Painted Hills Photo Gallery #2
The mountain in the background is Sutton Mountain. The "ridgeline is capped with layers of "flood" basalts...About 16,000,000 years ago, basalt flowed from cracks in the earth, covering and incinerating the land. The layers are part of the massive Columbia River Basalts that extend across much of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho," (Painted Hills Viewpoint. 1999. National Parks Service.)
"The hills are layers of rock with the first few inches of the surface weathered to a clay that has an excellent ability to absorb water and swell. It retains water so well most plants are not able to draw the water from the ground. The clay is also dense, making it difficult for most plants to take root. Some plants succeed. In the spring the crevasses and gullies of the red hills are filled with the bright yellow blossoms of Chaenactis and Bee-Plant," (Painted Hills Viewpoint. 1999. National Parks Service.)
This is along the road on the way to the Painted Hills overlook where most of the other pictures were taken. I really like the little rainbow effect that showed up on the photo. This was taken on my trip in 1999.
This is Big Red which is along the road on the way to the Painted Hills overlook. This picture was taken on my trip in 1999.
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