Visit The Painted Hills

Along with Sheep Rock and Clarno, The Painted Hills is a geological site in Wheeler County, Oregon, and it is one of the three sections that make up the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. It is situated 9 miles (14 km) to the northwest of Mitchell, Oregon, and covers an area of 3,132 acres (12.67 km2). One of Oregon's Seven Wonders is the Painted Hills, according to the list. The site's distinctive color layers can be linked to cycles of wet and dry weather conditions that occurred when the Eocene epoch gave way to the colder, more temperate Oligocene epoch. The soil's mixture of mudstone, siltstone, shale, and lignite is what causes the various color layers.

The vividly colorful stratification in the soil that can be seen splashed across the hillsides here gives the area its moniker, The Painted Hills. The scenery in this bizarre Central Oregon location is covered in vivid greens, fiery reds, burned orange and shimmering pink and gold hues. It is simple to understand why the Painted Hills is considered one of Oregon's "7 Wonders."

Google Rating: 4.7/5.0
Address: Mitchell, Oregon, United States
Contact: (541) 462-3921
Website: https://paintedhillsvacation.com/