Painted Hills, Oregon

Photographers and painters cannot resist the sight of the colourful Painted Hills in Oregon, U.S.A. Located along Highway 26 near Mitchell, the hills are a part of the John Day Fossil Beds national monument and provide a visual record of nearly 40 million years of climate and ecological change in the area and are a rich library of knowledge regarding prehistoric plant and animal life.

The reddish layers of clay are laterite soil which are rich in iron oxides and typically form in tropical climates. The black parts are lignite, also known as brown coal. It is a very low grade of coal and formed from the remains of plants. The greenish and ochre layers formed later as the climate became drier. There are also layers of mudstone, siltstone, and shale.

All layers are mixed with volcanic ash from different eruption periods of different volcanoes, most notably volcanoes of the growing Coast Range Mountains. Prior to their formation, the region maintained a warm, humid climate. However, as the Coast Mountains grew in height, they created a rain shadow over the region and the climate gradually became drier.

I visited the Painted Hills in March of 2006. The day was overcast with light snow falling in the mountain pass. In spite of the flat light, I was enjoying exploring the area by myself as there were no other visitors while I was there. Then the clouds shifted and for about 20 minutes beautiful afternoon sunlight bathed the scene in warm light. How the hills came alive! A little later in the spring, yellow flowers bloom in the folds of the red slopes, adding one more dimension of colour and beauty to the landscape.

For a detailed report of the area's natural and human history check out this link.