Landscape Images

Visitors 165

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Categories & Keywords

Category:Scenic

Subcategory:Landscapes

Subcategory Detail:

Keywords:Ben, Ben Carlson, Ben Carlson Photography, Carlson, Carlson Photography, John Day Fossil Beds, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Mitchell, OR, Mitchell, Oregon, Oregon, Oregon State, Painted Hills, Wheeler County, Wheeler County, OR, Wheeler County, Oregon, black, bronze, green, hills, landscape, mountains, photography, pink, red, scenic, snow, snow covered, snow covered Painted Hills, snow covered hills, snowstorm, tan, white, winter, wintertime

Photo Info

Dimensions7120 x 4260

Original file size23.8 MB

Image typeJPEG

Painted Hills Winter Blanket

Between intermittent snow showers, this photo is a close and rarely seen view of the Painted Hills covered with snow. When the sun breaks through the clouds it melts the snow on the sides that face the sun. There will be a panoramic view of the snow-covered hills in the Panoramic Images folder. The Painted Hills is one of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, located in Wheeler County, Oregon. It is named after the colorful layers of its hills corresponding to various geological eras, formed when the area was an ancient river floodplain. The weathering of volcanic ash under varying climatic regimes resulted in vividly-hued rock layers of red, pink, bronze, tan, and black. The black soil is lignite that was vegetative matter that grew along the floodplain. The grey coloring is mudstone, siltstone, and shale. The red coloring is laterite soil that formed by floodplain deposits when the area was warm and humid. Tones and hue may appear to change from one visit to another, as the clay stones differ with ever-changing light and moisture levels. Walking on the hills is strictly prohibited; please respect the landscape if you visit the area.