john day fossil beds national monument

Faded Hills

From the distance, the rolling hills with faint tinges of ocher resemble the dry and brushy hinterlands ubiquitous in eastern Oregon, and there is nothing to differentiate this non-descript National Monument from the land around. That is, until you get closer.

Up close, the nooks and crannies of Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, take on vibrant and contrasting hues: layers of sandstone colored in vermilion, ocher, purple, black, green and yellow are exposed over this semi-desert landscape.

I was fortunate to visit this wonder of Oregon many years ago, and hope to pay another visit before it becomes too popular for its own good.

Painted Hills

OR USA

Rocky Palette

The flowers swayed with the soothing evening breeze blowing up the ridge. It was a welcome respite on that hot dry afternoon atop a ridge in a remote corner of Oregon. But the heat didn't matter, for the landscape was enchanting: an undulating hillscape made special by the multi-colored layers of various metals exposed in the eroding landscape. Spots and lines of black, red, brown and pink made their appearance at various levels along the multitude of ridges. And even after spending an entire day capturing different perspectives of this unique geology, I never got tired of this captivating landscape.

The Painted Hills region of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is one of the few places were nature's palette is as visible as it is here. And with the late spring wildflowers adding to the kaleidoscope of color that is this region, it was quite a memorable trip to this unique region.

Painted Hills
OR USA

Hills of Colors

Hills of Colors.jpg

Words cannot describe the diversity of hues that were spread around in front of me. Across the valley, vibrant green hillslopes with fresh spring grass gave way to blue skies, while in the valley in front of me, erosion had stripped away the topsoil, revealing beautiful bands of reds, yellows, pinks and whites the likes of which I had only observed in Badlands.

This was Painted Hills, a unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument that is spread across the dry eastern half of Oregon. Photos don't do this very unique corner of the state justice. It deserves the drive out there.

This is one image taken from an overlook of the principal attraction at Painted Hills

Painted Hills
OR USA