What is the Crack-in-the-Ground in Christmas Valley, OR?

Another interesting geological formation in Lake County.

The Crack-in-the-Ground is one of the many geological attractions in Lake County, Oregon. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, it has a small dirt parking lot with an on-site bathroom, a well-beaten path, and beautiful views.

The Crack-in-the-Ground is a volcanic fissure formed long ago and preserved in the high-desert surroundings around Christmas Valley, OR. There is a 2-mile-long hiking trail that runs through the formation that goes as far down as 70 feet below the surface; the average width between the stone walls is 10 ft.

Visitors will have to traverse a rocky dirt road that leads up the hills surrounding the basin area where Christmas Valley and Fort Rock are located. The parking area and start of the hiking trail are around five miles from Christmas Valley and 102 miles southeast of Bend. Once visitors are past the short, rocky, hundred-foot climb, they will be on a smoother dirt road that winds its way to the trailhead within a couple of miles — higher clearance vehicles are needed for the rocky area (a Subaru Outback works well). The elevation is 4,500 ft.

The basin area where the town of Christmas Valley is located doesn’t have many trees and is full of sagebrush, yet in the surrounding hills where the location is visitors will find mostly juniper trees and sparse forests mixed with sagebrush throughout the area.

The Crack-in-the-Ground is free for visitors and is usually not very busy. The temperatures within the opposing stone walls can get up to 20 degrees cooler than on the surface. This makes it a nice place to visit in the summer heat.

The trail is rated moderate by the BLM, as it sometimes requires traversing over large boulders and through tight spaces. The many cracks within the larger opening lead to visible openings many feet below the trail; these are interesting to observe yet could lead to dogs and children getting stuck and or falling into them.

The trail goes through two main cracks, allowing visitors to see the beautiful surroundings above. The middle and end intervals allow visitors to stop and rest, have a picnic, let the sun warm them, and/or rest in the shade of the trees. The view on top of the small plateau makes for good pictures.

If visitors want to camp, there is the Green Mountain Campground about 10 miles further into the area where there are six campsites, a toilet, and picnic tables. The campground is elevated above the surrounding area and gives a great view. Otherwise, there are many other dirt roads in the area where visitors can venture out and find camp.

The Crack-in-the-Ground is open year-round, yet the roads might be inaccessible with snow and wet weather. Overall, it is a great place to visit and find some respite from the hustle and bustle of city life and spend some time with family, friends, and dogs.

Originally published at NewsBreak

Comments

6 Tips for Setting Up Community Gardens in HOA Neighborhoods

In the modern digital age we're living in, setting up a community garden may be exactly what HOA neighborhoods need to get their members off their digital devices and back to nature a bit. Community gardens promote positive relationships within neighborhoods , provide healthy activities for people of all ages, and if done well produce a good amount of healthy food. In an effort to help planners get their thoughts aligned, here are 6 tips for setting up community gardens in HOA neighborhoods. Gain and Gauge Support from Homeowners Board members and homeowners interested in starting a community garden should start by gauging the support for the idea with community members. Planners can gain and gauge support with methods such as: surveys emails text messages phone calls flyers word of mouth announcements at board meetings articles fundraiser events The main idea is to see how much support there is for such an idea; just keep in mind that some people may get excited...

10 Famous Movies Filmed in Oregon Part 2

It shouldn’t be too surprising that Oregon with its amazing scenery and diverse natural landscape has been used to make movies for the big screen. Still, with such a relatively small population it is somewhat amazing how many movies have been filmed here over the years. After naming 10 movies in part one , it became apparent there needed to be a part two, as these are just as famous, so here goes from oldest to newest. 1. Paint Your Wagon (1969): Having Clint Eastwood star in a musical isn’t likely, but he did star in this American Western musical in the late 60s and even did his own singing. The film also stars Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg and was directed by Joshua Logan. Most of the movie production happened near Baker City, Oregon, a small city in Eastern Oregon with around 10k residents and at 3451 ft. elevation. The plot centers around a mining camp in the California Golf Rush era in the mid-1800s. 2. Five Easy Pieces (1970): Starring Jack Nicholson, this early 70s drama was filme...

Opinion: Most communities in Oregon and the US are Republican, yet Democrats are in charge

2022 Oregon Governor Election Photo Assuming election results are valid in Oregon, which does take a lot of faith these days after the questions about the 2020 US Presidential election arose, Democrat Tina Kotek won the Governor’s race in 2022 by a slim margin over Republican Christine Drazan. The interesting aspect of this win is how many of Oregon’s 36 counties voted Republican vs. Democrat. Looking at the political map, almost the entire state is red with only a few small counties in the northwest having the blue color. Specifically, there were 7 counties that voted Democrat and 29 that voted Republican. The difference is the 7 counties voting blue are the most populous counties, also the counties with the most residents coming from other states – much like Tina Kotek herself, a transplant from Pennsylvania . Tina only won the campaign to be Oregon’s 39th Governor by 66,727 votes over Christine Drazan. Said in another way, the Democrats pulled off another close election with m...

Writing Success Comes from Volume and Quality in Balance

Our success is up to us. Success, as a general term to describe the results that constitute a success in a writer’s mind, as it meets or exceeded our expectations. And volume is how many articles/content pieces it takes for each writer to succeed with various levels of quality involved. Each writer will have their personal goals and ways to measure the results achieved through writing an article. Each writer has differing perspectives on what constitutes quality with a finished product. With these important variables in mind, let’s explore how many articles it might take with a theoretical estimation based upon experience and what I’ve seen in my decades-long online writing journey. Most writers can’t expect to attract a lot of views when writing only one article a month, or 12 a year. They may be able to stay in the game at the base line level and maintain some trickle of income, yet it isn’t the volume needed to reach that level of success to maintain. Still, we must first appreciate...

Business and Society Articles

Search This Blog