View from the top of Steens Mountain, looking out to Alvord Desert
Steens Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area surrounding a portion of Steens Mountain of southeastern Oregon, U.S. The Wilderness is a portion of the Bureau of Land Management's Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area (CMPA), and encompasses 170,025 acres (266 mi², 689 km²) of the CMPA's total 428,156 acres (669 mi², 1734 km²).[1] It is Oregon's newest wilderness, designated October 30, 2000. 98,859 acres of the Wilderness (155 mi², 400 km²) are protected from grazing and free of cattle.[2]
Steens Mountain Wilderness ranges in elevation from 4,200 feet (1,280 m) to 9,773 feet (2,979 m) at the summit of Steens Mountain. The Wilderness comprises a variety of vegetative zones, from the Arid Sagebrush Zone in the Alvord Desert, through the Western Juniper, Mountain Mahogany, Mountain Big Sagebrush, Quaking Aspen, Subalpine Meadow, and Subalpine Grassland Zones, to the Snow Cover Zone.[3]
Steens Mountain is the largest fault block mountain in North America. Pressure under the earth's surface thrust the block upward approximately 20 million years ago, resulting in a steep eastern face with a more gentle slope on the western side of the mountain. During the Ice Age, glaciers carved several deep gorges into the peak and created depressions where Lily, Fish, and Wildhorse Lakes now stand.[3]
Vegetation
Vegetation in Steens Mountain Wilderness varies greatly according to elevation. Common plants include sagebrush, juniper, various species of bunchgrass, mountain mahogany, aspen, mountain meadow knotweed, and false hellebore.[3] Other vegetation that is endemic to Steens Mountain include Steens paintbrush, moss gentian, Steens Mountain penstemon, Steens Mountain Thistle, a dwarf blue lupine, and Cusick's buckwheat.[4][5]
