Painted Hills

[Arlen]

The John Day Fossil Beds cover close to a quarter of Oregon in its sparsely inhabited northeast region. Besides the cornucopia of fossils, ranging from about 7 to 44 million years in
age, the area is a geologic wonderland built up from multiple volcanic eruptions that have, during various periods, been intermittently weathered by time, water and wind. It is a
treasure trove of amazing natural features and captivating vistas around every hill and bend of its namesake John Day River. Within the larger region, the John Day Fossil Beds
National Monument is comprised of three separate and quite different units: the Painted Hills, Sheep Rock and Clarno.

In previous weeks my posts here have focused on the birds and the bees, mostly around the Sheep Rock unit. Here I turn more to geology, presenting several images from my
Painted Hills collection.




       







       







       







       

[Bob_B]

Painterly and beautiful! Nicely done, Arlen, nicely done.

[francois]

Magic colors! I always loved painted hills or deserts, they look like a hand-colored nature.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

That's a great set. What a fantastic place!

[John R]

These are fabulous, and as Bob said, quite painterly. I really appreciate the introduction to the area. Quite interesting geology. I especially like the first, with that little tree saying, don't forget about me, I'm part of the landscape too.

JR

[Paulo Bizarro]

As a geologist, thanks for the wonderful photos.

[Arlen]

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments. John, I did pay special attention to those trees in the first one; they looked kind of lonely out there. 

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Ooh very nice, very nice indeed..

I would love to spend a day or two wandering around there with my camera - lovely.!

Dave

[Arlen]

Thank you, Dave. I think you would like the area, and I'm sure you would come back with some first-rate images.

[Chris Calohan]

Until I drove over the mountains from Eugene heading for Boise, I never realized the desert structures seen here in such a lovely way. Bravo and thanks for bringing back some spectacular memories.

[Arlen]

Thanks, Chris. I'm glad you got to see the area. Compared to other areas of similar interest, relatively few people have.

[Rajan Parrikar]

The third image is lovely, my pick of the series.

[MattBurt]

Beautiful! Great set. I think I could spend some time there too.

[Arlen]

Thanks for weighing in, Rajan and Matt.

[nokk]

gorgeous lines and colors.