Urban Landscape, Native Landscape: Warm Springs Indian Reservation

Friday, October 29, 2010

Warm Springs Indian Reservation

Juniperus occidentalis at Warm Springs Indian Reservation September 1999

Warm Springs Indian Reservation September 1999

Juniperus occidentalis at Warm Springs Indian Reservation September 1999

Warm Springs Indian Reservation September 1999

The Warm Springs Indian Reservation covers more than 1,000 square miles in north central Oregon. The western half of the reservation, on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, is forest. The eastern half lies adjacent to the Oregon High Desert Region. It shares typical high desert vegetation including Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), Idaho Fescue (Festuca idahoensis), Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum), Sulfur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum) & Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus species). On the eastern boundary, at the Deschutes River, annual precipitation is only about 10 inches with annual snowfall of around 15 inches.

In September 1999 I stayed in the dry side of the reservation at Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge. In addition to fine accommodations, a pool & 2 restaurants, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to hike through the arid lands surrounding the lodge. The weather was lovely. The nearby Museum at Warm Springs made an excellent presentation of the traditions of the tribes that share the Warm Springs Indian Reservation: the Wasco, the Warm Springs & the Paiute. The reservation was established in 1855 through a series treaties between the superintendent for the Oregon Territory (Joel Palmer), & representatives of the Warm Springs & Wasco tribes. In 1879, the US government moved a small group of Northern Paiutes to the reservation.

Jordan at Warm Springs Indian Reservation September 1999

1 comment:

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...: I can't say that I love deserts, but yes, there is a beaty in them! We visited Death Valley last spring, and I was amazed how much I loved it. Your pictures capture some wonderful scenery. I love the second shot with its golden colors especially and the shape of the tree on the first picture, and I like the canyon. THank you Jordan!; November 4, 2010 at 2:14 PM

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This blog began in 2008 as Metropolitan Gardens to provide information on gardening in Seattle & places like it. Click on Gardening in Cascadia. The blog expanded to include Parks P-Patches Public Gardens in the US, Canada & Europe. Then Nature was added. (The difference between nature & gardens is intent. Nature happens. Gardens are planned.) Many recent posts are not about Seattle, or even Cascadia. They are Urban Landscape: streetscape & architecture. Cascadia is the region including the Cascade Mountains of Washington & Oregon. If you want to contact the blogger, leave a message in comments. Comments are moderated & private messages will not be posted.

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The city of Seattle rests between 2 bodies of water: Puget Sound & Lake Washington. Puget Sound is a substantial part of the Salish Sea & a very small part of the Pacific Ocean. The Salish Sea is set apart from the Pacific by the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington & Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia. The dense, wet clouds of the Pacific Ocean travel as far as the Cascade Mountains, near the Salish Sea & not very far from the ocean. East of the Cascades lies the desert of the Columbia Basin. The moist, temperate climate of Seattle extends south to northern California & north to southeastern Alaska. The Pacific Northwest Coast from San Francisco Bay to Cook Inlet shares a flora dominated by evergreen coniferous forest. The central portion, west of the Cascade Mountains, is called Cascadia. The climate is cool & wet from fall to spring, warm & dry in summer. The Olympic Mountains block Seattle from much of the Pacific rainfall. Seattle is drier than the Atlantic coast of North America & northern Europe, cooler in summer & warmer in winter. It lies near the latitude of Paris & Quebec City.