![]() However, aspen and mountain mahogany are more widespread and can be found in the Trout Creeks, Steens Mountain, Pueblo Mountains, Oregon Canyon Mountain, and Mahogany Mountains. The isolated mountain ranges have few forests or woodlands, with rare white fir stands in Steens Mountain and Hart Mountain. Due to the limited availability of water, sagebrush is usually widely spaced and associated with an understory of forbs and perennial bunchgrasses, such as bluebunch wheatgrass and Idaho fescue. Sagebrush communities dominate the landscape. As these lakes, which don’t drain to the ocean, dried through evaporation, they left salt and mineral deposits that formed alkali flats, extremely important stopover sites for migratory shorebirds due to the rich source of invertebrate prey. Most of these basins contained large, deep lakes during the late Pleistocene, between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago. Runoff from precipitation and mountain snowpack often flows into low, flat playas where it forms seasonal shallow lakes and marshes. The extreme southeastern corner of the state has desert-like conditions, with annual precipitation of only 8-12 inches. Much of the ecoregion receives less than 15 inches of precipitation per year, although mountain peaks receive 30-40 inches per year. ![]() In the rain shadow of the Cascades Mountains, the Northern Basin and Range is Oregon’s driest ecoregion marked by extreme ranges of daily and seasonal temperatures. Elevations range from 2,070 feet near the Snake River to more than 9,700 feet on the Steens Mountain. ![]() The Owyhee Uplands consist of a broad plateau cut by deep river canyons. Several important mountains are fault blocks, with gradual slopes on one side and steep basalt rims and cliffs on the other side. The name describes the landscape, numerous flat basins separated by isolated mountain ranges. The Northern Basin and Range ecoregion covers the southeastern portion of the state, from Burns south to the Nevada border and from the Christmas Valley east to Idaho. It is Oregon’s slice of the Old West, with rich ranching and farming traditions. The Northern Basin and Range ecoregion is sagebrush country. Northern Basin and Range Ecoregion Photo Credit: Rodney Klus, ODFW Description ![]()
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