McKenzie Pass/ Lava Fields

Hi,

A couple of months ago we visited Oregon and had a great time with terrific weather. One of the most impressive places was passing through the Lava Fields on Hwy 242. I was wondering if these lava boulders were in piles naturally are were they placed there to make way for the highway? It just seemed so vast an area to be man-made. Any history and information on the area would be most appreciated.

Thank you .

McKenzie Pass/ Lava Fields

They are naturally occuring. Some piling may have occurred during construction of the road. The Cascade Mountains are part of the ';Pacific Ring of Fire';, a huge circle of volcanic activity that encompasses most of the Pacific NW, British Columbia, Alaska and circles around through Russia and down through Asia. All told, this region is the most active volcanic area on the planet and has been for eons.

During what month did you travel this hwy? I ask b/c I always recommend that it be driven from mid-September through early October. providing early snows have not forced it%26#39;s closure, to view the beautiful fall colors of the Vine Maples growing the the lava fields. It%26#39;s an awesome sight.

Den

McKenzie Pass/ Lava Fields

They did a nice job of loacting that road so it had minimum impact on the land. It snakes through some pretty large rock formations as you approach to thop from the east.

I do not knw if they deliberately located that curve on Windy Point, but that is an outstanding first view of the lava beds.

Dee Wright Observation structure is one pile of rocks done by humans, suppose many of them came from the road construction. It was built by the CCCs. in 30s.

I suggest antone who goes there climb to the top and see all the mountains and lava domes you can see from there.

Thanks for responding. My hubby and I passed through on September 12th. I guess this road is not traveled much, because we only passed two cars. It is a very unique and interesting stretch of highway.

Two cars is about right!

Unfortuantely, in today%26#39;s scociety, we are in too big of a hurry to get from point ';A'; to point ';B'; . The result is we often miss real gems like hwy 242.

Glad you got to experience it!

Den