The remoter reaches of Eastern Oregon are sun-drenched landscapes of great beauty and variety. Juniper and sage cover the lowland canyons, and ponderosa pine beautifies the mountains. This zone lies generally east of Madras. The Ponderosa grove shown above is just south of Seneca. Such immense stands of virgin "yellow pine" are what turned Seneca into a lumbering boom town for many decades. Click link for more detail.
Oregon's largest ponderosa pine tree is located many miles to the south and west of Seneca. It's a giant named "Big Red," and it lives in LaPine State Park, near Bend and Sunriver. The tree towers more than 160 feet tall, is 29 feet in circumference (9.2 feet in diameter), and is about 500 years old.... Oregon's largest Douglas Fir is located in Oregon Caves National Monument. .. It's a coastal Douglas Fir.... And Oregon's largest tree of all, a coastal Sitka Spruce can be viewed at this link!Mt. Vernon, Mitchell and Prarie City are close.
The John Day River is one of this region's treasures. It's seen here near the tiny community of Spray. Climate in this canyon region is unique and unnusual, being much warmer in the winter than the majority of Central and Eastern Oregon, and Scorching Hot during the long summers. Unlike the majority of Central and Eastern Oregon where warm days are followed by cool or even chilly nights, this canyon region remains warm at night. It grows great orchards of fruit at Kimberly, unaffected by the nasty summer frosts that limit agriculture elsewhere in Central and Eastern Oregon. In fact, Spray is so hot that it may hold OREGON'S RECORD for the longest consecutive number of days where the daytime highs exceeded 100 degrees. During the summer of 1971, Spray recorded 26 consecutive days over 100 degrees. Click here to visit my Oregon Climate pages which have more information on this subject...... Or click here to see a Wheeler County Ghost town!