Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

We here at The Oregonian/OregonLive are gearing up to release a beautiful new book this summer, "Oregon's Natural Treasures," that will showcase the natural wonder of our state. In advance of publication, we're posting previews of each of the chapters online. But be sure to pre-order a copy of the full book before it's released on July 27.



As you follow the Columbia River upstream to the east, past the Cascade Mountains and into the desert, the landscape in the northeast corner of the state starts to shift. A small, flatter plateau – most famously home to the cowboys of Pendleton – soon gives way to long stretches of smaller mountain ranges, once barriers to westward pioneers that remain largely uninhabited today.



The rolling folds of the Blue Mountains come first, giving way to two smaller ranges: the Elkhorns and Greenhorns. Just beyond, in the far northeastern corner of Oregon, the majestic Wallowa Mountains rise tall, forming a snow-capped horseshoe around the small towns of Joseph and Enterprise. At the eastern border of the state, the mighty Snake River flows along the bottom of Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America at 7,913 feet from top to bottom.

Unlike Oregon’s more well-trafficked regions, the northeast corner of the state isn’t defined by any one specific landform. No singular mountain range or river gorge steals the show, allowing visitors to find their own special spots, their own tucked-away corners of natural beauty.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

1. Blue Mountains

The western foothills of the Blue Mountains, seen from the Deadman Pass Lookout Area near Pendleton. The rolling, wrinkled mountain range separates the flatter Umatilla Plateau, to the west, from the larger mountains to the south and east. The origin of the rangeÕs name is unclear, though one early explorer attributed it to the Òazure-like appearanceÓ of the mountains.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

2. Snake River

The Snake River flows through Hells Canyon, forming the northeast border of the state Ð the Oregon side of the border is seen here in the light, with Idaho in shadow. The riverÕs headwaters lie in Yellowstone National Park, from which it runs 1,078 miles through the Teton Mountains, southern Idaho and Hells Canyon, before meeting the Columbia River at Tri-Cities, Washington.

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Richard Cockle/The Oregonian

3. Wallowa Lake

Geese fly over the north end of Wallowa Lake, seen from Wallowa County Park in late fall. The 51-square-mile lake is surrounded on both sides by high moraines Ð ridges of rocks and sediment pushed aside as a massive glacier slowly advanced from the slopes of the mountains. When the glacier melted, it formed the lake, today a popular destination for boaters and campers at Wallowa Lake State Park.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

4. Cottonwood Canyon

A northern checkerspot butterfly rests on a shrub alongside a trail in Cottonwood Canyon State Park and opens its wings to the sun after a morning storm. Northern checkerspot caterpillars feed on goldenrod and rabbitbrush, two hardy plant species that thrive on the dry side of the Cascades, while butterflies tend to fly north to more mountainous regions in late spring and summer.

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Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

5. Mount Howard

Lupines bloom at the top of Mount Howard in the Wallowa Mountains. From May through October, the Wallowa Lake Tramway, a 1970s-era Swiss gondola, carries visitors 3,700 feet up to a viewpoint atop the peak. Mount Howard and neighboring East Peak were collectively designated a National Natural Landmark in 2016 to protect the rare montane grasslands on their slopes.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

6. Eagle Cap Wilderness

The sun rises over a ridge of the Wallowa Mountains on the south side of Ice Lake in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. The sprawling wilderness area is known for its alpine lakes and flower-strewn meadows, as well as bald granite ridges and U-shaped, glacier-cut valleys. Unlike the volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains, the Wallowas were formed by an uplifting of rock from what was once a tropical ocean.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

7. Hells Canyon

The sun sets over Hells Canyon, seen through a stand of dead trees at the Hat Point Overlook. The deepest river gorge in North America, Hells Canyon plunges more than 7,900 feet Ð nearly 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon. Several parties of 19th-century pioneers tried to explore the canyon but turned back after suffering from starvation and extreme winter conditions.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

8. Imnaha Canyon

Prairie grass and hardy plant life fill Imnaha Canyon, seen from the Buckhorn Overlook. The massive canyon was carved by the Imnaha River, a tributary of the Snake River that flows through Hells Canyon to the north. Both canyons are part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, more than 650,000 acres of rugged terrain that straddles the Oregon-Idaho border.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

9. Elkhorn Mountains

Cross-country skiers hit the trails at Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort in the Elkhorn Mountains. The 1,100-acre resortÕs base elevation of 7,100 feet is the highest in Oregon, though its vertical drop of 900 feet is the smallest in the state. Nordic skiing is popular at the resort, which features more than 18 miles of groomed trails in the shadow of the jagged Elkhorn peaks.

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Richard Cockle/The Oregonian

10. Grand Ronde River Canyon

Fog enshrouds a canyon near the northern Oregon border, where a portion of highway known as the Rattlesnake Grade twists and turns along the high-sloping walls. The road is popular among bicyclists, motorcyclists and drivers, who endure long, straight stretches to reach the grade. The canyon feeds into the Grande Ronde River to the north.