Layers of Lava, Blocks of Basalt
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 42° 39.956 W 118° 33.887
11T E 371767 N 4724905
History sign about the geology of Steens Mountain. The sign located off the Steens Mountain Loop Road at the Steens Mountain VP.
Waymark Code: WMAWPE
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 03/04/2011
Views: 4
Marker Name: Layers of Lava, Blocks of Basalt
Marker Text: Oozing from cracks many miles long, great rivers of basalt lava flowed across eastern Oregon. Each flow added a new layer of rock, building up the high desert plains. As the lava slowly cooled, the earth’s crust bulged upward, cracking to form faults. Over time, huge blocks of basalt began to move, tilt and slide along these faults.
Steens Mountain is a 30-mile long fault-block mountain that was fractured, then gradually pushed upward and tilted to the west. The block directly eas slid downward to form the Alvord Basin.
What will happen next in the long march of geologic time? Volcanic activity, earthquakes, another ice age?... These are all possibilities. Until the next big event, the continuous effects of wind, rain, and snow gradually sculpt this landscape we call Steens.
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