Alvord Desert

Information about Alvord Desert

Location of the Alvord Desert within Oregon
The Alvord Desert is a desert located in Harney County, in southeastern Oregon in the western United States. It is roughly southeast of Steens Mountain. The Alvord Desert is a 12 by 7 mile playa, a dry lake bed, and averages 7 inches of rain a year. Two mountain ranges separate it from the Pacific Ocean—the Coast Range, and the Cascade Mountains. Along with Steens Mountain, these topographical features create a rain shadow. The Alvord lies at an elevation of approximately 4000 feet (1220 m).

The desert is named after General Benjamin Alvord who served as commander of the U.S. Army's Department of Oregon during the American Civil War.[1]

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'Neil at 512 miles/hour (843 km/hour) [1]. The nearest community is Fields (population 11).

Geothermal features ring the desert. At the southwest side is Alvord Hot Springs. At the north is Mickey Hot Springs an assortment of bubbling mud, geysers and a small pool. To the east is an unnamed natural hot spring.

Despite the barren nature of the playa, some opportunities for wildlife observation exist. Wild horses sometimes drink from the springs on the eastern edge of the desert. In areas where natural hot springs flow into the playa, especially around the Alvord Hot Springs, one can usually find nesting Long-billed Curlew. Further out into the playa proper are numerous Killdeer and Snowy Plover, along with the occasional American Avocet. 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 Wilderness contains populations of Bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. Further west is the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is popular for birding.

Gallery


Setting sun reflected off the playa, June 2003.

Alvord Desert as seen from the west.

Panorama of the Alvord Desert playa, looking southeast from Steens Mountain.


References

1. ^ Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.

External links

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Deserts
desert is a landscape form or region that receives very little precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas that receive an average annual precipitation of less than 250 mm (10 in). In the Köppen climate classification system, deserts are classed as (BW).
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Harney County is located in the U.S. state of 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 Northwest. The county seat is Burns.
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State of Oregon

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Nickname(s): Beaver State
Motto(s): Alis volat propriis

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Largest city Portland

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Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it rises from an elevation of about 4,200 ft (0 m)
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playa; also known as an alkali flat, sabkha, or salt flat; is a dry lakebed, generally the shore of, or a remnant of, an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts.
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Rain is a type of precipitation, a product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface. It forms when separate drops of water fall to the Earth's surface from clouds.
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The Pacific Coast Ranges are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the west coast of North America from Alaska to northern and central Mexico. They are also known as the Pacific Cordillera
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Topography (Greek topos, "place", and graphia, "writing") is the study of Earth's surface features or those of planets, moons, and asteroids.

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Benjamin Alvord (August 18, 1813 – October 16, 1884) was an American soldier, mathematician, and botanist.

Early life and career

Alvord was born in Rutland, Vermont, where he developed an interest in nature.
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American Civil War (1861–1865) was a major war between the United States (the "Union") and eleven Southern slave states which declared that they had a right to secession and formed the Confederate States of America, led by President Jefferson Davis.
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Kitty O'Neil (born 1946 in Corpus Christi, Texas) is a former stuntwoman and racer noted for a handful of exceptional accomplishments, despite becoming deaf when she was four months old.
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Alvord 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 (1244 m) elevation on the western edge of the Alvord Desert into which the spring flows and eventually evaporates.
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Mickey Hot Springs is a small spring at the north end of Alvord Desert just east of Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon, US.
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Mustang is a free-roaming feral horse of the North American west. It first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish.[1] The name "Mustang" is also popular for high-performance products and sports mascots.
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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.
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N. americanus

Binomial name
Numenius americanus
Bechstein, 1812

The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a large shorebird. (See the Curlew family.
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C. vociferus

Binomial name
Charadrius vociferus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is a medium-sized plover.
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C. alexandrinus

Binomial name
Charadrius alexandrinus
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R. americana

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Recurvirostra americana
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The American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae.
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O. canadensis

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Ovis canadensis
Shaw, 1804

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O.
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Odocoileinae

Genus: Odocoileus

Species: O. hemionus

Binomial name
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C. canadensis

Binomial name
Cervus canadensis
(Erxleben, 1777)[1]

Range of Cervus canadensis


The elk, or wapiti (
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Antilocapra

Species: A. americana

Binomial name
Antilocapra americana
Ord, 1815

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A. a. americana
A. a.
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Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located roughly 45 miles (72 km) south of the town of Burns, Oregon, situated around Frenchglen. Named for an early pioneer, the refuge is a hotspot for birding, fishing and hiking.
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Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. Most birders and birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons unlike ornithologists who are engaged in the
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