Alvord Desert
Desert
View of Alvord Desert fromSteens Mountain
Alvord Desert Location of desert within Oregon Show map of Oregon Alvord Desert Alvord Desert (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates:42°32′N118°28′W / 42.53°N 118.46°W /42.53; -118.46
Location	Oregon,United States
Area
• Total	84 sq mi (220 km2)
Bordered by	Steens Mountain, Mickey Butte, Pueblo Valley and Tule Springs Rim

TheAlvord Desert is adesert located inHarney County, in southeasternOregon in theWestern United States. It is roughly southeast ofSteens Mountain. The Alvord Desert is a 12-by-7-mile (19 by 11 km) dry lake bed and averages 7 inches (180 mm) ofrain a year. Twomountain ranges separate it from thePacific Ocean—theCoast Range, and theCascade Mountains. Along with Steens Mountain, thesetopographical features create arain shadow. The Alvord Desert lies at an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet (1,200 m).

During the dry season the surface is sufficiently flat for driving or landing small aircraft. Vehicle driving attempts to scoreland speed records are performed on the dry lake bed. The women's world land speed record was set in 1976 byKitty O'Neil at 512 miles per hour (824 kilometres per hour), later surpassed in 2019 byJessi Combs at 522.783 miles per hour (841.338 kilometres per hour), although the latter died in the process because of a crash.^[1]

The nearest community isFields, Oregon.

The desert is named after GeneralBenjamin Alvord, who served as commander of the U.S. Army'sDepartment of Oregon during theAmerican Civil War.^[2]

The Alvord Desert experiences acold desert climate (KöppenBWk). The area receives very little rainfall throughout the year due to the rain shadow created by the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges as well the adjacentSteens Mountain. Some eastern areas of the desert may receive as little as 5 inches (130 mm) of rain annually.

Winter temperatures in the Alvord Basin are moderated through airflow from the south that stops the temperature from dropping too heavily. While many areas in theOregon High Desert frequently dip below 0 °F (−18 °C) through the winter months, the Alvord Desert rarely sees these frigid temperatures. On average, highs will commonly reach between 40 and 50 °F (4 and 10 °C), with a few rare instances where the temperature fails to break 32 °F (0 °C). At night, the temperature falls to between 20 and 30 °F (−7 and −1 °C), but will not normally fall much further unless Arctic air masses arrive. The basin sees a moderate amount of its rainfall in the winter months from storms coming off the Pacific Ocean while the strong winter jet stream is aimed at the Pacific Northwest. Storms that are strong enough to bring moisture to the Southeastern area of Oregon are usually related to tropical storms feeding from the Hawaiian Islands. Snow does sometimes occur in the rare instances when cold air from the Arctic to the north meets a strong flow of moisture from the Pacific to the West.

Spring is when the bulk of precipitation falls from thunderstorms. These storms are attributed to the rainfall in April, May, and June that form in the south and move their way north across the desert and surrounding sagebrush plains. Clear nights continue to bring cold overnight temperatures which commonly drop to between 30 and 45 °F (−1 and 7 °C), but afternoon warming raises temperatures to between 50 and 60 °F (10 and 16 °C) in early spring and 70 and 80 °F (21 and 27 °C) in late spring. This warming can help trigger thunderstorms in combination with the unstable spring atmosphere. Extremes in temperature can still be seen at this time of year where temperatures have fallen to 0 to 10 °F (−18 to −12 °C) in March, and climbed to over 100 °F (38 °C) in early June. Rainfall turns theplaya into a small lake, and for a short time, makes travel across it difficult.

Summer in the Alvord Desert has some of the hottest temperatures in the state of Oregon. High pressure sets in over the Pacific Northwest and the jet stream pushes north into Canada. This high pressure means very little precipitation, averaging less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) throughout the summer months. Late day heat begins to set in by late June where highs reach between 85 and 90 °F (29 and 32 °C). In July the temperature commonly climbs to between 90 and 100 °F (32 and 38 °C). Night-time lows vary, with overnight temperatures dropping down between 60 and 65 °F (16 and 18 °C) throughout much of the basin. In some locations temperatures will only drop to between 65 and 70 °F (18 and 21 °C). August remains hot with highs ranging between 90 and 100 °F (32 and 38 °C) and lows between 50 and 60 °F (10 and 16 °C), though dropping towards the end of the month.

Fall is moderate with high temperatures ranging between 60 and 80 °F (16 and 27 °C) and lows between 40 and 50 °F (4 and 10 °C). Fall is also one of the driest times of the year.

Three primary geothermal areas are along the western edge^[5] as well as cold springs following NE to SW trending normal faults. On the western edge of the desert isAlvord Hot Springs (42°32′38″N118°32′02″W / 42.5440°N 118.5340°W /42.5440; -118.5340 (Alvord Hot Springs)). At the north isMickey Hot Springs (42°40′41″N118°20′48″W / 42.6781°N 118.3467°W /42.6781; -118.3467 (Mickey Hot Springs)): an assortment of bubbling mud, pools and, the occasional geyser. At the south isBorax Lake (42°19′37″N118°36′10″W / 42.3269°N 118.6028°W /42.3269; -118.6028 (Borax Lake)) which is a thermal spring complex. To the east is an unnamed natural hot spring, one of 40 or more along 25 miles (40 km) of the Alvord fault. To the southwest is seasonal alkaliAlvord Lake which once extended 100 miles (160 km) north and south—covering the desert. Several of the geothermal features in Alvord Desert Basin have been examined by a team of scientists and geologists^[6] from the University of Idaho, Boise State University, and Idaho State University.^[7]

Despite the barren nature of the playa, some opportunities for wildlife observation exist.Wild horses sometimes drink from the springs on the eastern edge of the desert. In areas where naturalhot springs flow into the playa, especially around the Alvord Hot Springs, one can usually find nestinglong-billed curlew. Further out into the playa proper are numerouskilldeer andsnowy plover, along with the occasionalAmerican avocet. The outlet waters from the springs typically flow roughly one mile into the desert, and their reach roughly delineates the bird habitat. The nearbySteens Mountain Wilderness contains populations ofbighorn sheep,mule deer,elk, andpronghorn. Further west is theMalheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is popular forbirding.

The previous women'sLand Speed Record was set at Alvord Desert byKitty O'Neil, in the jet-poweredSMI Motivator, in 1976.^[8] O'Neil reached 512.710 mph (825.127 km/h).^[9][10][11]

On August 27, 2019,Jessi Combs died while making back and forth runs at Alvord Desert in an attempt to break O'Neil's record,^[12] and in June 2020,Guinness World Records recognized Combs' runs on that date as the official new world record of 522.783 mph (841.338 km/h).

• 
  Setting sun reflected off the playa
• 
  Steens Mountain to the northwest from the Alvord Desert
• 
  Close-up of the surface, June 2018

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAlvord Desert.

• Alvord Desert - Bureau of Land Management
• Bishop, Ellen."Alvord Desert".The Oregon Encyclopedia.
• The Wilderness Society: Wilderness in Oregon’s High Desert
• Alvord Desert Gliders Video produced byOregon Field Guide

• Deserts of Oregon
• Great Basin deserts
• Deserts and xeric shrublands in the United States
• Geography of Harney County, Oregon
• Bureau of Land Management areas in Oregon
• Protected areas of Harney County, Oregon

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