Steens Mountain Wildflowers

Alpine wildflowers flourish atop Little Blitzen Gorge, Steens Mountain Wilderness

The 170,000 acres of  the Steens Mountain Wilderness  are part of the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area. With a summit elevation of 9,733 feet, Steens Mountain is the largest fault block mountain in the United States. During the most recent ice age, glaciers carved out U-shaped gorges, including Little Blitzen Gorge which is pictured in this new Steen Mountain Landscape photograph.

Because of Steens Mountain’s arid, high elevation climate, the landscape is largely void of trees with the exception of Oregon’s largest aspen groves which are found in the deep gorges on the less arid west slope of the mountain.  On higher north facing slopes, winter snows linger, fueling waterways such at the Little  Blitzen River which originates high on the slopes of this gorge. The low elevation desert east of the Steens Mountain has wildflowers which bloom in spring while the high elevation western slopes don’t clear of snow until early July, allowing for the proliferation of alpine wildflowers such as Indian Paintbrush, Penstemon, Buckwheat and sulfur flowers.

Hiking trails are sparse in The Steens area but off trail rambling options abound. As the alpine areas are largely treeless, hikers usually have a good line of sight, making travel rugged but not disorienting.

Steens Mountain Wildflowers – The Capture

Years ago, I had been to the top of Little Blitzen Gorge with good friend, Troy McMullin. That previous visit was in October and wildflowers had already gone dormant for the season. I recall being smitten with Little Blitzen Gorge but disappointed with the images from that trip. During this most recent visit, I scouted the top of the gorge with my lovely wife, Debbie Putnam, just before sunset and decided to roll the dice, get up early the next morning and hope to find an attractive foreground before sunrise. After some precarious scrambling on steep rocky surfaces, I found this small alpine ledge, laden with brilliant wildflowers. I was elated about the foreground and with patience and good fortune, the wind briefly subsided and I captured this beautiful new fine art landscape photograph of. Oregon’s. famed Steens Mountain Wilderness!