examples about one of the Jordan craters, described 

in a previous report,* but was 500 feet long, about 100 feet wide at the 

bottom, and fully 80 feet deep. The nearly vertical walls of this 

black, ragged trench reveal no lava " drip," but are composed of the 

broken edges of thin scoriaceous lava sheets which are inclined away 

from the longer axis of the gutter at low angles. The steepness of 

the walls is due in part to disintegration, and the fall of their original surfaces. The bottom of the gutter is now a chaos of fallen fragments. From the crest of the walls of the gutter the surface slopes 

steeply down to the rough, but in general nearly level, bordering lava 

field. That is, the gutter is in the summit of an elevated ridge. At 

its lower or distal end it divides into three diverging gutters, with 

rugged crags between, one of which leads west, another south, and

the third southeast.

The west distributary, as it may be termed from its analogy to a 

division of a river in a delta, is the smallest of the three. It is about 

30 feet wide at the bottom, with vertical walls 20 to 30 feet high, on 

which are honeycombed or stalactite-like shapes produced by the 

dripping of the molten rock which adhered to them when the stream 

of lava ceased to flow and left its channel empty. The bottom of the 

gutter, when followed in the direction of the lava flow, descends 

sharply, and at a distance of about 500 feet merges with the surface 

of the lava field with which it is confluent. The lava in the bottom 

of the gutter is highly scoriaceous and presents swells and concentric 

ridges. The ridges occur in series which forms concentric parabolic 

or pointed curves, convex on the downstream side, and showing that 

the last weak discharge of lava cooled and stiffened as it flowed.

« Russell, I. C., Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No, 217, 1003, pp. 52-53.
H0SSELL.] VOLCANIC CONES. 113

The divisions of the main gutter that lead south and southeast from 

the base of the butte are in each case 50 to 60 feet wide at the bottom, 

and have precipitous walls 30 to 50 feet high, in which the broken 

edges of thin scoriaceous sheets of basalt are exposed. In a few 

places, however, the walls of the gutters still preserve the original 

coating of congealed lava which was left adhering to them when the 

lava streams subsided and left their channels empty. The length of 

the two diverging channels .referred to, although indefinite, is in the 

neighborhood of 600 or 700 feet. Their borders are elevated ridges 

which slope down steeply to the adjacent lava surface, as in the case 

of the main or trunk channel.

The interpretation of the facts pertaining to the great lava gutter 

and the three separate parts into which it divides is briefly as follows:

The lava from Lava Butte escaped from it through a tunnel at its 

base on the south side without breaking in or in any way defacing the 

great pile of loose material from which it came. The explosions 

which blew out lapilli, clots, and bombs, and built the cone with its 

deep summit crater, ceased when the discharge of lava occurred, as 

is shown by the absence of fragmental material on the surface of 

the lava, although it is present on the adjacent country. The lava 

ran out in a liquid condition and in large volume, as a stream about 

100 feet wide, on the side of which cooling and hardening took 

place and bordering ridges were formed. As the stream continued 

to flow it spread over its banks, much as an alluvial river when in 

flood crosses its natural levees, and the lava which thus expanded 

cooled and formed thin scoriaceous sheets, which increased the height 

of the walls bordering the lava stream and produced what may perhaps be termed " lava levees." A great gutter was thus formed 

which led south for about 1,000 feet, but the molten lava coursing 

through it broke across its confining walls in two places, in much 

the same manner that an alluvial river subdivides on a delta, and 

two distributaries of the lava stream were found, each of which also 

expanded laterally and formed lava levees of its OAVII. This is the 

situation in brief. The entire history of the discharge and of the 

way in which the lava levees bordering the streams of molten rock 

were built is no doubt much more complex, for the earlier levees 

formed were buried beneath later ones and assisted in making the 

prominent elevation into which 0 the lava field rises at its source, 

as shown on PL XVIII.

These gutters therefore present an example of what may be termed 

a " lava delta," their similarity to the work of an aggrading river 

being very striking. Similar topographic forms are produced in 

each case, but by different methods. The manner in which a lava 

stream overspreads its banks and makes deposits upon them is still 

Bull. 252 05 M 8
114 GEOLOGY AND WATEE EESOUECES, OENTEAL OEEGON. [BULL. 252.

more strikingly paralleled by brooks and rills, which in winter sometimes inundate their banks and congeal, forming ice levees.

The volcano which built Lava Butte originated on the east side 

of the valley of the Deschutes, where the slope was westward. The 

nature of this slope is revealed in the forested region immediately 

south of the butte, where a sheet of old basaltic lava forms the 

surface. The lava discharged by the volcano came from an opening 

on the south side of the lapilli cone it built, and at first flowed 

south, but, owing to the inclination of the surface over which it 

advanced, soon turned and advanced westward into the valley of 

the Deschutes, which it occupied from side to side, damming the 

river and extending northward down the valley for a distance of 

between 5 and 6 miles.

The lava was liquid and no doubt flowed rapidly, but a surface 

crust formed and became broken by the energetic underflow, and the 

blocks and cakes produced were carried along and pushed up into 

heaps, so as to form a typical " aa " surface, as such rough-faced lava 

streams are termed on the Hawaiian Islands. The roughness of the 

surface of the lava may be judged to some extent from its appearance 

as shown in PI. XVIII. Owing to the large proportion of solid 

lava involved in the still liquid or viscous portion, the stream, as it 

advanced and expanded, became sluggish and cooled with a precipitous border in general 30 to 50 feet high. The bold angular 

escarpment margining the lava field on all sides is composed of 

angular masses of scoriaceous lava, formed by pushing along the 

broken fragments of the crust, which hardened before the motion 

in the deeper portion of the stream ceased, and has suffered but little 

disintegration or decay since it came to rest. The general plan of 

the lava's border is excessively irregular and is characterized by the 

presence Of angular projections from its general alignment and equally 

sharp and angular reentrants.

As indicated on the accompanying sketch map (fig. 2, p. Ill), the 

lava sheet surrounds the butte from which it came on all sides except 

the east. The same map shows also the fact that Deschutes Eiver 

meets the lava flow, is deflected from it, and on returning follows 

its margin for about 2^ miles. The lava completely dammed the 

former course of the river and caused a lake to form, which found an 

outlet across a ridge of acid lava, probably rhyolite, on its west 

border. The outflowing waters cut a deep, narrow canyon, through 

which the river now rushes, forming a series of cascades, known as 

Benham Falls (PL XVI, B). This feature of the river, and the 

fact that its waters spread into the lava during high-water stages, 

so as to regulate its flow below the obstruction, will be described a 

few pages later in connection with other characteristics of the 

Deschutes (p. 1.17).
BDSSHLL.] VOLCANIC CONES. 115

Age of the lava. The presence of pines on Lava Butte, arid the 

occurrence of both living and dead trees on the lava flow that escaped 

from it, furnish evidence that the activity of the volcano ceased at 

least a hundred and probably more than a hundred and fifty years 

ago. The age of the lava flow relative to other volcanic eruptions 

in the same region is recorded in part by the presence on the country 

about it, but not on its surface, of pumiceous lapilli, which cover the 

slopes of Mount Newberry, and the moraines that form a dam across 

the outlet of its .amphitheater, but are not present on the rhyolitic 

lava streams Avithin the amphitheater. Lava Butte and its associated 

sheet of basalt, like the obsidian lavas in the amphitheater of Mount 

Newberry, is thus shown to have come into existence since the 

Glacial epoch.

Faulting. Starting near the south base of Lava Butte and extending at least a.mile southward is a fissure in the older basalt of the

region, which throughout much of its course is a steep-sided trench 

about 15 feet wide, varying in depth from a few to 10 or 15 feet. 

Throughout the length of this break, as far as followed, there has been 

a movement of the rocks of its walls, which has resulted in raising 

its eastern from 10 to 30 feet higher than its western side. This fault 

is of recent date, and perhaps indicates the course of the break which 

permitted the volcanic conduit that built Lava Butte to gain the 

surface.

Lava tunnel. About 2-i miles south of Lava Butte, in a nearly 

level forest-covered region, where the surface rocks are basaltic lava 

of earlier date than the lava stream discharged from the butte, there 

is an open trench about 400 feet long and 50 feet wide, with nearly 

vertical walls from 30 to 40 feet high. The trench is due to the 

falling in of the roof of a lava tunnel, and its bottom is composed of 

angular blocks of basalt variously inclined. At each end. of the 

trench one can descend a steep slope of lava blocks and gain access' 

to portions of the tunnel where the roof is still in place, though the 

tunnel for several hundred feet on each side of the gap is heavily 

encumbered with blocks of rock that have fallen from the roof. 

Farther in, I am informed, where but little dislodgment of blocks 

of rock from the roof has occurred, the bottom of the tunnel is a 

level floor of pumiceous sand. It is also stated by parties who have 

explored the northern extension of the cavern that it can be traversed 

for a distance of about 2 miles.

This tunnel is like several others in the same region, and is due to 

the outflow of a lava stream after a roof from 30 to 40 feet thick had 

been formed by the cooling of the lava above it.
116 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [HULL. 252.-

ASSOCIATED CONES.

From the top of Lava Butte a fine view may be had of the surrounding forest-covered region and of the desolate lava field bordering it 

on the west, as well as of the valley of the Deschutes, the dark eastern 

slopes of the Cascade Mountains, and the several fine snow peaks 

that crown their summit. One of the most instructive features of 

this far-reaching view is furnished by the numerous conical hills to 

the south. In the direction mentioned, within a radius of about 15 

miles, 42 conical hills, ranging from perhaps 250 to 500 feet in height, 

were counted. These are all recent volcanic cones and craters, but are 

now forest-covered. In traversing this region still other similar 

volcanic piles were observed, and their total number must approach, 

and perhaps exceed, 100. This is but a part, however, of a region 

some 1,500 to 2,000 square miles in area, extending eastward beyond 

Christmas Lake, south at least to the Walker Range, and west to 

the volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains, which is studded nearly 

everywhere Avith small volcanic cones, most of which are believed to 

be composed of basaltic rocks and to be of the type of Lava Butte.

BENHAM FALLS.

The lava stream from Lava Butte, as already described, entered 

the valley of Deschutes River and formed a dam. The river, thus 

turned aside, began to erode a new channel across a spur of the old 

acid lava, which previous to the change formed part of its west bank. 

The new channel is about half a mile long, and as the task of deepening it to the depth o£ the old one is as yet incomplete the waters 

form a series of rapids, to which the name Benham Falls has been 

given. A picture of this interesting locality is presented on PI. 

XVI, Z?, and the relation of the lava to the river is shown on the

sketch map on page 111, (fig. 2). The fact that the river has not 

as yet deepened its present channel to the depth of the adjacent 

portion of the old channel now occupied by recent basalt is also 

shown by its sluggish flow above the obstructions, where the still 

water is from 10 to 15 feet deep. For about one-half mile above 

the head of Benham Falls and for approximately 3 miles downstream from the foot of the rapids designated by that name the river 

is margined on the east by a rough, precipitous escarpment of fresh, 

black, basaltic lava about 40 feet high, which is cavernous and intersected by fissures. The river seems to have filled the interstices in 

the rock, adjacent to the fresh lava over which it flows during ordinary stages, but when a slight rise is experienced the water, after 

gaining a certain level, escapes into the lava and disappears from 

sight. At several localities along the border of the recent lava the 

water of the river, during my visit late in August, was observed
RUSSELL.] DESCHUTES EIVEE LAKES. 117

flowing into crevices in the rocks along the border of the stream, and 

it was apparent that a tendency in the river to rise would be efficiently checked in this manner. The greater the volume of the river 

the more efficient these natural subterranean spillways become. The 

water on escaping from the river finds its wa}^ through or beneath 

the lava, and, as there are good reasons for. believing, again comes 

to the light, in part at least, in the bottoms of the canyons of Deschutes and Crooked rivers, at a distance of 30 to 40 miles to the north 

of the localities where it disappears. Opal Spring and other similar 

springs in the canyon of Crooked River, described on page 88, may 

reasonably be explained on this hypothesis.

The efficient check on the rise of the waters of the Deschutes so provided exerts a conspicuous influence all the way down its course below 

Benham Falls to the mouth of Crooked River, a distance of about 50 

miles. The annual range in the height of the river throughout this 

section is only 8 Ol' 10 inches, while above Benham Falls the seasonal 

variations in the surface level of the river amount to several.feet.

LAKES NEAR SOURCES OF DESCHUTES RIVER.

.Near the sources of West Fork of Deschutes River and also at the 

head of the main stem of the river, sometimes designated the Middle 

Fork, there are beautiful lakes, still surrounded by primeval forests, 

which furnish instructive examples of water bodies held by dams 

built by glaciers or formed by lava flows. Some of the lakes referred 

to also give promise of becoming of importance when the settlement 

of Deschutes Valley has so far increased that irrigation will have 

Ijecome imperative.

DAVIS LAKE.

On West Fork of Deschutes, near its source, is Davis Lake, which 

is retained by a dam of lava of recent date. This lake was seen by 

me from the basaltic hills on its southern border, but was not directly 

examined. A brief description of it by Lieut. T. W. Symons, who 

visited it in 1STS, which, as I learned from frontiersmen living in its 

vicinity, indicates its present condition, is as follows: a

Climbing one day around the brow of a hill, we canie in sight of another lake, 

cliff and tree environed and with bottom lands and meadows of great extent, 

with what appeared to be mud flats near the water. This lake and valley were 

about 12 by 6 miles in size, and took us completely by surprise, as they were 

evidently in the course of our West Fork and were not represented on any map. 

Reaching it we found at its southern end many acres of rich grass and bunches 

of tall willows. Following around the west shore to the north end we ascertained that there was no visible outlet. We saw the watermarks 20 feet above

« U. S. Geol. Surv. W. One Hundredth Mer. (Wheeler Survey), Appendix B, 1879, p. 

218.
ll8 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BOLL. 252.

us on the lava bluffs of. the northern and northwestern shores, and camping 

beside these in the night we heard strange rumblings in the vast pile.

We found the next day that these lava beds formed an impassable barrier 

extending unbroken for about 4 miles to the north, and at their end were again 

surprised to find, foaming out from underneath the giant bowlders, the clear, 

cold river that we had seen lose itself in the lake 15 miles and more to the south.

The value of Davis Lake as a storage reservoir is not clearly shown 

by the above description, although it at least suggests the desirability 

o'f making a survey for the purpose of determining its utility for that 

purpose. An alternative in this connection is presented, however, by 

Odell Lake, situated on the same stream, about 6 miles nearer its 

source.

ODELL LAKE.

This charming sheet of clear, cold water, surrounded by bold, 

forest-covered mountains, is located on the east side of the Cascade 

Mountains in proximity to their crest, and receives the water from 

the snow fields on Diamond Peak, the height of which is 8,807 feet. 

On the side of that fine, bold mountain and in view from the east 

side of Odell Lake there is a miniature glacier situated just above 

the upper limit of tree growth, which may be considered as a muchwasted remnant of an extensive ice stream that formerly flowed eastward from the same elevated region and occupied the valley in which 

the present lake occurs. The former glacier had several tributaries 

in its upper portion, and also received contributions from snow fields 

that covered the less imposing volcanic mountain to the northeast of 

Odell Lake. The ice that flowed through the previously streameroded valley broadened its bottom, rounded and smoothed the ledges 

and hills of resistant rocks on its borders, and on melting left conSpicilOUS and well-defined lateral moraines on its sides and a series of 

curved, concentric, terminal moraines about its southern end. The 

lateral moraines on the sides of the valley slope perceptibly in the 

direction of ice movement; in general the highest in the'series on 

each side of the lake has an elevation of from 1,000 to 1,500 feet above 

its surface. The terminal moraines which sweep across the southern 

end of the basin in a series of open loops are steep-sided ridges composed of bowlders and much volcanic lapilli and pumice. The innermost of the series rises precipitously from the south end of the lake, 

and forms the dam which retains its waters. The moraine is crossed 

by the stream flowing from the lake, which has excavated a narrow, 

steep-sided gorge across it. This gorge furnishes a favorable site for 

a dam, by means of which the level of the lake could be raised so as 

to retain all of its winter discharge.
RUSSELL.] DESOHUTES RIVEE LAKES. 119

An approximately correct cross profile of the gorge at a locality 

about 300 yards below where the outflowing stream leaves the lake is 

here presented:

FIG. 3. Cross profile of gorge at outlet of Oclell Lake.

The width of the stream at the locality where the above cross 

profile was obtained was 57 feet on September 3, 1903, its' average 

depth nine-tenths of a foot, and its maximum velocity, as determined 

by means of floats, seventy-five one-hundredths foot per' second. 

These measurements show that the volume of the stream was about 31 

cubic feet per second. This amount, however, is probably in GXCGSS 

of the actual volume, as the stream is much obstructed by stones and 

bowlders, and the value given to the measure of the velocity consequently too great. A better approximation to the volume of the discharge from the lake is thought to be 25 cubic feet per second. 

Owing to the equalizing influence of the lake, the stream flowing 

from it is not characterized by conspicuous variations in volume, but 

nevertheless there are seasonal changes to be taken into account in 

estimating the amount of water available for storage. The lake is 

said, by persons familiar with it, to rise in winter and spring from 8 

to 10 inches above its summer stage, and with such a rise the volume 

of the outflowing stream can be reasonably assumed to be about three 

times its volume during its lowest stage, but for what length of time 

the high-water stage continues is unknown. We can, however, from 

the data in hand, obtain some idea of the possibilities of the lake as. a 

storage reservoir.

The discharge given above namely. 25 cubic feet per second during a period of nine months, the usual interval between the seasonal 

periods during which water is desired for irrigation, would be 583,- 

000,000 cubic feet. The lake has approximately an area of 6£ square 

miles, or 181,000,000 square feet, and an increase in its volume by the 

amount just mentioned would raise its surface about 3 feet. If the 

winter and spring discharge per second is, during certain periods, 

three times the lowest summer outflow and this seems all that the 

conditions indicate it is safe in endeavoring to obtain a preliminary 

idea of the possibilities of the lake for irrigation purposes to assume 

that the mean discharge during the winter season is not more than 

three times the mean summer outflow. On this assumption, in case 

all of the winter water is retained in the lake, its surface would be
120 GEOLOGY AND WATER KESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

raised about 9 feet: This is certainly a liberal estimatej and, besides, 

takes no account of loss by evaporation. In considering the question 

of how high to build a dam in 'order to retain all of the winter runoff allowance should be made for probable seasons of more than normal precipitation, and also for the influence of gales blowing down 

the lake in raising the water at its southern'end. Data in these connections are wanting, but, allowing for all probable contingencies, I 

venture to assume that a dam 15 feet high above the present bed of 

the outflowing stream, at the locality where the above cross section 

was obtained, would be all that would be required. .A dam.of this 

height, as shown by a broken line on the profile in fig. 3, would have 

. an exposed crest about 160 feet in length.

The material which would have to be excavated to secure a foundation for such a dam is composed of bowlders and angular stones of 

various sizes up to 3 or more feet in diameter, between which there is 

compact volcanic sand, pumice, etc. Whether clay is present or not is 

unknown. The depth of the moraine is such that it is impracticable to 

reach a solid rock bottom-in excavating for a dam, and the depth of 

the base of the dam below the present stream bed and the length, of 

the lateral extensions required in order to counteract percolation can 

only be judged when excavations shall have been made. No great 

difficulty in this connection, however, can reasonably "be anticipated.

The lowest sag in the crest of the moraine which retains the lake, 

as determined by means of a hand level, is between 55 and 56 feet. 

This, next'after the gorge occupied by the outflowing stream, is the 

lowest notch in the rim of the basin.

The above measurements and estimates, although only approximately correct, will, I think, serve to indicate the nature of the problems to be studied when Odell Lake comes into demand as a storage 

reservoir,

CRESCENT LAKE.

Situated approximately 4 miles southwest of Odell Lake is Crescent Lake, the source of Main, or Middle, Fork of Deschutes River. 

This lake is larger and in nearly every Avay finer than its neighboring water body, and, like it, is surrounded by beautiful scenery 

and magnificent forests. As nearly as can be judged from the map 

of the Cascade Range Forest Reserve made by the United States 

Geological Survey, Crescent Lake is about 4 miles long and 2 miles 

wide. Its area, is not far from 7 square miles. It is retained by a 

strong, well-defined terminal moraine, which sweeps across the valley 

in a graceful curve, presenting its concave side to the west, the direction from which came the glacier that built it. The moraine at the 

immediate border of the lake is one of a series having a breadth of 

about 2 miles, which unites with the similar series of ridges about the
RUSSELL.] DESCHUTES EIVEE LAKES. 121

south end of Odell Lake. These moraines are composed of large 

bowlders, mingled with which is considerable pumiceous lapilli of the 

same character as the fragments that cover a large portion of the 

Cascade Mountains in southern Oregon.

The outlet of Crescent Lake is at the north end of the moraine that 

confines it, where the outflowing waters have cut a gorge of the same 

character as, but broader than, the one excavated by the stream flowing from Odell Lake. A cross profile of the gorge, made by means 

of a tapeline and hand level at a locality about 100 yards below where 

the stream leaves the lake, is here presented:

FIG. 4. Cross profile of gorge at outlet of Crescent Lake.

The width of the stream is 89 feet, and its average depth on September 4, 1903, as shown by 15 measurements, was nine-tenths of a 

foot. This may safely be taken as its minimum depth during the 

year. The channel is much encumbered with bowlders and driftwood, so that even an approximately accurate measurement of the 

velocity of the stream by means of floats is impracticable. Trials in 

this direction, however, gave a velocity of about 1 foot in three seconds, which, together with the other measures, indicates a volume of 

about 21 cubic feet per second. But as the stream is plainly , of 

greater volume than the one flowing from Odell Lake, this measure 

is no doubt too small. Crescent Lake, as reported by frontiersmen 

familiar Avith it, rises in March and April about 10 inches above its 

lowest stage, which occurs in September. These statements are in 

harmony with the evidence furnished by the beaches about the borders of the lake and by the downward limit of vegetation on its 

shores.

Not only is Crescent Lake larger than Odell Lake, but the area 

of mountainous land draining to it is greater, while the rainfall is 

essentially the same, each lake receiving some of the precipitation 

falling on Diamond Peak, the highest elevation in the region. Thus 

in many ways it is more faA^orably circumstanced than its companion 

to serve as a storage reservoir. Judgment based on all available 

data, and giving due weight to the inadequacy and inaccuracy of the 

information in hand, indicates that a dam 15 feet high would be all 

that is required to control the winter run-off of the lake. Such a 

dam, as indicated by a broken line on the profile given above, would 

need to be about 200 feet in length.

It must be remembered that in presenting these crude estimates my 

aim is simply to indicate possibilities and to recommend surveys, such 

suggestions being some of the functions of a reconnaissance.
122 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. IUULL. 252.

WELLS.

With reference to obtaining water by means of artesian wells in 

the portion of the basin of the Deschutes under consideration, I 

failed to find any favorable evidence so far as deep wells are concerned. In the material swept out of gorges in the mountains and 

deposited as alluvial fans near their mouths, it is possible that small 

supplies of flowing water in some instances may be obtained. Conditions of this nature occur about Sisters, and in other similar situations along the eastern base of the Cascade Mountains, but no predictions as to the success of wells in such localities are at present 

warrantable. The structure of these alluvial deposits is unknown, 

and at best must be irregular. The only method of ascertaining their 

artesian possibilities is by sinking wells to a depth of a few hundred 

feet on the lower portions of the alluvial slopes, and thus.ascertaining 

the local conditions by trial.

IRRIGABLE LANDS.

The favorable conditions for storing water, in what may be termed 

a small way, in the basins of Odell and Crescent lakes leads to the 

question: Where can the water, if stored, be utilized?

In the basin of the Deschutes above Benham Falls there is a great 

area of land which, as inspection indicates and private surveys are 

said to show, can be economically irrigated by means of ditches 

branching from West and Middle forks of Deschutes River. There 

seems no question .but what, so far as engineering possibilities are 

concerned, there is more than enough practically level land available 

for the utilization of all the water that can be supplied for irrigation 

by the branches of the Deschutes in the region indicated above. The 

critical condition, however, which will evidently control most irrigation schemes in the entire drainage basin of the Deschutes above 

Benham Falls, is the nature of the soil.

Over all of the region just referred to, and extending far beyond its 

boundaries in every direction, the surface layer is composed of 

pumiceous lapilli, ranging in depth from about 6 feet as a minimum 

to over 35 feet. The exceptions to this statement occur where marsh 

conditions prevail and the pumice is covered or mingled with humus 

material; such areas, however, are comparatively small and are confined to the vicinity of the river, where they are annually or occasionally overflowed. The surface material on the uplands bordering the 

streams and extending over the adjacent plains and neighboring hills, 

is light-colored pumice, almost entirely without humus. Water conducted upon such land would almost immediately disappear beneath 

the surface. This absence of soil is thought by many persons familiar with the region to demonstrate the impracticability of ever
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XIX

A. SOUTH SISTER PEAK. 

Looking southeast.

£. WEST SISTER PEAK. 

Looking west. Oilier Glacier to left and Hayden Glacier to right of center.
EDSSELL.] GLACIERS.. 123

reclaiming the land for farming purposes; others, however, equally 

well acquainted with the conditions, do not consider the problem so 

discouraging.

The reason for the absence of soil is not difficult to determine. 

The region is clothed with trees, but over extensive areas the primitive forest has been burned, and what are termed scrub pines have 

taken its place. The porous surface material dries each summer and 

the litter of the forest then becomes highly inflammable, and- fires 

sweep over the land, destiwing all the vegetable debris resting on it, 

and frequently burning the trees as well. This process has gone on 

year after year, in some portions of the region for an indefinite 

period, and no vegetable matter has been, left for the formation of 

soil except in the low and usually Avet grounds. If the land is to be 

reclaimed, evidently the first step is to stop the fires that now annually occur. When this is done a soil will begin to form, and by

degrees forage plants will take root where now there is only bare 

pumiceous lapilli.

On small areas of the pumiceous land .where irrigation'has been 

practiced soil has gradually been formed and favorable crops obtained. The success of these attempts is such as to favor the conclusion that by skillful agriculture, special care being taken to supply 

vegetable matter to the ground, good returns can be had by irrigating 

the open, porous, pumiceous lands. In the nearly level region adjacent to Deschutes River above Benham Falls water can be had in 

wells that are only 8 or 10 feet deep even in summer, and springs are 

common along the border of stream channels. Thus the water table 

is near the surface. The springs are clear on account of the filtering 

their waters received while percolating through the surface layer of 

pumice. Their temperatures are low, approximately 50° F., or about 

the ,mean annual temperature of the region. The presence of cold 

water at a small depth below the surface is detrimental to agriculture, 

as is also the prevalence of frosts during practically every month of 

the year. Thus in several ways the agricultural possibilities of the 

region in question are confined within narrow limits.

The most that can seemingly be hoped for in the southern portion 

of the Deschutes basin is that its forest will be utilized and scientific 

forestry practiced on all of the region that can not be irrigated, and 

that where water can be had dairy farming and stock raising will 

be practicable.

GLACIERS.

During the journey which furnished the basis for this report many 

commanding summits were reached which furnished admirable views 

of the east side of the Cascade Mountains. From such distant observations, supplemented by a visit to the Three Sisters peaks, some
124 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON.[BULL. 252.'

data which seem worth recording were obtained relative to the small 

glaciers present about the higher summits.

EXISTING GLACIERS.

From various points of view the higher peaks of the Cascade 

Mountains were in sight from Mount Adams at the north to beyond 

Mount Pitt at the south, a distance in a straight line of over 250 

miles. In this interval, in their order from the north southward, rise 

Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, the Three Sisters peaks, Bachelor 

Mountain, and Diamond Peak, each of which has one or more small 

glaciers on its sides. There are other .peaks which are white with 

snow in late summer, but so far as could be seen from the eastward 

are without glaciers.

Mount Adams and Mount Hood, as is well known, have several 

glaciers about their higher slopes, but these were too distant from the 

points of view occupied during the reconnaissance to be recognized.

GLACIERS OF MOUNT JEFFERSON.

Mount Jefferson is one of .the finest and perhaps the most beautiful of all the individual' mountain peaks in Oregon. Standing as an 

immense white pyramid on the summit of the generally forestcovered Cascade Mountains, it attains a height of about 10,350 feet. 

The portion of the mountain rising above the upper limit of tree 

growth is deeply sculptured and illustrates an advanced stage in 

the erosion of a volcanic cone. To the northeast and to the northwest of its sharp summit are deep amphitheaters, each of which contains a small glacier. The one on the southwest side of the mountain is several hundred feet lower, vertically, than its companion and 

is separated from it by a prominent cliff facing southward. The neve 

fields of the northeast glacier extend about the northern Side of the 

peaks and, as may be expected, coalesce with the gathering grounds 

of another glacier on that side. The glaciers mentioned above are 

intersected by blue crevasses, reveal a well-marked line between glacier proper and neve, and have marginal moraines about their borders which unite to form terminal moraines at their pointed distal 

ends. On the 1st of September snow banks still existed below the 

glaciers and in the upper portion of the adjacent forest. So far as 

could be determined from a distance the glaciers reveal no evidence 

of recent recession.

GLACIERS OF THE THREE SISTERS.

Location and size of the glaciers. The three sharp pyramidal 

peaks known as the Three Sisters, which rise from the crest of the 

Cascade Mountains in west-central Oregon attain in each instance an
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XX

A. NEVE OF C1LLER GLACIER AND SOUTH SISTER PEAK.

B. LOWER MARGIN OF DILLER GLACIER; BROKEN TOP IN BACKGROUND.

Looking south.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVE' IULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XXI

LOWER MARGIN OF NEVE ON HAYDEN GLACIER; NORTH SISTER PEAK IN 

BACKGROUND.

Looking north.
RUSSELL.] GLACIERS. ' 125

elevation of approximately 10,250 feet above the sea. The three peaks 

occupy the angles of a triangular space which has been excavated so 

as to form a great amphitheater opening east. This depression, 

which, measured from North to South Sister, is by estimate about 5 

miles across, was formerly occupied by a large glacier which flowed 

eastward down the slope of the mountains for a distance of at least 

10 miles and for an as yet unknown distance beyond. This glacier, 

on retreating, left massive moraines, which are conspicuous from 

certain points of view, although to a great extent obscured by the 

forest that covers them. The old glacier was formed by the union 

of several tributaries, and as it melted and withdrew within the amphitheater, where its supplying snow fields lay, it became dissected 

into several smaller glaciers, each of which left well-defined lateral 

and terminal moraines.

Within the amphitheater and well up on its sides there are at present four small glaciers one between North and West sisters, one on 

the southeast slope of West Sister but in its neve portion confluent 

with the one on the north face of South Sister, and one on the north 

side of Broken Top, a rugged peak adjacent to South Sister Peak on 

the southeast. The general appearance of these glaciers is shown on 

Pis. XIX and XX.

There are also two glaciers, much smaller than those situated in 

the amphitheater, on the northeast side of North Sister Peak, just 

above the upper limit of the encircling forest. These glaciers are 

walled in on the lower margins by sharp-crested moraines, which rise 

somewhat higher than the ice they inclose, thus indicating a recent 

lowering of its surface. When viewed from the southeast, South 

Sister Peak is seen to have a long, narrow glacier of considerable size 

on its southeast side, which terminates at the forest line, and is not 

as extensive as the one on the north slope of the same peak.

All of the glaciers mentioned above are on the east side of the crest 

line of the Cascade Mountains, and the water supplied by their melting flows to Deschutes Kiver; as to the snow and ice conditions on 

the west side of these peaks I am not informed.

The glacier between North and West Sister peaks (PI. XIX, /?), 

here named Hayden Glacier," is by estimate about 1 mile long, and 

somewhat less in width in its broadest or neve portion. At the time of 

my visit^August 16, 1903, the dividing line between the hard, blue, 

dirt-stained ice of the glacier proper and the clean white snow of the 

neve was sharply defined, as may be seen on PI. XXI. As stated 

above, the neve of this glacier is confluent with the neve of Diller 

Glacier,11 adjacent to it on the south. The two glaciers separate at a 

prominent rocky crag (PL XIX, B) about 1,000 feet east of the upper

0 Named for Lieut. E. E. Hayden, U. S. N.

" Named for J. sS. Diller, geologist, U. S. Geol. Survey, who has carried on extensive 

geologic surveys in western Oregon.
126 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

i

margin of the neve where it meets the base of West Sister Peak. 

From this crag a well-defined lateral moraine extends along the margin of each glacier. These'moraines are well shown on the illustration just referred to, and other characteristic glacier features are 

illustrated by this and other accompanying photographs.

Recent shrinkage of glaciers. The special features of interest concerning Hayden Glacier are the evidences of recent shrinkage, certain 

" glacier cornices "present on the wall of a crevasse near its source, 

and a peculiar ridge of stream-deposited gravel on the lower portion 

of the ice, which simulates the levees deposited by alluvial rivers.

The right lateral moraine of Hayden Glacier is steep sided and has 

a height of about 40 feet above the ice it margins, but the descent 

from its crest to its southern base is 20 to 30 feet greater. A feature 

of the moraine which at once attracted attention at the time of my 

visit was its double crest. The southern or true crest of the ridge was 

in general 5 or 6 feet higher than the adjacent but subordinate ridge 

on the north side, which was separated from it by a space of about 15 

to 20 feet,.there being a steep-sided trench some 4 or 5 feet deep 

between (PL XXII). Near the distal end of the double ridge, 

however, the inner or northern crest was higher than its companion. 

'The explanation of the double crest is that the glacier has recently 

been lowered by melting about 40 feet, but its marginal portion, covered by the stones, etc., of its bordering moraine, was sheltered from 

the sun on account of the debris covering it and remained inclosed in 

the north side of the abandoned moraine. The subsequent melting of 

the buried ice produced a subsidence of the north side of the ridge 

and caused a depression to form along the crest of the ice inclosing 

it. As melting progresses the subordinate ridge on the north side 

of the true crest of the moraine -will migrate down the slope of the 

ridge and finally disappear when the ice within the moraine is completely melted. The presence of ice in the moraine, as just described, is evidence of recent and rapid melting, and is one of the 

most significant records of such a change that has come under my 

notice. The statement just made in reference to the recency of the 

subsidence of the general surface of Hayden Glacier in all of its 

lower portion, where not thickly covered with debris, is forcibly 

illustrated by the fact that when viewing the right lateral moraine 

from the south a few fragments of ice can still be seen projecting 

above its crest at a locality about one-third of the way from its distal 

and toward its source. The appearance of the recently abandoned 

northern slope of the moraine under consideration is shown on 

PI. XXIII, B. . 0 . Below the present terminus of Hayden Glacier there are fresh 

terminal moraines abandoned so recently that trees have not as yet
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY :ULLET!N NO. 252 PL. XXII

VIEWS OF DOUBLE-CRESTED MORAINE ON SOUTH SIDE OF HAYDEN GLACIER 

A, Looking west toward West Sister Peak; _/>*, looking east.
HUSSHLL.] GLACIEES. 127

taken root upon them, but they are less fresh in appearance than the 

totally bare double-crested lateral moraine described above.

In connection with the evidences of recent and conspicuous retreat 

in the case of Hayden Glacier it may be stated that its companion, 

Diller Glacier, which flows southwestward from the West Sister Peak, 

is margined by a fresh, sharp-crested moraine from which the ice 

has recently subsided at least 30 or 40 feet. This feature may be 

recognized to the left of the center on PI. XIX, B. In the case of 

each of these glaciers the evidence noted indicates a recent lowering 

of their surfaces much more conspicuously than it does a decrease in 

their length. ^ ,

Glacier cornices. Near the head of Hayden Glacier there was at 

the time of my visit a crevasse of the class termed bergschrunds, a 

.part of the lower wall of which had fallen, leaving its opposite wall 

fully exposed to the sun until noon, when it became shadowed and

melting on its face ceased. This cliff of ice, or rather of granular 

neve snow, was about 26 feet high. In its face were exposed the edges 

of thick sheets of clear, stratified, granular snow, between which 

there AA? ere dirt bands ranging in thickness from a fraction of an 

inch to 3 or 4 inches. A view of it is shown on PL XXIV.

On the central part of the precipice, where fully exposed to the 

sun until noon each day, were two conspicuous cornices, which 

projected in each instance from 6 to 7 inches beyond the surface 

below them. The under surfaces of the projecting beds where 

exposed were slightly fluted at right angles to their length, but 

this feature was not conspicuous. The precipice at its north end 

passed under an arch of snoSv, which formed the roof of a cavern. 

In the portion '"thus sheltered from the sun there was. no jutting 

above the lower of the two principal dirt banks, which was the only 

one extending into the cavern. Near the south end of the precipice, 

but not shown on the picture, the dirt bands were bent abruptly 

upward and become vertical near where the neve joined the steep face 

of the mountain. In this portion of the precipice, which was fully 

exposed to the sky, melting was equal on each side of the dirt bands, 

and these appeared as black streaks in the bottom of vertical V-shaped 

grooves 5 to G inches deep.

In the instances described above it is evident that the cornices are 

due to the more rapid melting of the layer of snow below a dirt 

band than of the layer above it. The evidence sustaining this conclusion isj briefly, that when a horizontal dirt band is traced from 

where it is exposed to the sun, and has a cornice above it, into a 

cavern, where the sun's rays do not exert a direct influence, the cornice disappears; and when followed to where it is vertical and fully 

exposed to the sky, melting is equal on each side.
128 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

The more rapid melting of the snow below than above a horizontal 

dirt band.is evidently due to the absorption of the sun's heat by the 

dark material, as it is dislodged and washed downward so as to 

slightly stain the surface beneath. The dirt exerts this influence 

during its passage over the surface of the exposed edges of the layers 

of clear snow in the face of the precipice.

In addition to the direct evidence just presented, favoring the 

hypothesis of differential melting to account for the development of 

cornices, indirect testimony in opposition to the alternative hypothesis of differential motion is furnished by the fact that the distance 

from the bergschrund to the head of the neve, where it meets the 

steep upward slope of the mountain, ranges from 50 to 200 feet, 

and, as is probable, there is practically no motion in the wedge of 

snow thus left clinging to the rocks.

Glacial levees. At the lower end of Hayden Glacier there was, 

at the time of my visit, an interesting exhibition, of stream-deposited 

gravel, of the nature of the well-known glacier sand cones, resting 

on ice and deepty trenched by the stream that deposited it. In this 

instance gravel was deposited on the ice to a depth of 8 to 12 inches, 

and for a distance of approximately 150 feet the breadth of the 

deposit was 15 or 20 feet. The sheet of gravel sheltered the ice 

beneath and retarded its melting, so that it was left in relief as the 

adjacent surface of clear ice wasted away, but the stream which 

deposited the gravel held its position and caused a channel to be 

melted out along the crest of the ridge, down which it continued to 

flow as a small torrent during the hours of melting each day. The 

stream was thus flowing in a trench in the top of a gravel ridge at 

an elevation of 3 or 4 feet above the general level of the surrounding 

ice, and resembled an alluvial stream which has formed natural

levees along its sides. This analogy in conditions suggests the term

glacier levees for raised gravel ridges margining the stream flowing 

over glaciers, like those shown on the accompanying illustration.

The facts here recorded concerning the recent lowering of the 

surface in the case of two of the glaciers abqut the Three Sisters 

peaks, the explanation of the origin of the glacier cornices described, 

and the gravel ridges which simulate the natural levees of alluvial 

rivers, are matters of interest to special students of glaciers, but are 

by no means all of the instructive features presented by the glaciers 

under consideration. The Three Sisters peaks, in fact1, furnish conspicuous examples of nearly all the characteristic features of alpine 

glaciers and of the topographic changes such glaciers produce, but 

to describe them in detail would lead to much repetition of what is 

already to be found in books descriptive of glaciers in general.* The

« Russell, I. C., Glaciers of North America, Ginn & Co., Boston, 1897.
U. S, GEOLOGICAL SURVE IULLETIN NO. 252 PL. XXIII

NORTH SISTER PEAK AND NEVE OF HAYDEN GLACIER. 

Looking north.

RECENTLY ABANDONED MORAINE ON SOUTH SIDE OF HAYDEN GLACIER; 

WEST SISTER PEAK IN BACKGROUND.

Looking west.
UUSSELL.] GLAOIEBS. . 129.

Three Sisters peaks are also attractive on account of the admirable 

manner in which they illustrate an advanced stage in the erosion of 

volcanic cones, as well as for their fine scenery, and~~furnish a most 

inviting field for a summer school of geography, geology, and forestry.

FORMER GLACIERS.

As is well known, the mountains in the western portion of the 

United States were formerly much more extensively occupied by 

glaciers than at present. Studies "in this direction have been made 

in the Sierra Nevada and in the portion of the Cascade Mountains 

which crosses the State of Washington, but in Oregon very little has 

been done in the way of recording the data pertaining to the former 

glaciers that covered them, and scarcely anything is known, particularly in reference to the glaciers that descended the east slopes of the 

range. It is on account of the almost total lack of information concerning the glacial records in Oregon to the east of the crest line of 

the Cascade Mountains that attention is here directed to the few 

isolated observations in that connection obtained during the recent 

journey.

RECORDS Or GLACIERS.

The amphitheater on the sides of the culminating pyramid of 

Mount Jefferson, although seen only from a distance, is evidently due 

in large part to glacial erosion, and bears evidence of a former much 

greater extension of glacial ice about that superb mountain than is 

at present the case.

The presence of strong moraines, both lateral and terminal, on the 

east side of the Three Sisters peaks has already been mentioned. 

These moraines show that the great amphitheater opening eastward, 

on the rim of which the peaks just mentioned, together with Broken 

Top, are situated, was formerly occupied by an extensive neve, from 

which a large glacier flowed eastward for at least 10 miles. This 

glacier probably reached the site of the village known as Sisters, 

but its maximum extension is as yet unknown.

Other glacial records, as already noted, occur on the east side of 

Diamond Peak, and show that larger alpine glaciers formerly occupied the basins of Odell and Crescent lakes. Still farther south, as 

has been recorded by J. S. Diller and others, extensive glaciers occupied the region about Mount Mazama, This region was traversed 

by me during my recent journey, and evidences of more'extensive 

glaciation obtained than have previously been recorded. Between 

the Klamath marshes and the valley of the Klamath lakes there is 

a moraine-covered region about 10 miles broad which exhibits the 

well-known topographic characteristics of glacial deposits. This 

Bull. 252 05 M- 9
130 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252.

truly great moraine starts from the elevated region between Mount 

Scott and Mount Mazama, extends at least 15 miles to the southeast, 

and forms the bold eastern margin of Klamath Valley in the vicinity 

of Fort Klamath. The moraine obstructs the drainage of the region 

about the Klamath marshes and forms a dam through which Williamson Kiver has cut a steep-sided gorge. Only a cursory examination of this extensive region of glaciation was obtained, but from the 

observations made it is evident that Klamath Valley was former!}7' 

occupied by a great glacier having several important tributary ice 

streams on the mountains from which it flowed. How far to the 

southeast the glacier extended is unknown, but it evidently occupied 

a part and possibly the whole of the basin in which the Klamath 

lakes are situated.

EXTENT OF FORMER GLACIERS.

The observations relative to the glaciation of the Cascade Mountains, just mentioned, although few and fragmentary, taken in connection with evidences of glaciation revealed by the topography of 

the higher portion of the range as seen from the east, and other 

related evidence, shows that during a former period, which can be 

safely correlated with the Glacial epoch, great snow fields covered 

the summit portion of the Cascade Mountains throughout their entire 

extent across Oregon, and from this neve region large alpine glaciers 

flowed eastward down the mountains. Glaciers also occurred on the 

west side of the range, but no new facts concerning them can be presented at this^ time. The conditions were of the same general character as existed on the Cascade Mountains in Washington,* but the 

eastward-flowing ice streams were seemingly less extensive. An 

instructive suggestion in reference to the glaciers on the east side of 

the Cascade Mountains in'Oregon is furnished by the fact that in the 

southern portion of the State, in the vicinity, of Mounts Scott and 

Mazama, the eastward-flowing glaciers are larger and of greater 

length than farther north in the vicinity of the Three Sisters peaks 

and Mount Jefferson. If this conclusion is sustained by future 

studies, an explanation of it will perhaps be suggested by comparing 

the present climatic conditions of the two regions.

A conspicuous feature of the topography of the higher peaks of the 

Cascade Range is the presence of a terrace-like shelf or shoulder 

about several of them at an elevation of about 8,000 feet and approximately coinciding with the cold tree-line and also with the lower limit 

of the existing glaciers. A flattening of the mountain side in the 

manner just referred to, is a noticeable feature of Mount Jefferson,

n Russell, I. C., Preliminary paper on the geology of the Cascade Mountains in 

northern Washington: Twentieth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1900, pp. 150-193.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GLACIER CORNICES ON WALL OF CREVASSE AT HEAD O

Looking north.
RUSSELL.] LAPILLI SHEET. 131

and of South Sister Peak (see PL XIX,4), as well as several other of 

the higher summits. The explanation of the origin of the shoulders 

seems to be that during some former time, when the conditions for the 

formation of glaciers were more favorable than now, " mountain-side 

glaciers " Avere formed about the higher peaks and descended their 

sides to where the lower margins of the shoulders are located, and by 

headward extension excavated depressions for themselves. When a 

peak was entirely surrounded by neve fields, a flattening of the slopes 

of the mountain resulted and was left as a topographic feature when 

the glaciers melted; when the neve fields were local individual recesses 

or cirques were produced, and when a more advanced stage of 

glacier work was reached " hanging valleys " were excavated. The 

existing glaciers of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon are, at least in a 

general way, situated on the shoulders referred to and seem to be 

broadening them by reason of their headward extension.

In connection with the former great extent of the glaciers of the 

Cascade Mountains, an instructive fact is furnished by the presence 

of extensive moraines on Mount Newberry, a brief account of which 

has already been given. So far as is at present known this small isolated center of glacial dispersion, and a similar area of glacial ice on 

Steins Mountains, in southeast Oregon, were the only glaciers in the 

central and eastern portions of the State during the Glacial epoch. 

Mount Newberry is about 40 and Steins Mountains are approximately 

175 miles east of the crest of the Cascade Mountains.

LAPILLI SHEET.

EXTENT AND DEPTH.

On the preceding pages several references have been made to a surface covering of pumiceous lapilli which is widely distributed over 

west-central Oregon. This sheet of loose, unconsolidated fragments 

of pumice was first clearly recognized during my recent, journey on 

the Great Sandy Desert to the south of Hampton Butte. It was also 

observed at many localities about the Pauline Mountains and in the 

vicinity of Christmas Lake, where it has been drifted by the wind 

into extensive dunes. It is present in large quantities about Mount 

Newberry, occurs on the moraine about the Three Sisters peaks, covers 

deeply the region drained by Deschutes Eiver above Benham Falls, is 

present in the moraines about Odell and Crescent lakes, is everywhere 

conspicuous on the flat country about the Klamath marshes, forms a 

part of the extensive moraines adjacent to Klamath Valley on the east, 

occurs on the slopes and occupies the gulches about Mounts Scott and 

Mazama, as has been described by J. S. Diller, and southwest of Crater Lake extends for at least 30 miles west of the crest of the Cascade 

Mountains. Its known extent is thus about 120 miles from east to
132 GEOLOGY AND WATER EESOURCES, CENTRAL OREGON. [BULL. 252;

west and an equal distance from north to south, or an area of 14,000 

square miles. Its actual borders when finally determined will, there 

is no doubt, be found much to exceed these limits.

The depth of the sheet of pumice varies from place to place, and in 

only a few localities is its actual thickness known. Its depth is probably greatest in the valleys and least on the steep slopes. Although, 

like a fall of snow, it originally fell evenly over the surface, though 

more abundantly and in larger fragments near the volcanoes from 

which it came than at a distance, it has since been washed down from 

inclined surfaces and concentrated in depressions. On the Great 

Sandy Desert excavations 70 feet deep are said to have failed to pass 

through it. In the generally flat country drained by the Deschutes 

above Benham Falls excavations show its minimum depth to be from 

6 to 8 feet, but in many places and over large areas it is much thicker. 

In the extensive region north of the Klamath marshes and draining 

to them, the banks of streams and bluffs above copious springs in 

several places reveal a thickness of 30 to 40 feet or more of pumice, the. 

bottom.of the deposit being still concealed. In describing the sheet 

of pumice about Crater Lake, Diller ° mentions a thickness of 10 feet. 

While conspicuous variation in thickness occurs and no average depth 

can as yet be stated, the above-mentioned facts show that the volume 

of the deposit is very great, so great in fact that it is to be measured 

in tens of cubic miles.

COMPOSITION, SOURCE, AND AGE OF LAPILLI SHEET.

The sheet of pumice just described is composed of rough angular 

fragments, which on the Great Sandy Desert range in size from dust 

particles up to grains that are about one-fourth or perhaps one-half 

of an inch in diameter. It is much coarser about Mount Newberry, 

where fragments a foot in diameter were seen, but so far as now 

known the fragments are largest on the flat country adjacent to the 

Klamath marshes on the west, where angular masses more than 2 

feet in diameter are common. The pumice, as shown by determinations made by F. C. Calkins, of the United States Geological Survey, 

of samples collected on the Great Sandy Desert, on Mount Newberry, 

and near the Klamath marshes, is andesite. About Crater Lake the 

surface sheet of pumice is described by J. S. Diller as being principally dacite, with less quantities of andesite. The observations available are too few to permit a final statement, but the facts in hand seem 

to indicate that the sheet of pumice under consideration is tolerably 

uniform in character and composed principally of andesite.

As to the location of the volcanoes from which the pumice was

0 Diller, J. S., and Patton, 1-1. B., Geology and petrography of Crater Lake National 

Park : Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 3, 1902, pp. 39-41.
RUSSELL.] LAPILLI SHEET. 133

bloAvn into the air and widely distributed, for the most part only tentative suggestion can at present be offered. In part it came from the 

recent volcanoes, five in number, situated in the old erosion amphitheater of Mount New berry. This conclusion is based on the fact 

that the crater rims of those volcanoes are largely composed of andesitic pumice, and large fragments of the same nature are abundant all 

about the region where they occur. This was probably not the only 

center of dispersion, however, as the fragments of pumice are still 

larger and more abundant in the region draining to the Klamath 

marshes, and, as stated by Diller, were supplied at least in part by 

eruptions in the great depression now occupied by Crater Lake.

In reference to the date of the explosive volcanic eruptions that 

supplied such vast quantities of pumice, the fact that this material 

forms a large percentage of the glacial moraines on Mount Newberry, 

the Three Sisters peaks, and about Odell and Crescent lakes, shows 

that the eruption occurred previous to or during the Glacial epoch. 

The moraines about Mount Newberry and near the lakes just mentioned are covered with pumice, showing that at least in part the 

eruptions which furnished it were of later date than the glaciers 

which deposited the moraines. This last conclusion is sustained also 

by the fact that the recent lapilli craters in the old erosion amphitheater of Mount Newberiy and the lava flows given out by them are 

clearly subsequent to the time when that depression Avas filled with 

glacial ice. According to Diller the eruptions of pumice about Crater 

Lake occurred during and after the time the region about it Avas 

occupied by glaciers.

IMPORTANCE OF LAPILLI SHEET.

The sheet of pumice that covers so much of central and Avestern 

Oregon is thus of much scientific interest, and Avhen its history is 

fully knoAvn Avill furnish a most instructive chapter in the geologic 

records of the State. It is also of great practical importance, since it 

forms the surface covering over thousands of square miles, and has 

a determining influence on the agricultural possibilities of the entire 

region it occupies.

INDEX.

A. Page. 

Agglomerate, andesitic, occurrence of..... 64

plate showing.......................... 64

Alluvium, channels eroded in, plate showing ............................. 62

Andesite, composition and character of.... 27

occurrence of..... 1..................... 98

Andesite craters and lava flows at Mount

Newberry .................... 105-110

Andesitic agglomerate, occurrence of...... 64

plate showing.......................... C4

Artesian conditions in Deschutes basin .... 122

in Gilchrist Valley ..................... 56-57

in Haystack country ................... 93

in Price Valley......................... 61-62

See also Wells. 

Artesian slope, citation on ................. 85

Artesian wells, suggestions concerning .... 57

B.

Basalt, composition and character of...... 27

occurrence of........................... 29,

37-38,39,44,48,68-69,74,82-83,87,95 

Basalt, jointed, plate showing.............. 88

Basalt sheet, remnant of, plate showing... 82 

Basaltic cinder cones, plate showing....... 72

Basaltic craters, occurrence of......... 71-73,110

Benham Falls, description of............. 116-117

view of, plate showing ................. 102

Black Butte, geology of.................... 96

view of, plate showing ................. 96

Black Mountain, geology of................ 73-75

Buck Creek Canyon, description of........ 54

Burns, plateaus north of, topographic features of......................... 14

rhyolitic tuff near...................... 43-44

Buttes, volcanic, description of............ 94-97

Button Spring, basaltic cinder cones near,

plate showing.................. 72

craters near............................. 71-73

description of.......................... 69-70

geologic history of area near........... 75

topographyand geology between Hampton Butte and.................. 68-69

Caldwell, butte near........................ 73

Calkins, F. C.,on pumice................... 132

Camp Creek, lava near..................... 37-38

rocks exposed on........................ 58

Page. 

Canyons, double, description of............ 88-89

Cascade Mountains, glaciation in.......... 130

origin of................................ 15

Caves, lava, description of................. 70

Channels, abandoned, occurrence of....... 17

erosion of, in alluvium, pla,te showing.. 62 

Cinder cones, basaltic, plate showing...... 72

sketch showing......................... 72

Climate, discussion of...................... 20-22

Cold timber line, elevation of.............. 26

Columnar rhyolitic tuff, plate showing.... 56

Concentric jointing in rhyolitic lava, plate

showing........................ 32

Cones, basaltic cinder, plate showing ...... 72

Cones, volcanic, description of............ 94-116

Cornice, glacier, description of............. 127

view of, plate showing ................. 130

Cottonwood Canyon, erosion columns of volcanic tuff in, plate showing..... 32

Cougar Butte, rock at ...................... 64

CraneCreek, geology and topography along. 38-39 

lava near................................ 37-38

Crater Lake, citation on .................... 100

Craters, andesite, at Mount Newberry.... 105-110

Craters, basaltic, occurrence of......... 71-73,110

Creeks. See Drainage.

Crescent Lake, description of............. .120-121

Crevasse, glacier cornices on, plate showing. 130 

Crook County, geology and topography of. 54-122 

Crooked River, canyons of.................. 86-91

description of........................... 18-19

erosion column on, plate showing...... 86

geology and topography near .......... 54-63

views on,'plates showing............... 82-88

Crowley Creek, rhyolitic lava on, concentric

jointing in, plate showing ...... 32

D.

Davis Lake, description of................ 117-118

Deschutes River, artesian conditions and

irrigable lands in basin of..... 122-123

can yon of, plate showing ............... 90

description of........................... 19-20

falls on, plate showing.................. 102

geology and topography of............. ; 79-82

lakes near source of.................. 117-121

Deschutes sand, occurrence and character

of............................... 90-91

Diamond volcanoes, age of.................. 37

135
136 INDEX.

Page. 

Diller, J.S.,glacier named for.............. 125

on Crater Lake ......................... 100

on lapilli sheet......................... 132

Diller Glacier, views of, plate showing...... 124

Donner and Blitzen River, irrigation possibilities on..................... 53

Double canyons, description of............. 88-89

Drainage, description of.................... 16-20

Drake, A. M., information furnished by.... 94

Dry River, description of................... .76

Dry timber line, elevation of............... 26

Dust, volcanic, occurrence and character of. 31-32

East Lake, description of................... 101

Elevations, classes of....................... 13-15

Erosion in Price Valley..................... 62-C3

of channels in alluvium, plate showing. 62

Erosion columns, plates showing........... 32,86

F.

Faults, occurrence of........................ 115

Flow structure, definition of................ 27

Forest, Crooked River near, canyons of.... 86-87

Forests, dependence of, on water supply... 24-26

distribution of.......................... 22-24

occurrence of........................... 51-52

Geography, discussion of................... 12

Gilchrist Valley, columnar rhyolitic tuff in,

plate showing.................. 56

geology and topography of............. 55-57

Glacial levees, description of............... 128

Glaciation at Mount Newberry........... 103-105

Glacier cornices, description of............. 127

view of, plate showing................. 130

Glaciers, description of................... 123-131

occurrence and extent of............. 129-131

relation of climate to. .................. 22

Glass Buttes, geology of.........'........... 49

surface features near................... 25

Great Basin, description of................. 16-18

Great Sandy Desert, general geology of.... 75-76

geology and topography of............. 68-76

topographic features of................. 13

Grove, rocks near .......................... 31

H.

Hampton Butte, andesitic agglomerate at,

plate showing.................. 64

columnar rhyolitic tuff in, plate showing ............................. 56

geology of........................... 49,63-65

surface features near................... - 25

topography and geology between Button Spring and ................. 68-69

water resources near.................... 65-68

Harney County, geology and topography of. 36-52 

water resources of...................... 52-54

Harney Valley, geology and topography of. 39-44 

soil of .................................. 43

water resources of...................... 53-54

Harpers Flat, erosion columns of volcanic

tuff near, plate'showing........ 32

rocks at................................. 32

Hayden, E. E., glacier named for.......... 125

Hayden Glacier, description of............. 125

views of, plates showing..... 124,126,128,130 

Haystack country, soil and settlement in.. 91-92

water-supply of......................... 92-94

Hot Springs. See Springs, hot.

Hovey, E. 0., on cone of Mount Pelee...... 108

I.

Igneous rocks. See Volcanic rocks.

Iron Mountain, geology of.................. 47

Irrigable lands in beschutes basin ....... 122-123

in Malheur County............ ........ 35

Irrigation in Harney County............... 53

J.

Jefferson, Mount, glacial erosion on........ 129

glaciers of.............................. 124

John Day beds, erosion of, plate showing.. 58 

occurrence and character of........... 58-60

Jointed basalt, plate showing............... 88-,

Jointed rhyolitic tuff, plate showing....... 60

Jointing, concentric, in rhyolitic lava, plate

showing........................ 32

Jordan craters, citations on............... 37,112

L.

Lake. See next word of name; also Drainage. 

Lake shores, effect of ice on................ 100

Lapilli sheet, composition, source, and age

of............................. 132-133

extent and depth of.................. 131-132

Lava, occurrence of.. 37-38,64,74,105-110,112-115 

See also Basalt.

Lava Butte, geology of................... 110-115

sketch map of vicinity of............... 111

view of, plate showing .............:... no

Lava, rhyolitic, concentric jointingin, plate

showing........................ 32

Lava caves, description of.................. 70

Lawen, wells near.......................... 41-42

Levees, glacial, description of.............. 128

Lewis artesian basin, water supply from... 35-36 

Little Sagehen Creek, geology and topography near ..................... 44-45

Logan Butte, John Day beds near, plate

showing........................ 58

rhyolitic tuff, jointed, on, plate showing ............................. 60

section of............................... 59

view of, plate showing ................. 60

M.

Malheur Butte, geology of.................. 30

Malheur County, Payette formation in..... 29-31

volcanic rocks in ...............\....... 31-34

water resources of...................... 34-36

Malheur Lake, description of.............. 40-41
INDEX. 137

Page. 

Malheur River, course and character of.... 34

See also South Fork of Malheur River. 

Merriam, C. H., on term timber line ....... 26

Merriam, J. C., on formations of John Day

basin ........................... 81

on John Day formation................. 58, CO

Middle Butte, description of................ 73

Monument Canyon, erosion column in,

plate showing.................. 86

geology of.............................. 87-88

Moraine of Hayden Glacier, description

of............................. 126-127

views of, plates showing......... i.... 126,128

Mount. Sec next word of name.

N.

N6ve fields, views of, plates showing..... 124,128

New'berry, Mount, amphitheater of.......:. 99

amphitheater of, views in............. 98,108

craters and lava flows at.............. 105-110

geologic history of...................... 97-98

geology of.............................. 98-99

glaciation at.......................... 103-105

lakes of............................... 100-101

water resources near.................. 102-103

North Sister Peak, view of.................. 124

0.

Odell Butte, description of................. 96

view of, plate showing................. 96

Odell Lake, description of................ 118-120

gorge at outlet of, profile of............ 119

Ontario, deposits at......................... 30

Opal Canyon, views of, plates showing..... 88 

water flowing in........................ 88

Opal Spring, jointed basalt near, plate

showing........................ 88

Osmont, V. C., on John Day formation..... 60

Owyhee River, irrigable lands on.......... 35

P.

Paul Butte. See Powell Butte.

Pauline Creek, course and character of.. 101-102

falls on, plates showing................. 102

Pauline Lake, description of............. 100-101

views at and near, plates showing..... 98,102

Pauline Mountains, geology and topography of........................ 76-77

Payette formation, occurrence and character of......................... 29

Peaks, list of............................... 46

Pelee, Mount, citations on ................. 108

Pilot Butte, geology of..................... 95

Placidia Butte, geology of.................. 47-49

surface features near................... 24

water pocket near...................... 53

Playa Lake, definition of................... 41

Pockets, water, occurrence of........... 53,67-68

Powell Butte, geology and topography of.. 77-79

Precipitation. See Rainfall.

Price, channels, recently-erosed, near, plate

showing........................ 62

Price Valley, geology and topography of .. 57-63 

Prineville, section at....................... 84

views near, plate showing ............. 82

Page. 

Prineville Valley, geography and geology

of............................... 82-83

water resources of...................... 83-86

R.

Rainfall, amount and distribution of...... 20-21

Rhyolite, composition and character of.... 27 

occurrence of........................ 32-33,39

Rhyolitic lava, concentric jointing in, plate

showing........................ 32

Rhyolitic tuff, columnar structure in, plate

showing........................ 56

composition and character of.......... 27

occurrence of............ 32-33,43-44,45,58,78

Rhyolitic'tuff, jointed,-plate showing...... GO

Riley, hills near............................ 50

Rivers. See Drainage.

S.

Saddle Mountain Butte, geology of ........ 40

Sagehen Creek. See Little Sagehen Creek. 

Sedimentary rocks, occurrence and character of......................... 27

Silver Creek, geology and topography

along........................... 45-46

Silver Creek Meadows, spring at........... 50

Silvies River, irrigation possibilities on .... 53

rhyolitic tuff near...................... 43-44

Soil of Harney Valley...................... 43

of Haystack country. ................... 91

Soldiers Cap, butte near.................... 73

South Fork of Malheur Valley, geology and

topography of.................. 37-38

South Sister Peak, views of, plates showing .'.......................... 122,124

Spheroidal jointing. See Concentric jointing. 

Springs, flow of, method of increasing..... 54,66

occurrence of........................... 18-19

at Button Spring.................... 69-70

Hampton Butte..................... 65-67

Silver Creek Meadows.............. 50

Springs, warm, in Gilchrist Valley......... 55-56

near Saddle Mountain Butte........... 41

Steins Mountains, origin of................. 14

Steptoe Butte, citation on.................. 78

Stream channels, abandoned, occurrence of. 17

Stream erosion. See Erosion.

Streams. See Drainage.

Symons, T. W., on Davis Lake.............. 117

T.

Temperature, range in...................... 21

Tertiary rocks, occurrence and character of. 28 

Three Sisters, glaciers of.................. 124-129

Timber lines, elevations of................. 26

Topography, description of................. 13-16

Tree lines, elevations of.................... 26

Tuff, rhyolitic, columnar structure in, plate

showing........................ 56

composition and character of........... 27

jointing in, plate showing .............. 60'

occurrence and character of........... 32-33,

43-44,45,58,78
138 INDEX.

Page. 

Tuff, volcanic, erosion columns in, plate

showing........................ 32

Volcanic cones, description of ............ 94-116

Volcanic dust, occurrence and character of. 31-32 

Volcanic rocks, occurrence and character

Of................... 27-28,31-34,60-61

See also Basalt. 

Volcanic tuff, erosion columns in, plate

showing........................ 32

Volcanoes, occurrence of................... 14-15

Water pockets, occurrence of............ 53,67-68

Water supply, dependence of forests on.... 24-26

Water storage in Crescent Lake............ 121

in Odell Lake ........................ 119-120

Wells in Harney Valley .................... 53-54

near La wen ....;..........'............. 41-42

near Prineville......................... 84-86

Wells, artesian, suggestions concerning.... 57

See also Artesian conditions. 

West Sister Peak, view of, plate showing .. 122 

Winds, character of........................ 22

o