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Painted Hills

Hiking & Scenic Views

Hidden Gem

Painted Hills

Oregon, United States
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  • Notable enough to have its own Wikipedia/Wikidata entry.
58/ 100

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  • Hidden gem
  • Notable enough to be documented

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About this place

geologic site in Oregon, United States

The Painted Hills is a geologic site in Wheeler County, Oregon that is one of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument along with Sheep Rock and Clarno. 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. The layers of color for which the site is named can be traced back to cycling periods of wet and dry climate conditions associated with the transition from the Eocene epoch to the cooler, more temperate Oligocene epoch. The different layers of colors are due to the soil being composed of a combination of mudstone, siltstone, shale and lignite.

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Location

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Painted Cove Trail, Wheeler County, Oregon

Coordinates: 44.66139, -120.27306

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Painted Hills
Image: Wikimedia Commons (via Wikidata)

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