Click on the Steens Mountain image to enlarge

Steens Mountain

Steens Mountain was originally called the “Snowy Mountains” by John Work, one the fur traders who were the first Europeans in this area of Southeast Oregon.

In 1860 the mountain received the current name, named after Major Enoch Steen. Steen explored parts of the western United States including large areas of southern New Mexico and southeastern Oregon.

Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of Oregon. Steens Mountain stretches for 30 miles and rises above the Alvord Desert at 4,200 feet to its peak of 9,733 feet. The east face of Steens Mountain is composed of basalts stacked. Large flows of lava, with several flows hundreds of feet thick, covered the area between 14 and 17 million years ago.

On October 24, 2000, president Bill Clinton approved the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protective Act. The act created by local landowners with local and national government representatives was in response to a proposed Steens Mountain National Monument. This act created the Steens Mountain BLM Cooperative Management and Protection Area, a 425,000 acres area. This law protects 1,200,000 acres of Steens Mountain from mining, and 100,000 acres from cattle grazing.

Steens Mountain is well-known for four U-shaped gorges built by glaciers during the ice age. These glaciers dug trenches about one-half mile deep, through the layers of hard basalt. Massive internal pressures forced the east edge of the Steens Mountain up. The result was a 30-mile-long fault-block mountain with a spectacular and rugged east face that rises one vertical mile above the Alvord Desert.

Steens Mountain is far from populated areas and is a place for those who love isolated and scenic landscapes. You get to this unique area by first venturing to the remote town of Burns, Oregon. From Burns, take State Highway 78 southeast for about 2 miles. Then turn right onto State Highway 205 and travel south for 60 miles to Frenchglen. Just past Frenchglen, turn left onto the Steens Mountain Loop Road.

This photograph of Steens Mountain took place during a fall morning. The drive up to the summit started hours before the sun would rise and the morning light would light up the peak. It was cold and the wind was blowing hard. The colorful light of the morning sun hitting Steens Mountain was worth the early rise and long drive on this fall morning.