Alvord Desert
| Alvord Desert | |
| Desert | |
 View of Alvord Desert from Steens Mountain
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Oregon |
| Municipality | Harney County |
| Part of | Basin and Range Province |
| Borders on | Steens Mountain(west) Mickey Butte (north) Pueblo Valley (south) Tule Springs Rim (east) |
| Location | 42°32′04″N 118°27′41″W / 42.5344°N 118.4615°W |
| Area | 84 sq mi (218 km2) |
| Geology | Basin and Range Province |
 Location of the Alvord Desert within Oregon
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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 (19 by 11 km) dry lake bed and averages 7 inches (180 mm) 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 4,000 feet (1,200 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).[2] The nearest community is Fields.
Geothermal features [3] as well as cold springs ring the desert following Basin and Range NE to SW trending normal faults. On the western edge of the desert is Alvord Hot Springs (42°32′38″N 118°31′59″W / 42.544°N 118.533°W). At the north is Mickey Hot Springs (42°40′41″N 118°20′48″W / 42.678056°N 118.346667°W): an assortment of bubbling mud, geysers and a small pool. At the south is Borax Lake (42°19′37″N 118°36′10″W / 42.326944°N 118.602778°W) which is a thermal spring complex. To the east is an unnamed natural hot spring, one of 40 or more along 25 miles (40 km) of the Alvord fault. To the southwest is seasonal alkali Alvord Lake which once extended 100 miles (160 km) north and south—covering the desert. Several of the geothermal features in Alvord Desert Basin have been examined by a team of scientists and geologists [4] from the University of Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University. Detailed information about the geology of the Alvord Basin and the geochemistry of its hot springs can be found at this referenced website:.[5]
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.
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[edit] Climate
The Alvord Desert is classified under the cold semi-arid desert (BSk) as specified by the Köppen climate classification. The Desert receives very little rainfall throughout the year in stark contrast to popular belief of Oregon rainfall. Some areas on the east side of the desert may accumulate as little as 5 inches of rain annually. Through much of the year the Alvord Basin remains milder than the surrounding high desert Sagebrush-Bunchgrass steppe. The Alvord Desert and Basin is located in a Basin and Range Saltscrub desert classification and lies under the double rain shadow created by the Cascade mountain range as well the adjacent Steens Mountain. Therefore the area offers one of the most distinct Basin and Range environments offered in the state of Oregon, and in the entire United States.
Winter
The winters in the Alvord Basin are moderated through airflow from the south that stops the temperature from dropping too heavily. While many areas in the Oregon High Desert frequently dip below zero through the winter months, the Alvord Desert will rarely see those kinds of frigid temperatures. On average, highs will commonly raise into the lower 40’s with a few days each year where the temperature fails to break the freezing mark. Due the clear nights of the desert the temperatures will fall far into the 20’s on a night in and night out basis, but they will not normally drop much further unless artic air masses that come from Canada set in place over the Northwest. The basin sees a moderate amount of its rainfall in the winter months from storms coming off the Pacific Ocean while the strong winter jet stream is aimed at the Pacific Northwest. Storms that are strong enough to bring moisture to the Southeastern area of Oregon are usually related to tropical storms feeding from the Hawaiian Islands. Because of the warm origins of the moisture snow is rare to see on the desert floor. Snow does occur in the uncommon time when the arctic air mass is in place and a strong flow of moisture comes in from the west.
Spring
The spring is when the bulk of the Alvord Desert’s precipitation falls from thunderstorms. These storms attribute to the rainfall in April, May, and June that form in the south and move their way north across the desert and surrounding sagebrush plains. Clear nights continue to bring cold overnight temperature that will commonly drop into the 30’s and low 40’s, but the afternoon heating from the sun warms the temperatures into the 50’s in early spring and 70’s in late spring. This afternoon heating is the trigger to those thunderstorms with the unstable spring atmosphere. The extremes can still be seen this time of year where temperatures have dropped into the single digits in March and climbed to over 100 in early June. The rainfall turns the playa into a small lake from a short time making travel across it difficult to impossible.
Summer
The summers in the Alvord Desert are some of the hottest in the entire state of Oregon. This time of the year high pressure sets in over the entire Northwest portion of the United States and the jet stream pushes north into Canada. This high pressure means very little summertime rain falls, averaging less than1 inch throughout the summer months. Late day heat begins to set in by late June where highs begin to reach the mid to upper 80’s. In July the temperature commonly climbs into the 90’s and reaches over 100 a few times every year. Nighttime lows vary depending on your location with overnight temperatures dropping down into the lower 60’s throughout much of the basin. In some locations nighttime lows will only drop into the mid to upper 60’s around the Big Sand Gap area with a few days every year not dropping below 70 degrees. August remains hot with highs in the 90’s and lows in the 50’s and 60’s, but cooling begins towards the end of the month.
Fall
Fall is one of the more pleasant times of the year in the Alvord Basin because high temperatures are in the 60’s and 70’s with lows in the 40’s. More than just the cool temperatures, the Fall is one of the driest times of the year in the area because thunderstorms are uncommon and the winter jet stream has yet to take its place in the Pacific Northwest. The playa is almost always dry this time of the year.
| Climate data for Fields, Oregon | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) |
70 (21) |
78 (26) |
86 (30) |
97 (36) |
101 (38) |
106 (41) |
101 (38) |
96 (36) |
92 (33) |
76 (24) |
62 (17) |
106 (41) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 42.0 (5.6) |
45.9 (7.7) |
53.7 (12.1) |
58.8 (14.9) |
69.9 (21.1) |
79.9 (26.6) |
90.5 (32.5) |
87.7 (30.9) |
77.8 (25.4) |
64.4 (18.0) |
49.9 (9.9) |
40.7 (4.8) |
63.4 (17.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 32.5 (0.3) |
35.5 (1.9) |
42.0 (5.6) |
46.3 (7.9) |
56.3 (13.5) |
64.9 (18.3) |
74.8 (23.8) |
71.8 (22.1) |
62.4 (16.9) |
50.2 (10.1) |
38.8 (3.8) |
31.6 (−0.2) |
50.6 (10.3) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 23.0 (−5.0) |
25.1 (−3.8) |
30.2 (−1.0) |
33.9 (1.1) |
42.8 (6.0) |
49.8 (9.9) |
59.2 (15.1) |
55.9 (13.3) |
47.0 (8.3) |
36.2 (2.3) |
27.8 (−2.3) |
22.5 (−5.3) |
37.8 (3.2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −20 (−29) |
−2 (−19) |
1 (−17) |
14 (−10) |
18 (−8) |
31 (−1) |
40 (4) |
35 (2) |
28 (−2) |
10 (−12) |
1 (−17) |
−7 (−22) |
−20 (−29) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 0.82 (20.8) |
0.58 (14.7) |
0.58 (14.7) |
0.64 (16.3) |
0.79 (20.1) |
0.48 (12.2) |
0.19 (4.8) |
0.17 (4.3) |
0.34 (8.6) |
0.55 (14) |
0.62 (15.7) |
0.75 (19.1) |
6.51 (165.4) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 68 |
| Source: [6] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Gallery
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This section looks like an image gallery. Wikipedia policy discourages galleries of random images of the article subject; please improve or remove the section accordingly, moving freely licensed images to Wikimedia Commons if not already hosted there. (October 2010) |
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Setting sun reflected off the playa
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Alvord Desert as seen from the west
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Steens Mountain to the northwest from the Alvord Desert
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Alvord Desert playa, viewed from Steens Mountain
[edit] References
- ^ Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- ^ "Thrust SSC: Rockets Rule". http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/History/Rockets_Rule.html. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
- ^ "AQUEOUS GEOCHEMISTRY OF THERMAL WATERS". http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2003AM/finalprogram/abstract_59563.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ Hinds, J.. "Alvord Hot Springs". Life at Interfaces: Biocomplexity in Extreme Environments. The Experimental Project to Stimulate Competitive Research. http://www.uidaho.edu/biogeochemistry/alvord.html. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
- ^ "Extent and location of the geothermal aquifer in the Alvord Basin". http://nwdata.geol.pdx.edu/OR-Geothermal/BLM1F.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ "Fields, Oregon". http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?or2876. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alvord Desert |
- Alvord Desert - Bureau of Land Management
- An explorer's guide to southeast Oregon geology: Steens Mountain area
- Steens Mountain from oregonphotos.com
- The Wilderness Society: Wilderness in Oregon’s High Desert
Coordinates: 42°31′25″N 118°27′31″W / 42.523736°N 118.45871°W
