Fossil

The colors of this area will change with the position of the sun, last rainfall, temperature etc. These photos were taken after rainfall the night before.

Painted Hills, is one of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, located in Wheeler County, Oregon. It totals 3,132 acres (12.67 km2) and is located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Mitchell, Oregon. The Painted Hills are listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon. Painted Hills is named after the colorful layers of its hills corresponding to various geological eras, formed when the area was an ancient river floodplain.

The black soil is lignite that was vegetative matter that grew along the floodplain. The grey coloring is mudstone, siltstone, and shale. The red coloring is laterite soil that formed by floodplain deposits when the area was warm and humid

An abundance of fossil remains of early horses, camels, and rhinoceroses in the Painted Hills unit makes the area particularly important to vertebrate paleontologists.

• William Morris Hunt.

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After our brief but great camping trip at Palouse State Park we packed our gear and headed back to Bend, Oregon. Once settled in to the hotel we had a quick late lunch and headed back to Painted hills location at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Now this is a must visit location if you are ever in the state of Oregon. The array of vivid colors in this location is nothing short of stunning and there are a bunch of hikes to do that will take you to various beautiful viewpoints.

This was our first foray into the desert regions of Oregon and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The drive to the location is long and pretty much deserted but the road does get a bit rough at the end of the journey. We first did the Painted hills overlook trail, from where which I made this Panorama shot. We also enjoyed the Carroll Rime Trail which gave fantastic 360 degree view of the colorful hills.

Thanks for visiting, Hope everyone likes it..

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. national monument. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals.

The monument consists of three geographically separate units: Sheep Rock, Painted Hills, and Clarno. The Painted Hills Unit, which lies about halfway between the other two, covers 3,132 acres (1,267 ha). It is situated about 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Mitchell along Burnt Ranch Road,

The yellows, golds, blacks, and reds of the Painted Hills are beautiful at all times of the day, but are best lit for photography in the late afternoon. Changing light and moisture levels drastically affect the tones and hues visible in the hills. The seasons can also change the look of the Painted Hills radically. Spring often brings yellow wildflowers that grow in open areas and sometime even in the ripples of the hills. Winter can blanket the hills in a white coat, concealing the vibrant hues until the snow melts, revealing interspersed stripes of gold and red.

• Alfred Eisenstaedt.

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This is one of my absolute favorite quotes about photography especially considering some of the work done my Mr. Eisenstaedt. While his photojournalistic work is instantly recognized all over the world I am a big fan of some of the nature shots that was included in his LIFE picture collection.

This shot was made at Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, located in central Oregon. This was taken during our first trip to Oregon and nearly spending 7 days on the western side of the state it takes a bit of an effort to even believe that state has a desert side with very little rainfall. The day we visited was kind of a perfect day to see the park, there was a vivd blue sky awith some wispy clouds. The sky being blue is important here as an overcast day can really kill the colors on the hills. As sunset came around we got some nice pastel colors on the clouds and the hill tops. This one brings back a lot of great memories.