Crooked River Canyon reads like a cross-section of central Oregon

Crooked River Canyon gives Crook County a landscape larger than one town or reservoir. The Blue Book lists the canyon as a county point of interest. BLM traces the river from ponderosa pine forests in the Ochoco Mountains toward a desert gorge. That path reaches toward Lake Billy Chinook. The river also has three named areas: North Fork, Chimney Rock, and Lower Crooked River. All three received federal Wild and Scenic designations on October 28, 1988. Each part carries a different view of the same river.

The canyon walls hold the strongest clue to this landscape. BLM describes 50 million years of geologic history in basalt, ash, and sedimentary layers. Volcanic and water-driven forces also shaped unusual basalt features. These records turn the gorge into a cross-section, not an empty space between stops. Forested headwaters, dry canyon country, and deep rock history meet along one river. The BLM page lets readers follow the three segments and the geology in the same source.