Crack in the Ground Trip - Oregon

Time to explore more of Oregon. This time we wound our way to the east side of the Cascade Mountains for a sojourn in the desert. 

Our first stop was for a view of Diamond Peak as it looks from the north side of Odell Lake.  There are two peaks shown, both of which are part of the same mountain.  The highest is the one on the left. 

 

There were a few fishing boats out on the lake. 

We stopped at a hotel in Christmas Valley to drop our bags before continuing on to Crack-in-the-Ground.  There were 7+ miles of rutted, wash boarded, gravel road to navigate on the way there.  As you can see, we killed a lot of bugs along the way. 

Huge jack rabbits scattered ahead of us. 

Only mildly scrambled, we arrive at the parking lot.  So, are you wondering what Crack-in-the-Ground is?  It is a 14,400 year old tension crack in the basalt rock formed when lava flows created a shallow depression and movement along a hidden fault caused the overlying rock to bend and fracture.

We had met a few other vehicles along the one-lane road leading here but there was only one other vehicle in the parking lot.

The trail started across the road from the parking lot.

It was very disappointing that there wasn't any information about Crack-in-the-Ground at this stop.  But this display on bats was interesting.

Western juniper trees dotted the landscape here at 4,500' elevation.  This is considered a small tree and it is native to the Western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 800–3,000 meters (2,600–9,800 ft) and rarely down to 100 m (330 ft).

I wished I had taken a photo of some of the trunks.  The bark texture was interesting. When I first saw them, I immediately thought of the slow growing bristlecone pines that can be 2,000 to 5,000 years old.  Nope, these only last about 1,500 years.  This one has probably been growing for a century or more. 

We hiked in maybe 1/2 mile to find ourselves on a level area with a fissure on each side.  We decided this boulder-strewn part to the left was more than we could handle.

Looks like a majority of the people traveled into the fissure to the right, so we followed the trail down into it. 

The fissure is an ancient volcanic crack, up to 70 feet deep in some places, with two parallel rock walls. Because it’s in a dry, arid region, very little sediment has filled it, preserving its original shape.  Normally, fissures like this one are filled with soil and rock by the processes of erosion and sedimentation. 

The fissure is part of the High Lava Plains geologic province, known for its volcanoes, lava flows, and ash deposits

If you are interested in learning more about how this fissure was created, go to this website.

This pillar is mostly detached from the side wall.  Scary!

The crack is roughly 10–15 feet wide at the top, narrowing toward the bottom, and reaches depths of up to 70 feet in some areas.

Graffiti, why do people do this?

Some of the trail is fairly smooth.

Here's where we descend about 4 feet.  Once we passed this point, the temperature immediately dropped about 20°.  We had read this could happen, so we had our jackets ready.  

Looking back at that descent.

Since I got a new knee this year, this 18" step was about as much as I could handle. 

Another rock-strewn place where we stepped carefully. 

Looks like the next section was going to be more physical than I was capable of, so we turned around. 

Another look at the boulder-strewn part of the fissure we didn't attempt.

Two boulders supporting each other over a void below. 

Crack in the Ground is in the High Lava Plains geologic province that encompasses a large swath of central and southeast Oregon. The province is noted for its abundant volcanoes, lava flows, and ash deposits.  In the distance you can see a cinder cone that is located in the Four Craters Lava Field to the north.

After a night in Christmas Valley, we noticed some birds outside.  This one has a very apropos name, a yellow-headed black bird. 😏 

We saw these birds and immediately recognized them as Gamble Quail, although, upon reading further, I was unsure if they were Gamble Quail or California Quail, which are very similar. 

Here's a better photo so you can see their little top knot.

We headed off to our first destination, Fort Rock State Natural Area.  From this angle it looks like a huge amphitheater to me, but many thought it looked like a fort, hence the name Fort Rock.

It’s actually a volcanic tuff ring formed roughly 50,000–100,000 years ago when basalt magma erupted into a prehistoric lakebed, creating a near-circular island of rock up to 320 feet high and 4,460 feet in diameter.  Yes, this area was all under water at one point in its history. 

The parking area is ringed by an information kiosk, restrooms and a spot for a host to park a camper trailer. 

Lots of info here.  The following photos are close-ups of each section of the map except the lake. You can double click on any photo to enlarge it. 

This photo of Nolan waving gives you an idea of the scale of the area. Can you find him?

Boulder with a hollowed out inside. 

Looking inside the boulder. 

We hiked up to inside the ring.

That's one huge bird up on the rocks!

Nope, it's just a pile of rocks.

The rock walls are pitted.  I thought at first birds might make use of these holes, but as there are no white streaks running out of the holes, maybe not. 

These three holes make a comical face. 

Looking back down toward the parking lot, we could see lots of jet contrails.

That last photo made it seem we were further up than we actually were.  Here's more like what we were seeing. 

As we headed back east, the elevation increased and we saw more trees. 

As we approached Hwy 97 south of La Pine, we could see what I am assuming is Mt Bachelor and at least two of the three Sisters peaks. These are all dormant volcanos in the Cascade Range of central Oregon. Mount Bachelor is so named because it stands apart from the nearby Three Sisters 

We stopped at Crescent for some Roadside America attractions.

This giant bear carving is located at the library.

Lots of detail, especially in the mouth of the bear. 

The lumberjack can be seen at the Woodsman Lodge.

It is carved with a face on each side.

Across the street, Big Foot is hoisting a pint. 

Looks like he brought a friend along, because who wants to drink alone.

Next stop was Salt Creek Falls where a new restroom building was being built.  

Nice walkway to the creek. 

I thought this looked like CCC work and, later, we found out it was.  More info on that later. 

Salt Creek was running fast. 

Salt Creek path after the falls. 

Across the ravine, we could see the remains of steps. 

The information display at the falls is old and covered in graffiti.  I hope replacing it is part of the upgrades they are doing here. You can still read/see the information by double-clicking on the photo to enlarge it. 

Salt Creek Falls is Oregon's second highest single drop waterfall, cascading 286 feet (87 meters).

At the end of this path, we saw an information kiosk by the parking lot that I had missed on the way to the falls. 

Always interesting to know how something got its name. 

I don't know as I would call this recent history in terms of human history, but in terms of geologic history, it all happened in the last blink of an eye. 

We've seen lots of CCC work in national parks and historic sites. 

I took this photo mainly because of the name of the lake in the area, Too Much Bear Lake.  LOL

More graffiti defacing a rock wall along Hwy 58.