page_title: U.S. Route 20 in Oregon
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: U.S. Route 20 in Oregon / Route description
caption_attribution_description: This is the majestic Santiam Pass, elevated at. 4817 ft above sea level in central Oregon Cascades. It is located about 18 mi (29 km) northwest of Sisters, between volcanic peaks of Three Fingered Jack to the north and Mount Washington to the south. U.S. Highway 20 connects eastern Oregon with the valley of the Santiam River on the west via Santiam Pass. One of the 19 or 20 lakes by the name of Lost Lake is located beside the highway just west of Santiam Pass. While the pass was known by native peoples, the first recorded crossing of the pass was in April 1859 by an expedition searching for a cattle trail over the Cascade Range from the Willamette Valley to Central Oregon. This expedition was led by Andrew Wiley, who reportedly climbed a tall tree on a mountain near Lost Prairie to help determine the route. Lost Prairie is located along Hackleman Creek between Fish Lake and Tombstone Prairie. Wiley later helped establish the Santiam Wagon Road. The prominent glaciated peak on the photo is the Three Fingered Jack, a Pleistocene volcano elevated 7,841 foot (2,390 meter), deeply glaciated and consists mainly of basaltic andesite lava. Mount Jefferson can also be seen from its left. The typical tuya volcano Hogg Rock, which is clearly visible from the photo below the Three Fingered Jack where US 20 Highway wraps in a nearly 180-degree curve below cliffs on the south and west sides, is only about 2 miles (3 km) north of Hayrick Butte, a somewhat larger tuya of similar age and composition. A tuya is a type of subglacial volcano, formed when lava erupts underneath an overlying glacier or ice sheet and then melts through to the surface and pools, producing the flat plateau on top with near-vertical walls along the ice-contact margin as the lava cools and hardens. Unlike most tuyas which have steep cliffs on all sides, Hogg Rock has a break in its cliffs on the east side, with a moderate slope which leads down to a small road and gravel pit. Santiam Pass was also the intended route over the Cascades for the Oregon Pacific Railroad, an early transcontinental railroad project led by Col. T. Egenton Hogg for whom Hogg Rock is named. Although the working line never extended east of Santiam Pass, the pass is today the eastern terminus of the Oregon Pacific Railroad Linear Historic District, which is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. Taken from Hoodoo Ski Bowl summit.
context_page_description: U.S. Route 20 is a major west–east cross-state highway in the northern part of the U.S. state of Oregon, especially east of the Cascade Mountains. It connects U.S. Route 101 in Newport on the central Oregon Coast to the Idaho state line east of Nyssa.
context_section_description: US 20 starts at an intersection with US 101 in Newport, and travels eastward over the Central Oregon Coast Range to Corvallis. In Corvallis, it intersects Oregon Route 99W (OR 99W) and briefly travels concurrent with OR 34 before proceeding northeast to Albany. From Albany, US 20 briefly travels concurrent with OR 99E before turning east through Lebanon and Sweet Home and entering the Cascade Mountains. It intersects OR 126 west of Santiam Pass and the two routes travel concurrent through Sisters. US 20 then continues eastward and southward to Bend, where it travels roughly parallel to US 97 for about 3 miles (4.8 km) before turning east through Brothers and Riley. At Riley, US 20 travels concurrent with US 395 through Hines and Burns to about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Burns. From Burns, US 20 continues east through Juntura and Vale. In Vale, US 20 travels concurrent with US 26, and the two highways continue east to Cairo Junction, south of Ontario, and turn south, where they then also travel concurrently with OR 201 to Nyssa. Eastward from Nyssa, US 20/US 26 continue to the Idaho state line. The route throughout most of Oregon serves as an important link between Central and Southern Oregon and far Northern California to Boise, Idaho.
caption: US 20 crossing the Cascade Range at Santiam Pass.
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