The
Alvord Desert is a
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
located in
Harney CountyHarney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. Established in 1889, the county is named in honor of William S. Harney, a military officer of the period, who was involved in the Pig War and popular in the Pacific...
, in southeastern
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the western
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is roughly southeast of
Steens MountainSteens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some and rises from an elevation of about above the Alvord Desert to its peak at...
. The Alvord Desert is a by
playaA playa is a dry or ephemeral lakebed, generally extending to the shore, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Playas are also known as alkali flats, sabkhas, dry lakes or mud flats...
, a dry lake bed, and averages of
rainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface...
a year. Two
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
s separate it from the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
—the
Coast RangeThe Pacific Coast Ranges or Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the west coast of North America from Alaska south to northern and central Mexico...
, and the Cascade Mountains. Along with Steens Mountain, these
topographicalTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
features create a
rain shadowA rain shadow is an area of land that has suffered desertification from proximity to mountain ranges. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them.-Description:...
. The Alvord lies at an elevation of approximately 4000 feet (1220 m).
The desert is named after General
Benjamin AlvordBenjamin Alvord was an American soldier, mathematician, and botanist.-Early life and career:Alvord was born in Rutland, Vermont, where he developed an interest in nature. He attended the United States Military Academy and displayed a talent in mathematics. He graduated in 1833. He was assigned to...
, who served as commander of the U.S.
The
Alvord Desert is a
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
located in
Harney CountyHarney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. Established in 1889, the county is named in honor of William S. Harney, a military officer of the period, who was involved in the Pig War and popular in the Pacific...
, in southeastern
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the western
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is roughly southeast of
Steens MountainSteens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some and rises from an elevation of about above the Alvord Desert to its peak at...
. The Alvord Desert is a by
playaA playa is a dry or ephemeral lakebed, generally extending to the shore, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Playas are also known as alkali flats, sabkhas, dry lakes or mud flats...
, a dry lake bed, and averages of
rainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface...
a year. Two
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
s separate it from the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
—the
Coast RangeThe Pacific Coast Ranges or Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the west coast of North America from Alaska south to northern and central Mexico...
, and the Cascade Mountains. Along with Steens Mountain, these
topographicalTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
features create a
rain shadowA rain shadow is an area of land that has suffered desertification from proximity to mountain ranges. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them.-Description:...
. The Alvord lies at an elevation of approximately 4000 feet (1220 m).
The desert is named after General
Benjamin AlvordBenjamin Alvord was an American soldier, mathematician, and botanist.-Early life and career:Alvord was born in Rutland, Vermont, where he developed an interest in nature. He attended the United States Military Academy and displayed a talent in mathematics. He graduated in 1833. He was assigned to...
, who served as commander of the U.S. Army's Department of Oregon during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
.
During the dry season, the surface is flat enough to drive across, or land small aircraft on. An unofficial women's world land speed record was set in 1976 on the Alvord Desert by
Kitty O'NeilKitty O'Neil is a former stuntwoman and racer noted for a handful of exceptional accomplishments, despite becoming deaf when she was four months old....
at 512 miles/hour (843 km/hour.) The nearest community is
FieldsFields is a small unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon, United States, located south of Burns.In 2000, the community had a population of 86, including 17 students through grade 8...
(population 11).
Geothermal features as well as cold springs ring the desert following
Basin and RangeThe Basin and Range Province is a large geologic province which includes parts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, typified by basin and range topography.-Geography:...
NE to SW trending normal faults. On the western edge of the desert is
Alvord Hot SpringsAlvord Hot Springs is a geothermal spring located near the southeastern corner of the state of Oregon in the United States. The spring lies at 4080 ft elevation on the western edge of the Alvord Desert into which the spring flows and eventually evaporates...
. At the north is
Mickey Hot SpringsMickey Hot Springs is a small hot spring at the north end of Alvord Desert just east of Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon, United States. There are several natural bubbling mudpots and steam vents....
: an assortment of bubbling mud, geysers and a small pool. At the south is Borax Lake which is a thermal spring complex. To the east is an unnamed natural hot spring, one of 40 or more along of the Alvord fault. To the southwest is seasonal alkali
Alvord LakeAlvord Lake is a seasonal shallow alkali lake in Harney County of the U.S. state of Oregon. Its elevation is . It is located about southeast of Alvord Desert in the Alvord Basin and serves as terminus for all its streams. Its water level varies from dry to several feet deep...
which once extended north and south—covering the desert.
Despite the barren nature of the playa, some opportunities for wildlife observation exist.
Wild horsesA Mustang is a free-roaming feral horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish...
sometimes drink from the springs on the eastern edge of the desert. In areas where natural
hot springA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.-Definitions:...
s flow into the playa, especially around the Alvord Hot Springs, one can usually find nesting
long-billed curlewThe Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species is native to central and western North America...
. Further out into the playa proper are numerous
killdeerThe killdeer is a medium-sized plover.Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. They have an orange-red eyering...
and
snowy ploverThe Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, is a small wader in the plover bird family. Despite its name, this species no longer breeds in Kent, or even Great Britain....
, along with the occasional
American avocetThe American Avocet is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae.This avocet has long, thin, gray legs, giving it its colloquial name, "blue shanks". The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. The neck and head are cinnamon colored in the summer...
. The outlet waters from the springs typically flow roughly one mile into the desert, and their reach roughly delineates the bird habitat. The nearby
Steens Mountain WildernessSteens Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area surrounding a portion of Steens Mountain of southeastern Oregon, U.S. The Wilderness is a portion of the Bureau of Land Management's Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area , and encompasses of the CMPA's total . It is Oregon's...
contains populations of
bighorn sheepBighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America with large horns. The horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to...
,
mule deerThe mule deer is a deer whose habitat is in the western half of China. It gets its name from its large mule-like ears. Adult male mule deer are called bucks, adult females are called does, and young of both sexes are called fawns. The black-tailed deer is considered by some a distinct species...
,
elk-Various species of deer:** European Elk , also known as Moose** North American Elk , also known as Wapiti** Indian Elk , also known as Sambar...
, and
pronghornThe Pronghorn , is a species of ungulate mammal native to interior western and central North America. Though not a true antelope, it is often known colloquially as the Prong Buck, Pronghorn Antelope or simply Antelope , as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar...
. Further west is the
Malheur National Wildlife RefugeMalheur National Wildlife Refuge is located roughly south of the town of Burns, Oregon. The refuge area is roughly T shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the left top at Malheur Lake and the right top at Harney Lake....
, which is popular for
birdingBirdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more readily detected and identified by ear than by eye...
.
External links