Picture Gorge
| Picture Gorge | ||
|---|---|---|
 South end of the gorge |
||
| location | Grant County , Oregon , USA | |
| Waters | John Day River | |
| Mountains | Blue Mountains | |
| Geographical location | 44 ° 30 '50 " N , 119 ° 37' 24" W | |
|
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| Type | canyon | |
| rock | basalt | |
| height | 685 to 672 m | |
| length | 2 km | |
| use | US Highway 26 | |
| particularities | Rock paintings | |
Picture Gorge is a canyon in the US state of Oregon .
location
The gorge lies in the southwestern foothills of the Blue Mountains south of the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument . The John Day River flows through the gorge , along with US Highway 26 .
At the northern end of Picture Gorge, US 26 branches off to the left into a side valley, while State Highway OR 19 follows the river as it continues through the Sheep Rock Unit .
geology
About 16 million years ago there were several large-scale lava effusions from crevices in the north-west of America. It is assumed that there are around 60 eruptions with a mean time interval of 15,000 years. These lava flows solidified into superimposed layers of flood basalt , some of which are up to 15 meters thick. In the times between eruptions, paleo-soil layers have formed that lie between the lava layers. The total thickness of the lava cover in the area of the Picture Gorge is about 400 meters.
Through these layers of lava, the John Day River has made its way north to form the Picture Gorge. 17 basalt layers are exposed in the area of this gorge. According to its type locality in the Picture Gorge, this basalt formation is also known as the Picture Gorge Basalt . The Picture Gorge Basalts are a subgroup of the Columbia Plateau Basalts . The basalt layers form step-shaped valley slopes for the V-shaped Kerbtal. At the southern end of the gorge, the valley slopes are particularly steep and form almost vertical rock walls .
Rock paintings
At several points in the Picture Gorge there are rock paintings of the indigenous people on the rock walls . They are painted on the ground with red paint. According to Don Henn, Picture Gorge has the highest concentration of this type of rock art in Oregon.
literature
Don Hann: Implied Narrative: Rock Art, Landscape, and Myth at Picture Gorge, Oregon . In: William D. Hyder (Ed.): American Indian Rock Art . Vol. 39, 2013, pp. 101-113 .
Web links
- Picture Gorge on the website of the National Park Service (English)
- Picture Gorge Pictographs in Rock Art Oregon (English, with images of rock paintings)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Picture Gorge. In: Geographic Names Information System. Retrieved January 5, 2018 (American English).
- ↑ Picture Gorge. In: www.nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved January 5, 2018 (American English).
- ↑ Don Henn, American Indian Rock Art 2013, pp. 101–113