Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain, looking northwest from the Alvord Desert.
Elevation	9,733 feet (2,967 m) NGVD 29 [1]
Location	Harney County, Oregon, USA
Prominence	4,373 feet (1,333 m) [1]
Coordinates	42°38′11″N 118°34′36″W / 42.636418°N 118.576717°W / 42.636418; -118.576717Coordinates: 42°38′11″N 118°34′36″W / 42.636418°N 118.576717°W / 42.636418; -118.576717 [1]
Topo map	USGS Wildhorse Lake
Easiest route	Short hike from gravel road

Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some 50 miles (80 km) and rises from an elevation of about 4,200 feet (1,300 m) above the Alvord Desert to its peak at 9,733 feet (2,967 m). It is sometimes confused with a mountain range, but is properly a single mountain.

The east face of Steens Mountain is almost entirely comprised of basalts stacked one upon another. Staggering amounts of magma, with several flows hundreds of feet deep, inundated the region between 14 and 17 million years ago.^[2][3][4]

It was called the "Snowy Mountains" during early fur trade, but in 1860 was renamed for U.S. Army Major Enoch Steen, who fought and drove off members of the Paiute tribe on the mountain.^[5][6]

Several plant species are endemic to Steens Mountain, including Steens paintbrush, moss gentian, Steens Mountain penstemon, Steens Mountain Thistle, a dwarf blue lupine and Cusick's buckwheat.^[7][8]

On October 24, 2000, president Bill Clinton created the Steens Mountain BLM Cooperative Management and Protection Area, a 425,000 acres (1,720 km²) area. This law protects 1,200,000 acres (4,860 km²) from mining, and 100,000 acres (405 km²) from cattle grazing.^[9]

Steens Mountain is also host to Steens Mountain Running Camp, a nationally known^[10] cross country training camp that has been held on the mountain since 1975.^[11][12]

Contents 1 See also 2 References 3 External links 4 Gallery

[edit] See also

• Steens Mountain Wilderness

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• "Steens Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1127571. Retrieved 2008-11-17. </ref>
• "Steens Mountain Wilderness". Wilderness.net. http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=WildView&WID=576&tab=Images. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
• "Virtual aerial image looking south across Steens Mountain and the Alvord Desert". California Geographical Survey. http://geogdata.csun.edu/or_panorama_atlas/page6/files/page6-1082-full.html. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 

[edit] Gallery

The east face of Steens Mountain

Little Blitzen Gorge, near the summit of Steens, in June

Little Blitzen Gorge, near the summit of Steens, in June

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